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Best years of their lives
denied by a cruel virus
there’ll be hell to pay
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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.
3777. M32 roundabout J3 (332)
An artist, who perhaps never quite gets the recognition he deserves, is Corupt, who also writes Stick. I think that for every piece I have published, there are two or three in my files, which somehow feels unfair, but actually with only two posts a day, I am never ever going to be able to do justice to all the artists in Bristol.
This piece of writing is truly magnificent and has been widely amplified on social media. A beautiful combination of letters each with its own style with the O and U being part of a worm leave this graffiti writing with a rather horticultural feel to it, and I am all in favour of that. This is an accomplished piece which really captures the imagination.
3776. Upfest 2021 75×75 (8)
What an absolute beauty from Irony. I want this post to be about the outstanding art and not the difficult light conditions, so I will get my apology in early. The sun was bright and behind the wall, so the artwork is a little on the dark side. This wall needs to be photographed on a dull day probably to get the full weight and beauty of the piece.
Irony is known for his incredibly detailed high-end murals and has appeared at many festivals around the UK, but he also paints walls all over London and he is far from a ‘pop star’ celebrity, preferring to keep his anonymity as far as that is possible. He is a modest talent.
These giant rooftop pigeons, painted on the rear wall of The Hen and Chicken, are close to perfect. Their fluffed up ruffles so accurately portrayed and their general demeanour is so life-like. Irony has gifted Bristol yet another classic piece. But one that you have to look out for as it could easily be missed.
Upfest has definitely triumphed this year with its 75×75 event, and this is only the eighth one I have posted… so much more to come.
Contagion
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Delta variant
no respecter of vaccine
Mrs. Scooj succumbs
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by Scooj
3775. M32 roundabout J3 (331)
It seems a very long time ago now, that pretty much every week we were being treated to a Rezwonk/Decay collaboration, since then, of course, we have had the pandemic and Decay has moved out of Bristol. The frequency of Rezwonk pieces has definitely declined, but the quality is still outstanding.
This piece on the roundabout, builds on his rather industrial theme where the letters look like pieces of metal riveted into the wall. The wonderful letters spell out REZER with the ‘E’s reversed. The subtle shadings of red and white give the letters some depth and lift them from the wall. A very tidy piece indeed.
3774. West Street (5)
Upfest is the gift that keeps on giving. By spreading out the 75 artworks over a period of 75 days, people like me, who can be rather lazy, are forced to get out and go to places beyond the usual honeypots, to find new pieces in the Bedminster area. In looking for these new pieces, I have been lucky enough to stumble upon older ones that I have never seen before, such as this beauty by Gage Graphics.
This delightful commission is on the shutters of the ‘Mutty Professor’ pet shop, and certainly brings a bit of colour to an otherwise rather bland shopfront. There are two shutters, one over the window and one over the door. In purples and pinks, the piece is of a rather gentle rural landscape with meadows and rolling hills.
The large window features a dog and a cat enjoying this landscape in the shade of a tree in blossom and an ash tree (there won’t be too many of those left in a few years). A really nice piece that I definitely wasn’t looking for, which makes it all the more satisfying.
Strewwelpeter
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Cautionary tales
like poor Little Suck-a-Thumb
frightening children
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by Scooj
3773. River Avon (16)
I cannot tell you (except I am) how much I am enjoying these kawaii pieces by Maesyhook that have been appearing all over the city over the last few months. The style and characters are quite unlike anything else we see in Bristol, and her work is a breath of fresh air.
This piece is on the cycle path which runs alongside the River Avon opposite the paintworks. The cheeky little fox character has a little speech bubble with a kawaii poo emoji, which in itself is all rather cute. Cute is the kawaii way, although with Maesyhook it has some edge through painting her work on walls, rather than on computer screens. I love this piece and her work.
3772. Upfest 2021 75×75 (7)
Our household self-isolation is about half done now and it is getting a bit boring. When you can’t leave the front door for anything, the fear of missing out (FOMO) starts to build, and for me, this is manifested in how many new pieces of art I might never get to see, such is the high turnover. I confess, it really gets to me, but on the other side of this, it exposes my obsession, which probably needs moderating. A time for introspection.
Meanwhile, I have got a vast reserve of unpublished photographs that could keep me posting for a couple of years at least. Upfest pieces will always get prominence on Natural Adventures, and this astonishing piece from Peter Sheridan is really absolutely stunning.
This one seemed to creep under everyone’s radar, and I don’t think I have seen any work in progress shots on social media. The finished piece was suddenly there, appearing as if by magic. The character piece creates an extraordinary atmosphere and sensation of being locked up, one I can utterly relate to at the moment, and one that probably reflects the past 18 months or so.
It is so good, I’ll just pause and leave you to enjoy it.
Quarter final
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We’re drawn together
a collective ambition
England and Saint George
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by Scooj
Natural adventures 