The Bristol Mural Collective, formerly known as the Bristol womxn Mural Collective, is a street painting group organised by women for women, predominantly made up of studio artists who like to hit the streets once in a while. Every time they organise a paint jam, I find myself discovering new artists and a different approach to street art. The most recent paint jam was organised to celebrate world women’s day on March 8, 2023.
Cock Dicks, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
This small mural by Cock Dicks (an interesting name) didn’t last very long before it was painted over. It certainly sparked my interest though. The brush painted piece is full of symbolism. Stairways appear a lot in street art, and seem to indicate a spiritual journey to celestial bodies. The pink and blue smoke clouds are obscuring the sun, looking rather less than impressed, and beneath the clouds a crescent moon lights up the night sky. What can it all mean? More to come from this special paint jam.
Another classic piece recovered from my archive, and one that baffles me that it never made it into Natural Adventures at the time. It is a wonderful piece by Conrico from October 2019, and features a house character painted in his illustrative style.
Conrico, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2019
The piece, like so much of his work, tells a compelling story, although I don’t quite know what the story is. Entitled ‘Bang’ the house-character is shooting indiscriminately with its pistol fingers. What I particularly like is that the house itself is a fine Victorian/Edwardian design, so typical of the housing stock in Bristol. Bravo!
Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit a National Trust property in Cornwall, south of Bodmin Moor, called Lanhydrock House. Built out of hard wearing granite, the older parts of the house date back to the 1620s, but after a fire in 1881 that started in the kitchens, two of the three wings were in part destroyed and they were rebuilt and funished in the Victorial style. The remaining wing that survived the fire retains its original walls and ceilings.
The house has been owned and managed by the National Trust since 1953, before it was owned by the Robartes family which declined significantly during the first world war. The heir, Thomas Agar-Robartes MP was killed during the battle of Loos in France while trying to rescue a soldier from no-man’s land.
There were an awful lot of doors to admire in this house, so this week I will tease you by only posting the outside doors, the rest will follow in another post.
The visit begins with a stroll through the original gatehouse dating back to the mid 17th century. Did you ever see such a grand entrance?
Lanhydrock House barbican gate added in the 1640s, Cornwall, August 2019
Then off to the left are some of the outbuildings such as the coach house. The National Trust use some of these buildings for a cafe and gift shop.
Front of door to courtyard, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019Same door from the other side, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019
The coach house, with stunning deep red doors, is notable for the clock and little doors below it.
Coach house doors, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019
It would be wrong of me not to include this most attractive door within a door.
Perfect door within a door, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019
Then to the main house itself, which had more gorgeous doors on its outside walls than I have hairs on my head (I exaggerate slightly).
One of many entrances to the house, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019Small door to the house, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019Larger door to the house, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019
The front door is probably the crowning glory of these ‘garden doors’ and dates back to the 1620s. The family crest is on the top right, and the NT lady at the door told us that the crest at the top of the door has no relation to the house or family whatsoever and nobody quite knows what it is doing there.
Main front door to the house dating back to the 17th century, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019
So there we are. More Lanhydrock doors next time.
Please go take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
This is the second part of my marvelous Monday discovery. This is a piece by Bruno Smoky who is the husband of Shalak Attack and member of the Clandestinos Crew. I understand from his Instagram feed that Inkie was their host/guide over the weekend in Bristol, and who better to show them the best walls. I love the way the graffiti world hangs together.
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
This house on fire is a really breathtaking piece, and with the Shalak Attack work in the adjacent archway, the pair have really set the bar very high for the Carriageworks space. I hope the taggers stay clear and respect our visitors’ work. I like his nod to Buzz in the top left corner – respecting a little of our local thing.
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
Bruno Smoky grew up in Brasilandia, a neighbourhood in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He is now internationally recognised and has created works all over the world. I love this quote, lifted from his website:
“I do not neglect my roots, my greatest pleasure is to paint in communities, bringing art and culture to otherwise forgotten and precarious neighborhoods. I use Graffiti in the context of creating a space to exhibit my art to society, my themes are full of colors and forms of protest … ”
Bruno Smoky, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 9 May 2016
I feel genuinely privileged that they visited and painted in Bristol outside of any kind of art festival, such as Upfest.
Natural adventures 