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.
Inkie’s work is consistently outstanding. What a privilege it was to happen upon a paint jam a short while ago at which some of the great and the good of the Bristol and London graffiti writing scene converged on the walls of the M32 roundabout on two consecutive days. A highlight of the year so far.
Inkie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
This piece needs no introduction. Rather I suggest that you simply admire the burning tones and typical ‘fairground’ lettering style that has become representative of the Bristol street art scene. A huge surprise and a red hot piece – happy days.
One of the nicest walls in Bristol has just had a makeover. The whole wall in Cowmead Walk in St Werburghs is quite awkward to photograph, so I have split the collaboration by 3Dom, Sepr and Feek into three separate posts of which this is the first. Painted in deep rich colours, this 3Dom piece is truly outstanding.
3Dom, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, July 2020
3Dom’s character is perched on the edge of a hamster wheel in the corner of a room with some strange pink and green plants growing up from the carpet and a Swiss cheese plant thrown in for good measure. The character is, in 3dom style, a composition of shapes and forms assembled in a surreal way into ‘human’ form. Typically the character’s legs are clad with stripey trousers. The tubes coming out of the cube head have a smiley and a sad face on them, although I’m not sure what this is depicting. There is so much detail in here that you could spend a long time looking at it – feel free to go right ahead. Such quality.
I have said it before that Dibz has been painting a lot recently, like so many other artists since lock down eased. I am guessing that many artists have been furloughed and have therefore had more time on their hands than usual. I expect that as time passes and things get back to our new normal many artists will return to work and this frenetic activity will start to slow.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
This is an outstanding piece from Dibz, whose attention to detail and sensational finesse is second to none. Everything about this piece is good, from the black background to the colour selections to the design to the brilliant fades in the 3D work and the orange drips. This is a masterful work.
Colourful is the word that springs to mind when I look at this fine piece of writing from recently discovered (by me) Phour. Many graffiti writers fade their colouring horizontally, but Phour has done this vertically so the colour transitions happen as you read along the piece.
Phour, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2020
Phour along with graffiti writers like Mr Draws, Oner, Slim Pickings (Tes) and Fiva, to mention but a few, writes his name, clear and simple without too much disguise or wildstyling which makes his work really easy to identify. I find this piece most pleasing. Great colours, neat and tidy and it has a fearless joy about it. Looking forward to seeing a whole load more from Phour.
Doors 116 – Some random Bristol doors from lock down walks
I have taken a day off work today and so am able to spend a little bit of time sorting out some new doors for you. This is a selection of doors from all around North Bristol from the long dog walks I took during the lock down days.
I am constantly reminded of what strange times we live in that we have developed a whole new language around the coronavirus epidemic, and that we will reference world history in terms of pre-Covid and post-Covid. I find it all very unsettling.
Anyhow – on to the doors. I hope you enjoy them.
Back yard gate, Montpelier, Bristol, May 2020Back yard gate, Montpelier, Bristol, May 2020Back yard gate with graffiti, Montpelier, Bristol, May 2020Back yard gate with graffiti, Montpelier, Bristol, May 2020Front door in blue, Montpelier, Bristol, May 2020A smart front door with boot scraper, Montpelier, Bristol, May 2020
So, that’ll be it for another week. I expect I’ll revert to my graffiti door archive next week, but we’ll have to wait and see. Take care wherever you are and have a great weekend.
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.
* Another blustering/bumbling performance from Boris in the final Prime Minister’s Questions today. He really is a jumped up little school prefect with zero gravitas. How much the Malvolio quote from Shakespeare’s the Tempest resonates:
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.”
I have Paul to thank for pointing me in the direction of this amazing Silent Hobo NHS tribute piece in James Street. I would have found it eventually, but not as quickly, and it is always more satisfying finding pieces soon after they have been painted.
Silent Hobo, James Street, Bristol, July 2020
Silent Hobo has been pretty busy just lately with some big murals and there is one nearby that is finished, but under scaffolding that seems to have been there forever. This piece is an absolute stunner and injects Silent Hobo’s portrayal of ordinary (extraordinary) Bristol people going about their business, in this case doctors, nurses and care workers to whom we all owe so much, not only during the coronavirus crisis, but always. The piece has context, relevance and purpose and is painted so beautifully with care and love. A wonderful commentary on society in a time of flux and uncertainty. Bravo!
In amongst the frenzy of activity in June and July as artists have woken and gone crazy for painting, the steady beating pulse of Bristol graffiti art continues in the form of work from PWA artist Face 1st. Reliable and dependable, Face 1st turns out his face-based pieces that rarely disappoint. His works have become so much a part of the furniture that sometimes we don’t even notice them (when I say we, I don’t mean me of course).
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
This is a lovely piece in russet tones and present us with FACE hair over a smiling girl’s face. There is something warm and familiar about his work, and something so very Bristol too. This is a modest low-profile piece and I love it.
Natural adventures 