4512. Porto (4)

Porto is a city spanning the north and south banks of the River Douro, across which there are six remarkable bridges, each with its own unique design and purpose. Perhaps the most impressive and iconic bridge is the Luis I Bridge, designed by Theophile Seyrig, a student of Gustave Eiffel, which has a lower and upper level. The upper level is now a metro and pedestrian route and offers some of the finest views of Porto from its span. Heading north on the bridge, this impressive mural by Frederico Draw looms large on the left-hand side of the bridge.

Frederico Draw, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Frederico Draw, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

I know nothing of the artist, and a quick Google search took me to his Facebook page which contained little information. As my primary focus is on Bristol street art, I will leave it to the ‘resource investigators’ among you to find out more. The piece itself is a wonderfully blended portrait, making full use of the derelict wall as a backdrop, and is certainly eye-catching from quite some distance. I love the little shrine at the bottom left of the wall too. A cracking piece by a cracking bridge in a cracking city.

4511. Porto (3)

While there is a full spectrum of street art and graffiti in Porto, from high-end worldies to tags and burners, there seems to be a particular acceptance of using street art to decorate utility boxes in many parts of the old city. An artist who has taken full advantage of this is Oaktree, who paints delightful scenes with brushes either directly onto the surface or as wheatpastes.

Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

There is something beautiful and nurturing about Oaktree’s designs that fit the spaces expertly and add a touch of colour to the streets, enhancing the visual amenity of the utility boxes in a way that is commensurate with Porto’s highly decorative streets.

Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

Oaktree’s pieces contain characters going about their everyday business or joined in an embrace and whatever they are doing there is a feeling of care, love and kindness that pervades each piece.

Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

I was a little surprised when I got back hoe just how many Oaktree pieces I had photographed, and rather than post each one separately, I thought it would be a good idea to post this mini-gallery instead.

Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

How great it would be if all local authorities around the world were as enlightened as Porto’s, and permitted or even encouraged the decoration of utility boxes, which, let’s face it, are among the ugliest structures known to man.

Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Oaktree, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

The final piece in this collection is a large wheatpaste, and perhaps my favourite of all the Oaktree pieces I saw, with its simple, rather dreamy design. If you are lucky enough to visit Porto, be sure to search out these little gems.

Palette

.

Well thank you so much

a kerbside delivery

what if I were old?

.

by Scooj

4510. Porto (2)

Although I am well aware of the incredibly innovative work of Vhils, I have only ever seen one of his works before and that, rather weirdly, is in Exeter, which I wrote about a few years ago. Vhils has a rather interesting technique, which is to chip away at a rendered wall and ‘etch’ a portrait into the wall, providing enormous texture and depth. Some of his pieces almost look like something printed off using a dot matrix printer (remember those?).

Vhils, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Vhils, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

My daughter and I stumbled across this piece quite by accident while strolling along the north bank of the River Douro. At first inspection, I thought that the piece was in some way damaged on the left-hand side, but then realised it was meant to look like a tree blending with a portrait. I always wonder whether this method of ‘sculpting’ does any damage to the building, but I guess it isn’t really my concern. I believe it was created in April 2016, and has barely changed at all since then.

4509. Porto (1)

It is unlikely, but it might have escaped your attention that I recently went on a short break to Porto, Portugal, with my daughter, and we had the most incredible time. No pressure, no worries and the freedom to wander round a city with absolutely no agenda or plan. This is the way to see incredible things and make great discoveries.

Like many great cities in Europe, Porto has a graffiti and street art scene, which although still quite young, is most impressive nonetheless. This is the first of several posts of street art from the trip.

Bordallo II, Porto, Portugal, June 2022
Bordallo II, Porto, Portugal, June 2022

Of course, anyone who follows street art will have seen work by Bordallo II on digital media, but to come across a piece (completely by accident – it was my daughter who spotted it down a back street) and see it is the flesh is quite something else. Bordallo II, a Portuguese artist, creates his work from scraps of waste material which he attaches to a wall and paints to create extraordinary ‘installation sculptures’ of animals.

This piece on  the south side of the Douro river depicts a rabbit in two halves, the left-hand side is dull and depressing, the right-hand side is colourful, vibrant and optimistic. The piece demonstrates the incredible skill of the artist to create something from nothing and generate different emotions from the viewer within the same work. One less artist on the bucket list.

Inheritance

.

The tiniest glance

in the mirror or on screen

I see my father

.

by Scooj

Thursday doors – 16 June 2022

Doors – 186 – Westminster doors

I have been very challenged in recent weeks with finding time to write Thursday doors posts and equally frustratingly I have neglected my reading of other bloggers’ posts, so I apologise for the radio silence and promise to catch up on my reading when I get a moment.

This post will necessarily be quite brief and is the third instalment of Westminster doors from visiting my London office back in May. I hope you enjoy this little selection:

A fine pair of doors with an impressive shared awning, Westminster, London, May 2022
A fine pair of doors with an impressive shared awning, Westminster, London, May 2022

Bold wooden door and stone surround, Wesminster, London, May 2022
Bold wooden door and stone surround, Westminster, London, May 2022

Stunning and austere period door, Westminster, London, May 2022
Stunning and austere period door, Westminster, London, May 2022

Nice wooden door with glass panels, Westminster, London, May 2022
Nice wooden door with glass panels, Westminster, London, May 2022

An extraordinary door and carved wooden surround and awning, Westminster, London, May 2022
An extraordinary door and carved wooden surround and awning, Westminster, London, May 2022

Three doors, including a tradesman's entrance, Westminster, London, May 2022
Three doors, including a tradesman’s entrance, Westminster, London, May 2022

That pretty much rounds it off this week, and for Westminster doors for a little while – my next series of posts will feature doors from Porto, Portugal, and you are in for a little bit of a treat.

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

4508. St Werburghs tunnel (296)

I just don’t seem to see enough of Soge’s work, but it is great to know that he is still in Bristol and taking a can to a wall once in a while. This recent piece was painted alongside Hire and other artists I am not so familiar with in a session in the tunnel

Soge, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
Soge, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022

The scratchy writing spelling out SOGE is typical of his writing, and the pink and yellow-bordered purple letters appear to be sitting on a cosmic nebula-type setting. A fine piece of writing from a great writer who needs to get out more (IMO).

4507. Brunel Way (160)

I don’t think that there has ever been a time when I have not been excited to find a piece by Kid Crayon. His work has been at the heart of my love for street art, and he is probably the street artist I have followed most closely over the last six years or so.

Kid Crayon, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2022
Kid Crayon, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2022

This piece is quite unlike anything we might expect from Kid Crayon, but there is a reason for that, He painted it as a part of the Secret Writer name exchange idea, where writers wrote the name of another artist (supposedly anonymously – although Kid Crayon signed this one). He was honouring the artist Rasexone1 and in turn Kid Crayon’s name was written by Magnesone. What a stupendous idea and one that binds the street art community, but a bit confusing for people like me who are trying to untangle and make sense of the whole scene.

In addition, this was the first Kid Crayon piece I had seen in a long time and I asked him, at the Upfest festival, why he has hardly been painting lately. His answer was great news… he has been working flat out with some big commissions, and that for an artist is something to cherish. More posts of his even more recent work coming soon.

Open letter to the world

.

Please do not mistake

the actions of government

as the people’s will

.

by Scooj

As our Government edges towards fascism, the canary in the mine has died, but have we noticed it yet? Well I have, and many others too. Changing times ahead.