Thursday doors – 28 September 2023

Doors 236 – Lincoln City doors (Part VIII) – Gateways of Lincoln

This September, and the months leading up to it, has been an incredibly busy time for me at work, landing four major projects. I hope that things will start to calm down a bit and that I will have a bit more time to allow space for creativity and imagination. I have found it difficult to keep my blog posts going through this period, but have managed to maintain the discipline, which is good for my mental health. Unfortunately the haikus have dropped off, but I am excited to get back into a rhythm with them.

I will be treating myself to a few days in Cornwall on my annual fishing trip, starting tonight and it is the perfect way to ‘come down’ from such high intensity.

This week I pick up with some more Lincoln doors which I have broadly themed into gateways, most of which would have had gates or doors at some point. After this week, I think there might be a fun leftovers post, before moving on to some Italian treats from the summer. Here we go:

Little and large gates, Lincoln, July 2023
Little and large gates, Lincoln, July 2023
Exchequer Gate, Lincoln, July 2023
Exchequer Gate, Lincoln, July 2023
Lincoln Guildhall gateway from the north, Lincoln, July 2023
Lincoln Guildhall gateway from the north, Lincoln, July 2023
Lincoln Guildhall gateway from the south, Lincoln, July 2023
Lincoln Guildhall gateway from the south, Lincoln, July 2023
Priory Arch gateway, Lincoln, July 2023
Priory Arch gateway, Lincoln, July 2023
Stokes High Bridge over the River Witham, Lincoln, July 2023
Stokes High Bridge over the River Witham, Lincoln, July 2023

OK, so a bridge with a Tudor building over a river isn’t technically a gateway, but is is a rather impressive sight and one I wanted to include. The doors below were up the passage way on the right of the building, near the spiral fire escape.

Tudor door, Stokes High Bridge, Lincoln, July 2023
Tudor door, Stokes High Bridge, Lincoln, July 2023
Side entrance door, Stokes High Bridge, Lincoln, July 2023
Side entrance door, Stokes High Bridge, Lincoln, July 2023

One final push with work this morning before I go on my escape. I hope you have a great 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.

Door logo, Thursday doors

5526.M32 Spot (172)

Dopes, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2023
Dopes, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2023

Although rather small, this is a rather good piece by Dopes. The choice of hoarding is challenging, being at the top of a DIY skate ramp, and on short boards that have been slapped together. On the upside, anyone who paints this spot is likely to have their work on display for a considerable period.

Dopes, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2023
Dopes, M32 Spot, Bristol, September 2023

Dopes has been out and about a fair bit recently and the quality of his work is always high. Out of necessity, the letters bleed off the top of the hoarding, but in spite of that are nicely proportioned. Great colours and white rather than dark borders and 3D drop shadow. Easy on the eye stuff from Dopes.

5525. St Werburghs tunnel (384)

Drax, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2023
Drax, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2023

I had seen this piece at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel for a while, and there was something about it that stood out, but I couldn’t pin it down. I didn’t post it because I didn’t know who it was by. A serendipitous catch up with Logoe recently at the other end of the tunnel provided me with some insight about the piece. Logoe was raving about it and said it was by Drax, a highly-regarded old-school writer, and one of the original graffiti writers, from London I think.

Drax, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2023
Drax, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2023

Armed with that background, I revisited the piece after our conversation, and the ‘something special’ about the piece is its class. It is fairly modest and unsigned, so definitely a piece for those in the know. The beautifully finished letters spell DRAX, and the more you look at the fills and borders, you can see that it is by a highly experienced and skilled artist. My only slight concern (and this is a me thing) is the colour scheme – regular readers will know that I am not a big fan of brown, and I am not too sure about the brown/blue combo. Great to have the mystery solved.

5524. BB Gallery (5)

Object..., BB Gallery, Bristol, September 2023
Object…, BB Gallery, Bristol, September 2023

I don’t often visit the BB Gallery (Bristol to Bath cycle path), mainly because the turnover there is fairly slow, and it is a bit of a death trap, especially while walking the dog. The bicycles, e-scooters and e-bikes, whizz along this stretch of the cycle path, making navigation more like running the gauntlet. It is only a matter of time before there are some serious accidents. (Sounding like the old man I am becoming).

