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.
A rather saucy work from Dirtystreetart raised a few eyebrows, including mine, at Upfest this year. It complemented the pieces to the left (Guts) and to the right (Decay) by adopting the name badge as its central theme. A lot of artists do this and I have a whole load of ‘Hello my name is…’ photographs in my archive.
Dirtystreetart, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I do rather like this although I am a little puzzled by the overall message of the piece. I think that Dirtystreetart is from Cheltenham and has collaborated in the past with his friend Decay. It is also possible that SF Crew (Super Fresh) is this same pairing.
Decay and Dirtystreetart, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
My oh my this is a very fancy stencil indeed by the incredible RTC from Cheltenham. You would have been hiding under a rock not to know that the subject of this piece is film director Tim Burton surrounded by some of his creations – besides which, just in case we didn’t know, attributes a quote to Burton at the bottom of the piece. “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality“.
RTC, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I cannot imagine just how long it must take to prepare this multi-layered stencil, which has such amazing fine detail, but it is all utterly worth it. I can only gaze on in disbelief. Bravo! champion of the art of stencilling.
I had a go at spotting all the films in the piece…
Batman – Mars Attacks – Edward Scissorhands – The Nightmare Before Christmas – Sleepy Hollow – Alice in Wonderland – Beetlejuice.
I might have mentioned before that there were a lot of shutter pieces at this year’s Upfest and this mysterious piece is by French artist Kaldea Nakajima. I don’t know too much about her or her work, but have found her creative website that hosts some of her work.
Kaldea, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I rather like this female portrait with octopus-like tentacles for hair, and a wonderful halo signifying what I’m not quite sure. The lips are very Japanese, and I wonder if there is some influence there, judging from her surname. Altiogether an unusual and calming piece.
Only one door for you this week, but it really is a pretty special door. Sited at the base of the ‘prigione e torre dell’orologio’ (prison and clock tower) at the north end of Piazza Fortebraccio in Montone, this rather small ancient door opens into a prison cell.
I am not sure how old the door is, but the tower dates back to the 14th Century.
Prison and clock tower, Piazza Fortebraccio, Montone, Umbria, August 2018Prison door, Piazza Fortebraccio, Montone, Umbria, August 2018Flag waving at the festival of the donation of the sacred thorn, Piazza Fortebraccio, Montone, Umbria, August 2018Prison door, Piazza Fortebraccio, Montone, Umbria, August 2018Prison cell, Piazza Fortebraccio, Montone, Umbria, August 2018Prison cell, Piazza Fortebraccio, Montone, Umbria, August 2018
A collection of fantastic stencil art by Bristol street artist John D’oh
Published on 17 October to celebrate the publication of his new book “Street Art and Graffiti” – Buy it here
All photographs taken by Scooj
John D’oh, St George skate park, Bristol, April 2022John D’oh, Purdown, Bristol, March 2022John D’oh, Horfield skate park, Bristol, March 2022John D’oh, Horfield Skate Park, Bristol, March 2022John D’oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2021John D’oh, Horfield skate park, Bristol, November 2021John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, April 2016John D’oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, November 2021John D’oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, November 2021John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021John D’oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, October 2021John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, March 2021John D’oh, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, February 2021John D’oh, Purdown, Bristol, February 2021John D’oh, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020John D’oh, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2020John D’oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2020John D’oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2020John D’oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2020John D’oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2020
John D’oh, St George, Bristol, June 2020John D’oh, Horfield skate park, Bristol, May 2020John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020John D’oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017John D’oh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016John D’oh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016John D’oh, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2020John D’oh, Paint festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019John D’oh, St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, July 2019John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016John D’oh, Horfield skate park, Bristol, April 2019John D’oh, Horfield skate park, Bristol, April 2019John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016John D’oh, Princes Street, Bristol, October 2018John D’oh, Princes Street, Bristol, October 2018John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, August 2018John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2018John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2018John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2018John D’oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, October 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, December 2017John D’Oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, November 2017Decay and John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, January 2017John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2016John D’oh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, June 2016John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, June 2016John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, May 2016John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
This might be the most high-profile piece at Upfest 2018 and was possibly the most photographed wall of the festival. It is by the outstanding duo Nomad Clan whose fisherman and octopus wowed visitors at last year’s event.
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This piece combines two themes for the festival in a beautiful way; The Simpsons and Bristol Women’s Voice celebrating 100 years of the first women getting the vote. Lisa Simpson is the perfect choice as a champion for women and I think this piece is entitled #bemorelisa. All walls have to start somewhere and this one starts with a grid.
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The whole thing took about three days to complete and is a real tour de force from Nomad Clan. They really do excel at these large walls and seem to have the capacity to paint them with such apparent ease.
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
It is easy to see just why this was such a popular piece at the festival from the sheer scale, but for me it is the Lisa Simpson that leaps out, there is something about her face and eyes that works for me.
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I am not sure who the other character is, but with the loud hailer, it is obvious that this is all about Women’s voice. An impressive work, although I am probably more fond of last year’s piece.
Adjacent to the Sofa Project back yard is another yard that is a bit of a street art goldmine. First up from this little backwater is this gorgeous piece by Voyder, characteristically sharp and of very high quality.
Voyder, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018
With a vanishing point somewhere behind the lettering this piece stands out from the wall and the flash across the middle gives the impression of a reflective band of sunlight as if the piece is being tilted side to side. Now sunlight…that would make a refreshing change. Beautiful piece of writing as always.
I was first alerted to this Kleiner Shames piece on Instagram, but from the pictures I saw I just couldn’t get the location. In the end I had to message one of my street art buddies to find out where it was…which looking at it now with hindsight is blooming obvious. There is a charity in Bristol called the SOFA Project (Shift Old Furniture Around) which has two locations one of which, the Old Market store, has a walled yard where this piece is sprayed. The charity sells on old furniture, donated locally, to those less able to afford new furniture. A worthy venture.
Kleiner Shames, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018
On to this stunning piece by my favourite ex-Bristol artist, Kleiner Shames. Most of his wall work is writing, with the odd exception, and he tends to spell out the letters FOIS which spells out ‘time’ in french. The lettering here is so easy on the eye and beautifully designed. Every time I see pieces like this I feel there must be an element of art deco architectural influence going onm, or at least that is what it looks like to me. This is a very fine piece indeed.
Natural adventures 