Although I somehow inexplicably managed to omit this outstanding piece by Elvs first time round, I think it might well be my favourite of his. Painted in Dean Lane in May 2017, the form and colours come together in something close to perfection.
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
In the nicely balanced piece, the artist has used three shades of pink and three shades of blue to give the blended effect of moving from light to dark to light horizontally. Added to that, he has split the piece into vertical thirds swapping the the colours to create a harlequin effect. Clean lines, beautiful fills, incredible details. Tight.
This piece from Decay in May 2017 was encouraging people to use their vote in the June General Election of that year. An election that resulted in a hung parliament in which the Conservatives ‘bought’ the seats of the DUP to gain the slimmest of majorities, to continue the miserable administration we have become used to for more than a decade. I can’t wait to be shot of them if I am honest. The current Cabinet are an absolutely incompetent shower and the coronavirus outbreak has evidenced their poor decision making, not just during the crisis, but in running down our essential public services for more than a decade. I’ll stop there.
Decay, The Bearpit, Bristol, May 2017
The artwork from Decay is really nice and it is great to have a piece from the artist that is a bit different from his customary writing or concentric pattern work. The three ovals on the left of the Y are a similar feature used by Slim Pickings on his Ts and Ss. A nice political piece.
Following on from Yesterday’s rare unearthed Laic217 piece is this equally rare Kid Crayon piece from my archive. I usually post Kid Crayon’s work pretty shortly after I have photographed it because I like it and am keen to share it. This Star Wars piece was painted on the side of the Matchbox Gallery at a time when it had an exhibition of Star Wars work, probably coinciding with May the fourth, 2017. (May the fourth be with you)
Kid Crayon, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2017
Although not wholly looking like Carrie Fisher, we all know exactly who this character is and that is what matters. The double-bun hairstyle is possibly one of the most iconic ever. It is unusual to see a piece like this from Kid Crayon, which makes it all the more special. I’m not sure who painted the R2D2, but have a feeling it might have been DNT.
This is something of a rarity, an unpublished piece by Laic217. All I can guess is that May/June 2017 must have been a very, very busy time on Natural Adventures, because I tend to prioritise Laic217 pieces, because he is one of my favourite artists in Bristol and I love to share his work.
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2017
This piece is typical of his work at that time, featuring some graffiti writing combined with a character. The character is a skull, of course, with a bucket hat, of course and some brickwork glasses… . In my view this is a really classy piece and is beautifully executed and it is with not a small amount of happiness that I am sharing it on Natural Adventures.
I am not entirely certain when this lovely Egyptian-style wheatpaste by qWeRT first appeared, and by the time I photographed it it was already looking a little weathered, but I think it was from a visit to Bristol in around November/December last year.
qWeRT, Moon Street, Bristol, December 2019
Our googly-eyed Friend has really gone to town in this one wearing a full Tutankhamen death mask and looking most splendid. As much as the artwork itself, I like the placing, in a disused window space so that it is framed really nicely. To be fair, it is a popular space for wheatpasters, but that is because it is exactly the right kind of spot. I think a qWeRT gallery might be in the wings.
I managed to get out yesterday and found a few new pieces around the place, and it would seem that with some social distancing rules being relaxed artists are beginning to slowly return to walls. In the meantime, I still have a few archive pieces lined up for publication, including this fine collaboration fron Dasco and Wiflywin.
Dasco, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
On the left is a nice piece of writing from Dasco. Confident and assured the fills are great and the stripy barcode effect on the 3D lettering has worked well in this instance, which is not always an easy thing to do. Set on an orange brick wall, the piece segues nicely into the wiflywin piece to the right.
Wiflywin, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
Wiflywin continues the writing using a similar colour palette and the barcoded 3D letter shading, but perhaps with just a little less confidence. I am not quite sure what the letters spell out, and I will have to get to know more about the artist.
Dasco and Wiflywin, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019
On the right is a smashed up police car and I am uncertain whether one or the other or both artists painted it. Perhaps there was another artist involved, I am not sure, but I rather like it, and it works really well as a ‘character’ bookend to the graffiti writing. I’m not sure why I never posted this in November last year when I first photographed it.
UPDATE – On 30 May I met Wiflywin for the first time and asked him about this, he told me that he painted the police car… problem solved.
Even though I don’t know the artists (yes artists), I have posted this for two reasons. Firstly I love the composition and transition of blues and secondly because I discovered a piece I had never seen before while photographing the blue faces.
Unknown artist, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2019
The blue faces piece, although relatively simple in design has been beautifully executed, with each face in a slightly different shade nestling neatly with the one next to it. The eyes give each face a different expression. It looks like it has been signed LEF. Take a good look at the top left hand corner of the piece and you can see a little piece of installation art that has been overpainted…
Unknown artist, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2019
This is a piece which I assume had been in situ for some time, but which I had not noticed ever before. It is the kind of work that Will Coles might do, but it is not quite his style. Entitled mammal, it reveals bare breasts (something of a rarity in Bristol street art). I love this, and liked it even more for discovering it accidentally.
Two pieces for the price of one, but both artists unknown to me.
Doors 107 – even more archive street/graffiti art doors.
You know the drill. Even though I have been out and about a bit and have photographed quite a few doors lately, I haven’t yet had time to upload them on to my PC – so until such time as I get myself a little bit more organised, you might have top make do with yet another seelection of doors from my street art archive.
I am pleased to note that readers apppear to have enjoyed these galleries when I have posted them, which gives me the courage to continue with them when I need to.
These ones were photographed from September 2015 through to December 2016.
Rob Wass, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2015
The pictures above and below are the same wall painted for two different Upfest events.
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Unify, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016Stik, Grimsby Street, London, August 2016DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016Thierry Noir, Rivington Street, London, August 2016
So that just about wraps it up for another week, I hope you have enjoyed these doors. I hope I can back to some more contemporary photographs next week, we’ll just have to see how that goes.
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.
Not far from Brunel Way bridge along the river is a little brick wall ruin, which includes two sides of what was once a little utility building of some sort. It is curious that it was never demolished completely. The wall is a bit of a favourite with taggers, but occasionally it gets a little make over, like this one from Sirens.
Riverside, Sirens, Bristol, November 2019
I get it that Sirens is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I happen to really like his work, bringing a little window of hope and light into our lives. His framed works (a feature I really like) often incorporate large horizons and a meeting of the urban/industrial with rural landscapes, in this example, the intrusion is of wind generators. There is a good balance to the piece and Sirens loves working in corners to add an anamorphic touch. I really like this piece.
Often, the columns under Brunel Way are a bit scruffy, because they are painted over and over again but rarely buffed which means that sometimes pieces blend into one another or the eye is easily distracted. Fortunately that is not the case with this delightful piece by Tasha Bee from October last year.
Tasha Bee, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, October 2019
Two faces for the price of one in this lovely piece and superbly filled and decorated hair in the style we have come to associate with Tasha Bee. I love it that her work incorporates symbols and icons, in this case the peace sign and a yin yang symbol, adding to the mystery and otherness of her work. This is how to decorate a column!
Natural adventures 