Author: scooj

I am Stephen. I live in Bristol, UK. I decided to shorten my profile...to this: Wildlife, haiku, travel, streetart, psychogeography and my family. Not necessarily in that order.

Fingers crossed

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Lives around the world

impacted by today’s Vote

a global ripple. 

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by Scooj

483. Upfest 2016 (57)

I have featured Dale Grimshaw a few weeks ago with one of his Shoreditch pieces. Well, we were lucky enough in Bristol to have him pay us a visit for Upfest 2016.

Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

His works are instantly recognisable, usually being portraits of people from around the world, many of whom face political struggles. The faces are usually adorned with face paint, and the works are usually accompanied by a little piece of wildstyle writing.

Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I managed to get a couple of pictures of Dale Grimshaw finishing off the piece on the Saturday, and I returned on the Sunday, and made subsequent visits to capture the finished article.

Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This work simply has to be admired, as do all of his works. Let’s hope for a quick return to Bristol.

Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

482. Upfest 2016 (56)

As a naturalist by training, I find it difficult not to be enthralled by these magnificent frogs painted by JXC at Upfest this year. I was lucky enough to see this piece half way through its creation and again on completion.

JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
I met the artist briefly late on the Sunday afternoon while he he was chatting with one of his friends who had been creating a piece nearby.

JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
JXC is a London artist who takes inspiration from popular culture, or so the programme notes say. I’m not too bothered about that, I simply love these frogs and am intrigued with the way he approaches his work. It would appear that he painted this piece using a zonal approach rather than painting one frog, then the other, then the background etc. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but look at the half-finished pieces, and you might get the gist.

JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
JXC, Upfest, Bristol July 2016
JXC has a rather lovely website, and you can read more about the artist here.

EU Autumn 

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Torn from slumber, green

leaves not ready to detach

fight on to remain. 

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by Scooj

481. Old Bread Street (8)

Another masterclass in street art from the magnificent Sled One. The hoardings in Old Bread Street  tend to get refreshed roughly fortnightly, so it can be difficult sometimes to photograph everything. In fact it is something of a miracle that I get to photograph anything at the moment. Work and family are occupying most of my time…I don’t mind the family bit, but work…

Sled One, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016
Sled One, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016
This picture is full of mischief, but it is also the work of a very talented young man. I’m not sure what direction he will take, but I think the world is his oyster. Whatever choices he makes in the future, I hope he will always make a little time to brighten up the Bristol streets with his joyful street art.

Sled One, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016
Sled One, Old Bread Street, Bristol, June 2016

Silver

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First frost glistening

in green pastures and the cows 

lazily grazing. 

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by Scooj

Oh (s)crap!

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Those horrifying 

words, ‘it’s your gearbox that’s gone’

life without a car. 

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by Scooj

480. Moon Street (14)

I don’t know quite why, but I have held on to these pictures for some time now. I think it is because I was worried that I might have already posted them. I have to confess that my blog is becoming a bit of a logistical challenge…dozens of folders and thousands of images…sometimes I lose track.

Aspire, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2016
Aspire, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2016
Forget all about my admin issues because once again Aspire has produced another masterpiece tucked away in a neglected corner of Bristol. I love his work, I have always loved his work, and I suspect I always will love his work. If I am honest, I envy his talent, I wish I could do something like this, but I struggle even to draw the curtains. I must be content with admiring the talent of others.

Rock of ages

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Paul Simon still rocks

at seventy five years young

Graceland in Cardiff. 

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by Scooj

Night night

 

Control Alt Delete

key strokes that initiate

computer bedtime.

 

by Scooj