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.
At the time this post is published, I hope to be casting a line into the surf of Lantic Bay, and picking out the occasional bass. A man can dream can’t he? As I plod along from day to day, week to week, year to year, it is comforting to know that Mr Draws is doing the same, and his regular drumbeat of pieces has become something of a landmark or reference point for me.
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2024
Mr Draws has painted this wonderful chrome piece pierced with three chunky yellow arrows. A deep drop shadow and pink highlights help the letters pop, and the blue background works surprisingly well with the rest of the piece. All the colours of the piece are not in my view natural bedfellows, in particular pink and yellow, but mr Draws has carried it off, so I tip my hat in his direction. Nice work from Mr Draws.
Face 1st and Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
I have an early start tomorrow to catch the right tide, and so am writing this post late last night, after a long day… forgive any incoherence. This is a wonderful collaboration from Face 1st and Zake in the tunnel, which I think was augmented by Chill, but his piece wasn’t there when I photographed the collaboration.
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
The piece on the left is a happy girl laughing face by Face 1st, a classic from the artist. I learned a short while ago that he has moved to Herefordshire, so I expect we won’t be seeing quite so much of his work in the city as we have been used to , but he reassured me that he is not all that far away and will of course visit. He seemed to be very happy with his move, which is a good thing.
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
To the right is a fabulous and rather sinister character by Zake, painted in his inimitable style. The light blue shading of the lower surfaces of the face are inspirational, creating an amazing light effect. The pointy nose and large canines point to an evil persona, or at least that is how it comes across. Some great fun from the PWA pair.
Oh what a beauty! I was beginning to wonder if Grimes might have moved away, as I hadn’t seen any new pieces from him for a little while, and then I came across this stunning new piece at L Dub. I can’t really put into words how good I think this piece is, and it is especially good, as I think it was his second attempt in this spot over a couple of days. The first one I think got painted over almost immediately, which was unlucky timing.
Grimes, L Dub, Bristol, October 2024
The intricate fills in the blue letters are worthy of note on their own, but when you look at the whole thing, it is bursting with energy, movement and colour. The letters spell GRIME and are given centre stage through the deployment of a magnificent background of pink checks and an orange plasma beam. Totally brilliant. Bravo!
This is an utterly magnificent piece taking up the whole board under the M32 by travelling artist ESKA. It is one of at least three pieces he has dropped while staying I;Bristol, and possibly more, but Being in Cornwall at the moment, I have lost touch a little.
ESKA, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2024
This epic piece is a feast for the eyes, with a stunning colour palette of goods and silvers. There is so much going here with the combined writing and symbolism. To be appreciated fully it really needs to be seen up close because there is a lot of detail that isn’t captured with the full image, and I now rather regret not taking close-ups. ESKA has been a breath of fresh air o; the Bristol scene.
Scrapyardspec, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
I am not too sure where Scrapyardspecs hails from, but he seems to be a regular visitor to Bristol leaving behind occasional characters Painted in his unique style, filling up those awkward spaces, because the versatility of his characters.
Scrapyardspec, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
This square piece contains a three-eyed variant of Scrapyardspec’s character, painted with the wobbly lines so indicative of his style. the zany character has a wagging tongue, another common feature of his work. All part of the spectrum of street art we are blessed to see in Bristol.
Logoe payed us one of his visits a couple of weeks back, and this is a magnificent piece of writing he left behind, that has lasted longer than many of his pieces do. I think he painted at least six pieces on this particular visit, and I will be sharing those I found over the coming days and weeks.
Logoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
The letters of this script writing are really bold and look quite chunky with a deep 3D drop shadow. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of this one is the vertical stripes in oranges and greys in the background, which provide a strong foundation and springboard for the letters. Nice work from Logoe.
Doors 283 – Doors from Exeter, Devon – Part I, October 2023
Regulars may have picked up that I am currently on my annual fishing trip in with a great friend, Andy. We have been doing this since 1986 or so, and only missed two years. Once I was away in the Falkland Islands and the other was Covid lockdowns. Although this year’s trip has been delayed, we are here now.
On the way home from last year’s trip we stopped off in Exeter, because Andy’s daughter is a student there and her digs needed a bit of pest control. While Andy spent a couple of hours with his daughter I went for a stroll around the city and these are some of the doors I photographed. I hope you enjoy them:
Tudor House and door, Stepcote Hill, Exeter, October 2023
Front door and low window, Stepcote Hill, Exeter, October 2023
Black door with glass panels and old bay window, Exeter, October 2023
Modern door with a nautical feel, Exeter, October 2023
A rather boring door with a nautical theme.
Relocated Merchant House, Exeter, October 2023
This Tudor house was moved from its original position in Exeter to this spot. In the process it lost two gables windows in the roof.
Ancient door, Tiddy House (1630s), Exeter, October 2023
Ancient door, Tiddy House (1630s), Exeter, October 2023
Old cellar door, Tiddy House, Exeter, October 2023
That’s it for this week, I need to get ready for fishing later on today. More from Exeter next time.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
A quick one today as I need to get myself sorted for a day of fishing. This is a magnificent pair of characters from Mr Crawls and Mote… the gift that keeps on giving. The piece can be found on the hoardings opposite Temple Meads station.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
The trademark chrome background helps to lift the characters and give them prominence. A bird with a hat from Mr Crawls, and a lovesick monster from Mote. What’s not to like about these characters?
Natural adventures 