This was a nice little piece from DJ Perks in Dean Lane. It is something of a miracle that this father of six children manages to get out and paint at all, but he does, mostly at L Dub (Lawrence Weston) but ocassionally here in Bedminster too.
DJ Perks, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
I would categorise DJ Perks’ work as formative, and that he has some really nice ideas and executes them well, but with practice I feel that there is a lot more to come from this street art hunter. As I have said before, he gives me hope for my own painting ambitions. This was another one from the archives, back in May last year. Coming soon some recent pieces… Yeah! street art has not been entirely killed by Covid-19.
I thought I had posted all my pictures of French artist Tian’s wheatpastes in Bristol from a visit he made in May last year, but I was mistaken, and the opportunity that Covid-19 has given me to ‘look back’ has unearthed a whole bunch more of which this is one.
Tian, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2019
I love Tian’s work and that he has twice visited Brisol in recent years and left us these wonderful pasteups is a real privilege. I’m not sure who the sepia-tinted woman featured is, it might be Jane Fonda? Or possibly it isn’t anyone famous. No matter, it is beautiful in my eyes. More to come, and possibly a gallery soon.
Some more archive material. There can only be one reason why this outstanding piece by Dan Kitchner never made it into Natural Adventures, and that is that I can’t remember exactly where in Easton this wall is. No matter, I have overcome this problem with giving it a general ‘Easton’ label.
Dan Kitchener, Easton, Bristol, May 2019
The wall is split into a long landscape part with cars in a wet street scene, and a portrait section filling an old bricked-up window space featuring one of his trademark pedestrians with an open umbrella.
Dan Kitchener, Easton, Bristol, May 2019
There is something so incredibly atmospheric about these pieces, and living in such a wet country they really resonate with me. They also remind me a little of the original Bladerunner film with its oriental element.
I first saw this a few years back, but never stopped to photograph it. I found it again last year and decided not to make the same mistake. If only I’d written down the road name too!
Aah, this is a real beauty from T-Rex at the Cheltenham Paint Festival 2019. Three mischievous dinosaurs on the rampage in the Honeybourne Line tunnel, simply perfect. I said a short while ago that I don’t feature T-Rex nearly enou* in Natural Adventures and that this is another opportunity to put that right.
T-Rex, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
T-Rex is so adept at painting these characters that I expect she could do it in her sleep. For good measure she has complemented the rascals with a couple of fanged snakes for good measure. A lovely piece from the RAW (Read and Weep) artist.
I posted this collaboration by Turoe One and Rusk yesterday without any words by mistake, so here it is today with some words. Not surprisingly the post received as many views/likes as it might have done without any description which is a little disheartening, but it is still nice that people apreciate the pitures. Thank you Paul for pointing out my error.
Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
The piece itself was painted at the Cheltenham Paint Festival last September and I was lucky enough to bump ito the artists while they were grabbing some sandwiches midway through their session. The photograph above is the only one I have with the whole piece, including the bookend characters.
Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Both artists should be familiar to regular readers of Natural Adventures, and didn’t have to travel far from their native Bristol to get to Cheltenham. My poor knowledge of popular culture prohibits me from telling youn too much about the characters in the piece but it is certainly spectacular and a true collaboration where both artists have contributed to all aspects of the work.
Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
The end characters are beautifully painted, and I would guess the one on the left was by Turoe One and the other by Rusk (I’ve got a 50/50 chance of getting that one right).
A most impressive piece from these two graffiti writers.
At last I have a space to unlock this amazing piece by Sophie Long at the Cheltenham Paint Festival featuring a family of polar bears taking a walk. The piece is one of the larger ones that I have seen by the Bristol-based artist and was one of the highlights of the festival. Unfortunately, although I went to the festival on two days, I didn’t get to meet Sophie on this occasion.
Sophie Long, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
The painting carries all the hallmarks I would associate with Sophie Longs work. The bears are beautifully laid out in differing poses and touched with some colourful paintwork that complements the overall composition. Imagine how different this piece would look if it were just plain white bears.
Sophie Long, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Of course, no Sophie Long piece would be complete without drips, and this piece has lots of them. This is a fine wildlife work from an artist who specialises in this kind of subject.
The new world in which we all find ourselves is taking a little getting used to. I have managed to get out and walk the dog every day (the dog I never really wanted, but wouldn’t be without now) and have found something of a routine, which helps to maintain some kind of sanity. Recently, Montpelier and St Werburghs have been destinations of choice, not least because of the rich seam of doors to be found there.
This selection from a couple of weeks ago are typical of the Montpelier area. Montpelier is an interesting district and is at the heart of middle/working class alternative thinking and alternative lifestyles sometimes rather romantically depressed up as a Bohemian hub. Certainly the area is artistic and there is a real mix of housing from rather grand to not so grand. For door lovers this eclectic mix provides so much opportunity. Expect more doorscursions from me in Montpelier in the coming crazy weeks ahead.
No more chit chat (relief all round). Some doors:
Worn and weathered garage door, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020
Garden gate, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020
Garden gate, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020
Door within a sliding door, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020
This garage/workshop door really is my kind of door. It has everything… character, door within a door, function, age, neglect all round interest. My pick of the week.
A pair of doors with beautiful stained glass widows above, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020
Door with beautiful stained glass widows above, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020
The last two pictures of doors were included not so much for the doors themselves, but more for the very stylish stained glass triptych above. I can feel myself thinking ‘they just don’t make ‘em like they used to’ when I see door architecture like this. Modern design and materials are all well and good, but cost has compromised so much in the way of decoration.
That’s your lot for another week – there will be more next time. May I take this opportunity to wish you all a happy Easter and happy Passover
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you 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.
Natural adventures 