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Hogging the limelight
a gull gatecrashes the view
English Channel coast
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by Scooj
Sea view
Tag: Gull
6991. Brunel Way (318)
Well this is an unusual trio, but nonetheless a very welcome collaboration from Kool Hand, Mr Crawls and Bean. On closer inspection, I am guessing that it is actually two distinct pieces, a collaboration from Kool Hand and Mr Crawls and an independent piece by Bean, which is perhaps why it looks like an unusual coming together.
Kool Hand has been painting a lot this year, spreading his time between writing and characters. This piece is a profile of his famous orangutan character, which is synonymous with the artist. Constantly improving, Kool Hand has added more detail with shading and complexion.
Mr Crawls just keeps on going with his gulls, and I just keep on going with photographing them when I see them. This is a nice one painted in his stylised cartoon format – nice and sharp. Difficult to read the expression on this one.
Finally, Bean, who has made a quiet comeback in recent weeks, has painted this exquisite piece with two characters in blue tones spraying the wall. The larger character looks like he is ‘high’ floating on the fumes from the paint can. They have been busy painting the letters BEAN. This is beautifully presented, and it is a great pity that some wally has plastered mud on the piece – what is wrong with some people? A refreshing wall, that didn’t last to long.
6880. Greenbank (154)
Oh dear! Mr Crawls’ gull is looking a bit glum in this piece on the long hoarding at Greenbank. Painted on a favoured chrome background, the usually happy or cheeky gull looks like he is down in the dumps. It is clever that Mr Crawls can portray different emotions with tweaks to his ‘archetypal’ bird.
The stylised cartoon character has a downturned (mouth) bill and heavy-lidded eyes, dripping with sadness. The piece is really well presented and clean and tidy, and another in a wonderful series of character pieces by Mr Crawls.
Medley
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A sudden flurry
crows cawing and gulls mewing
then return to calm
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6743. Dean Lane skate park (808)
Mr Crawls has had a good start to the year, but rather surprisingly, he hasn’t been painting with his friend Mote – I’m sure there are all sorts of good reasons why. I have loved watching the way Mr Crawls has been evolving his bird characters, and it feels like it is a journey that is still in its early stages.
Here, Mr Crawls has painted one of his gulls (I am using the orange beak as an identifier, as there isn’t much more to go on), which is in a stylised cartoon form. Beautifully simple, but full of interest, with a fine bucket hat, asymmetric eyes and a couple of letters thrown into the bird’s neck. A wonderful character piece in the Deaner.
6348. Purdown (78)
When I first encountered Mr Crawls, it was his pieces of birds that first caught my eye, and although he has come on quite a way from his early Bristol pieces, with the encouragement of his painting partner Mote, this particular piece up at Purdown is a bit of a throwback.
The particular type of bird is a little difficult to nail down. The colour of the beak and head would suggest a gull, but the shape of the beak is far more raptor-like. I guess it doesn’t actually matter, because the joy of creative art is that you can conjure up imaginary things and situations. This is a fun piece from the productive Mr Crawls.
6317. M32 Spot (191)
Although Mr Crawls appears to enjoy painting with Mote, it certainly doesn’t stop him from going out and painting on his own. This column piece, under the M32 motorway, takes us back to some of the artist’s earlier themes, incorporation; old and new styles into the work.
The cartoon character is a gull or a raptor of some kind wearing a bucket hat. The piece incorporates newer design themes developed by Mr Crawls, such as the skeleton neck and hollow square eyes. You might have spotted a rare appearance by my dog, who accompanies me on most of my photographic trips. Nice work from Mr Crawls.
6155. Upfest 2024 (34)
It looks like Fesa got lucky and managed to paint in two different spots for Upfest this year. I have already posted his Dalmatian dog at the Redpoint Climbing Centre, and this is a four (8) panelled landscape piece that is absolutely wonderful.
Once again I am reminded of Cezanne-like landscapes of a continental European type, that conjures up a feeling of warmth and vacations. The piece used the window frames really well, reversing our viewpoint, and rather than looking into the building, we are looking out towards this landscape. The gull on the windowsill adds another layer of perspective. I am very drawn to Fesa’s work, and the calmness it gives off – I do hope he returns to Bristol sometime.
5806. Greenbank (105)
Mr Crawls continues on his quest to delight Bristolians with his birds and monster birds all over the city. This smaller piece is on one of two that were presumably painted around the same time on the long hoarding at Greenbank.
The gull-like cartoon character looks rather charming with his sleepy eyes. I am guessing this was a quick one, as the white fill is a little on the thin side. The thick pink border does just enough to separate the bird from the busy background, without the need for buffing the wall. If Mr Crawls continues with his high volume of pieces, I might have to start grouping them into posts.
5785. Cumberland Basin
One of the nicest surprises of 2023 has been the rise and rise of Mr Crawls, whose bird pieces have become a familiar sight all around the city. More recently, he has teamed up with Mote to produce some great fun pieces that work so well, each painting in their own style, which somehow come together seamlessly.
At first, I thought that Mr Crawls might be a bit of a one-trick-pony, but far from it, he has been modifying his characters and switching them up as he goes along. This solo bird has a comical cartoon expression, that Mr Crawls manages to paint so well. I predict another bumper year from this irrepressible artist.
Natural adventures 