Object..., BB Gallery, Bristol, September 2023
Object…, BB Gallery, Bristol, September 2023

What a thrill to find this small piece by one of my favourite Bristol artists and all round nice guy Object…. The curious imaginary beast is all eyes and fingers, creating a rather grotesque image which is somewhat softened by the speech bubble and the words: “Nah, this has gone all wrong, where’s my rubber gone…”. I love the way this has been painted on an old piece of scrap wood and screwed onto the posts as a contribution to this free outdoor gallery. Utterly unusual (unless you are Object…), slightly disturbing and understatedly brilliant. A classic piece.

5523. Greenbank (97)

Dog Bless the Band, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2023
Dog Bless the Band, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2023

If the writing is curiously-shaped, monolithic and coloured in earthy muted hues, then it is highly likely to be by Dog Bless the Band. If it also spells MOTEL, then it is definitely by him. This modest piece fits all the criteria perfectly.

Dog Bless the Band, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2023
Dog Bless the Band, Greenbank, Bristol, September 2023

So earthy is this piece, that it appears to have emerged from the soil beneath it, perfectly matching the undergrowth that seamlessly rolls along the ground and up the hoarding. This is deliberate and skilfully done. I like the comment “I’m 37% nettle stings”, an occupational hazard, painting this stretch of hoarding. In my view, this is a really classy piece painted in a style, touching on anti-style while just about remaining within certain conventions. Love it.

5522. White Street (2)

Mr Penfold, White Street, Bristol, September 2023
Mr Penfold, White Street, Bristol, September 2023

I think that this is a reasonably old piece by Mr Penfold, but not to me it isn’t because I only recently tracked down this spot, after some considerable time looking for it. The side of this building in White Street has about five windows, beneath each of which is a nice flat rendered wall – perfect for painting.

Mr Penfold, White Street, Bristol, September 2023
Mr Penfold, White Street, Bristol, September 2023

I haven’t seen much on the streets by Mr Penfold for quite a while now, so finding this was rather pleasing. I think he is concentrating more on his studio design work, which is well worth a gander on his Instagram feed. Often Mr Penfold’s pieces are abstract designs, but every once in a while he paints a character, but they are usually peppered with abstract shapes as is the case here. I would love to see more of his str4eet pieces, but I guess he is out there being busy with his real work.

5521. Brunel Way (231)

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

Bean has more than made his mark in Bristol, and his characters have livened things up a great deal. He is on a roll and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping him. This colourful piece under Brunel Way, featuring two characters and some writing, shows how the young artist is quickly growing in confidence and improving his technical skills.

Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Bean, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

The characters that Bean paints have a very distinct look in a cartoon style that relies on using two tones of each colour in each section of the piece, light and dark, to create some depth. There isn’t much blending of colour or use of highlights, that some artists use to create depth. Bean’s writing is free in form, and very nicely filled. This is an artist who seems to be in a hurry and is turning out imaginative pieces at an alarming rate.

5520. Cumberland Basin

Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

Hiccup, or Bloem as she is signing herself, is fast becoming a favourite of mine. Not only is she developing her technique at lightening speed, she hasn’t been painting walls for all that long, but she has a wonderfully creative mind, and her work is exciting and varied. This ’tile’ piece is a great example of her versatility.

Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

There is a little bit of the Willow Pattern in this tile piece, which adopts the colours of Delftware, or Spode. What Hiccup has done here is quite original, and certainly different from anything I have seen in Bristol before. There is a softness of touch in the piece, and an ease with itself, which I can’t properly articulate. The patterns and the letters are beautifully painted, and the flashes through the letters gives the tile a shiny look. Beautiful work from Hiccup. I would love to meet the artist, to be able to complement her on her great work.

5519. L Dub (48)

Donz, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023
Donz, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023

I haven’t posted much work from Donz on Natural Adventures, mainly because I haven’t seen an awful lot of his work. What I have seen, I rather like. Donz tends to paint with DJ Perks, and mostly, but not exclusively, at L Dub.

Donz, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023
Donz, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023

Donz has selected some beautifully rich colours for this piece, and worked them into his fills most skilfully. His letters are well-designed, and the whole piece has come together very nicely. I fear that Donz is a bit of an unsung hero on the Bristol writing scene, probably because he is not all that visible, which is a pity.

COVID

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Self-isolation

and by quirky twist of fate

I am home alone

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by Scooj