.
As food time draws near
no respect for protocol
pets appear on screen
.
by Scooj
3294. Dean Lane skate park (362)
Within street art circles, the digital social media network is a fairly crowded place, and a fair proportion of the pieces I photograph I have already seen on Instagram and I make a deliberate decision to go and find them. A smaller proportion of pieces I ‘discover’ all on my own and in a strange way this gives me rather more personal satisfaction. I suppose one solution would be to stop using social media (would probably be a good thing in the long run), but somehow these platforms lend themselves so well to the ephemeral nature of the art I love. I found this one without knowing of its existence and what a lovely surprise it was.
Soker has knocked it out of the park with this tight colourful and beautifully designed piece of graffiti writing in Dean Lane. The colours used with the letters complement each other so well whilst contrasting too – how does he achieve that? The whole thing simply oozes class, something I have said so many times when writing about Soker’s work. Classy work, classy artist.
3293. Cheltenham 2020 (15)
The Celtenham Paint Festival was a bit of an unusual affair this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Slightly last minute and slightly reduced in ambition there wasn’t quite the atmosphere one would expect at a paint festival, but the quality of the art and variety of artists was nonetheless up to its usual standard.
Fark is not an artist I am familiar with, but am very much drawn to this piece. The strong lines, uncomplicated scenes and bold colours are reminiscent of Dick Bruna’s work, a Dutch artist and author whose ‘Miffy’ books were a cornerstone of my early childhood. There is a lot to like in this simple painting of a songbird and who can argue with the central message of love? We need to get this artist to Bristol!
Nasal assault
.
Orange in colour
orange in name peeled to pith
surroundaroma
.
by Scooj
3292. Cheltenham 2020 (14)
There were so many Bristol artists at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, which should have come as no surprise really as it is only a short distance away. One of those artists was Pekoe with this rather nice portrait piece.
Pekoe’s portraits are easy to identify, usually by the fabulous styling of big hair filled and decorated, and this piece certainly doesn’t disappoint on that score. I stupidly haven’t met Pekoe yet, but I guess it is just a matter of time, being in the right place at the right time, although with a new lock down in place that might be a little while away.
3291. Cheltenham 2020 (13)
Mr Draws really came up with something of a surprise at this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival with this environmental piece of an elephant and the slogan ‘ system change not climate change’.
I caught up with Mr Draws in the centre of town and he told me that he had used a technique for the first time which is used by many artists called a doodle grid. He reported that he enjoyed it and that it had worked really well. There seems to be a bit of a mixture of techniques and styles within the piece, for example the rather abstract foliage, the well proportioned elephant and the twigs with leaves. A strange combination but one with a clear strong message.
3290. Cheltenham 2020 (12)
Kingfishers are a favourite subject for street artists and it is amazing how these little bird can give such inspiration, I wonder what it is about them that makes our hearts sing, is it the colours? The fleeting glimpses? The fishing? Who knows, but they are certainly a very popular.
I don’t know anything about the artist Graffoflarge, but he clearly has a sense of humour by fusing a kingfisher and duck in this piece. The artwork is really interesting, being made up largely of lines and the background is beautifully done to provide the perfect backdrop for the subject. Vibrant and fun, a classy piece.
3289. Cheltenham 2020 (11)
It is time for another short series of posts on this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival back in September, starting with this lovely collaboration from Bristol artists Inkie and Soker. This is one of those collaborations where the artists share a wall and colour scheme, but each piece is otherwise independent.
On the left is a stunner from Inkie full of intricate detail. This is a piece which the artist obviously spent a lot of time on and that time has paid off because in my eyes this is a near-perfect piece of graffiti writing.
On the right of the wall Soker has similarly smashed it. To anyone seeing this and thinking this is just another piece of graffiti, think again… this is world-class writing from two of the very best, and how lucky are we that they both come from Bristol. The more I look at this piece, the more I enjoy it. Bravo!
Weekly shop
.
With leaden footsteps
I drag me from aisle to aisle
necessary chore
.
by Scooj
3288. Cumberland Basin
It took me a little while to solve the mystery of these faces that started to appear all over Bristol from about September time. Of course the answer was staring me in the face (almost literally) all the time, but I simply didn’t make the connection. It wasn’t until I saw an Instagram post by the artist that the penny dropped. It is of course by Slakarts.
Slakarts is another artist who has been fairly quiet for most of the year, but suddenly a rash of pieces very similar to this one started appearinng a few weeks ago. It is strange that an artist who is known for using a certain style changes the basic shape of his pieces and then repeats them all over the place in the form of a mega-tag, but that is what Slakarts has done. I like this piece with strong lines and fills, and it certainly catches the eye. Look out for more on Natural Adventures before too long.
Natural adventures 