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.
There are a great many artists in Bristol that I could label ‘old faithful’ and Biers is definitely one of them. His style is very recognisable with irregular letter sizes, but a ‘house-style’ font that is very much his own.
Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2021
I was pleased to see this piece appear and the others with it because this wall had remained stagnant for far too long. In my view it is one of the best walls in Bristol, but the turnover tends to be quite low, and so anything new is always welcome. This is Biers at his best, clean and crisp with decent fills and nice white accents to create a 3D feel. classic Biers.
It seems that every week there is another artist new to the Bristol scene, or at the very least new to me. This bright column piece is by a young lady going by the name of Big Hev, and it is a privilege to witness the start of her journey painting walls.
Big Hev, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2021
There is something very appealing about this portrait, its simplicity and its bold colours. In time the shading and so traits will come, but I really like the striking nature of this piece, it demands to be looked at and enjoyed. I have found one other of her pieces, but am looking forward to many, many more.
As the lockdown continues, everything seems to get just that little bit harder. The routines become confirmation that nothing changes or has changed for such a very long time. There is a collective cloud sitting above the nation and there is little hope for anything changing any time soon. Thank goodness for Thursday Doors… a moment of escapism and a change to the tedium of our coronavirus lives.
This is a selection of doors and gates from my walks around the city of Bristol.
Corrugated Iron door, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, December 2020A rather forlorn gate, Bristol, October 2020A gate in an arch of a bridge, Bristol, November 2020Got to love the door at number 33, Bristol, January 2020A ghost door, Bristol, January 2020
So there is the little break in our ‘groundhog day’ existence, I hope you enjoyed it.
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.
The fabulous purple patch that Pekoe seems to be enjoying continues with this wonderful portrait piece in the corner of Montpelier Park. There is a lot of joy in the piece, and it reminds me a little of the kind of portraits that Kid Crayon does… bright and unusual colours and a hat.
Pekoe, Montpelier Park, Bristol, January 2021
I recently visited Montpelier to switch up my walks a little bit and give the dog a bit of variety. It was a fruitful trip and finding this was the jewel in the crown. I knew of its existence, but I didn’t know where in Bristol it was, so I kind of got lucky. Something really likeable about this one and Pekoe seems to be turning out some happy pieces.
I can’t recall seeing these two collaborating before, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, simply that my memory doesn’t serve me as well as it used to. Sepr and Acer One is a partnership that I wouldn’t have predicted, as their styles are very contrasting, but this new wall is Cumberland Basin is absolutely spiffing.
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
The central section is by Acer One and is an amazingly technical piece of writing, based on a geometric design style for which he is known. Standing up close, it is near impossible to work out what these letters say, but by stepping back, the brain interprets it more easily and it says ‘More Love’ – I don’t think any of us can argue with that.
Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
The central panel is bookended by two exquisite characters from Sepr. On the left is a devilish Cupid whose love arrows are finding mischief, in particular with a seagull who appears to be smitten.
Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
To the right a female Cupid character is also firing love arrows across the piece. I don’t quite know what these two characters symbolise, but they are brilliantly painted and a lot of fun. Maybe they are a representation of the frustrations of lockdown and our distance from our loved ones.
All in all a superb collaboration and well worth a visit.
Sepr and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
I first photographed this Daz Cat cat some while ago, but never posted it because there was a dark shadow cast across it. On a recent trip into the depths of Montpelier I was able to have a second crack at it and this time the sun shone and I timed my visit (by luck not judgement) at the right time of day thus avoiding any shadows.
Daz Cat, St Andrews Road, Bristol, January 2021
I have a feeling that Daz Cat enjoys painting in North Bristol and it is rare to find anything by him south of the river. This is just a nice chrome cat wearing a scarf and adding a little bit of character to a wall that was begging for decoration. Nice work.
Of all the ‘masters’ of Bristol graffiti writing, I think that Hemper is probably the least represented on Natural Adventures. I am not entirely sure why that might be. Perhaps it is the modest approach he takes to his highly technical freestyle work, or to the fact that he normally paints with other artists, which might take the attention away. I don’t know. Anyhow, I really ought to address this imbalance – perhaps with a gallery.
Hemper, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2021
In this piece under Brunel Way, Hemper spells out HEMS with some glorious curvy letters filled with a couple of shade of purple and embellished in a way that gives it a shiny 3D effect – how does he achieve that shiny thing? Some very clever white additions that give it a reflective quality. This is a real technical banger.
