Tag: Door

Thursday doors

Doors 59

This week I thought I’d share a few of the doors I encounter every time I walk to work, with one or two that are set back a little from my main route. Most are from Stokes Croft, arguably the most ‘colourful’ stretch of road in Bristol (which is some achievement let me tell you).

The first two doors are neighbours, one maintained rather better than the other. It is the awnings over these doors that I love, and which are so typical of some of the older houses in Bristol, although many no longer exist at all…War effort?

Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019

The next three doors are typical of the heavy tagging that goes on in this district. Nearly all of the housing in the area is rented accommodation, and landlords seem to be resigned to the futility of removing the tagging and graffiti – it is an accepted norm here. Having said that, I noticed this week that a couple of buildings have had a makeover and the walls and doors are all freshly painted…a blank canvass?

Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2019

The last door I have meant to include here before but never had the right story to tell with it. As a small enterprise just off Stokes Croft, it fits the bill nicely and rounds off this week’s doors.

Door, Wilder Street, Bristol, January 2019
Door, Wilder Street, Bristol, January 2019

More next week. Go check out a whole ton more doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

by Scooj

 

Thursday doors

Doors 58

Something a little different this week. I have had trouble with door inspiration, call it door writer’s block if you like, and didn’t even manage a post last week, so made a big effort this week to go out and damn well find some doors.

Salvation came in the unexpected form of Bristol Harbour Railway rolling-stock doors (I guess they all count). BHR is a heritage railway which runs for about a mile alongside the floating harbour from the M Shed to the Create Centre (a renovated former tobacco warehouse) passing by the SS Great Britain en route.

The railway operates two steam engines, Portbury (1917) and Henbury (1937) that carry people along the Harbourside during the summer for that nostalgic smut, smoke and steam experience – a must for young families.

On the sidings just beyond the M Shed (a Bristol science/heritage museum) there are several of these wagons in varying stares of repair. Most have doors:

Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019

This red wagon is no longer operational and has been converted into a little cafe.

Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019

Two sets of doors for the price of one

Thursday Doors, Sulphuric Acid Only, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Sulphuric Acid Only, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019

OK, so no doors on this one but it is a stunning sulphuric acid tanker and its very recent renovation was completed on my birthday a couple of weeks back.

Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019

I think this one might be a guard’s wagon.

So, that wraps it up for this week. Plenty more great doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

by Scooj

1975. Devon Road (9)

Following my post of a fabulous Xenz piece in Shoreditch a few days ago, I was reminded about this old one on a garage door in Devon Road, Bristol. I had to trawl through my archives and was thrilled to find it… a task that might sound simpler than it is.

Xenz, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2018
Xenz, Devon Road, Bristol, July 2018

This is a simple piece, perfect for the garage, lifting it out of the bland and ordinary to become a thing of beauty as well as practicality. If only more of the carbuncles and eyesores of our city could be similarly transformed. There is a strong sense of calm in this painting and a connection with nature that I find uplifting. The bee eaters are beautiful too.

Thursday doors

Doors 57

After the fortunate exhibition of doors right next to my work last week, I am left wanting a bit this week. I have gone into my Thursday Doors folder and will share with you three doors from my family trip to New York back in October 2017…is it really that long ago?

So here they are – I don’t quite remember where any of these doors were exactly as I was in my doorscursion infancy and didn’t make a note at the time. In the East Village area I think.

Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017
Thursday door, New York, October 2017

by Scooj.

Look out for some more great doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

Thursday doors

Doors 56

Happy New Year doorsters!

Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018

It would seem that just before Christmas, all my Christmases did actually come at once, which is a rare occurrence.

On my way to work I walk past City Hall, and on one of my last days in the office before the Christmas break, something caught my eye on the long ramps outside the front of the building. That something was not one or two, but several framed doors, each one painted by artists from Bristol.

Naturally I had to take a closer look and of course some photographs. Imagine how I was feeling…doors and street art combined and laid out neatly right next to where I work. I was in heaven.

The only thing missing was any kind of explanation, and it wasn’t until writing this post that I found out what this exhibition was about (Christmas got in the way a little bit).

The exhibition ‘A Year Outdoors‘ was conceived by artist Beau as a way of raising awareness of the pressing issue of homelessness, and these doors were created as a metaphor to challenge austerity cuts. I felt a small whiff of irony that it was the local authority who were hosting the exhibition, perhaps that’s why there weren’t any interpretation boards explaining what the doors were all about.

The doors have been packed away now, but they will be going on tour around the UK and to the United States.

