Tag: Fox

2905. Shoreditch, London

Continuing with a trip I took to Shoreditch, London back in November 2018 when I was lucky enough to come across this magnificent and rather dark halloween (I presume) fox by Irony at the Allen Gardens spot.

Irony, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
Irony, Shoreditch, London, November 2018

Irony’s work is nearly always breathtaking and I have yet to see a ‘dud’ from this artist. This chilling scene is of a fox (and possibly several other creatures of the night) clutching a severed arm in its mouth the hand of which is holding a hot dog. It is clever how the whole atmospheric piece has been achieved using only a few green, brown and black tones. Weird and wonderful.

2849. York Road (2)

Another old gem discovered on a ‘Covid-14 dog walk’ in Montpelier by very local artist Alex Lucas. This part of Bristol is liberally sprinkled with commissions by Alex Lucas and her murals have become part of the USP in this Bohemian district of the city. I had toyed with the idea of reserving this one for my Thursday doors post yesterday, but wanted to highlight it as a fine example of Alex’s work.

Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, March 2020
Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, March 2020

The front gate features a spider and a (Bristol) fox and the words:

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery”

It is beautifully painted in her distinctive illustrative style and although looking a little weathered is a charming addition to her portfolio. My recent dog walks are proving to be fruitful in ways I would not have predicted.

2520. Shoreditch, London (34)

Having recently met Thisone at the Cheltenham Paint Festival I now feel that I can go through my archives and unlock a whole bunch of his pieces that have been loitering with intent to be published on Natural Adventures.

Thisone, Shoreditch, London, April 2019
Thisone, Shoreditch, London, April 2019

Using his trademark black and white two-tone style, and wildlife subject matter, Thisone has produced this beautiful fox – a street art favourite. The fox is decked out with a string of beads, as many of his pieces are, and I asked him what his fascination with jewellery is. The answer, which I was not expecting, was that he started decorating his pieces with jewellery to cover up little mistakes, and that it became a thing. Well there’s honesty for you.

Redland fox

.

Early rendezvous

or just a brief encounter

Redland platform one

.

by Scooj

* When I moved to Bristol in the early nineties the Bristol urban fox population was famously thriving, in fact my allotment had the highest density of foxes on record anywhere in the world. It couldn’t last and the double whammy of mange and the introduction of wheelie bins saw the population crash.

Over the years numbers have increased again and this was one of two foxes I saw on my short walk to the station this morning.

2498. Cheltenham 2019 (9)

Well here’s a familiar sight for Bristolians, the wonderful, weird, quirky world of Guts. There is a lot of fun that goes on in Guts’ pieces, but the fun is juxtaposed with a slightly sinister or gruesome scene. I am not too sure of the story here, but there is a man with a smoking shot gun and a fox missing its tail… Oh my, literally as I am writing this the penny has dropped. This is the Roald Dahl story, ‘The Fantastic Mr Fox’ and Guts has stuck to the literature theme brief perfectly.

Guts, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Guts, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

That moment of clarity has just elevated this piece because I can now completely ‘get’ the evil characters, so brilliantly portrayed and the unfortunate fox who loses his tail. A perfect illustration and one that I’m sure Roald himself would have approved of.

2251. Easton Business Centre

Getting a bit lost in Bristol can have its rewards. I dropped my son off at a friend’s house recently, he could have got the local train, but it was a Bank Holiday and they just don’t run very regularly, so the dad taxi it was. Good thing too, because I decided to take a different route home which meant that I drove past this magnificent mural by Alex Lucas that I had no idea even existed.

Alex Lucas, Easton Business Centre, Bristol, May 2019
Alex Lucas, Easton Business Centre, Bristol, May 2019

The commission is an eye catching and vibrant ‘advert’ for the Easton Business Centre, and I imagine has become something of a local landmark. It is an imaginative and creative piece in the wonderful illustrative style used by Alex Lucas.

Alex Lucas, Easton Business Centre, Bristol, May 2019
Alex Lucas, Easton Business Centre, Bristol, May 2019

Three rather shifty looking foxes are dressed and equipped as miners. I am not sure of the significance of this other than that there has historically been some mining in Bristol and maybe this is a reference to that. Whatever the story, this is an absolute gem and finding it was a joyful moment.

2139. Park Street (3)

There is this rather interesting crossover that occurs when a street artist paints a commission and I can never quite admire a commission as much as a piece from the heart. Maybe that is just me. On the one hand, businesses are supporting artists and paying them for their work, and this is so obviously a great thing. On the other hand, the artist paints to a brief and in some sense loses a degree of freedom. This piece, by the brilliant Silent Hobo, was commissioned by Averys – one of Bristol’s long-established wine merchants, and is actually perfect for the location.

Silent Hobo, Park Street, Bristol, March 2019
Silent Hobo, Park Street, Bristol, March 2019

Once again, we have a Bristol fox featured in a piece of local street art… note to self, I must do a ‘fox gallery’ sometime. The stairway is at the bottom of Park Street and leads directly into Frogmore Road that runs underneath. Follow the sign to Averys and you will walk past two outstanding JPS stencils and a wonderful 3Dom abstract piece. Not to mention the Banksy nearby. A little street art hotspot.

2117. The Arches

As the crow flies, this might just be the nearest mural to my home, although there are one or two others not too far away. For years, this wall has had a rather sad looking old mural on it, which had faded somewhat, so to see this fabulous refresh from local artist Bex Glover was a wonderful surprise.

Bex Glover, The Arches, Bristol, March 2019
Bex Glover, The Arches, Bristol, March 2019

I have only seen her work at Upfest before, so it is brilliant to come across this commission right in my manor. Her work has this wonderful illustrative style with line drawings of wildlife scenes in her preferred characteristic colours.

Bex Glover, The Arches, Bristol, March 2019
Bex Glover, The Arches, Bristol, March 2019

In this piece she gives us a Bristol fox which will always go down well with the locals. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for any further commissions she might get on the back of this one as it is in a prominent corner with a whole ton of road and pedestrian traffic passing it daily.

 

2074. Lawrence Hill roundabout (5)

This is another of the rather cute cartoon-style animals from Nevla in one of the tunnels of Lawrence Hill roundabout. Like many of his pieces this one carries not one but three short slogans which say ‘express yourself’, ‘fun and chill’ and ‘hello there’

Nevla, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019
Nevla, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019

So often his pieces are positive and fun which is a great attitude to have when decorating the streets. A Bristol fox with a PMA… what more could you want?

1950. Upfest 2018 (114)

I love this kind of illustration street work…something that could appear in a children’s book, but is on a huge scale. The detail and interest that Dima Kashtalyan has managed to capture in this piece is inspiring.

Dima Kashtalyan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Dima Kashtalyan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I know little of the artist other than that he is an illustrator/artist from Minsk in Belarus. He uses a pointillism style and likes to pose questions and burning issues in his work. Here he asks the question ‘to draw or not to draw?’ probably a crowd-pleasing slogan at an art festival.

Dima Kashtalyan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Dima Kashtalyan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

There is something very comforting and familiar about this piece and I would gladly have it hanging on a wall at home. Really great stuff.