Happy Christmas all
A quick message today from the Grinch, via the skill of John D’oh, for all you dog lovers out there – ‘a dog is not just for Christmas and should not just be given away or discarded’.
A beautiful stencil piece featuring the Dr, Seuss character.
Christmas has come a little early this year in the form of this great stencil piece by John D’oh at Horfield skate park. It is a strong reminder that as we head into an unusual Christmas period with the backdrop of our very own cost of living crisis, we need to be mindful that there are others facing constant troubles far worse than our own. This stencil reminds me of an answer I give to my children when they ask me what I want for Christmas and I give them the same reply every time (I am a dad after all); “all I want for Christmas is world peace”. The answer is deliberately both humorous and serious, a blend John D’oh achieves here.
This piece also reminds me of a Costah piece that I posted a few days ago from my trip last June to Porto, which represents a street artist acting as a chronicler of these troubled times, something that John D’oh excels at. Let us all wish for peace this Christmas.
This is a cheeky piece from John D’oh in the style of a saucy seaside postcard but drawing in some political commentary about our current economic crisis, and he carries if off really well, in my view.
This piece was painted on a column that previously played host to a Boris Johnson stencil, also by John D’oh, and reminds us of the important role played by political commentators, whether writers or artists, in documenting current events and the impacts of political decisions on society as a whole. Something a little different from John D’oh to enjoy.
Here are a couple more small stencils from John D’oh over in the St George skate park, which is a spot that he likes to paint on a reasonably regular basis. The first piece leans very heavily on a famous Banksy ‘sandwich-board chimp’, with a different message – ‘Monkey pox… not laughing now are you’, picking up on the increasing number of cases of the virus in the UK. As always, topical and on the ball.
The second stencil is a visual/verbal pun in which John D’oh conflates a Rocky quote and image, with an image of a chicken from the film Chicken Run. The quote is – ‘One run can change your day, many runs can change your life’. All a bit of fun.
Liz Truss – our new (fourth horseman of the apocalypse) Prime Minister has gifted John D’oh with years worth of satirical material by appointing one of the least moderate, most right wing, inexperienced, ideological Cabinets ever. She will break this country, but at least her mates will have top jobs supporting her with her destruction.
I could go on for hours about just how bad things are, but I think I will keep my powder dry for when things start to unravel. Unfortunately, by then it might be too late for the poorest in our society.
John D’oh has had another recent session in St George skate park, and I was able to get up there just before going off on my holiday. This fine stencil is one of several painted on the side of a skate ramp.
The artwork is deliberately retro, which seems at odds with the gentleman looking down at a mobile phone, a clever juxtaposition. It is the message that I love, and similar to one I often repeat here on Natural Adventures, encouraging people to look up and see the world around them, absorb it and enjoy the experience. A lovely stencil piece from John D’oh.
I was tipped-off by John D’oh about this wonderful, small stencil in a little alleyway off St Michael’s Hill, and it is always nice to have that kind of trust and bond with an artist, and sit is something I really appreciate.
The subject matter of the stencil is our national treasure, Sir David Attenborough, although he is actually so much more than a national treasure. Sir David Attenborough is an inspiration and hero to an entire generation, and his work, highlighting the wonder of biodiversity is an example and warning to national and world leaders, who should listen to what he has to say. I love the way that Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg have joined forces, creating a generational continuity campaigning on behalf of our beautiful planet.
The stencil is notable for being a contemporary image of the great man, showing him as the old man that he is, no sentimentality. Another great piece in which John D’oh has captured one of the most important champions for our planet, with an injection of humour in the words, mimicking a voice-over by the great man himself.
Back to Leonard Lane, and this special Queen’s platinum Jubilee celebration piece by John D’oh. This is another fantastically presented piece from John D’oh, who has been producing some really outstanding work lately, really stepping up a level.
This one is an irreverent glance at the Queen, with specific reference to her second son’s indiscretions and rather odd alibi, for his involvement in a sex scandal, that he had taken his daughter to a Pizza Express in Woking on the day in question. It is nice to have these little reminders of British history so perfectly illustrated through John D’oh’s stencils. I have noticed that he has stencilled this one in another of his favourite spots, and need to get over there to photograph it.
I thought I’d include a little extra piece from John D’oh, which I think is from some time ago, but is right next to the Jubilee pizza piece. Gotta love this one!
My wife was a little late for work a couple of weeks ago, so I gave her a lift in the car. Our route takes us onto St Michael’s hill, and I glanced (as I always do when passing by) down a little alleyway favoured by John D’oh and by total luck he was there spraying a new stencil. Of course, after dropping my wife off, I made a bee-line for the alley way and stopped for a quick chat with John D’oh. As always it was a genuine pleasure to catch up, and great to see the artist at work. While we were talking, a bird pooped on one of the freshly painted faces… the perils of being a street artist!
The piece is a fantastic awareness work that talks about mental health, in particular depression and anxiety, a topic that resonates for me and my family, and I expect for a great many people in today’s troubled landscape. The words on the stencil piece read:
“Pretending you’re okay is easier than having to explain to anyone why you’re not.
Mental health – don’t suffer in silence
Depression is when you don’t really care about anything, anxiety is when you care too much about everything, and having both is just like hell.”
I believe this to be one of John Doh’s finest pieces. The topic aside (a massively important one), he presents four stunning colourful stencils perfectly and seamlessly joined and topped and tailed with a banner and footer. The whole thing is expertly produced and beautifully proportioned.
The stylised comic-book characters are cleverly selected to be both eye-catching and, to a degree, nostalgic. It was interesting to see that John D’oh brought elements of this piece to his collage of pieces for Upfest this year – the joy of stencil art.
I drove past the spot this morning, on a repeat wife-lift scenario, and saw that he has added another piece to his expanding gallery, so I’ll have to pop up there for another photo session soon. Utterly fabulous work from John D’oh.
If only I were as quick to post John D’oh’s political commentary pieces as he is to prepare and spray his stencils… Natural Adventures would feel a bit more contemporary, but a trade-off has to happen, because there is so much high-quality street/graffiti art in Bristol, I invariably have a backlog. Within a day or two of the Rishi Sunak Spring Statement (which did little for the poorer communities facing a cost of living crisis) John D’oh had come up with this piece, although I think it was just before the furore of his wife’s non-dom status, it certainly continued to resonate.
I like it that John D’oh visits various skate parks around Bristol and beyond, because these are places where more people will get exposure to his art and his observations. It is a joy to capture and catalogue John D’oh’s work because in years to come we will be able to reflect on Tory Britain with some grounded and visceral reflections.
John D’oh delights us with his stencils. Sometimes they are highly political and a commentary on events and happenings of our time and at other times they are packed with fun and humour, and this Captain Caveman falls into the latter category.
I am a little too old to have watched much Captain Caveman, but I was certainly aware of the cartoon series. In this piece, the mischievous character is looking thrilled to be let loose with a spray can. This is a fabulous small piece from John D’oh.
Natural adventures 