Trees and hedges clipped
nowhere for the birds to perch
miss the joy they bring.
by Scooj
Trees and hedges clipped
nowhere for the birds to perch
miss the joy they bring.
by Scooj
Flowerpot showers,
frantic feather ruffling,
Spring is in the air.
by Scooj
Blue tits flit about
in branches before me, a
welcome distraction.
by Scooj
A turkey isn’t just for Christmas…or on second thoughts a turkey is just for Christmas, apart from this one by Andy Council on North Street in Bedminster.

This colourful shutter piece gives us what we expect from Andy Council; an animal form created from architectural ‘blocks’ and local icons, in this example Concord forming the crest of the bird. Instantly recognisable, his works encourage close inspection to figure out all the micro-stories going on in the piece.

Sorry about the bins in this one – I guess I should have moved the one on the right of the picture, but I feel it is good to see these things in their context sometimes.
Crows strutting their stuff;
I am suspicious of their
murderous intent.
by Scooj
This is a little spot in a very narrow lane where Aspire likes to paint his birds. I recently posted a work from here of a couple of house sparrows. This, according to Aspire’s website is a coconut lorikeet. So very beautiful and nicely painted, as one would expect from Aspire.

The lane itself is so narrow, that taking decent pictures is really difficult. One note I would make though is that the pictures look ever so slightly out of focus. This is not in fact the case – Aspire manages to create a hint of soft focus on some of his pieces, and you can see this on both the lorikeet and the sparrows.

I will never tire of finding and reporting on Aspire’s work. I tried to find some in London’s Leake Street recently, but failed.
This is another beautiful bird creation by Aspire in Picton Lane, a little alleyway tucked away in Montpelier. I think these are house sparrows, which were so common when I was a youngster, but are something of a rarity these days.

I am full of admiration for the way that Aspire can just turn up to a wall and within a few hours transform it into something of beauty. His talent is as rare as the birds he paints.

I am filled with horror to learn that he has recently moved to London. Our loss is most certainly London’s gain. I wish him all the very best…the streets are lined with gold don’t you know.

I am sure that he will come back occasionally to his native Bristol, lest we forget (an unlikely scenario). Bon voyage.
On the 15th October 2016 The Bearpit played host to an international exhibition entitled ‘Resiste’. The exhibition featured the works of the Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaco, Mexico. I will cover this exhibition in more detail in a forthcoming post, but today I will focus on the participation in the exhibition by Bristol’s magnificent Aspire.



I don’t know quite why, but I have held on to these pictures for some time now. I think it is because I was worried that I might have already posted them. I have to confess that my blog is becoming a bit of a logistical challenge…dozens of folders and thousands of images…sometimes I lose track.

Aspire sprayed this a little while ago, and within a very short space of time, a rather ‘jobsworth’ enforcement notice went up over the top of it. Some people are really stupid, or don’t really care, but when you look at the whole scene I know which bit I consider ugly and which out of place.

