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.
This fox is one cool dude, loitering at one end to St Werburghs tunnel, either watching the world go by, or up to some kind of mischief, it is difficult to know for sure.
Foxymoron, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
Foksymoron has definitely upped his game in recent months, and is beginning to add more detail to his character as it develops. The sunglasses are always present, but his selection of clothes is becoming more sophisticated, and the inclusion of a bit of hair underneath the cap is definitely a new idea working its way into his work. It is always great to watch on as artists try new things and push their boundaries.
Tian’s visit to Bristol filled me with excitement, and the ‘treasure hunt’ he left behind on East Street, left me with a very memorable hour or so while walking the dog a few weeks back. His wheatpastes may go unnoticed by many, but not by me.
Tian, East Street, Bristol, April 2025
The Japanese lady in a kimono is taken from a piece called ‘le kimono d’invisibilité’, and just looks so incongruous with its surroundings and yet blends in as if she has always been there. A stunning piece from an artist who has mastered content and placement. One of the very best.
For me, this post represents a lesson in always taking pictures of pieces when you can, even when the light conditions are bad, or there are obstacles in the way, because the next time you return to get pictures, the piece might have gone, as was the case with this beauty by Mind 49.
Mind 49, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2025
The shadow cast across the top half of this incredible portrait piece, doesn’t ruin it as much as I thought it would. The quality of the composition and the artwork shine through. Mind 49 skilfully works in a cartoon graffiti face on the daisy hat, combining two very different styles into the one piece. This is a truly outstanding piece that deserved to be seen for longer.
I have only one big regret about the Greenbank spot, and that is that I was very late joining the party, and missed hundreds of fabulous pieces, simply because I didn’t know where the spot was. The hoarding is now entering its final age, as the developments accelerate towards their completion. In the twinkling of an eye, this spot and all the great art it has hosted will be gone forever and largely forgotten.
Lis, Greenbank, Bristol, April 2025
I don’t know how old this little piece of installation art from LIS is, but I don’t recall seeing it before. It is a wonderful scene painted onto a wooden disc and stuck high up on the Greenbank hoarding. This feels like a bit of a throwback to the kind of work I first saw by the artist, before she discovered spray cans. The delightful scene looks like the corner of a room or studio filled with lovely plant and fungus pictures on the wall. A beautiful little miniature, that I was sorely tempted to purloin, but I am not like that.
It took me a while to register that this excellent piece of bubble writing was by Bloem, mainly because it is quite unlike anything I have seen her paint before, and showcases her extraordinary talent for graffiti writing as well as her street art pieces and not to mention her jewellery making skills too.
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
In this piece, the letters BLOEM are presented as an overlapping sequence in different colours for each one. There is a lot of study and thought that has gone into this piece. Bubble writing is usually associated with quick throw ups, or ‘throwies’, but this is a clean and tidy piece with some deliberate shadings alongside the letters and white accent spots, to help provide depth. This is an accomplished piece from arising star in the Bristol scene.
I am writing this from a tired Travelodge in Warrington, having watched Arsenal lose to PSG in the second leg of the Champions League Semi Final in an equally tired and slightly empty Irish Pub. I have had a long day, and still have this blog post to write. At least I am writing about this fabulous Mad Hatter piece in the tunnel by Mr Klue.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
I think Mr Klue painted this as a bit of an extra, after he has finished another piece that I watched him complete. He is on a roll this year and has been churning out some great pieces. I particularly like these little characters that he paints and I have seen several of them over the years. This character is a little more solid than his ephemeral abstract writing and manages to convey a certain amount of mystery and intrigue.
I am always reminded when I see this character, of a wonderful double LP that me and my sister had as children, which was a musical version of Alice in Wonderland, and thanks to the Interweb, here is a picture of it. Try and find an online version to listen to, you won’t regret it.
Alice in Wonderland album cover. A brilliant musical version with a star-studded cast.
I am chronically short on time for today’s post, indeed I was short of time when I wrote it yesterday. This is another intricate bilaterally symmetrical piece piece from Werm, to bolster his catalogue of such pieces. I feel that he might move on to another theme before too long, especially as he has been painting these types of pieces for a while now.
Werm, Peel Street Green, Bristol, April 2025
This set of letters spelling WERM are rather nicely filled with a white and off-white colour and a contiguous pattern that runs through the piece. A deep pink drop shadow is bordered with a blue line and the whole thing is set on a blue splash, also symmetrical. Nice work.
Doors 306 – Copenhagen, Denmark (part VI), September 2024
Another Thursday Doors post written in haste and in advance, because I am working in Warrington over Wednesday and Thursday this week and have little spare time to craft a post then. Thank goodness for a May Bank Holiday!
In truth, there isn’t too much to write about, because this is the sixth in the series of Copenhagen doors so far from a mini-break I had there with my mother in September last year.
The doors in this selection are mostly from the Østervold and Nørrevold districts, alongside the series of three artificial lakes in the northern part of the City. By the time I got to this district, I had been walking at pace for about 8 miles, and was starting to flag a little, but not too much to capture a door or two. I hope you enjoy them.
Door, archway and tree, Rigensgade, Copenhagen, September 2024
Methodist Church door, Rigensgade, Copenhagen, September 2024
Green doors and newspaper, Stokhusgade, Copenhagen, September 2024
Beautiful old wooden door, Oster Farimagsgade, Copenhagen, September 2024
Stunning doors with circular windows on the path alongside Sortedams So, Copenhagen, September 2024
Fine green doors and skylight on the path alongside Sortedams So, Copenhagen, September 2024
Modern doors at No. 91A on the path alongside Sortedams So, Copenhagen, September 2024
Two side doors, a central archway and fountain, Sortedam Dossering, Copenhagen, September 2024
Door at No.27 with bicycles and picket fence on the pathway alongside Sortedams So, Copenhagen, September 2024
Green studded door, Wesselsgade, Copenhagen, September 2024
Quite a lot to get through there. I hope I am not testing your patience, especially as there are still probably another two or three selections from Copenhagen still to come. Expect more next time.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
This was the second wheatpaste I found by Christain (Tian) Lecouble on his recent visit to Bristol, during which he scattered a dozen or so paste ups in the East Street area of the city. In my mind, he is a brilliant artist who uses a sense of nostalgia to enhance his collage style. He is an accomplished and successful artist in his own right, and his paste ups seem to be a bit of a fun distraction for him.
Tian, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
The sepia tinted boxer is taken from a painting he composed called ‘Philadelphia Miracle’ and features the boxer Richie Kates whose career spanned 1969 to 1983. Tian is 61, and so I am guessing that Kates entered his mind at that time, and these works are representations of his own past, which resonates with me as I am the same age. This is one of many more Tian wheatpastes from this visit to come on Natural Adventures.
Natural adventures 