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.

3088. Dean Lane skate park (335)

A rather sweet pair of cuddly rabbits squeezed onto a small wall under the large ramp at Dean Lane skate park by none other than Nevergiveup or Followmyrabbits. Natural Adventures wouldn’t be Natural Adventures without regular posts containing these ubiquitous bunnies.

Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020
Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020

This pairing looks like a rather quick piece from Nevergiveup and I am guessing that it didn’t take too long, such is his expertise at creating these little characters. I suspect it was a quick one because the decoration is a little less elaborate than we have been used to of late. This wall gets tagged and dogged really quickly, so turnover here is very high. Nothing lasts long here, not even rabbits.

3087. M32 Cycle path (67)

Like so many things, once you get your eye in, you up your game. I am now noticing more pieces by Evey and realise that I probably have a fair few in my archives as well. I have known about her work for a little while, but it wasn’t until her BLM collaboration piece under Brunel Way recently that I wrote my first Evey post. This is the second.

Evey, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2020
Evey, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2020

Evey’s EVEN letters are well proportioned and the there is a nice twist with the second E reversed. Because I am teaching myself to spray paint I tend to notice little mistakes and the blue shading on the second E is slightly wrong which confuses the eye a little. It is Evey’s fills that I absolutely love though – maybe it is the natural subject of leaves and plants, but there is something very comforting one optimistic about them, and that is a good thing in these troubled times. Looking forward to posting more pieces from Evey.

Thursday doors – 30 July 2020

Doors 117 – back to the old graffiti doors from my archives

Wow, a really busy week for me with the rest of my team all away on their hols and only me to man the fort. So a quick rummage around in my archives it will have to be this week.

Dabuten Tronko, High Street, Bristol, July 2018
Dabuten Tronko, High Street, Bristol, July 2018
John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2018
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2018
Nevergiveup, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Nevergiveup, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2018
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2018
Nol, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Nol, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Annatomix, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Annatomix, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2018
qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2018
Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018

OK, so it’s not a door, but I figured that this trompe loeil window by Andrew Burns Colwill was worth including.

Silk Crystal street art, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Silk Crystal street art, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Gretl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Gretl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Another week gone in this crazy and unsettling time. In the UK we are due to have a few decent days of sunshine which always brings about a collective improvement in mood. May I wish you all a great week ahead.

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

Queen’s flight

.

A single purpose

to start a new colony

queen ants leave the nest

.

by Scooj

3086. M32 roundabout J3 (241)

The last time I posted something by this artist I had mis-identified him as Taboo… how wrong could I be? It is actually by Whos, and although his style is somewhat similar to Taboo’s it is very clear that this says WHOS.

Whos, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Whos, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

I have a rather soft spot for this piece. The letters feel very home-made if you know what I mean and the simple black pattern running through the middle of all the letters has a charm about it. Some might walk past this without even noticing it, but not me, I like it and look forward to finding more from Whos.

3085. M32 roundabout J3 (240)

Minto is an artist who at one time lived in Bristol but like so many others before him moved to London. From time to time he returns to Bristol and recently he brought Tizer with him for a couple of days.

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

This was the second of two pieces that Minto painted over two days at the M32 roundabout and I was fortunate enough to be there when he was painting both of them. This is certainly a festival of colour and a beautifully designed piece, but, and I don’t mean to be too picky, I don’t really like the colour combinations. I could do with losing the brown/bronze and the bright green… it all comes over as a bit of a colour hotch potch. Maybe like Hemper he was using up dregs to give us this diverse piece.

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Of course it goes without saying, I am perhaps focussing on the wrong thing, because the finished piece is so obviously by an enormously talented artist and actually looks pretty good. Of the two pieces he painted over the two days, I think I prefer his first one (yet to be posted).

Fish and chips

.

When it’s in your head

there is nothing you can do

fish and chips it is.

.

by Scooj

3084. Cowmead Walk (3)

Beautiful to behold but difficult to photograph is this excellent middle section of a new collaborative wall by Sepr and to its left is a 3Dom piece already posted and to the right a Feek piece yet to be posted.

Sepr, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, July 2020
Sepr, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, July 2020

This is definitely one for the animal lovers, with a character cat, mouse and canary, key components of a cartoon caper. I am not fully clear what the story here is, but the cat seems to be holding a ladder for the canary with a key to its cage resting on its ‘ear’  and a screwdriver which it is using to undo the hinges of the cage door. Meanwhile a mouse has trapped its tail in a cheesy mouse trap.

Sepr, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, July 2020
Sepr, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, July 2020

the red backdrop contains a shelf with a menagerie of small animals in various containers, beautifully painted as a subtle background to the main event. This is a brilliant piece from Sepr which brings to life his illustrative skills and story-telling ability. Great work.

 

 

3083. M32 roundabout J3 (239)

When people say to me ‘I didn’t recognise you at first with your beard’ I know that I haven’t seen that person for at least five months, and that was the opening of my conversation with Decay recently at a paint jam at the M32 roundabout recently.

Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Not only was it good to catch up, but it was also amazing watching him bring this piece together. One of the first parts that he added was the large splatters of grey paint, using a rather interesting contraption attached to the cap.

Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Decay works so effortlessly and with such mastery of his lettering that witnessing this piece coming together was like watching something magical unfold. I believe it to be one of his finest pieces to date and that is a very high bar indeed.

Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

There is a lot going on in this piece, but somehow it looks very simple. Perhaps the lack of black outlines for the letters adds to the simple feel, but the complexity lies in the shades of grey and shadows and the injections of colour and shapes. I love this piece, top notch.

Doldrums

.

Each day like the last

opportunities becalmed

the new normal life

.

by Scooj