.
A New Year’s Day stroll
a sense of optimism
while dogs simply play
.
by Scooj
Beach walk
5734. Sheffield
I was very, very pleased to find this outstanding piece by Sheffield artist Phlegm, when I visited the city back in November last year. I would have missed it had I not dashed down a side road, while concluding a long walk with my daughter. She waited patiently for me on the Main Street and knew I had been successful by the smile on my face.
Phlegm is a world star of the street art scene, one of a few artists who has really become famous for his extraordinary black and white scenes. There is so much going on in this piece, it is best simply to look at it and see what stories it is telling. I was chuffed to bits finding this piece (I had no idea it even existed), and it just felt so right finding one of his pieces in his home city.
5733. Sheffield
Happy New Year. If all goes well, then I will have been exercising my ‘inner nerd’ this morning, fossil hunting in Bracklesham Bay. What this means is that I wrote this post, in the early hours of last night/this morning, after seeing in the New Year quietly with my wife, mother and the dog.
Back in November, I visited Sheffield with my daughter, who was looking at potential University courses. I was very taken with Sheffield, it is a lovely city with a great atmosphere and lovely people. Of course I managed to find a couple of pieces of street art. This rather large and wonderful mural is by Rob Lee. The bold abstract design is a strong statement piece that dominates the buildings that back onto a square. Fine work indeed.
5732. Manchester, Northern Quarter
So I am rounding off 2023 with this wonderful piece by Mr Cenz in Manchester, which reminds me that I still haven’t posted his incredible piece from Stokes Croft in Bristol (note to self, dig it out and post it).
This piece, like so much of Mr Cenz’ work is an absolute beauty. The mix of colours combined with the outstanding portrait artwork creates a stunning picture with photorealistic and abstract elements. There are other artists who use similar techniques to create interesting and beautiful portraits, including N4T4 and our very own Hazard. A fine way to round off the year.
West Wittering wind
.
End of year cobwebs
well and truly blown away
hoping for better
.
by Scooj
5731. Manchester, Northern Quarter
It seems a little odd to be rounding off the year with a couple of pieces from Manchester, rather than from Bristol, but that is how they have rolled off the production line. In a way, 2023 has been a special year for me travelling around the country, and I have managed to find one or two pieces of street art along the way, including this beauty from TEAone in Manchester.
I have only ever seen a handful of pieces by TEAone, but every one of them is an absolute stunner, and this is no different. TEAone has painted a colourful market scene which feels like it might be from a Mediterranean country – certainly a little warmer than a chilly November Manchester that is for sure.
5730. M32 Cycle path (244)
This piece by Mr Keos, was definitely worthy of inclusion in Natural Adventures, as it is rather different from any writing that we usually see in the city. Looking at his Instagram feed, it looks like Mr Keos paints all over the country and was simply passing through Bristol in December nd dropped a couple of pieces.
His letters are big, bold and distinctive, no chance of any confusion here. The work oozes experience from an artist who appears to be very prolific. The chrome letters stand out nicely on the orange background and the subtle black feature patterns at the base of the letters turn this from a good piece of graffiti writing into something rather better. I’ll be looking out for at least one other piece he painted in Bristol.
5729. River Avon (55)
I walked past this piece by The Mole, when I first saw it, thinking that it was an old one that I had posted before, but I did a double-take and returned to it, because although it was similar to another piece by the artist, it was new and in a different location. It was one that nearly got away.
The writing says INCA, referring to the artist’s full name Inca the Mole. Painted in colours that he often uses, the letters are supported by the mole character. The Mole generally paints three forms of his work, The mole alone, the letters INCA or, as in this case, a writing/character combination. The piece is nicely rounded off with peace symbols, which usually accompany The Mole’s work. A fine and rather unexpected piece, from the frequent visitor to Bristol.
Act 2023
.
Lights fade to zero
actors exit, scene changes
all the world’s a stage
.
by Scooj
5728. M32 roundabout J3 (539)
I would say that we haven’t seen nearly enough of Stivs’ work in the latter half of this year, so it was particularly gratifying to find this piece on the M32 roundabout, and even though it didn’t last very long, it was noticed.
The calligraffiti writing was painted as a birthday piece for his brother Kelvin, and I can’t really think of a better present than a tribute piece of artwork like this, I know I’d be made up by such a gesture. The beautifully proportioned letters are given an extra lift from the wall by the clever use of the green drop shadow, which itself has a black border. Care and attention was given to the piece, as demonstrated by the sand coloured background and subtle wisps of paint around the letters. Great work from Stivs.
