Twin rod tips watched with
dedication and fragile
anticipation.
by Scooj
393. Chance Street, Shoreditch, London (1)
I think it is safe to say that Roa must make it into most street art/graffiti art enthusiasts’ top ten, particularly those interested in wildlife and nature. On my latest work trip to London, I had another overnight stay and took advantage by finding a hotel not too far from Shoreditch.
I walked towards Brick Lane and found this wonderful, enormous hedgehog. Roa’s work is almost always in black and white tones and is picked out especially well on brickwork. The style is unmistakable and unique, sometimes a difficult thing to achieve in a crowded and growing scene.
When I was a youth, hedgehogs were abundant, so much so that they were very regular victims of road kill, even in cities. I even used to feed a family of them in my London back garden. Now alas, they are very much in decline. In fact this Roa depiction is the only hedgehog I have seen for about twenty years. It is a wonderful reminder of the splendour of this little creature. Thank you Roa.
392. York Street, Weston-super-Mare
For me, the best bit of going to Weston-super-Mare is knowing that it is the home of JPS, and it really doesn’t take very long to find some of his works about the place. It is largely thanks to JPS that I have taken such an interest in street art in the first place. His pieces in Frogmore Street and at the ‘Arches’ on Gloucester Road, were among my first posts.
His stencils are witty and often contain wordplay but have their real strength in their technical execution. JPS often references popular culture, TV and films in particular, and here he features a life-size Batman, and wonderful pun. I have seen images of this piece all over digital media, so it was a real pleasure to find it for real. I love it that the wall has been repainted and rendered (?) around this work – big respect.
On this particular visit to W-s-M I took many photographs of JPS works and I am mindful that I might have to do a bit of a compilation post, although I really don’t like doing that. I’ll have to have a think.
Stinking
Summer’s sickly stench
skulks in side streets all set to
assault my senses.
by Scooj
Last days…
The deceitful sun
warms my back just enough to
keep chill winds at bay.
by Scooj
391. Upfest 2016 (35)
At the far west end of North Street in the Rising Sun pub garden there was a host of SSOSVA (Secret Society of Super Villain Artists) gathered under a covered area. There was a real party atmosphere going on, some very loud music and clearly all the artists were having a ball.
RIP is a stencil artist I have come across many times before although I am only familiar with his small single layer witty stencils. This piece was something of a pleasant surprise for me, to see a multi layer stencil, and a really rather classy one at that.
It is interesting that the more that you see of an artist, the more depth you get to discover. The range of styles and techniques can be incredibly broad from studio to street…just another aspect I love about the whole street art/graffiti scene.
390. Upfest 2016 (34)
There are some artists who are quite unique, because of their style, subject matter or materials. Shok 1 is one such artist. I don’t know if anyone else does what he does, or at least with so much skill.
Shok 1 is a British artist who specialises in X-ray images. Watching him work was amazing. He uses a small image for reference, and then sprays out every detail on a large wall. His attention to detail is just exceptional. I watched him ‘mist’ an area on the bottom right of the piece, and over five minutes he must have sprayed the same spot twenty times, with different densities of spray.
Shok 1, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Shok 1, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Shok 1, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Shok 1, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
I don’t know where he got the X-ray of the unicorn from, but it must be a pretty rare thing.
Shok 1 was a lead artist at Upfest and quite deservedly so. It is amazing to have one of his pieces in Bristol as I don’t recall seeing one here before. I hope he returns next year, or sooner. Almost pure perfection.
In the lap of the Gods
Where did it all go?
Youth, enthusiasm and
immortality.
by Scooj
389. Upfest 2016 (33)
I never made it to Upfest 2015, which might be a blessing, as I would probably still be writing posts about it now if I had. I was struck though by how many ‘treats’ were hidden in the North Street area after the event.
It was in searching carefully for these ‘treats’ that I started to find some lovely paste ups by 23Magpies, such as this chameleon. Her work is heavily focused on wildlife and the environment, and her feature piece for Upfest was this lovely fox and design.
I am a big fan of 23Magpies’ work and will be writing about some of the treats she left behind after this year’s festival. On this particular piece, you’ve got to love the detail of the bee on the rim, which the fox appears to be watching. Great stuff.
Poldark
Wretched Warleggan
not a decent bone in his
body; a scoundrel.
by Scooj
– apologies for all the Cornwall haikus at the moment. Still under the influence of holiday.
Natural adventures 