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.

3379. Dean Lane skate park (371)

I haven’t seen too many of these TESs over the last few months, and the ones I have seen have been ‘quick ones’ in the main, so stumbling across this one at Dean Lane was something of a treat.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

I know the artist as Slim Pickings (after an old Instagram handle) but many call him Tes, based on the letters he writes. This has all the features you’d expect; perfect shapes for his letters and a thick solid fill, a beautiful 3D shading in gold set on a pink ‘cloudy’ backdrop. The white spots and bright green drips add the finishing touches. This is a classy piece.

Longest night

.

It starts looking up

each day a little longer

each more bearable

.

by Scooj

3378. M32 Cycle path (96)

I took this photograph as the light was fading at the end of an impromptu paint jam along the M32 cycle path. This would explain the slightly dour appearance of the piece, which is actually a bright and cheerful work from Smak.

Smak, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Smak, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020

The graffiti writing reaches the usual high standards associated with Smak, with superb fills and sharp lines that he delivers with such consistency. He has included a little character with this piece, a cat (looking a bit like a tiger) drinking milk from a bottle with a straw (a paper one I hope).

3377. Ashley Road (21)

Shutters have become a much prominent feature of the city this year because of the increased frequency that shops have had to remain closed due to a sequence of lockdowns and restrictions. This has offered up an opportunity for street artists to either paint new shutters, or for older shutters to be appreciated by a wider public. I guess I am looking for a silver lining to this terrible pandemic… clutching at straws maybe.

Pekoe, Ashley Road, Bristol, December 2020
Pekoe, Ashley Road, Bristol, December 2020

Anyhoo, this is a wonderful addition to the shutter pieces from Pekoe, who has hit a bit of a purple patch lately. I love this portrait, the way it fills the space so perfectly, slightly off-centre and the face is in three-quarters profile, which I love. The woman’s black hair and decorations are particularly nicely done. I think that this is my favourite shutter piece of the year. Bravo! Pekoe.

Hypocrite

.

Shutting their borders

Farage doth protest too much

It’s a sovereign right

.

by Scooj

3376. St Luke’s Road (1)

The great thing about visiting areas of Bristol one doesn’t normally go to is that you open your eyes to a whole new culture and architectural environment. So when visiting Totterdown to photograph the new Banksy recently, I was exposed to quite a few pieces and murals that I had been aware of but had never seen. One row of houses in particular caught the eye due to the very large murals on their garden-facing walls, which could be viewed from the road below. The row of houses is on St Luke’s Road.

Gage Graphics, St Luke's Road, Bristol, December 2020
Gage Graphics, St Luke’s Road, Bristol, December 2020

The artist of this mural (along with several others) is Gage Graphics aka Ollie Gillard and who writes graffiti under the name Serif. This is an outstanding mural that shows a section cut through the ground, exposing different rock strata that lead up to the root system of a tree. The tree is bending in an autumn breeze and fits perfectly between two windows. All the while a milky daytime full moon looks on. What a wonderful thing to have on your house, and a fabulous gift for the citizens of the area to enjoy.

3375. M32 roundabout J3 (270)

My heart sings when I find a new Rusk piece, especially when I discover it without knowing about it in advance. It feels like quite a long time since I last saw one of his pieces of graffiti writing so this was a real bonus.

Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

The colour scheme in this one works incredibly in my view with the green matched with the yellow and oranges, and the way he has integrated them is so easy on the eye. Surprisingly, the pink and black 3D shadow works really well too – who’d have thought? Some expert white highlights and blue drips finish the piece nicely.  A pleasure.

Crocodile tiers

.

Inept government

indecisive and clueless

pretend competence

.

by Scooj

3374. St Werburghs tunnel (213)

Slakarts has been very busy lately, especially with his three-quarter cartoony profile throw up pieces, so it was great to come across this rather more traditional-looking piece from him in the tunnel recently.

Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

Slakarts’ work is very distinct and rather different from most of the character pieces you see around Bristol. This particular face is rather austere and serious and contains some nice detail, such as the lines around the eyes. Some great shading and spots round this piece off nicely. I definitely feel a Slakarts gallery coming on very soon.

3373. Brunel Way bridge (80)

Underneath Brunel Way in the damp and tortured light conditions is this rather lovely tribute piece by Ments to a person called Sam, you can probably make out the letters.

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020

This is quite an unusual piece by Ments and I think is in part quite experimental. His work is usually organic in nature with fluidity being a central effect. In this piece however, Ments has introduced some quite solid forms and even what appears to be a rock foundation – a more geological approach perhaps. The bright colours speak of joy and happiness. This is a wonderful tribute piece beautifully thought out and painted.