.
Accidentally
introduced to the UK
killer of box trees
.
by Scooj
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.
4577. River Avon (31)
Haka has been absolutely smashing it with his Janet and Allan Ahlberg children’s book characters, and here, alongside the river, he has painted a wonderful image of Burglar Bill.
I don’t believe that I have read this particular book, but I know my nieces were particularly fond of the Ahlberg books, and I have seen the cover before. Haka’s loving and faithful reproduction of the character is magnificent and captures the Ahlberg style perfectly. No need to sign the piece, knowing that Haka has painted other Ahlberg characters in the area.
4576. Cumberland Basin
Anyone who reads this blog will know that Mr Underbite, who only emerged on the Bristol scene earlier this year, has become a firm favourite of mine. The character is nicely thought out and now the artist is playing with this concept in this fun piece in Cumberland Basin.
Mr Underbite has created a mash-up of his character (of the same name), with the SpongeBob SquarePants character Patrick Star, which is probably not a combination that would naturally spring to mind. The outcome is mildly grotesque, but both elements easily identifiable. I look forward to plenty more of these mash-ups, if indeed it is a direction that Mr Underbite chooses to go in.
Three herons
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Natural, graceful
slow wingbeats in unison
perfect formation
.
by Scooj
4575. M32 roundabout J3 (414)
About eighteen months ago there was absolutely no stopping Lee Roy, and it was easy to find new pieces by him on a regular basis, then out of the blue nothing for quite a long while. Lee Roy,I am pleased to report, has resumed his prolific form in recent weeks and this is one of several new pieces by the artist.
His familiar letters are given some extra special treatment in this piece, with a rather snazzy background of pink and purple bricks on a blue background. The letters too have some reference to brickwork as well as some other fine drippy and dotty fills. This is a lovely piece from Lee Roy, and I will try to dig out some more recent ones from the artist.
4574. Greenbank (48)
It is so good to see a new Laic217 piece, and this one is a throwback to his melting face period from a few years ago. I guess with the heatwave we are currently enduring this melting face is really rather apt.
The main difference between this and his similar pieces of old is that his skills and touch have improved measurably. Although this piece is rather grotesque, it is also fascinating, and difficult not to look at and study. I particularly like the curve of the cap peak, it is just so well observed. Melty face, melty day.
Respite
.
The only cool place
at the bottom of the stairs
beside the front door
.
by Scooj
4573. Dean Lane skate park (510)
In my view, street art and graffiti writing always look nicer on a buffed wall, although I’m sure that some purists would probably disagree with that. In this instance I think it holds true, and Mudra’s graffiti writing is presented beautifully.
Mudra has found a new level recently, and is constantly developing his letters, incorporating characters and looking at new shapes and designs. His work is along the lines of other artists whose letters each have a separate look and feel, the master of which is SkyHigh. I am definitely enjoying observing Mudra’s work develop.
4572. Upfest 2022 (30)
At Upfest you get to see work from so many artists that you have never encountered before, and in some cases may never encounter again. Always, though, there will be some pieces that stand out or stick in the memory, for whatever reason, and this curious piece by Rinascimento Punk is one of those.
The character in the piece is all a little surreal, with unfamiliar limbs attached (or in the case of the hand, unattached) to a torso and face. The hand is holding a planet (Saturn?) and I am guessing the head is in a space helmet, because the piece is entitled ‘Woman in Space’. This is an intriguing piece with loads of texture in the artwork. Great stuff.
4571. Upfest 2022 (29)
You couldn’t want to meet two nicer, albeit slightly bonkers, artists than Jimmer Willmott and Guts, who don’t paint the streets all that often, but when they do really bring things to life with their imaginative work.
It was genuinely a real pleasure to catch up with them just as they were finishing off the piece, and we chatted for a while, and they asked me to take the obligatory ‘artist selfies’ in front of the finished work, which was great fun. Unfortunately, the pictures were on their phone and not mine. On the left of the piece is a rather curious, and slightly disturbing character, looking a bit like Mr Potato Head given some Picasso treatment.
To the right is a busy gathering of monsters and things, with a bit of slime thrown in, so typical of the bright and ‘happening’ pieces that Guts paints. I am not even going to try and interpret the piece, to do so would be foolish. The collaborative effort as a whole is so full of energy, joy and creativity, and it is such a pleasure to see more of their street work.
