.
High-maintenance kids
and elderly frail parents;
squeezed generation.
.
by Scooj
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.
1574. Moon Street (47)
When I saw this piece on Face 1st’s Instagram feed, I knew I had to get down to Moon Street straight away to find it. Find it I did, and I think it is probably in my top 3 all time Face 1st pieces.
There is so much to like – rarely, if ever, have I seen more than a face in any of his characters…and here we have the full body complete with frilly pink knickers. The soft colours and tones contrast wildly with the bold graffiti aurrounding the piece, making it stand out from the crowd – it is nicely framed in the doorway.
Face 1st has always a productive artist, but recently he appears to have gone into overdrive, and he seems to be collaborating a lot too. I’m not sure where this new lease of life has come from, but whatever the reason I love it.
England v Colombia
Anticipation
a nation’s expectation,
exasperation?
by Scooj
1573. Dean Lane skate park (139)
I am really enjoying the work of Oner at the moment. He is certainly prolific and is capable of slapping up quick throw ups as well as taking a little more time to create some rather nice writing like this piece in Dean Lane.
There is something very easy on the eye about this writing, maybe it is the cartoon style or the colours or the fill styles and patterns, but whatever it is I really like it. At his best, which in my opinion this piece is, Oner is capable of turning out some really great work.
Drying day
More hot air and wind
than any amount produced
in old Westminster.
by Scooj
- The fine weather continues. This is the first proper summer I can remember since my youth.
1572. Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (12)
Every year in May, Stephen Quick organises a live paint jam at the Tobacco Factory Sunday market and invites along a bunch of friends to paint with him. Somehow I managed to miss it this year, which is a pity, but I did manage to get down eventually to see the results.
This is a fabulous multi-layered stencil from Lemak who creates these incredible pop-culture pieces. This one is of the legendary Jean-Michel Basquiat whose place in street art history is hugely significant. The crowns around the piece honour the subject as the king. Crowns denote the respect in which a particular artist is held and tend to be reserved for the upper echelons of the street graffiti/art scene.
It is a while since I last saw a new piece from Lemak (I think he has been busy in his studio) so it was great to see this one. The quality of his work is really out of the top drawer.
1571. M32 roundabout J3 (88)
What a lovely collaboration between two artists that are highly regarded in Bristol, but whose work I don’t often get to see, Ulow and Hemper. The character on the left is by Ulow and is expertly painted. It is impossible not to marvel at the subtle shades he uses and the folds in the material – a sophisticated cartoon style character.
On the right is a wonderful piece of writing from the master Hemper. I wonder if he needed an extra foot of height on this wall. I have found it hard to find out too much about Hemper, but keep coming across his work from time to time. I have found the best way to find out more about the artists is through a serendipitous meeting while they are at work. This has not yet happened between me and Hemper, although it has with Ulow.
Cinnabar moth
.
Biohazard stripes
advertising toxic taste
on ragwort flowers.
.
by Scooj
1570. The Bearpit (150)
I have been looking forward to Nevla ‘going big’ and hitting The Bearpit … and with this joyful piece he has done both. The first time I saw this piece it was covered, rather unhelpfully, in posters. In an Instagram exchange Nevla informed me that the posters had been removed, so I went back again to get some ‘clean’ pictures of the piece.
The whole thing is a bit quirky, but I absolutely love it. An old man in a coat and top hat is not the sort of person you expect to be saying ‘I love you‘, it is strange and thought provoking. I love the other text boxes too ‘it’s unusual‘ and ‘smells nice innit‘ – what on earth is that all about?
Nevla’s whole piece in cartoon style is in his typical grayscale shades and nicely highlighted with a red surround. I really do like his work and hope that this piece is a gateway to more exposure and bigger and better walls.
1569. M32 roundabout J3 (87)
I love the sunny spell we have been enjoying in Bristol except for two things. The first is that there is a water supply leak on my allotment and the Council have turned off the mains supply. That means no water, which means no vegetables and I am pretty upset about it. The second thing is the shadows cast by trees and buildings, making street art photography really tiresome at some sites.
This side of the M32 is a case in point and on the day and time I visited, several of the excellent pieces were partially obscured by dappled shade from the trees. Cameras don’t like dappled shade. This burner by Soker was only affected at the far right hand edge.
Soker consistently turns out incredible work and this colourful writing continues the trend. There is a lot of detail and care that has gone into this piece. Even if you are not a fan of graffiti writing, it is possible to appreciate the technical quality of work like this.
Natural adventures 