1359. M32 roundabout J3 (68)

I do like Mr Draws. It has been fun following his progress over the last three or so years and seeing his unstoppable enthusiasm for experimentation. His pieces are raw and creative, but not the highly polished design pieces we see from several other Bristol writers.

Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2018
Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2018

Mr Draws ploughs his own furrow and will not be intimidated by any nonsensical hierarchy – he just gets on and does what he loves. I caught up with him while he was spraying this unusual piece and he announced that he was going to be moving to Berlin later in the year. I will definitely miss tracking down his work, but I think he will have an amazing time.

Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2018
Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2018

This week artists from all over the globe have been finding out whether their applications to paint at Upfest 2018 have been accepted. Mr Draws has made the cut and will be there.

1358. Moon Street (41)

One of my favourite streets and one of my favourite artists – the perfect match. This is a lovely piece by Face F1st, who is probably one of Bristol’s most consistently prolific artists on the street at the moment.

Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018
Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018

This is a large work, with all his characteristic swirls and figure of eights worked into a pattern and the letters FACE book-ending the face in the middle. Sadly this fine work lasted less than a week.

Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018
Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018

Hare

 

Slender herbivore

tall ears and like a rabbit

but not a rabbit.

 

by Scooj

Antlion

 

Great gladiator

conical dust arena

jaws at the ready.

 

by Scooj

 

1357. Dean Lane skate park (112)

I always like finding Elvs pieces, there is something about how intricate and so very clean about them. Fantastic detailing and sharpness that so many pieces I see every day just don’t have. One of the features that helps his work stand out, is that his vanishing point for the shaded edges of the letters is somewhere in the middle of the piece, whereas much of the writing you see has a vanishing point to one side or the other. Small thing I know, but these things help give artists their uniqueness.

Elvs, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, March 2018
Elvs, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, March 2018

As ever his lettering is outstanding and the colours really stand out on the blue background. I get the impression that his work probabkly takes quite some time to do, no sign of a quick throw up mentality here. I have not yet med Elvs, but would sure like to se him at work.

1356. Horfield skate park (2)

I don’t go to this spot often, but just happened to be picking up my daughter and a friend from Horfield Sports Centre and had five minutes to kill. I took a short walk around the perimeter of the skate park, in the melting snow, and was pretty happy to find this writing from Rusk.

Rusk, Horfield skate park, Bristol, March 2018
Rusk, Horfield skate park, Bristol, March 2018

Most of the stuff here is pretty elementary and it is a bit of a practice wall, so it is always nice to see something a bit more polished from an established graffiti writer. The class of this piece stands out, and even on a wall that not many will see, Rusk has taken his time to produce something of quality. A nice March surprise.

Thursday doors

Door 23

Door, Hotwell Road, Bristol
Door, Hotwell Road, Bristol

I do love a door within a door, and this beautiful red one in Hotwell Road really ticks some boxes for me. It is not particularly old nor is it all that interesting in that it has few features to speak of, but it has bundles of character. Most people probably wouldn’t give it a second glance, but to those who like to look might like it.

It was a double-take door for me. I actually walked past it, stopped in my tracks and went back to it to take these pictures. A nice simple door.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.

 

 

 

1355. North Street Green (10)

I recently took a few work colleagues on a guided street art tour to Bedminster as part of an organisational event designed to share skills, learn more about the work we do and to get to know each other better and the city we live in as part of a wellbeing initiative. The tour was very oversubscribed, and I may have to run some more. It was something of a success and all the participants told me that they had really enjoyed it.

Andy Council, North Street Green, Bristol, February 2018
Andy Council, North Street Green, Bristol, February 2018

What luck it was then that we came across one of Bristol’s most well known street artists at work, just finishing off a new work as part of his nomination as Upfest artist of the month for March in the build up to Upfest 2018, Andy Council.

Andy Council, North Street Green, Bristol, March 2018
Andy Council, North Street Green, Bristol, March 2018

His style and presentation should come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog. He has created a wonderful dinosaur, a stegosaurus type I think, which is composed of architectural features, including the Clifton Suspension Bridge on the head of the beast. I stopped for a quick chat with Andy, but it was the coldest day of the year so far and I felt I needed to keep the tour moving. It was nice to be able to show people an artist at work, and even better that it was Andy Council.

1354. Upfest 2017 (140)

The boards erected in South Street Park played host to some of the very best work at Upfest 2017, and this piece by Krimsone and Scott Nagy was right up there with the very best. This amazing collaboration shows street art storytelling at its very best.

Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The magical story unfolding here is of a young child in bed, and a bedroom that is transforming into a dream-like fantasy world, and his bed is in fact a little boat. The whole image has the look of an illustration from a children’s book.

Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Both artists are from Australia, and if it weren’t for Upfest, how on earth would I ever get to see their amazing work? Such is the draw of the festival that artists from all over the world make the journey to Bedminster. I sometimes wonder if Bristolians know how lucky they are.

This is such a skillfully painted piece, such a shame that it was only temporary.

Goose Barnacle

 

Attached to flotsam

a curious crustacean

and filter feeder.

 

by Scooj

  • Occasionally one can be lucky enough to see these fascinating creatures washed up on driftwood. They really are most unusual.
  • I like the name, because if you switch the words you get barnacle goose, which is great wordplay. I test myself regularly to see if there are any other such animal names that can be transposed in this way. I haven’t found one yet. (Sadly there is no such thing as a monkey spider…for example.)
  • It was named because it was thought (before such things were understood) that barnacle geese were created from them as their nests and chicks were never seen in Northern Europe. The goose barnacle has a long ‘neck’ and the main part of the body resembles a head and beak.