Natural adventures

6198. Greenbank (125)

There is no doubt about it, I am really enjoying the fresh look of Zeks’ pieces combined with the fact that he is painting in Bristol a little more often these days, and long may that last. This is a straightforward piece of graffiti writing, with clearly defined letters and simple design – incorporating a little symmetry with the ‘Z’ and ‘S’.

I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something quite unique about Zeks’ writing. There is a modesty and uncomplicatedness, an authenticity, which really attracts me. Simple solid fills are accompanied by a striped pattern filling the letter gaps. A couple of arrows and some rings accessorise the letters a little, but none of it would work very well without the cream background. This is a great composition.

6197. Dean Lane skate park (731)

I expect that this piece, like most of his writing, was freestyled by Sled One. What I mean by that is that he most likely painted it straight off the top of his head, without a sketch in a black book, or anything like that. To be able to do that suggests not only confidence but also incredible talent.

Sled One has written SLED, with each letter being defined by a different colour/pattern regime, helping to pick them out. There are so many details and points of interest, but two that stand out are the barbed wire at the base of the ‘L’ and the downward facing arrow between the ‘E’ and ‘D’. All of these details combine to create a superb piece of wildstyle graffiti writing.

6196. Leicester

I have visited Leicester a couple of times recently, once in May and again earlier this week. On both occasions I have managed to snap a few outstanding pieces, largely, but not exclusively, from the ‘Bring the Paint’ festival. As many of you will know, I struggle just to keep up with new pieces in Bristol, let alone street art that I see on my travels, so I am grouping a few pieces together. These were photographed in May 2024.

This is an extraordinary anamorphic piece by Juandres Vera – really eye-catching, although a little awkward to photograph – it was behind a gate.

This is an enormous mural by Does, and I am guessing that the writing spells out DOES.

I have heard and seen quite a lot about Gent 48, but I think that this might be the first piece I have actually seen by the artist. Utterly outstanding.

Nuno Viegas has visited Bristol before for Upfest, so it was great to see this unbelievable piece combining two-dimensional bubble writing with an amazing 3D hand and spray can. Great reflections on the chrome can and shadows cast by it.

More collections from Leicester to come in due course.

Thursday doors – 18 July 2024, Assisi, Umbria, Italy

Doors 271 – Assisi doors, Umbria, Italy, July 2023 (Part III)

Rather later than anticipated – I had to drop my son off at Heathrow Airport this morning – I bring you the last instalment of doors from Assisi which my family I and visited almost exactly a year ago today. I am pressed for time, and will let the doors do the talking.

Two remaining doors where there were once three, Assisi, Umbria, Italy, July 2023

Side doors and entrance to the Basilica di San Francesco, Assisi, Umbria, Italy, July 2023

An archway spanning a street, Assisi, Umbria, Italy, July 2023

Steps leading up to an iron gate and doors, Assisi, Umbria, Italy, July 2023

Large door with pillars and portico balcony, Assisi, Umbria, Italy, July 2023

Wooden doors in an altered brick/stone doorway, Assisi, Umbria, Italy, July 2023

Doors and shrine, Assisi, Umbria, Italy, July 2023

So we say farewell to Assisi… until next time. I have one final selection of doors from last year’s trip to Umbria, but next time I think I will be turning my attention to somewhere closer to home. May I wish you all a fabulous end of week and weekend.

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.

by Scooj

A memory

By the French windows

drenched in golden summer sun

I snooze with a book

by Scooj

On recalling one of my favourite rooms in my grandparent’s house.

6195. Upfest 2024 (40)

Tozer signs, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

Anyone who spends time on Bedminster’s North Street will have consciously or unconsciously seen signs in the area by Bristol-based sign writer, Tozer signs.this is a beautifully designed and executed street sign welcoming visitors to North Street.

There is a huge amount of skill and experience that has gone into producing this large sign that more than equals even the best graffiti writing in the city… the only real difference is the discipline and accuracy that a sign writer must work to in order to have any credibility at all. Tozer signs delivers in bucket-loads with this piece. The block letters spelling out NORTH STREET, have great uniformity and depth, and show off the talent of a brilliant craftswoman. Regrettably this piece was dogger not long after the Upfest festival ended. There are way too many idiots in our midst, but I guess anyone who created art on the streets knows the risks and likely limitations on longevity. Beautiful work from Tozer signs.

6194. Upfest 2024 (39)

Wrdsmth, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

I am aware of Wrdsmth’s work, mainly from my trips to some of London’s great graffiti/street art spots like Shoreditch and Camden Town, but I don’t think I have seen anything by the artist on this scale before. It is a privilege for the artist to secure this wall that has had some significant masterpieces on it before, in particular a stunner from Liam Bononi back in 2021.

From the little I know about Wrdsmth, he usually follows the same format with a typewriter and some wise words issuing forth from it. Here, the words say “Aspire to inspire others and the universe will take note”. I am not so sure about this confident assertion, but admire its trust in human nature. It was great to have Wrdsmth visit Bristol for Upfest, and it would be great to have the artist return sometime.

Velvet

Fallow deer, Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, July 2024 — Fallow deer, Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood, Leicestershire, July 2024

Summer soft antlers

are protected and nourished

then the autumn rut

by Scooj

6193. Upfest 2024 (38)

Ivan Tortajada, Upfest 2024, East Street, Bristol, May 2024

Ivan Tortajada is a Spanish artist from Valencia whose stylised portrait pieces are unusual and fantastical. You can only fully get a feel of his work by checking out his website, which I thoroughly recommend. In this Upfest piece, he has cleverly brought together two characters on perpendicular surfaces and incorporated the large caterpillar that has occupied this wall for as long as I can remember.

The portrait on the left is painted with warm colours in his highly illustrative style. The character appears to be glancing at the caterpillar and is holding a lighted match, I hope without malicious intentions.

The adjacent portrait is in colder blue colours is also looking on at the caterpillar and appears to be holding a disc that the bug is resting on. The portrait is beautifully worked with stripes of graded blues, and a touch of yellow where there is reflected light. This is a beguiling piece and one that so cleverly fits into the selected spot, working with the existing caterpillar, rather than against it.

6192. Upfest 2024 (37)

Lemak, Upfest 2024, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2024

There was a time when Lemak, a Bristol-based artist used to paint his stencils reasonably regularly on the streets. These days he concentrates on his studio pieces and electronic art installations and only occasionally paints outdoors, however, an invitation to Upfest is usually enough to winkle him out of his studio work.

This is an utterly outstanding multi-layered stencil of a woman in a space suit, a theme that Lemak has returned to for this piece. To add depth, quite literally, Lemak has added a couple of free standing pillars in front of the piece as bookends to help frame it. Goodness only knows how many hundreds of hours it would take to prepare all the layers for this piece, but the end product is overwhelmingly brilliant. It was noticeable that there weren’t too many stencil artists at this year’s Upfest, perhaps because they tend to work smaller walls, and the focus this year was on large feature walls that suit muralists more. It is so good to see Lemak’s work like this, and I hope that maybe he will treat us to another street piece before too long.

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