.
A productive patch
becomes a favourite haunt
for an errant dog
.
by Scooj
7129. M32 roundabout J3 (702)
This wonderful piece is far and away the largest mural I have seen from Lis (Le Imposter Design) to date, and I was really lucky to find and photograph it, as it only lasted a day or two. Watching Lis develop and grow in confidence over the last year or so has been one of the great joys of doing what I do, and this piece brings together a whole bunch of ideas into a natural ensemble.
Let’s start with the writing – I think this is the first time I have seen Lis write anything, and it really isn’t a bad effort, and the letters and fills are commensurate with the mood of the whole piece (UPDATE: Lis tells me that the writing and the Octopus are by her friend and collaborator Elsa Bee). The pond scene with the dragonflies and bulrushes is unusual and uplifting, and although the octopus is a bit incongruous, he seems to be having a great time (which knowing it is by another artist now makes complete sense). A natural salsa. Lis is developing a lovely style all of her own, and I hope very much to meet her one day to tell her how good I think her work is.
7128. Dean Lane skate park (861)
This wall has hosted some utterly outstanding pieces over the years, and this combination collaboration from Dibz and Cheo is right up there with the very best of them. The first thing to notice about this wonderful piece is just how neatly it has been executed and how well it stands out on the black background.
The comic character, painted by Cheo is holding up a small board on which Dibz has written his name – it is a brilliantly clever way to present a character and graffiti writing together in a contextual storytelling scenario. There are so many details in the collaboration to enjoy, such as the signature bee, the laminate wooden board peeling and drips from the letters, and my favourite bit, the plaster on the character’s nose. Pure genius from Dibz and Cheo.
Clean
.
The beard is removed
trip to the barbershop next
holiday-ready
.
by Scooj
7127. Greenbank (166)
Another powerful combination of imagery and words from the Bristol Mural Collective paint jam that was themed on Palestine. This particular piece by Amy McHugh is visually impactful using the image of a dove of peace carrying a flower, and shedding a tear.
The colours, as with most of these paint jam pieces, pick up on the colours of the Palestinian flag, which are all represented. The words “None of us are free until we’re all free – Palestine” are interesting, especially their approximation to the Jewish poet Emma Lazarus who wrote in 1883, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” It is a sentiment I believe many of us can agree with, but I fear we might be in for a long wait.
This is a strong message of support for Palestine and the people of Gaza and the West Bank by Amy McHugh.
7126. M32 roundabout J3 (701)
In Bristol we have so many different styles of graffiti writing, and a lot of these fit into certain defined categories such as wildstyle, anamorphic, calligraffiti, anti-style, script, bubble writing and so on, but with some artists, it is really difficult to stick them in a particular pigeonhole, and I think Sait bare is one of those,
This is a nice piece painted alongside Hire, a pairing that seems to be increasingly common. There is a bilateral symmetry emerging in this piece, which is perhaps the key focal point, as the fills are quite plain. The drop shadow converging on a central vanishing point and the glowing green border highlights provide plenty of depth. Also, the eyes, which are common to both this piece and the adjacent one by Hire, definitely add interest.
The sickness
.
Politician’s lies
influencers, feeble minds
division and hate
difficult times to live in
social media pollutes
.
by Scooj
7125. M32 Cycle path (294)
Well this piece by Face 1st is as unusual as it was unexpected. Face 1st moved to Herefordshire earlier this year and only visits occasionally (to scratch that itch), so it is always a bonus to find one of his pieces. This looks like it was painted in a bit of a hurry, but has some interesting deviations from his typical work.
The stacked letters spell ‘Face’, with the word ‘First’ in the bottom right, so there is no mistaking the artist, with a PWA (Pirate Wall Art crew) just for confirmation. The script letters with some diagonal hatching have an extremely deep drop shadow in turquoise and is quite different from his usual writing style. The colours and lines make the whole thing look a little bit like an illustration, and has a bit of a look of Alex Lucas about it. An unusual addition to his portfolio.
7124. Montpelier Park
I don’t visit Montpelier Park all that often, but every time I do go, there seems to be new stuff there, so maybe I ought to increase the frequency of my trips so that I don’t miss out on beauties like this one from Stivs.
Stivs is something of an enigma. His work is so varied, he is unbelievably talented, and you never really quite know what he is going to come up with next. He used to be heavy on the calligraffiti, but these days he is painting more of these portrait pieces. This one is a real stunner, and drifting ever-closer to photorealism. I am very much enjoying the ride.
Thursday doors – 28 August 2025 – Marrakesh doors
Doors 322 – Doors of Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2025 (Part III)
This week’s selection of doors were taken in the backstreets in the southern part of the Medina. Front doors are often quite fancy and elaborate, and might be the only sign that there is a dwelling at all. Many houses don’t even have windows facing out onto the street, and so the door becomes an important statement.
The narrow labyrinthine streets area wonderful pinky red colour, but quite imposing and stark, punctuated by these amazing doors. Occasionally you get to peek behind a door that might be open or ajar, and a beautiful, colourful, often tiled interior awaits.
This selection includes a range of different styles and sizes of doors, each one special in its own way. I hope you enjoy them:
More of the same next time, although I hope to provide a bit more context around these doors to provide more of a sense of place. While these backstreets were generally fairly quiet, some of the more touristy places were so full of bustle, and I hope to get this across in posts to come. That’s it for now, 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 No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post.
Natural adventures 