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.
To use urban slang, this piece is sick (metaphorically and literally) and is a long awaited resumption to spraying walls by Biers (who goes by several other names, but Biers is the one I use).
Biers, River Avon, Bristol, November 2021
I find it hard to read exactly these letters, but I am confident that Paul H might be able to enlighten me. This is a tight piece; the letters are bold and clean, the fills nicely horizontally graded, the white accents neat and tidy and the character clean and simple. Overall this is the work of a talented and experienced graffiti writer and it is great to see him getting busy again.
I simply don’t get round to posting as much of the work I see as I would like to, and this is one of several recent Mudra pieces I have photographed and actually managed to write up. This one is notable for its location, because I haven’t seen many Mudra paintings on the north side of Bristol, apart from under the M32, alongside the river Frome.
Mudra, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2021
Mudra has a style and tone that is quite easily identified, but it is his @ signature that confirms the artist. Mudra likes to use these soft blues reds and pinks in his work and he uses a lot of soft curves too. This piece is some kind of alien or monster, not unlike something that Nugmoose might create. A nice column piece.
Finding and photographing this wonderful collaboration between Haka and Logoe was a very special moment, because I met Haka for the first time, just as he was tidying up and photographing his work; and what a phenomenally nice bloke he is.
Haka, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
On the left is a fairly typical piece of block letter writing combined with a cheeky character. His somewhat chaotic style belies his talent as a graffiti artist of great merit. It is always great to see too his everlasting tributes to CK1.
Logoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, November 2021
On the right is another Logoe piece from his recent prolific assault on Bristol’s walls. Haka was able to shed some light on this peak activity. I understand that Logoe lives in Pembrokeshire and only occasionally visits Bristol. When he does come he brings with him loads of sketches and ideas for pieces and paints like there is no tomorrow. This is, of course, great news for us. This script style piece decorated with shades of grey and purple carries the message “Just because you grow old… you don’t have to grow up”. Makes sense to me. More to come from this Logoe marathon.
Life is full of surprises, and for me some of the best surprises are new murals in town that have not been on my radar, and this outstanding new piece in St Werburgh’s Park, by Gabriel Pitcher, is definitely one of those great surprises to lift the spirits. This piece is part of an initiative called ‘Vanguard x TOward 2030, What are you doing?’, and there is a very good webpage from Street Art News that explains the event and showcases several artworks and artists around Bristol – more for me to seek out!
Gabriel Pitcher, St Werburgh’s Park, Bristol, November 2021
I have borrowed some text from the Street Art News website to help explain some of the background to this Gabriel Pitcher piece:
“Gabriel Pitcher has partnered with community ambassador, The Global Goals Centre to paint a mural in St Werburgh’s, Bristol celebrating Bristol 17 hero Katie Cross, founder of Pledgeball.
Pledgeball harnesses the power of football and its fans to accelerate the pursuit of global sustainability. Through affiliated clubs, it prompts fans into small lifestyle ‘pledges’ in support of their favourite team and their only planet and empowers fans by demonstrating the huge impact even small changes can make for the benefit of themselves and their environment.”
Gabriel Pitcher, St Werburgh’s Park, Bristol, November 2021
The piece itself is so natural. Subtle colours, tons of movement and a modesty that is a rare thing in large murals these days. It is so good to see this kind of people-engagement with the environment through art, something we could see a lot more of in the coming years, I hope. This is a fabulous and worthy (in the good sense) piece.
Continuing with my second set of doors from a recent fishing trip to Looe in Cornwall.
My first impressions of Looe, formed a few years ago at the height of grockle (tourist) season, were not entirely good. Very crowded and if I am honest it all felt a bit naff. However, this October, my views were turned upside down, and I felt some affection for the place. The absence of hoards of holidaymakers meant that you could actually appreciate the town, it’s streets and buildings… and doors. So here are some more doors for you to enjoy:
Door with iron grille, Looe, Cornwall, October 2021
Mind your head low door, Looe, Cornwall, October 2021
Ghost door and lintel, Looe, Cornwall, October 2021
Vine cottage green door, Looe, Cornwall, October 2021
Old cottage, newish door, Looe, Cornwall, October 2021
One more week of these Cornish doors and then… I’m not too sure what, probably some archive doors from Bristol.
Today is Remembrance Day, so I dedicate this post to the fallen. I will not forget.
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.
I have a feeling that this mask-like face may have been a Halloween piece from Laic217, at least it was certainly painted around that period at the end of October. The piece is far from typical of Laic’s work but contains his recognisable style.
Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2021
Set on a vibrant pink background the grey scale demon stares out from the wall menacingly. The mask-like structure is rather static and fixed, which is different to most of his other work which tends to be full of animation and movement. Great to see something a little bit different.
Now I know that this classic piece from John D’oh has been here for a while, but as I only recently visited Burnham-on-Sea for the first time, I have not seen it before, but what a fabulous shutter piece it is. Beautifully executed and witty.
John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021
It is a really cleverly constructed pastiche of the work of Lichtenstein, and comes together as such really well. It takes a lot of skill and courage to carry something like this of, but John D’oh has managed it with his customary class. An excellent piece and really worth seeking out if you find yourself in the area.
It is also worth noting the cheeky little Veee character in the left of the shutter in the feature photograph.
Natural adventures 