Thursday doors – 3 November 2022

Doors 198 – Porto doors (Part 11)

I have managed to draw out doors from Porto for the whole of the summer, and this selection probably represents my penultimate gallery from a wonderful three days in the city back in May. There is no theme this week, just a random selection. Enjoy:

Sandeman port anyone? Gate door, Porto, Portugal, June 2023
Sandeman port anyone? Gate door, Porto, Portugal, June 2023
Doors in a gate (sorry about the useless picture), Porto, Portugal, June 2023
Doors in a gate (sorry about the useless picture), Porto, Portugal, June 2023
Small utility door, Porto, Portugal, June 2023
Small utility door, Porto, Portugal, June 2023
No72 doors could do with a little TLC, Porto, Portugal, June 2023
No72 doors could do with a little TLC, Porto, Portugal, June 2023
Red door with a large tag (Mage?), Porto, Portugal, June 2023
Red door with a large tag (Mage?), Porto, Portugal, June 2023
No2 red doors, Porto, Portugal, June 2023
No2 red doors, Porto, Portugal, June 2023

Soon I will be reverting to Bristol doors, street art/graffiti doors as well as a few doors from a summer holiday trip to Croatia.

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

4789. St Werburghs tunnel (315).

Ra, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022
Ra, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022

This spot at the entrance of St Werburghs tunnel has been ‘unavailable’ for a long time as it was home to a tribute piece. It was, however, recently dogged, which means that it can now be painted over, and first up is an occasional visitor to Bristol, Ra, or @allseeing.ra on Instagram.

Ra, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022
Ra, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022

From recollection, Ra was the ancient Egyptian sun god and had a falcon’s head. This piece by Ra (contemporary street artist) is a modern take on the ancient deity and beautifully painted with expert shading to give depth to the figure. A striking piece. I look forward to Ra’s next visit to Bristol.

4788. Greenbank (57)

Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2022
Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2022

Merny manages to turn his pieces out quite regularly these days, and some last longer than others, but overall his presence and ‘brand’ in Bristol is constantly growing. This is an artist who never shies away from bold political statements and has become an important street commentator on the pressures and divides in our country. “F*ck being posh” is a clear illustration of the resentment of the gap between rich and poor getting ever more prominent under 12 years of Tory Government.

Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2022
Merny, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2022

Merny’s work, although naive in style, is full of narrative, movement and interest. It is impossible to walk past his work and not pay attention. Alongside John D’oh, Merny reminds us about the political landscape in which we live. A great piece of social commentary art.

Hard times

.

The good things in life

ever harder to pin down

live in the moment

.

by Scooj

4787. Dean Lane skate park (535)

Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

Watching Mudra develop over the past couple of years has been one of the great pleasures in recording the street art scene in Bristol. From his early colourful portraits to his sophisticated style of writing, he has upped his game time and again and continues to improve with every piece.

Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

The writing, in a magnificent palette of blue and yellow, spells out Mudra with a spectrum of styles and sizes for the letters, but somehow all very recognisably Mudra’s work. The monkey/house character in the middle of the piece is a bonus, and serves to add interest, without which the piece wouldn’t look complete. I love the yellow wedge too, a lovely effect.

4786. Cumberland Basin

Hika and Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Hika and Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

This is an unexpected collaboration between Hika and Pekoe… unexpected because I don’t really know much about Hika, although I do know all about RBF’s Pekoe. The two have combined nicely and there is much to like about the collaboration.

Hika and Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Hika and Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

Hika’s letters might appear, on first inspection, to be a bit messy, but take a closer look and they are nice and clean with decent fills and a black 3D drop shadow. Some of the embellishments include red squiggles, and some rather nice yellow drips.

Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

Regulars will know how much I admire Pekoe’s work, and this is a lovely portrait piece from her. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this one is the hairstyle. Pekoe’s portraits usually host big hair full of stars and shapes, but this one has a stylish short cut that works really well on the limited height of this space. Beautiful big eyes and a customary tear – great work from Pekoe. All in all, a really nice collaboration from this pair.

4785. Peel Street Green (10)

Desi, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2022
Desi, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2022

The progress of Desi continues with this large piece in Peel Street Green which clearly demonstrates her developing confidence. The letters spelling out DEZI, switching things up a bit with the Z for the usual S.

Desi, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2022
Desi, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2022

I don’t think I have ever seen Desi paint on a buffed wall, so her pieces have to compete with an often busy background, however, her piece on this occasion is so bold that it stands out beautifully. A nice fill, nice stars and some great accompanying hearts. All good.

4784. Cumberland Basin

Kernow 0016 4-13 Oct 2022_edited
Kernow 0016 4-13 Oct 2022_edited

definitely appears to be enjoying his writing at the moment, and has produced several fine pieces of writing, including this recent one painted during a paint jam a couple of weeks ago.

Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

The letters KOSC, take a familiar form with an industrial appearance and painted rivets. The shading and central lines in the letters create a 3D effect lifting the letters out of the blue flash background. Graffiti writing that is very easy on the eye.

4783. St Werburghs tunnel (314)

Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022
Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022

Happy Halloween. This is a lovely piece painted by Elvs in the tunnel a week or so ago, in time for me to be able to include it in Natural Adventures. There will be quite a few more Halloween pieces to follow, I just haven’t photographed them yet. I haven’t been able to get out much last week.

Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022
Elvs, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022

As ever Elvs’ writing is outstanding and close to perfection, and his grim reaper character is expertly done. Very nice to see. While we enjoy this wonderful art, we should perhaps take a moment to pause and reflect on the tragic events in the news of the deaths of so many people during a Halloween celebration in Seoul, South Korea.

4782. Peel Street Green (9)

Wxttsart, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2022
Wxttsart, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2022

A short couple of posts today, I have things to do and people to see etc. and have left everything a bit late.

This is a fine piece of writing by Wxttsart in Peel Street Green. It is a nice tidy piece and is verging on the style of calligraffiti with its uniform lettering style, but a touch of Wxttsart chaos.

Wxttsart, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2022
Wxttsart, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2022

I love his letters MILK, it somehow softens the edge presented by graffiti in the first place, unthreatening and wholesome. Another fine piece of writing from the artist. More to come very soon…