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.
Gatoloco (Kasoe), M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
What an absolute treat. Gatoloco, who is an occasional visitor to Bristol, has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this outstanding piece of writing. The letters spell KASO, he appears to have dropped the ‘E’, but maybe that was all he could fit into the space.
Gatoloco (Kasoe), M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
I think that Gatoloco might be my favourite writer outside the city of Bristol. He brings so many design elements into his work, without it looking busy or fussy. I love the stripes on the letter ‘A’, a theme he has adopted in other recent pieces (a quick squint at his Instagram account revealed). The piece can be roughly dated, by the shout-out to Gaza. Fine work from the visitor.
Mr Penfold’s work seems to be only occasional these days, so it is always a genuine pleasure when I find one. This is a recent piece, painted alongside friends Billy and Merny, making up part of the outdoor gallery on the side of Lost Horizons.
Mr Penfold, Elton Street, Bristol, October 2023
Mr Penfold’s highly designed abstract work translates really well from the studio to large outdoor ‘canvasses’, which cannot necessarily be said for many abstract artists. I would say at this point, though, that we probably don’t have our fair share of abstract street artists in Bristol, and it is a genre that could do with a bit of a boost. Slakarts is definitely moving in that direction, but generally abstract artists are few and far between. Mr Penfold has painted his distinctive large, colourful and solid shapes on a black background, making our eyes do the hard work, dancing from one shap or colour to another. A lovely piece from the artist.
Claro_que_sssnoh, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2023
It feels like quite a while since I last posted a piece by Claro_que_sssnoh, and even longer since I saw evidence of a paint jam by him and his Spanish compatriots in the Sunday Lovers crew/collective.
Claro_que_sssnoh, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2023
I like the wall at Peel Street Green, because its layout lends itself to a gallery appearance, with each section of wall occupied by a single piece. Also there is very little tagging that happens here, rather there is a rolling replacement of each piece with a new piece. Claro_que_sssnoh has written his usual HONS letters in his unique style and added in plenty of decorations to his light off-white fill. The numbers 23 tell you it was painted in 2023 and the letters SL refer to Sunday Lovers. It is always good to fine pieces by Claro_que_sssnoh.
Although Halloween was quite some time ago, I still have several ‘horror’ pieces in the pipeline, including this beauty by Biers. I met the artist about a week after he painted this one, and he said that he didn’t like it very much. I quite often find that artists can be their own most ferocious critics. From my perspective, I think this is a great piece, very much in the Halloween spirit of things.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023
The writing spells out WD40, which is difficult to pick out unless you know, and follows Biers’ usual format of writing his letters and incorporating a character in the ‘0’. The character in this instance is Chucky from the Child’s Play franchise – films I have never actually seen myself – horror is my least favourite genre of films… they scare me. Wonderful work from Biers. Boo!
Having emerged from the tunnels beneath Perugia, we (and by that I mean me and my son, this was a dad and lad day out) were treated to a bustling city, which happened to be hosting a Jazz Festival, filled with music and visitors. Certainly there was a lively buzz over and above the white noise of regular tourists (like us).
These doors are presented pretty much in chronological order, mapping our route through the streets and squares. This was a slightly cooler day, the only one during our week-long trip, and a perfect one for exploring. Let’s cut to the chase… here are some doors:
Door with wooden frame, window and bell, Perugia, Umbria, Italy, July 2023Six panelled door, Perugia, Umbria, Italy, July 2023Door and balcony above, Perugia, Umbria, Italy, July 2023Beautiful arched doorway and carved wooden doors, Perugia, Umbria, Italy, July 2023Ancient stonework surrounds a modern door, Perugia, Umbria, Italy, July 2023Grand entrance, Perugia, Umbria, Italy, July 2023Palazzo dei Priori with several doors and entrances, Perugia, Umbria, Italy, July 2023
Our trip to Italy feels like it was several years ago, so it is great to refresh my memories, digging out these doors for this post. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Another selection from Perugia next week… probably.
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.
For many years, and more acutely this year, there has been a massive focus on the issue of compensation overflows in the UK. These overflows are essentially permitted activities of pumping raw sewage from water treatment plants, when heavy rainfall makes the processing of large quantities of sewage almost impossible. Some (and I include myself in this) point the finger at underinvestment in the infrastructure of water treatment plants, rather favouring healthy annual handouts to investors and shareholders.
The problem existed before the privatisation of water companies, but has been exacerbated by privatisation and a growing population and demand on the existing infrastructure, that simply isn’t up to scratch. Much easier to lean on a polluting permitted activity than to spend money fixing the problem.
Privatisation of water has, in my view, been a disaster, making a few investors, chief executives and foreign companies very wealthy indeed, but leaving the necessary investment and impact on the environment way behind. The public have had enough and are demanding that something is done about the situation. National commentary and pieces of art, like this one from John D’oh reflect this public mood.
John D’oh, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
In its minimalist way, this stencil by John D’oh distils the issue and makes it simple. ‘Shit doesn’t just happen (we have known about this problem for decades and done nothing about it), clean our rivers’. I have worked in the water/environmental sector my entire life, and John D’oh has nailed it. Clever placement too with the River Avon in the background. This is an understated and poignant protest piece. Bravo John D’oh.
In writing about this piece, I am beginning to have doubts that I have identified the artists correctly. Everything about the piece points towards Dott Rotten – the letter shapes, the fill patterns and the quality finish, but I might be wrong. The nagging doubt comes from the fact that Dott Rotten usually writes out SPOILT, but this says SORTS.
Sorts, Hepburn Road, Bristol, November 2023
Chrome and black work well and the yellow border helps to lift the writing from the busy background, and happens to also match the double yellow lines in the road. If it is not by Dott Rotten, then I am struggling to work out who it is by – always go with your first impression!?
Update: Thank you, Paul – The piece is by Sorts and not Dott Rotten, but it is certainly a compliment to Sorts that I thought it might have been otherwise.
I usually associate Dun Sum with the spot in Lawrence Weston (L Dub), because that is where I have seen most of his work, but lately he has painted a couple of times in Bristol proper, this being a Halloween piece painted alongside Hypo, Zeks and DJ Perks. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, Hypo had already overpainted his own piece. I was lucky enough to bump into Dun Sum, Hypo and Zeks a couple of weeks later on the other side of the roundabout, and it was the first time I had met any of them. What lovely people.
Dun Sum, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Dun Sum is a wonderful artist in my view. He creates some incredibly original pieces usually with animals and usually full of imagination. In this Halloween piece, a bug of sorts seems to be powering up a pumpkin, but I guess the story is open to interpretation. The artwork is brilliant, and it is interesting to note that the way Dun Sum applies his paint looks much more like brushwork than spray paint due to the way he blends his colours throughout his work. I absolutely love this piece.
Natural adventures 