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Head for Totterdown
the steepest possible streets
there behind Perspex
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by Scooj
Banksy must be back in Bristol for Christmas, and he has sprayed a new piece in Totterdown, a part of Bristol I rarely visit. It was only painted two days ago, but already it has a protective layer of Perspex covering it. Pity really, but his works often get tagged and vandalised within hours.
I haven’t posted a Rapt piece for quite a while, even though I have several in my archives – I’m not sure why, sometimes it just breaks down that way. This is quite an old piece by the artist, but one I only recently photographed while walking the dog alongside the River Avon.
Rapt is one of those artists who usually incorporates a little character alongside his writing and here it takes the form of a ghost wearing round sun specs. The writing is nicely done although the purple and green don’t work too well together in my eyes, especially with the red and black 3D shadow on the letters. The yin yang symbol works nicely though. Colour selections are a very personal thing, but to the viewer some combinations work much better than others. I need to dig more of his work out of my archive.
It is a very difficult job indeed to write about street art in Bristol at the moment, mainly because there is so much of it, and with only two posts a day on Natural Adventures I have to be selective. I try to represent the broad spectrum of street art in the city, from elaborate tags to high-end murals and everything in between. Unfortunately though so much stuff ends up on the ‘cutting room floor’ – Perhaps I’ll be able to mop that lot up when I retire and need to fill my days.
This piece is from Morph, an artist who has only recently crossed my radar, adding to the Bristol throng.
I really like this piece and it suits the column perfectly. The face resembles that of a monkey, although I’m not sure if that is the intention. A slightly edgy character, with a cigarette(?) in its mouth and shifty red eyes. I like what I see, and I think that there is some latent talent there with an understanding of shading, colours and tone. I really look forward to seeing more from Morph.
It is possible to access some fine walls and columns (I call the location Frome side) where this piece from Mudra is, but I don’t like to go down there on my own, just in case I slip and fall into the river, so I have to make do with photographing things through railings from the skate spot.
Of all the newcomers to Bristol this year, I think that Mudra has been the most productive, and he has been quick to find several of the great spots for spray-painting around the city. This is one of his colourful, capped characters that is so typically Mudra. Although he has his little @ tag, he doesn’t need to use it because his style is so unique and recognisable – having said that I like his tag and how he incorporates it. At this rate it won’t be too long before I have enough of his work to create a gallery.
You may recall a giant skeleton by Risco that I published on Natural Adventures a few days ago, well here is another of his rather large pieces, but this time not on a ceiling. The M32 skate spot has had something of a rebirth since the arrival of the pandemic. There have been some new DIY ramps installed and there is a buzz about the place. It also feels like there is more activity on the graffiti/street art front.
This is another amazing skeleton piece, although exactly what creature it is I am not too sure (imaginary I think). Risco has worked the piece beautifully along the length of the ramp, with the rib cage bulging out from the wall. Another epic piece from this artist who is smashing it at the moment.
Doors 132 – Predictably, some more graffiti/street art doors from the archives
I have had another busy week and have barely ventured outside the house, so I have once again resorted to searching through my archives. These doors were originally posted on Natural Adventures (though not necessarily as Thursday doors posts) in February this year.
I hope you enjoy them…
Blurry picture on a blurry day – four doors to choose from
A tiny little door on the side of this caravan
OK, so there is only a bit of a door here, but give me a break…
Fake doors on a fake train
I may have cheated with this window/door
So that just about wraps it up for another week.
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
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A walk in the dark
is not a substitute for
a walk in the park
.
by Scooj
This is simply wonderful. Clean, crisp, beautifully designed work from Pl8o on the wall overlooking the Cumberland Basin on the north side. There were several eye-catching pieces along this stretch when I took these pictures, including this one.
The colours chosen and bold letters scream out from the wall – no wallflower this one. I am really enjoying Pl8o’s pieces, in particular his creativity and although the central design stays similar from piece to piece, the execution and details vary considerably. I particularly like the way the letters are broken up by black lines, giving a block effect, almost like stone cladding. So much more to come.
Once again the busy Pekoe brings us good cheer with this tidy little portrait piece on a pillar supporting Brunel Way. One of the features I love the most about her work is the bright colours she uses for the faces she paints, and why not use them when it seems to work so well.
Meeting her about a week ago was a genuine pleasure and long overdue. She celebrated her birthday yesterday, so I thought I’d post this piece to celebrate. The letters on the hat may not make much sense to readers, so I’ll enlighten you. BS3 is a Bristol postcode for the Bedminster area and RBF stands for the Resting Bitch Face crew. Nice piece.
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A constant onslaught
of Christmas advertising
consumerism
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by Scooj
Natural adventures 