At the south entrance to St Werburghs tunnel is this wonderful piece from Decay that just kind of appeared under the radar in a modest and quiet way. I love it when that happens, no fanfare, just an appearance… as if by magic.
Decay, St Werburghs, Bristtol, June 2020
Decay has managed to introduce a gentle and light summery feel to this piece, and a really clever touch is the light grey shadings at the lower half of the letters that give the piece body and lift it out from the wall a little. The more observant of you might notice that this is a BLM piece and the ‘Chuck’ character makes a second appearance on the left hand side wall with BLM speech bubble.
I told you that Soge has been busy, and this is yet another one of a fine collection painted in the last three weeks or so. You might notice that this one was painted as part of the Poland v Spain paint jam at the end of May, and once again incorporates his little beaver character which looks like it has become an established thing for the artist.
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2020
It was a privilege to be able to watch all the artists at work during the paint jam, and I managed to catch up with several of them and introduce myself to some for the first time, including Soge, who was painting next to Hire.
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020
The piece of writing is really classy, and I particularly like the blue line that is coiled around the whole thing. What is also nice is that the beaver isn’t a throw-away gesture at a character, but a very nicely worked little thing that complements the writing without dominating is. A great, nicely balanced piece.
Doors 112 – Back to some archive street/graffiti art doors
Another extraordinarily busy week for me, and limited time to pull together new doors, so it is another retrospective of street art doors (one or two of which have been seen before on Thursday doors) this week. Here goes, this selection were first published on Natural Adventures in 2017:
Skor85, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2017N4T4, North Street, Bristol, September 2015Banksy, Bristol Museum, Bristol, May 2014
This world famous Banksy piece called ‘mobile lovers’ was in the Bristol Museum for a short while before being returned to the Broad Plain Boys’ Club on whose door it had been painted. They sold the door to a private collector for £403,000 which alleviated the financial problems they were having. It was what Banksy had intended.
Thursday door. North Street, Bedminster, BristolDrew Copus, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016Door, Freeman Alley, New YorkMy Dog Sighs and Snub23, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
There is a door hidden in the middle of this piece.
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017Irony, Camden Town, London, November 2017Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017Ian Phenna, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Another rush through a slightly more international selection there which I hope you enjoyed. Have a great weekend.
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.
At last, with the help of Paul H, I have been able to access a spot where great treasures are painted. I guess that it is fitting that the first piece (of many, many I hope) from this spot is by Ryder, who has been tireless in keeping our walls fresh for as long as I have been writing about street/graffiti art, and indeed quite a while longer than that.
Ryder, Frome side, Bristol, June 2020
This is a very nice piece indeed from the RAW man with his customary tidy writing and faces lurking within the letters being reflected in a ‘watery’ medium beneath a thin layer of mist. Great colours and great execution and an all round winning piece.
One of the great pleasures for a street art photographer is when a particular artist wakes up from a long slumber. Having seen very little from Angry Face over the last couple of years, we have seen two new pieces of late, of which this one in St Werburghs tunnel is the most recent.
Angry Face, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2020
Not only has Angry Face returned, but his work seems altogether a bit more colourful and considered and although the basic angry face motif is largely unchanged, the patterns and fills are intricate and nicely done. I am really enjoying this reawakening and look forward to more appearances.
It feels like the lock down has energised and inspired Soge in a significant way. Firstly, the sheer number of pieces he has sprayed over the last three weeks or so is mind-boggling and secondly he seems to have raised his game in terms of creativity and quality. He has a new lease of life.
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
This is a magnificent piece, which is lucky because it is a brave artist who would paint over the Epok and Piro collaboration masterpiece that occupied this wall and half of which sits above Soge’s work. The writing is first class and he has again used the crosshatch inside the O of SOGE which is a lovely touch. It looks like the beaver is becoming a thing, which I am really pleased about. I am a big fan of writing/character combinations. I love this piece.
From time to time you get to see a quite breath-taking piece and have absolutely no idea who painted it. That was how I felt when I found this extraordinary feat of graffiti writing in the underpass on New Stadium Road. I have since found out it is by Todoaciem, one of the several Spanish artists currently working in Bristol.
Todoaciem, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2020
I am not yet accustomed to his Gothic influenced style and have struggled to read what the lettering says. I think the green bits form the core letters and everything else is extraordinary decoration and 3D shading. It looks like this piece might have taken a long time to paint, but these guys seem to be able to work at incredible speed. A nice introduction to his work.
A fabulous gallery of fivers from Bristol-based artist Fiva (Fiver). Some truly wonderful pieces here.
All photographs by Scooj
Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2023Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2020Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2017Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2020Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2019Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2019Five, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019Fiva, St George skate park, Bristol, September 2019Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2019Fiva and Nightwayss, St George, Bristol, August 2019Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019Fiva, St George, Bristol, July 2019Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2019Fiva, M32, Bristol, April 2019Fiva, Scooj, M32, Bristol, April 2019Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2019Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2018Fiva, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2018Fiva, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, June 2018Fiva, St Werburghs tunnel, Bristol, June 2016Fiva, Ashley Road, Bristol, December 2017Fiva, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2017Fiver, St Andrews Road, Bristol, December 2016Fiver, St Andrews Road, Bristol, December 2016
Natural adventures 