This was a quiet one from Decay that snuck out without fanfare. It is great to see Decay experimenting with some new paint textures and ideas, such as spraying large clouds of paint on the wall as a kind of backdrop to his writing.
Decay, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2020
The white shading in the letters has a kind of distressed effect, something interior decorators were particularly fond of in the 1980s. The whole thing is high-class and exactly what you’d expect from Decay. There are two crew names on the piece that are HTM – Hold the Mustard, and LRS – Last Radical Souls, they are a loosely based crew operating all over the world since 2001.
It is always great to catch up with Rusk, a real gentleman if ever there was one. On this occasion he was joining in with the M32 paint jam that included Tizer, Inkie, Soker, Hemper and Minto last month. The sun was against me for the final photographs, but the work in progress shot shows off the colours a little better.
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Attention and care are what I associate Rusk’s work with. He is always diligent and tidy with his pieces and takes his time to get things right. I can’t imagine my stopping for a chat was particularly helpful, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
The letters are typically Rusk, spelling out RUSKY and are given a horizontal tricolour fill, with some nice spots in the middle section. If I am honest I am not sure the three colours work too well, especially the bottom two as there is not enough contrast between them, but that is nit picking really, this is a fine piece of graffiti writing.
Interesting fact… the terms top dog and under dog are derived from (woodland) saw pits where the worker at the top end of a double ended saw was called the top dog and the worker in the saw pit underneath with all the sawdust dropping down was called an under dog.
Usually when Mr Klue hasn’t painted for a while (and we are in one of those moments now) his first new piece is often followed up with a spate of creative work and I am hoping that will be the case this time. This new piece is in his favoured spot at the far end of St Werburghs tunnel.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2020
There is a lot going on in this abstract dreamscape which to understand would probably necessitate the unpacking of the artist’s mind. In amongst all the atmospheric swirls and recognisable elements, such as the lamp post, hat and helmet, there are the letters KLUE… I think. A wonderful piece and worth waiting for.
I was alerted to this superb stencil from Stewy and Voice of Joan through a rather different route than my usual network of artists/hunters. I stumbled upon an Instagram post from @thiscitymum, and unlike my usual leads who scan the regular spots we visit, she wonders around the city taking pictures of wonderful things and in doing so leaves the beaten track and finds some hidden gems like this one.
Stewy and Voice of Joan, Lindrea Street, Bristol, July 2020
This huge stencil on the side of a house is in an area where parked cars are a fact of life. I have visited this piece twice and the cars are a real challenge, so these are the best pictures I have so far. The single layer stencil in black is set on the neutral green background and features Lewis Carroll’s Alice peering round a curtain. Of course the piece is after John Tenniel who produced the original illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. (Note this representation is a reversed version of the original).
Stewy and Voice of Joan, Lindrea Street, Bristol, July 2020
Private commissions like this one are what makes a city sing, and I take my hat off to the owners of the end-of-terrace house. I have featured Stewy many times on Natural Adventures and his pieces are always of the highest quality. I have not however heard of Voice of Joan before, but will keep my eyes peeled. Something a bit different in Bedminster.
I still haven’t been out much lately so there aren’t too many new doors to write home about, although these little doors in a street nearby caught my eye. The great thing about people having to stay at home is that they get creative.
These little doors on the front garden wall of a family home are unlikely to have ever happened in normal circumstances. They made me laugh.
Little doors on a garden wall in Redland, Bristol, August 2020
Open doors on a garden wall in Redland, Bristol, August 2020
And now I revert to a few more archive street art doors from 2018 including rather a lot of shutter pieces:
Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, September 2018
Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
3Dom, Frogmore Street, Bristol, August 2018
Joel Aroyo, Barcelona, March 2018
3rdeye, North Street, Bristol, January 2016
3Dom, Raleigh Road, Bristol, January 2018
T-Rex, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Nevla, Hepburn Road, Bristol, October 2018
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, October 2018
Kaldea, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
So another week passes us by in this ‘groundhog day’ existence, but to break the mould, I am taking a few days off work next week to recharge the batteries, and you just never know I might get to photograph a few more new doors. Whatever you are up to, I wish you a great week.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Taboo clearly has a great sense of fun which really comes out in his work. He is an unconventional graffiti writer using large curvy and often erratic lettering that appears to be being used by a number of ‘new school’ artists in Bristol.
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Taboo has incorporated a policeman, looking very much like an American cop, chasing after a smiley face that is scuttling away to the left of the piece. Although his work sometimes looks a bit ragged, I consider Taboo to be a talented street artist who is pushing the boundaries of convention.
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
The workmanship of the cop character is skilfully done and almost feels slightly underplayed and modest. On its own it would stand up as a fine piece of work. Looking forward to seeing where Taboo will take us next.
Having not really noticed work by Pl8o before lock down, I now seem to see his work wherever I look. This is a rather nice one in a well selected colour scheme down on the M32 roundabout.
Pl8o, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Although this piece wasn’t part of the outstanding paint jam that included Inkie, Tizer, Rusk, Minto, Hemper and Soker, it was just a little bit further along the wall and was in great company. With a few more years hard graft, I can easily see Pl8o painting comfortably alongside such artists.
Natural adventures 