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.

4863. Mina Road (11)

Slava ?, Mina Road, Bristol, November 2022
Slava ?, Mina Road, Bristol, November 2022

I am unhappy with several things about this post, and I haven’t even written it yet. Firstly; the photographs are crap; and secondly, I am not confident who the artist is. I should have cut my losses and abandoned this post altogether, but something has made me persevere regardless.

Slava ?, Mina Road, Bristol, November 2022
Slava ?, Mina Road, Bristol, November 2022

I couldn’t read the signature, and only have the name Slava to go on, but then I saw an Instagram post of the piece which was credited the work to Zase. I couldn’t find a signature. Anyhow, the field of sunflowers under a blue sky is a delight, and an obvious reference to Ukraine, demonstrating continued support and concern to the nation under siege from Putin’s dictatorship. I might have to return to this one and take some decent pictures and retrospectively insert them. Beautiful and meaningful work.

4862. St Werburghs tunnel (324)

Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

St Werburghs tunnel is a funny spot. Sometimes you can go for long periods when not much changes, and then you go through a rush of activity, and need to be on top of it pretty much every day.

Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Tao.create, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This glorious piece by Tao.create was painted with the LRS crew, only a short while after the Bnie paint jam on the opposite wall. I haven’t seen much from Tao for a long while, so this was most welcome. There is talent and a style here that we definitely need to see more of on Bristol’s streets. The portrait is captivating, and beautifully shaded in purple tones. More practice will add confidence with regard to proportions and scale of the features. Welcome back… more please.

4861. Dean Lane skate park (544)

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

In case you missed it, Face 1st is one of my favourite artists in Bristol. I try to post all his work that I come across, but it is an uphill struggle, so I do what I can. This one is on the famous curved wall at Dean Lane.

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

This is a stock sure thing from Face 1st, with a laughing girl’s face surrounded with FACE hair. In gold and yellow on a sky-blue background, the piece stands out, and there are some additional drips and bubbles to keep the interest. I haven’t seen any of the PWA crew for a long while, but next time I do, I will have to ask them about the significance of the gemstone, which appears in so much of their work.

4860. River Avon (36)

Zake, River Avon, Bristol, November 2022
Zake, River Avon, Bristol, November 2022

I should know by now, not to bother with going down to Sparke Evans Park and the River Avon on sunny days. The results are always patchy at best. But there is another school of thought that says always photograph what you can when you see it, because it might not be there the next time you visit. I don’t know if this lovely portrait piece by Zake falls into that category, as I haven’t been back to take a look.

Zake, River Avon, Bristol, November 2022
Zake, River Avon, Bristol, November 2022

Zake has been enjoying himself recently with these rather more cartoon style pieces that still contain his mastery of light and shade, but have introduced a little bit more in terms of character and emotion. This is a fabulous piece painted alongside PWA crew mates.

4859. Cumberland Basin

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2022
Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2022

Taboo, is definitely going through a pink period, in fact it is a very popular colour all round in Bristol at the moment, and I don’t think I have seen so much pink paint since Stupid Stupid Meathole was active. I wonder what happened to him.

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2022
Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2022

The unruly letters spell Taboo, with a skull and sphere making up the OO at the end. There are lots of little detail s and distortions to keep the eye busy in this piece, and a nicely worked PLB crew mention. Great work from Taboo, tucked away.

 

 

Vaccination reaction

.

A terrible night

exhausting shivers and sweats

Covid is a beast

.

by Scooj

4858. Dean Lane skate park (543)

Dibz and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Dibz and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

Two of the greats of the contemporary street art scene in Bristol, Dibz and Acer One, have come together to create this magnificent collaborative wall in Deal Lane. You could hardly get two more contrasting styles of writing side-by-side – perhaps the inclusion of someone like Stivs or Mudra might just do it.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

Set on a buffed duck-egg blue wall, Dibz has painted one of his outstanding wildstyle pieces, which would normally spell DIBZ, but in this case it says EVIE. Using the tried and tested pink and blue (lilac) combination for the letters, Dibz has contrasted it with little yellow/orange squares, which personally speaking, I don’t think work very well with the background wall colour, and leaves me feeling a little queezy.

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022

To the right, Acer One, who I was fortunate enough to have a long chat with yesterday in the tunnel, has also written something different. The name TOBY is the focus of this piece, which was a birthday tribute piece for his son. What better present could a person wish for? Some great colours in the letters, and the customary double shadow together create an amazing 3D effect, with the letters really standing out from the wall. Happy belated birthday, Toby.

4857. Porto (15)

Fedor and Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Fedor and Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

One of the key differences between street art in Bristol and street art in Porto is the walls to paint on. In Bristol, most of the walls are brick, rendered, shutters, containers or hoarding. In Porto, sun-bleached stone walls and breeze block walls are favoured by artists, although commissions tend to be on rendered walls, much like at home.

Fedor, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Fedor, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

This is a lovely piece by Fedor (a street artist and graffiti writer from Porto), fringed with some Costah paste ups to its left. The wise old dog is beautifully painted and the mastery of working with a spray can, can be seen in the dog’s nose, with three shades (like a stencil) providing texture and depth. A lovely and slightly weathered piece.

4856. Porto (14)

Berri Blue, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Berri Blue, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

I love this. If you are going to create street art in Porto, what better medium to use than tiles? Looking back through my photographs of Porto street art, my only regret is that I didn’t find more of these installations by Berri Blue than I did.

Berri Blue, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Berri Blue, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

Berri Blue is a Polish/Irish artist working in Porto who believes that interpretation of her work is up to the viewer. Well I fully approve of that, but interpretation of her work could end up down a rather macabre blind alley, so I will take a more superficial viewpoint and thoroughly enjoy the artwork and presentation, including the selection of location. The people of Porto are blessed to have pieces like this one in their city.

4855. Porto (13)

 

Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

This piece, by Costah, was photographed in early June and is clearly in support of Ukraine. The shock waves of Putin’s aggressive war against Ukraine since then have contributed to human suffering far beyond the borders of the two countries. There is little that citizens of Europe can do apart from offering help and hope.

Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Costah, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

Costah has placed a pair of his characters in a solemn embrace in the centre of a Ukrainian flag and the word HOPE. In an act of solidarity for the oppressed, he has also listed Palestine, Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq along the foot of the piece. Pieces like this remind us about the bigger picture and take us away from our first world problems, at least for a moment.