Am I mistaken?
I think I heard the call of
a green woodpecker.
by Scooj
Tag: bird
1972. M32 roundabout J3 (119)
There are not enough great words to describe the work of Sled One. One after another he turns out the most incredible pieces that explode with colour and imagination. I have noticed that often his compositions are amalgamations of bits of ideas that all come together to create a magnificent whole.
This piece is quite extraordinary, pulling together bird parts to form a bird skull/head stuffed with leaves and plants. Another bird wing and beak juts out of the back of the head – I am not sure what is happening there.
The whole piece, although adorned with a cartoon smile and glint in the eyes, also for me has a darker side, but I can’t put my finger on why that might be. Even his signature is classy, a pink neon moniker a la Voyder. So Good.
1813. Upfest 2018 (73)
Yet another new wall for 2018, and how well it has been utilised by Dinho Bento. I guess this wall could have been split into two or three slots, but what a great decision to keep its integrity.
Dinho Bento is a Brazilian artist whose work seems to draw inspiration from the natural world. A quick glance at his Facebook feed tells you that he is interested in portraying the interconnectedness of humanity with our environment, and the organic green strands in this piece are a representation of that connection – or at least, that is my interpretation.
I can’t necessarily put my finger on it, but artists from different countries definitely have national styles, or perhaps continental styles, and this piece really screams out South America. I guess the more art you see, the more you recognise this phenomenon, and while it is not true of all artists, it is a real thing.
The natural world themes and story of this piece really chime for me. It is called ‘Listen to Nature’ – something I have done all my life. Great work Dinho Bento.
1751. Tower Hill (1)
A colleague alerted me to this hoarding, which is within lunchtime walking distance from my work, so I felt obliged to go and take a look. Sometimes such tip-offs can be a bit of a disappointment, because not all ‘street art’ is worth the trip. This wonderful piece by Smak however was absolutely worth it.
I had kind of been aware of these hoardings but didn’t know that there was anything decent there. In fact there were three notable pieces of which this is the first. Smak is an interesting artist in that he has two personas. This is his ‘graff’ persona, but he also does high-end pieces and commissions under another name – he even painted a large wall at Upfest this year (to follow).
This wildstyle writing is really skilfully done and spells out SMAK. In the middle of the work he had woven in the head of a bird, and there are some feathers in there too. A classy piece.
1710. Upfest 2018 (35)
Max ‘syther’ Oughton is no stranger to Upfest, and indeed I wrote a short post covering his work from Upfest 2017. This artist, from East Anglia, is making a niche for himself with animal studies and illustration, so the Upfest programme notes tell us and this piece certainly covers that territory with a seabird entangled in the tentacles of an octopus.
The colour selections which are calming and serene betray the rather brutal scene which is a skilfully executed juxtaposition. Max Oughton has a great eye for the natural world, and it is great to be able to see his work for two years running.
I think that Max was just tidying up after finishing the piece when I took this last picture…a celebratory fag hanging out of his mouth.
1548. Dean Lane skate park (135)
There is not too much to say about this lovely little toucan by Touc, other than I think it was the first one of his little birds that I found, and I have just retrieved it from my archive.
I’ve not seen any new ones recently, but am always on the look out.
Swifts
Familiar screech
decorating whitened skies;
a British summer.
by Scooj
Once common
Hear cheeky chirpy
house sparrows doing their thing
red list remainers.
by Scooj
Unexpected joy
.
Unusual find
beneath the garden decking;
secluded wren nest.
.
by Scooj
1483. The Bearpit (145)
So, here he is once again, this time making an appearance in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit. This toucan, by Touc, really is one of the cheeriest graffiti characters in town and I would suggest you have a cold heart if you aren’t the tiniest bit captivated by him.
I don’t know what HATOUCAN means…is it a toucan sneeze? My supply of Touc finds is drying up a little, so you might not see him for a little while – until then…farewell.
