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.
It has been a while since I saw an EAT Crew collaborative wall, the crew being Kid Crayon and SPZero76, so what an absolute pleasure it was to come across this piece (one half of the collaboration) a couple of weeks back. SPZero76 used to paint a lot more in Bristol than he does these days, but his energy and style have not diminished in any way at all.
SPZero76, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
In this animated piece, an alien tentacled monster is grabbing hold of a couple of raccoons that have clearly been decorating walls with their spray cans. It looks to me like the alien represents authority in some form or other and is pretty angry, which contrasts delightfully with the carefree expressions on the raccoons’ faces. There is so much detail to enjoy in this magnificent piece from SPZero76.
How great it is that ShyHigh and Roo have friends/family in Bristol, because it means that if we get lucky, they swing by to visit and while here, decorate a few walls for us. Their latest visit yielded this exceptional piece from SkyHigh on the fat pillar wall underneath Brunel Way. Roo also painted a few nearby spots (to follow).
SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
As I would expect, the large piece from SkyHigh is a wonderful mash up of letter styles to create the whole words SKY HIGH. Each letter is perfectly presented, and although discrete, somehow works with the letters adjacent. I love the ‘paper-based’ letters, ‘S’ written on note paper and the ‘i’ written on a ‘Hello my name is’ sticker. Brilliant work from a brilliant and creative writer. Come back soon.
Mind 49 is establishing himself as something of a new force in Bristol street art and graffiti writing, expanding his range and pushing boundaries with every new piece he creates. He is perhaps better known for his portrait pieces, that seem to capture the subject in an unconventional pose, but he has been working on his writing too recently.
Mind 49, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
This recent piece, on the ever-diminishing hoarding which borders the Chocolate Factory development, demonstrates perfectly Mind 49’s writing style. Spelling out MInD, the letters are beautifully filled with a beautifully selected set of soft colours, which abut with one another with lines, stars and circles. Great drop-shadows, borders and decorations finish the job off nicely. We are lucky to have Mind 49 hitting a bit of a purple patch… long may it last.
I was fortunate yesterday in being in the right place at the right time and bumped into Inkie, Sepr and Haka who were painting a wall alongside the M32, I think with some links to St Patrick’s Day, or at least that is what Inkie implied. I managed to have a quick chat with Haka who continues to smash it with his writing/character combination pieces, heavily influenced by the picture books in his household.
Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
This wonderful piece, painted as part of Ryder’s RAW paint jam, features The Very Busy Spider, created by Eric Carle (author and illustrator of The Hungry Caterpillar).Bookended by the letters HA-KA, the spider is waiting patiently in its web, faithful to the style of the illustrator. A fun piece that sadly didn’t last very long.
One of the most fulfilling things about wandering around the known street art spots in Bristol is finding pieces that are beyond my expectations. I mean that I can go to spots and either be searching for something specific that I have seen on social media or be pretty sure what kind of artwork I am likely to find and by whom. So when an outlier like this one by Amy Magee comes along, I get extra excited.
Amy Magee, Picton Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Although Amy Magee comes from Bristol, I am not familiar with her work and I don’t recall seeing anything by her before, and I suspect that she doesn’t often paint walls. This beautiful portrait piece was painted alongside a piece by Kosc, and I am guessing they were painted at the same time, with Kosc sharing one of his favourite spots with Amy Magee.
Amy Magee, Picton Lane, Bristol, February 2024
The portrait is stunning and is greatly enhanced by the colourful surrounding wisps of cloud and the atmosphere generated. The beautifully proportioned subject has a wistful expression, and incredible eye makeup. It would appear that colour is very important in Amy Magee’s work, which comes across in this piece. I hope that this adventure into painting a mural on the streets isn’t a one-off, and would encourage her to do it again – perhaps at this year’s Upfest.
Limestone hillside, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
From the sunny climes of Umbria in Italy to a damp autumn landscape in rural Somerset – the contrast couldn’t be greater. Last October I found myself at a launch event for a new National Nature Reserve – the Mendip NNR – which runs along the Mendip Way from Cheddar to the coast. I took the opportunity to have a quick wander up and down the gorge to see what doors were on offer (obsessive behaviour?) and wasn’t disappointed.
The weather was pretty miserable, but dramatic, with heavy showers interspersed with sunny breaks in the cloud. Cheddar Gorge sits above the small town of Cheddar, famed for being the home of cheddar cheese, and runs through imposing limestone cliffs, lined with caves and tea rooms. This selection of doors might give you a little taste of this quintessentially English landscape and tourist attraction. Enjoy.
Gate into a winter attraction cave, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
Entrance to Gough’s Cave, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
Sweet shop doors, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
Picket fence, gate and doors, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
Tearoom doors, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
Cottage and green door, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
Cottage green door, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
Corner cottage door, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, October 2023
More from Cheddar Gorge next time. May I wish you a very fulfilled weekend.
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, and in his Sunday round up.
I am very pleased to see that Slakarts appears to have a little bit of time on his hands and has been painting a few pieces recently. For fans of his work, this is of course great news, although it might indicate a slackening off of his work, which might not be so good. I would like to think it represents a good work/life balance.
Slakarts, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
This piece is a little more considered than some of his archetypal ‘mega-tag faces’, and carries a pretty strong message in today’s context. The character appears to be reading ‘War and Peace’, although he is in fact reading two different books, ‘War’, and ‘Peace’. It is encouraging to see that the larger volume is on Peace, but distressing to see the character reading War. The line-drawing style of the piece is brilliantly executed, being tight and tidy. Watch out for more from Slakarts coming soon.
There is something visually poetic about great calligraffiti, and whilst not always the easiest on the eye, it somehow feels like it is at the ‘high-brow’ end of graffiti writing. Whatever one’s opinion on the final product, there is a lot of control, discipline and skill required to create a stand-out piece of calligraffiti.
Todoaciem, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Todoaciem is one of two top-class calligraffiti artists in Bristol, and this piece on the M32 Cycle path amply demonstrates his quality. Painting in blue and yellow, a combination he has used to good effect before, Todoaciem has letters that stand out, because of their contrast, the yellow providing a drop shadow for the blue letters. A tidy piece from a skilled writer.
Natural adventures 