5080. Cumberland Basin

SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023

Back to the here and now, I bring you this magnificent large piece from the visiting SkyHigh. Although it was only painted a few days ago, it has already been painted over, which I have to say I find a little disrespectful, but I guess most graffiti writers don’t know how long the piece they are overpainting has been there. Some though are resentful and malicious and deliberately target work superior to their own to exert some kind of childish power… when that happens we are all losers.

SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023

Sky High has absolutely nailed his style of writing, choosing different block styles for each letter of the word. He also manages to keep everything so clean and tight, even down to the white frame for this piece.

SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023
SkyHigh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2023

The colour selections are great and there is an element of symmetry in their deployment. I particularly like the style of the ‘Y’, which I think is probably the most challenging letter technically in the piece. I’m already looking forward to his next visit to Bristol (with Roo, of course).

5079. Dean Lane skate park (573)

Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

Trawling through the archives is actually immensely enjoyable, but also very distracting. Another piece I rescued from incarceration is this rather fun scene, painted by Stiff.

Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

As with some other artists in Bristol, aliens feature very strongly in Stiff’s work, and here we have an alien and a human interacting with some electricity generating equipment. There is a story here being told, but I’m not sure that I quite get it. Time machine perhaps? Anyhow, Stiff has a great knack for creating interesting and absorbing scenes like this one.

Thursday doors – 16 March 2023

Doors 213 – Croatia doors (part 7) – Pula

Walled ghost door, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Walled ghost door, Pula, Croatia, August 2022

You might be pleased to hear that this is the penultimate collection of doors from a family trip to Croatia last August. I have certainly managed to stretch this one out, which has meant there has been less pressure on me to photograph doors closer to home. Time to get out and about…

These doors are from Pula, a city heavily influenced by its Italian neighbour to the north, so much so that shops are bilingually branded and people speak both languages.

So here are the doors:

Fine ghost door, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Fine ghost door, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Rusty iron doors, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Rusty iron doors, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Fancy villa green gate door, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Fancy villa green gate door, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
New door in a doorway with history, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
New door in a doorway with history, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Nice geometry to this black door, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Nice geometry to this black door, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Beautiful iron work on these doors, Pula, Croatia, August 2022
Beautiful iron work on these doors, Pula, Croatia, August 2022

So that’s it for this week – may I wish you a happy 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

Door logo, Thursday doors

Brexit Pubs Guarantee

.

Brexit benefit

pathetic barrel-scrapings

an election bribe

.

by Scooj

  • After years of searching, without success, for a Brexit benefit, the Chancellor announced, in today’s insipid budget, a reduction in draught beer prices in pubs, because we can, thanks to Brexit. So that’s it, is it? We left our primary trading block and all the benefits of free trade and freedom of movement and a collaborative European approach to global challenges, for 11p off a pint in the pub. Bloody hell, what a monumental cock up! Sovereignty Shmovereignty.
  • Of course, the Government have one eye on the election. What disrespect they show to the nation. The two latest vote grabbing gimmicks are; cheaper beer and ban the boats. Jingoism at its absolute worst. Who do they think we are?
  • Sorry, another rant

5078. Coach and Horses

3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

How, oh how, did I manage to overlook this piece for posting? I surprise myself when trawling through my archives and I find stuff like this, and it is also quite a pleasurable experience, because it gives me the perfect excuse to talk about some outstanding artwork. This long wall is a collaboration masterclass from 3Dom, Soker, Sepr and Epok which dates back to February 2021 (actually that is when I took the pictures, I think the artwork had been there for some time already).

3Dom, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
3Dom, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

First up is this amazing character piece from 3Dom, featuring an unicyclist juggling bombs, with his arms weighed down with lead wights, and avoiding landmines. I imagine that this is a metaphor for the tightrope we are navigating as individuals, as a nation and as humanity itself. At least this is how I read it. As we would expect, it is beautifully painted.

Soker, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Soker, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

The second piece is some incredibly tight graffiti writing from Soker, one of the very best writers around. It is especially gratifying to dig this piece out from the archives, because he is going through a rather quiet period at the moment.

Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Sepr, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

Next up is the magnificent Sepr with a whole story unfolding. Aliens in a spaceship are trying to drag a cow into the sky, but finding the going difficult. The aliens are contacting their base with the words, “Easton… we have a problem” – a local corruption of the famous quote. Brilliant and witty.

Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021
Epok, Coach and Horses, Bristol, February 2021

Finally, we have something of a rarity, an amazing piece of writing from Epok. I can’t think when I last saw a new piece from Epok, but this must have been one of his last in Bristol. I hope that the break in his productivity will at some point come to an end and that he will once again bless us with his unique geometric designs. What a collaboration, and what a wait.

5077. M32 Spot (158)

Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023

This is only the second piece by Lazo that I have seen, and I was fortunate enough to meet him when he was painting this column. As with his first piece, there is something very captivating about this portrait, and the style is quite different to that which we might expect to see in Bristol.

Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023
Lazo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2023

Lazo’s long face is perfect for column artwork and looks amazing, especially if you crop out the yellow paint at the top of the piece. I particularly like the depth and tone he achieves with his ‘brushstrokes’. The eyes too have something rather special about them. I am looking forward to seeing more from Lazo this year.

Lazo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022
Lazo, New Stadium Road, Bristol, November 2022

5076. Dean Lane skate park (572)

Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

Another piece from the archive, this one is from December 2020, which, although it feels like a long, long time ago, isn’t really, it is just that so much has happened since then. This piece, on the flakiest wall in Bristol, is by Trafficity.

Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

His striking style and unwavering loyalty to his letter shapes makes Trafficity’s work some of the most recognisable in Bristol. The letters spell ZIOM, which is Polish means ‘dude’, ‘man’, ‘mate’ and so on – a nice inoffensive thing to write. As I always mention with Trafficity’s letters, it looks like there is a top and bottom half, each with smaller words, but I would need to ask the artist if this is the case. It is nice to release this one from the archive.

5075. M32 Cycle path (201)

Bnie, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Bnie, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2020

The next few posts are images taken out of my archives. I got distracted. I was actually looking for something specific from roughly December 2020, but then stumbled upon a whole bunch of pieces which had been left behind and that I simply had to publish.

Bnie, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Bnie, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2020

First up is this beauty from Bnie on the cycle path photographed in November 2020. This is not the only unpublished piece by Bnie in my archive, and I will get round to publishing the others at some point. There are some outstanding fills in this piece, and the trademark mouth in the letter ‘B’. I simply can’t think how I let this one slip through the net.

Wild Isles

.

A celebration

of natural history

in the British Isles

.

by Scooj

What a fantastic opener to the series. You can see it on BBC iPlayer.

 

5074. L Dub (44)

DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, February 2023
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, February 2023

Another DJ Perks piece from my last visit to Lawrence Weston (L Dub), and another quality piece at that. In a way I am a little disappointed that I hadn’t visited sooner, as the Dun Sum piece underneath DJ Perks’ looks rather spectacular.

DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, February 2023
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, February 2023

DJ Perks has a natural talent as a graffiti writer and seems to make turning out crisp and clean pieces look absolutely effortless. The fills are beautifully done, the borders tight, The drop shadow is excellent and the little white flashes add depth. Overall, this is an outstanding piece from DJ Perks.