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.
The third piece by Smut on Natural Adventures, and I couldn’t put it any better than the artist himself does… “Everybody loves Smut”. Well if not everybody, at least I do, and that’s what matters.
Smut, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2021
As with his other pieces, it is the sharpness of his lines that really catches the eye, and the script form of the whiting is rather seductive. This is a really accomplished piece, as the fills demonstrate. I’m looking forward to meeting the artist at some point in the future, if only to find out about the techniques used.
John D’oh is an artist whose work I have enjoyed enormously over the years, but I simply don’t see his work all that often as he tends to scatter it around the West of England and often in places I don’t visit often. Well Burnham-on-Sea is a bit of a John D’oh goldmine, so this is the first of several posts of his work from this sleepy town.
John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021
This is a typical single-layer stencil from John D’oh that is humorous with strong undertones of seriousness. His work often features political satire, and he is definitely a visual commentator, chronicler and observer of our time. Here though the simple message is illustrated with a mildly macabre scene, and one that many cat owners will be all too familiar with. It was great to find this and several other pieces on my trip to the coast.
Pekoe has had a little bit of a quiet period, after a year in which she has created so many of her fabulous portraits. The pause is over, and she is hitting walls once again with customary frequency.
Pekoe, Purdown Battery, Bristol, October 2021
This quick one up at Purdown Battery is eye-catching in its lovely white and purple colour scheme. The reference ‘I love you to the moon and back’ links to a children’s bedtime book called ‘Guess how much I love you’ by Sam Mc Bratney and illustrated by Anita Jerram. This was one of my daughter’s favourite books, and mine too, come to think about it. A lovely piece with some lovely sentiments.
I haven’t had an awful lot of luck photographing this wall, it is not an easy one to do. The best time I guess for photography is in the middle of an overcast day, any other time it is too dark, or there are multiple shadows cast by a row of trees. These pictures were taken in the early evening, but as you can see the quality of light was poor.
Sikoh, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2021
Excuses over. This is a magnificent panther piece by Sikoh, painted as part of the Nightwayss birthday paint jam. Sikoh is a member of the PWA crew alongside Face 1st, Soap and Nightwayss, but doesn’t paint nearly as frequently as the rest of them, which is regrettable, because his work is out of the top drawer. There is so much to admire in this piece, but I think the thing I like the most is the incredibly detailed little skulls that make up the leopard’s spots. How does he do that? Simply brilliant.
Mest is one of several artists who keep things simple. He adopts the same basic design of letters but plays around with the background, fill and shadow colours, always creating interest and variation of a form.
Mest, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2021
This is a lovely new piece on the M32 roundabout painted alongside Stivs, a good friend, and adopting the same colour scheme. I wonder if it is the influence of Stivs, but this piece is really tight and one of Mest’s best to date in my opinion. The horizontal transition of greens is nicely handled, and the thin green border is very sharp. An attractive piece of work.
Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah! It has been such a long time since I have seen a street piece from Kid Crayon, although he has been doing a lot of studio and digital work over the last few months, it is refreshing to see something big and bold. In this collaboration, Kid Crayon has teamed up with Nightwayss, who conversely doesn’t seem to have stopped hitting walls this year, he is a machine.
Kid Crayon, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
To the left of this ‘Finger Trap’ piece, Kid Crayon has painted a brilliant character (is it a self-portrait?) poking his finger into the trap while tipping his red baseball cap. The character is brilliant and so uniquely Kid Crayon.
Nightwayss, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
To the right and making up the other half of the collaboration, joined with the central trap, is an unusual piece by Nightwayss. I love this recent experimental style from Nightwayss that seems to be exploring the fragmentation and interruption of a portrait and other elements, such as a parrot in this case. The fine artist in Nightwayss is coming to the fore in exploring new ideas and forms. Pity about the tag, but hey, you snooze, you lose!
This piece under Brunel Way is something of a rarity. It is by Stiff, who doesn’t paint walls all that often, and this is only the second piece of his that I have posted on Natural Adventures, although I know I have a third somewhere (just found it labelled Unknown!).
Stiff, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2021
I love his cartoon compositions that tell fabulous stories in his preferred format of black background and green and white artwork. The alien/quirky scientist face-off is beautifully animated and very nicely sprayed. A bit of fun and a welcome surprise. I would love to see more from Stiff.
Continuing with my doors of Cornwall from a short family holiday in August, I bring you this series of wonderful doors in Penzance.
My father lived in Penzance after he retired until his death in April 2018, and it was probably the happiest period of his life. He was a colourful man whose career in stage management, pub management and show business went down very well with the locals. He was an adopted son of Penzance and known to many in the town. This visit was a pilgrimage to the place he loved so much. I used the opportunity to photograph a few doors too.
Penzance was once a prosperous town that found itself at the end of Isenbard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Western Railway, and is known to many from the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera, The Pirates of Penzance (or The Pirates of Men’s Pants as we used to call it at school). Now it is a bit of an eclectic place, with prosperity and poverty side by side. It is a honeypot for eccentrics, hippies, collectors of junk, drunks and addicts who seem to be attracted by its remoteness, quirkiness and mild climate. I think my dad made it into at least two of those categories.
I rather like this collection, I hope you do too…
Blue door with superb neoclassical portico, Penzance, Cornwall, August 2021
Captain Cutters House door, Penzance, Cornwall, August 2021
Steps to a high door, Penzance, Cornwall, August 2021
A stunning door to the former home of the mother and aunt of the Brontë sisters, Penzance, Cornwall, August 2021
Plaque by the door to the former home of the mother and aunt of the Brontë sisters, Penzance, Cornwall, August 2021
Double door and contrasting colours, Penzance, Cornwall, August 2021
Double door and steps, Penzance, Cornwall, August 2021
Another stunning door slightly set back, Penzance, Cornwall, August 2021
More doors from Cornwall to come, but I think that next week I will try to switch it up a little bit with something else. That’s it for this week, may I wish you all a fun and relaxing weekend ahead.
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.
Natural adventures 