.
Heart of the city
the Avon, a sandpiper
heard though not quite seen
.
by Scooj
Tag: bird
6218. Jubilee Street (9)
I had a lovely evening a couple of weeks ago, visiting the opening of Merny’s art exhibition in Midland Street. Parking in the area was a little troublesome, so I parked a bit of a distance away, but used the opportunity to visit a little graffiti hotspot that I don’t go to all that often. I was rewarded with finding this Mote/Mr Crawls collaboration tucked away on a wall in Jubilee street.
I think that this piece might be a few months old, because I haven’t seen Mr Crawls’ skeleton-neck bird for some time, although the paintwork does look pretty fresh. This pairing has endured really well and brought the best out of both artists, which is great to see. They also tend to visit pretty much every available spot in the city, unlike some artists who may not stray too far from their favoured spots, which adds to their appeal… you just never know when you might stumble across their work.
Swift return
.
Peerless aeronauts
I feared they would not return
sky-high joyful flight
.
by Scooj
6123. Cumberland Basin
Some more jolly capers from Mr Crawls and Mote, who have been smashing it for months now, and continue to turn out some great and fun character pieces dotted all over the place. This pair of characters were painted on the warehouse wall in Cumberland Basin, and command a majestic view over the river.
To the left is a friendly, toothy monster by Mote whose eyes (in common with the adjacent Mr Crawls character) are simply holes in the head, creating a mask-like effect. There are some nice squiggles and doodles in the fill, something of a trademark of Mote’s work. On the right Mr Crawls has recreated one of his hatted birds, although in a stylised cartoon form that is more angular than some of his earlier work. The pair look magnificent on the white background, and are unusually large, due to the big wall they have chosen to paint.
6108. Upfest 2024 (24)
With the sheer number and quality of large murals at this year’s Upfest, it was easy to become complacent, and I nearly missed this wonderful piece, by Angie Jerez, above Kask, which when you stroll on the ‘wrong’ side of the road in North Street, is quite easy to do, which I why I always walk up one side and back the other side.
This mural, featuring two birds and plant seed heads, way above the clouds has been beautifully designed around the stacked windows above the wine bar. The limited number of colours draws attention to the fine detail of the design itself, and the stylised birds are glorious. I don’t know anything about Angie Jerez other than what appears in her Upfest Biography, and that she is originally from Bogotá in Colombia, but now lives in Atlanta. What a brilliant thing that she came to Bristol to paint at Upfest.
6086. Cumberland Basin
I’m not sure how old this collaboration by Mr Crawls and Mote is, but it can’t be all that old, because it contains some fairly recent features incorporated into each of their work. The reason I am a bit puzzled is that the fencing in front of the wall looks like it has been there a while. All I can think is that they moved it out of the way to paint and then put it back afterwards.
To the left is a a stylised cartoon bird by Mr Crawls, which is a development of his earlier birds that we used to see about the place. There is something slightly more figurative about the artwork, and it is a direction that the artist is going in that I am definitely enjoying.
Like other artists, street artists appear to go through ‘periods’ and I would call this Mote’s ‘eye’ period, where he is playing with different presentations of eyes. The mouth of this one seems to almost be leaning in to Picasso territory, or maybe something a little more surreal. Lots more fun from these to to come, but I was happy with finding this collaboration which was just a little bit off the beaten track.
6063. Cattle Market Road (18)
The productive partnership between Mr Crawls and Mote continues without interruption. What is comforting bout their work is that both artists are continually evolving, and their influences on one another converge and then diverge, so in this collaboration, we see that slight divergence of styles.
Mr Crawls has recently been experimenting with monochrome pieces and developed more of an angular approach to his stylised bird characters, quite a shift from his early pieces. Mote, meanwhile, is creating ever more sophisticated monsters, and working hard on particular features such as the eyelids. I continue to derive so much pleasure from these two character artists.
6002. Dean Lane skate park (713)
These pictures are my second attempt at capturing this fine bird piece by Mr Crawls, the first effort resulted in photographs that had the piece in brighter light but scattered with shadows. Sometimes overcast days are much better for certain spots, such as Greenbank and Sparke Evans Park, as well as anywhere with overhanging trees or herbage.
Mr Crawls has been having a great few months, especially since joining up with Mote, a partnership that appears to have stretched both artists with some terrific outcomes. In this bird piece, Mr Crawls has used his favoured chrome background as a backdrop for his raptor(?) character sporting a rather nice hat. Although Mr Crawls has been experimenting with all sorts of creative monsters, it is comforting when he returns to one of his classic birds.
5964. Brunel Way (268)
Everything about this piece by Mr Crawls is good. Utility box painting, in my view is providing a public service, and indeed in some countries is actively promoted, to turn these utilitarian metal monstrosities into something attractive and a talking point. This artwork is of course illegal and considered subversive, and yet what joy it brings.
Mr Crawls has been using chrome backgrounds a lot lately and it works especially well here, providing a neutral backdrop to a stunning red and grey bird character piece. I think that the way this has come together and the location contribute towards making it my favourite piece by the artist so far (I think).
Red kite
.
A rare privilege
private viewing of a kill
light feathers flying
.
by Scooj
• In the grounds of Peterborough cathedral I was lucky enough to witness a red kite making a kill, taking it to a perch and plucking it. I was alone and was unable to share the moment.
I happened to be in the company of a bird expert in the workshop I was running later on, and he identified the bird from the film I took and said that it was very unusual for red kites to kill prey as they are not designed for it and are carrion feeders, so this was a rare occurrence.
Natural adventures 