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.

3106. North Street

I’m not entirely certain I have seen a collaboration between Andy Council and Soker before so this recent piece on North Street is something of a wonderful surprise. The whole thhing is beautifully balanced and the colour selections work perfectly. The Soker burner in the middle is book-ended with the front and back of a dragon with parts of the back running the length of the whole piece for continuity.

Soker, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
Soker, North Street, Bristol, July 2020

I’ll start with the Soker writing, which as ever is top notch with a five colour horizontal fill that works really well and some pink/mauve 3D shading that adds real depth to the lettering. On its own this is remarkable.

Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, July 2020

The front end of the dragon by Andy Council is made up of individual components stitched together with pink looping thread. There is movement and power in this dragon, but its form is a figment of our imaginations. Very clever.

Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, July 2020
Andy Council, North Street, Bristol, July 2020

The rear end of the dragon is more of the same, but some of the component parts begin to resemble feathers flutteing away, which I am sure is no accident, because Andy Council’s usual preference for dinosaurs woud include scales and primitive feathers (derived from scales). A wonderful collaboration from thes two godfathers of Bristol street art.

3105. M32 roundabout J3 (245)

You will know that I have a very large soft spot for the work of Kid Crayonm, and what makes it extra good is that he is a seriously nice bloke too. I managed to catch up with him while he was painting this trpical protrait piece at the M32 paint jam back in July.

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

We stopped for a while to chat and KC told me that this section of wall is a little tricky for him because of his height and he needs to stand on stuff to reach the top. I love the way that over the last couple of years, the party hat has become almost as much of a thing in his work as the crayon, both featured here.

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

I have enjoyed this little spate of pieces from KC and am looking forward to hunting down a collaboration piece he has just finished with SPZero76. There are some things that have been great about this summer and this is one of them.

Signing-off

.

End of week fatigue

is offset by a fillip

week away from work

.

by Scooj

3104. M32 Cycle path (68)

This was a quiet one from Decay that snuck out without fanfare. It is great to see Decay experimenting with some new paint textures and ideas, such as spraying large clouds of paint on the wall as a kind of backdrop to his writing.

Decay, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2020
Decay, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2020

The white shading in the letters has a kind of distressed effect, something interior decorators were particularly fond of in the 1980s. The whole thing is high-class and exactly what you’d expect from Decay. There are two crew names on the piece that are HTM – Hold the Mustard, and LRS – Last Radical Souls, they are a loosely based crew operating all over the world since 2001.

3103. M32 roundabout J3 (244)

It is always great to catch up with Rusk, a real gentleman if ever there was one. On this occasion he was joining in with the M32 paint jam that included Tizer, Inkie, Soker, Hemper and Minto last month. The sun was against me for the final photographs, but the work in progress shot shows off the colours a little better.

Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Attention and care are what I associate Rusk’s work with. He is always diligent and tidy with his pieces and takes his time to get things right. I can’t imagine my stopping for a chat was particularly helpful, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

The letters are typically Rusk, spelling out RUSKY and are given a horizontal tricolour fill, with some nice spots in the middle section. If I am honest I am not sure the three colours work too well, especially the bottom two as there is not enough contrast between them, but that is nit picking really, this is a fine piece of graffiti writing.

Afternoon dog walk

.

On a damp hillside

I sit while the dog works hard

top dog, under dog.

.

by Scooj

Interesting fact… the terms top dog and under dog are derived from (woodland) saw pits where the worker at the top end of a double ended saw was called the top dog and the worker in the saw pit underneath with all the sawdust dropping down was called an under dog.

3102. St Werburghs tunnel (177)

Usually when Mr Klue hasn’t painted for a while (and we are in one of those moments now) his first new piece is often followed up with a spate of creative work and I am hoping that will be the case this time. This new piece is in his favoured spot at the far end of St Werburghs tunnel.

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2020
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2020

There is a lot going on in this abstract dreamscape which to understand would probably necessitate the unpacking of the artist’s mind. In amongst all the atmospheric swirls and recognisable elements, such as the lamp post, hat and helmet, there are the letters KLUE… I think. A wonderful piece and worth waiting for.

3101. Lindrea Street

I was alerted to this superb stencil from Stewy and Voice of Joan through a rather different route than my usual network of artists/hunters. I stumbled upon an Instagram post from @thiscitymum, and unlike my usual leads who scan the regular spots we visit, she wonders around the city taking pictures of wonderful things and in doing so leaves the beaten track and finds some hidden gems like this one.

Stewy and Voice of Joan, Lindrea Street, Bristol, July 2020
Stewy and Voice of Joan, Lindrea Street, Bristol, July 2020

This huge stencil on the side of a house is in an area where parked cars are a fact of life. I have visited this piece twice and the cars are a real challenge, so these are the best pictures I have so far. The single layer stencil in black is set on the neutral green background and features Lewis Carroll’s Alice peering round a curtain.  Of course the piece is after John Tenniel who produced the original illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. (Note this representation is a reversed version of the original).

Stewy and Voice of Joan, Lindrea Street, Bristol, July 2020
Stewy and Voice of Joan, Lindrea Street, Bristol, July 2020

Private commissions like this one are what makes a city sing, and I take my hat off to the owners of the end-of-terrace house. I have featured Stewy many times on Natural Adventures and his pieces are always of the highest quality. I have not however heard of Voice of Joan before, but will keep my eyes peeled. Something a bit different in Bedminster.

Thursday doors – 6 August 2020

Doors 118 – more archive doors

I still haven’t been out much lately so there aren’t too many new doors to write home about, although these little doors in a street nearby caught my eye. The great thing about people having to stay at home is that they get creative.

These little doors on the front garden wall of a family home are unlikely to have ever happened in normal circumstances. They made me laugh.

Little doors on a garden wall in Redland, Bristol, August 2020
Little doors on a garden wall in Redland, Bristol, August 2020

Open doors on a garden wall in Redland, Bristol, August 2020
Open doors on a garden wall in Redland, Bristol, August 2020

And now I revert to a few more archive street art doors from 2018 including rather a lot of shutter pieces:

Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018
Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018

Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

3Dom, Frogmore Street, Bristol, August 2018
3Dom, Frogmore Street, Bristol, August 2018

Joel Aroyo, Barcelona, March 2018
Joel Aroyo, Barcelona, March 2018

3rdeye, North Street, Bristol, January 2016
3rdeye, North Street, Bristol, January 2016

3Dom, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018
3Dom, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018

T-Rex, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
T-Rex, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Nevla, Hepburn Road, Bristol, October 2018
Nevla, Hepburn Road, Bristol, October 2018

Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018

Kaldea, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Kaldea, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

So another week passes us by in this ‘groundhog day’ existence, but to break the mould, I am taking a few days off work next week to recharge the batteries, and you just never know I might get to photograph a few more new doors. Whatever you are up to, I wish you a great week.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

 

by Scooj

Grate

.

Parmigiano

with extra thumb knuckle skin

clumsy cookery

.

by Scooj

* My daughter said that this was a disgusting haiku and I shouldn’t post it. So here it is.