So here they are:

Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Alex Lucas, Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Alex Lucas, Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Alex Lucas, Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Alex Lucas, Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018
Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018

by Scooj.

More great doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

Thursday doors

Top 5 doors from 2018

Norm has suggested that we post a review of our door year and I am a bit of a lazy so and so, so I will simply post my top 5 doors from the year…the ones that did it for me.

The featured image, the door of the dead in Citta di Castello would have come in at number 6.

Number 5 – Montpelier, Bristol

Door, Montpelier, Bristol
Door, Montpelier, Bristol

Number 4 – Fowey, Cornwall

Fancy Fowey doorway, August 2018
Fancy Fowey doorway, August 2018

Number 3 – Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy

Door with plenty of character, Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy
Door with plenty of character, Citta di Castello, Umbria, Italy

Number 2 – Barcelona, Spain

Door, Barcelona, March 2018
Door, Barcelona, March 2018

Number 1 – Bristol

Door, Bob Ballard, Bristol, Thursday Doors
Door, Bob Ballard, Bristol, Thursday Doors

There is a theme here, which perhaps defines my kind of door, can you see what it is?

So there it is. My favourites for the year. I look forward to viewing contributions from other interweb ‘doorsters’.

Thank you Norm for orchestrating Thursday doors and this querky community.

by Scooj.

More 2018 annual review doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

 

Thursday doors

Doors 55

Just a quick selection of graffiti/street art doors from a recent trip to Shoreditch in London. Enjoy!

Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018
Shoreditch Door, London, November 2018

by Scooj

Loads more amazing doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

Thursday doors

Door 54

At the far east end of North Street, Bristol, is the colourful Steam Crane pub, which during Upfest plays host to several walls in its beer garden/back yard. There is a little side passage just to the right of the pub which leads you directly into the yard, and the wall on the right is always crammed with great street art.

On entering into the yard, the far left-hand wall is also given over to a large piece for Upfest. Along the back brick wall however, there is no street art, except for this cheeky little red squirrel by Bristol’s Stewy, whose stencils can be found all over the city.

Thursday doors, The Steam Crane, Stewy squirrel, Bristol
Thursday doors, The Steam Crane, Stewy squirrel, Bristol

The door is plain, but the whole scene – the grey timbered facade, white door and squirrel – seem to come together in a pleasing way.

Squirrel by Stewy on a door in the back yard of The Steam Crane
Squirrel by Stewy on a door in the back yard of The Steam Crane

The squirrel is a stencil that Stewy has used many times about the place but it doesn’t matter how many times you see it, it always charms.

Here are some Upfest pieces from the walls of The Steam Crane:

Pakone, the Steam Crane, Bristol, January 2016
Pakone, the Steam Crane, Bristol, January 2016
Lost Souls, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Lost Souls, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Gemma Compton and Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Gemma Compton and Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
John Curtis, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
John Curtis, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
Id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

by Scooj

Loads more amazing doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

Thursday doors

Doors 53

Well, I have taken a couple of weeks off from Thursday doors for two key reasons. 1) I had run out of door pictures and 2) is irrelevant because of 1).

Last Sunday I found myself in London with some time to kill, so I took off down to Shoreditch to hunt down some street art. Over the course of 4 hours or so, I took just shy of 500 pictures and walked 15 miles. While I was there I managed to find a few doors, and I am sharing the first of them here. There is, rather predictably, a strong street/graffiti art connection.

Shoreditch door, November 2018
Thursday Doors, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

These doors are in a street heavily patronised by wheatpasters – it is worth taking a moment to look at the artworks as there is a real spectrum from poor to excellent.

Shoreditch door, November 2018
Shoreditch door, November 2018

There is hardly a square inch of un-pasted door/wall and looking at it is almost like looking at an archeological dig, with different eras exposed. To many this is just a mess, to me it is individual expression in a space where freedom is tolerated/permitted.

Shoreditch door, November 2018
Shoreditch door, November 2018

by Scooj

More amazing doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

Thursday doors

Door 52

Well here you have it – one year of Thursday doors on Natural Adventures. Technically speaking I have been doing this for just over a year now, but have missed the odd week now and again. For my own satisfaction though I couldn’t really celebrate one year of Thursday doors until I had completed 52 weeks.

Just the one door this week, and one I know little about. I took the picture while on a short break in Barcelona back in March and it combines two passions…Doors and street art. I don’t know the artist, and I am way too lazy to look up much about the building the door is on, besides which I don’t think it really matters. It is just a great door.

Door, Barcelona, March 2018
Door, Barcelona, March 2018

by Scooj

More amazing doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0