A gallery of outstanding work from this Gloucester graffiti artist
All photographs by Scooj
Flava136
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.
3986. Purdown HAA Battery (35)
In the background of this photograph, you can see the iconic telecoms tower that anyone who leaves Bristol along the M32 will be familiar with. And, in this hallowed spot, Smut has given us another beautifully crafted piece of graffiti writing in his very distinctive style.
These pieces by Smut are so easy to look at and enjoy. The simple curves are superbly clean, and he has really treated us with a beautiful wavy line intersecting the word horizontally and some great colour fades along the way. The little pink dots round the piece off nicely. I have to say I am loving Smut’s work and hope to see a whole load more.
3985. Victoria Street, Burnham-on-Sea
A couple of weeks ago, I took a day off and decided to take a trip up to Weston-super-Mare to photograph some epic new pieces by Irony and Dan Kitchener. On the way home I decided to call in at Burnham-on-Sea, because I had seen a few pieces on Instagram and anyhow, I had never been there before. I am so glad that I did, not least because I got to see this magnificent piece from Andrew Burns Colwill.
ABC is without doubt one of the best fine artists in Bristol, and he carries his canvass work seamlessly across to large walls without appearing to break step, and the end result is pieces like this one.
Now, I haven’t done any research, and perhaps I should have done, because I have no idea what this is all about. I mean I get the donkey bit, with the association with a holiday beach, but the toilet completely baffles me, and could have a plethora of meanings. Perhaps in this instance it would be better not to swell on the meaning and instead to focus on the quality and skill of an artist at his absolute best. It is worth a trip to this sleepy seaside town for this piece alone.
Julia
.
Sweetest Julia
childhood friend’s little sister
I think I loved you
.
by Scooj
* Julia was younger than our gang of friends and like all little sisters she was left out and dismissed as being surplus to our boyish requirements such as playing cowboys and Indians.
Cheese-cutter
.
Nestled side by side
cocooned in spikey armour
prepared for battle
.
by Scooj
- Although no longer permitted in the schoolyard, the game of conkers was one of those things that we simply grew up with. The excitement of collecting shiny new conkers and breaking them free from their shells was one of autumn’s pure joys. A cheese-cutter was a flattened conker that had shared its outer shell with another and were thought to bestow an advantage by cracking open your opponent’s conker using the sharp flat edge. such happy days. I still find new conkers irresistible and still come home with pocketfuls of them.
3984. Brunel Way (124)
This is happening with a comforting regularity and in my view it is definitely great news… SkyHigh has been visiting Bristol again and left us with this utterly amazing piece that on a near epic scale. The wall on this concrete support is pretty high and this is piece is larger than it looks.
Using his block letters that he seems to run off with consummate ease, including a smiley sticker and ‘Hello my name is’ badge, Sky High has written ‘Smile More Often’ which is the name of a London crew and this piece is not dissimilar to one painted by SkyHigh in Leake Street in 2020.
There is so much to like in the detail of this piece, but it is also SkyHigh’s finishing that is admirable, he really is a perfectionist, and his work always stands out from the crowd. Keep coming back, Bristol needs you.
3983. Purdown HAA Battery (34)
When they were toddlers, there is no doubt that the favourite toy that got the most play time was the buggy cozy coupé car thing, and this fabulous piece by Daz Cat brought a massive smile to my face, remembering those fun and uncomplicated days.
Daz Cat has recently taken his work to a new level, creating more than a simple posed character, but instead a character in a scene that tells a whole story. Sophistication and detail have improved his already excellent work and I, for one, am thoroughly enjoying his expansion. It is always a treat to find his work.
3982. Dean Lane skate park (432)
I have a feeling that this fine little collaboration by Spanish duo Zake and Varo was painted on or around the Dean Lane Hardcore (DLH) event a couple of weeks ago. It is especially noteworthy because although Zake has been painting a lot recently, Varo has been on the rather quiet side for some time.
The face is obviously by Zake and yet another fantastic piece in his expanding repertoire. Once again, the piece is given a 3D appearance by some clever colour schemes, shading and highlighting, which is something of a speciality for Zake. The character has a thought bubble with the words ‘SK8 or Die’, which is definitely playing to the right audience in this spot.
Varo’s graffiti writing is altogether something different. He definitely favours these large blocky letters spelling out VARO, and with this artist, less is definitely more. He doesn’t go for intricate, swirly or patterned fills, but just keeps things simple. I love the turquoise middles to his letters that with some clever shading appear to hover above the letters. Good stuff – and as a bonus you get to see my dog’s rear end.
1988
.
These lacquered chopsticks
a gift from Mr Cheba
an act of kindness
.
by Scooj
- the backstory… I found some chopsticks in a drawer that were given to me by a crew member of the Koei Maru 30, a Japanese fishing boat that I worked on in the Falkland Islands – it was his way of making friends and welcoming me. Finding them transported me back to 1988.
3981. M32 roundabout J3 (349)
I guess it’s high time for another cute Kawaii piece from Maesyhook, so here it is for all to enjoy. Maesyhook has certainly brought something very different to the walls of Bristol and paints frequently enough to become a bit of a favourite of mine.
This piece sandwiched between two writers is painted in Maesyhook’s customary pink tones, and even the skull, lovingly held by the little bunny character, looks cute. Her work is a real antidote to the constant negative headlines and continuing Government narrative that seems to be more and more removed from ordinary people by the day, and provides a little glimmer of fun and enjoyment. Keep it up Maesyhook.
