.
Outside rain crashes
I’m singing in the shower
did I miss something?
.
by Scooj
Tag: Bristol
6421. Upfest 2024 (53)
Sometimes street art takes on a new and vibrant form, and even when you think you’ve seen it all, an artist like Perspicere will come along and blow your mind. I have been aware of Perspicere for a couple of years, but managed to encounter him at work twice this year, both at Upfest and at the Cheltenham Paint Festival.
Perspicere works with thread that is suspended between rows of hooks along each side of the frame. By threading the line across from one hook to another again and again in a very specific order he builds up a layer of thread that has depth and colour, tricking the eyes. He uses only four colours of thread (red, blue, yellow and white) and the whole thing is worked out using a computer programme, and he has to follow the directions meticulously. The end result is mind-boggling, especially on the scale that he works to.
I think that you have to have a special kind of patience and determination to do this kind of thing, but perhaps it is a rather mindful exercise and great for zoning out. A fine addition to the spectrum of art at this year’s Upfest.
6420. Upfest 2024 (52)
Somehow this piece by Jimmer Wilmott passed me by at this year’s Upfest, and I only got to see it recently during a visit to a few spots with Paul H, including the Tobacco Factory. Sunday is the best day to visit this spot, because there are no cars in the parking spaces, which are immediately in front of the wall. Saturdays would also be good, if it weren’t for the market, which clogs things up a bit.
Jimmer Wilmott has been working in the studio on canvass with his ‘alphabetti spaghetti’ pieces for quite a long while now, but this is the first wall I am aware of that he has decorated in this way. The concept is simple and brilliant and somehow he achieves a photorealistic presentation, which causes many a double-take. Spelling ‘Jimmer was ere’, this is a creative delight from one of the most creative talents in Bristol.
6419. Upfest 2024 (51)
It was a real pleasure to catch up with Hardy at Upfest 24 at the time that he was painting this piece, and he had plenty of kind words to say about my posts on Natural Adventures, which I always find a little bit surprising, because I really have no idea (beyond the core readership of the blog) who reads this stuff, and whether they value it. The function of my street art/graffiti posts is to keep a living record of contemporary street art in Bristol, if people visit and enjoy, then I am doubly satisfied.
Hardy has used this space well to spray four of his distinctive stencils, in two sizes and in different colours, and decorated the rest of the area with symbols and patterns, without which the stencils might look a little stark. Brightening up this space for Upfest.
6418. Brunel Way (295)
I am still a little under the weather with Covid this morning, so only short posts today. This is a wonderful piece of chrome graffiti writing from Kosc in a spot that he has painted before, but I don’t usually associate with him.
The letters are made up in the style of riveted sheets of metal, a device used by many writers and one that is very effective. Kosc has perfected this style.
Long in the tooth
.
When it rains it pours
tossed in a sea of covid
tooth fragment shears off
.
by Scooj
6417. Dean Lane skate park (763)
The curved wall in Dean Lane skate park is one of the most iconic and popular in Bristol as evidenced by the thick layers of paint that periodically peel off, often more than a centimetre thick. You can get a feel for the popularity of the wall from my updated ‘one wall many faces’ gallery of this wall
Mr Crawls has done us proud with one of his bird characters that have become so familiar around the city. One of the things that I love about his work is that he is constantly evolving and that even though he may return to former themes and subjects he always incorporates new elements that he has picked up along the way. This is a particularly attractive bird.
6416. Cumberland Basin
When the best get together, small miracles happen. And when I look at a collaboration between Soker and Sled One, I find myself asking (again) how do they do this? Of course, I know how they do it, but technically and creatively it becomes unfathomable.
The writing to the left is by Soker, and I would like to add that it is wonderful to see him out painting a little more often these days after a prolonged quiet period. The beautifully crafted letters are filled with a stunning combination of colours that work perfectly together. This is wildstyle graffiti writing at its best.
The character piece is by Sled One and features a young man (self-portrait?) gazing into a lava lamp filled with trippy smiley faces that bleed into the rest of the collaboration. Sled One not only creates these marvellous characters and scenes, but tells a whole story, which the viewer is challenged to piece together. This is a very special collaboration.
Covid revisited
.
Sea of waking dreams
and fever-induced phantoms
sleepless soaking nights
.
by Scooj
- I stole the first line from the poem ‘I am’ by John Clare.
6415. Dean Lane skate park (762)
I am really flagging. This is a beauty from Hypo, who I met at the M32 roundabout a couple of days ago. He continues to turn out quality pieces with great regularity, and this one is so full of energy and effervescence.
We talked a little of his penchant for symmetry, and chatted about Werm who is going through a phase of writing his letters with a bilateral symmetry. In symmetry lies perfection… That’s yer lot, back to bed for me.
Natural adventures 