Interdependent
we and the pollinators
let’s look after them.
by Scooj
#beesneeds
Tag: Nature
318. Leonard Lane (8)
A trip down memory/Leonard Lane. Some of my earliest posts were from this incredible little alleyway that defines the boundary line of the old City. It is full of little treasures, and this is one of them. A beautiful bear by Stewy. This bear has suffered the indignity of having several additions scribbled on it, but thankfully was given a bit of a makeover a couple of months ago. It is not in pristine condition, but then again very little of the street art in Leonard Lane is.
Stewy is a master stencil artist who specialises in creating stencils of well known people, and in this street is a work he did of DJ Derek before he went missing and passed away. The lane is also strewn with a menagerie of Stewy animals, perched and placed along its length.
Osprey
Pinnacle of the
food web, master of the sky
eagle deity.
by Scooj
315. Leake Street tunnel, London (1)
Serendipity.
Fortune favours those who go in pursuit of dreams (or something like that). My new role took me to London Earlier this week, and I spent a night in an hotel in Vauxhall. I don’t know much about the street art scene in London, other than that there is a lot in Shoreditch and in Camden Town. I keep a close eye on the London Calling blog to keep pace with the astonishing stuff that hits the streets of London.
I had heard about a tunnel in Waterloo that had loads of street art in it, so I went off in search of it. It took a while to find, because I didn’t really know what I was looking for, but find it I did, and I was staggered. Here were dozens of works on the walls and ceilings along the entire length of the tunnel. Aladdin’s Cave, no messing.
I was in for even more luck – my trip coincided with a very recent festival that had been held (at the weekend?) in support of raising funds for the #do1cancer graffiti jam. The walls were festooned with fresh pieces with a cancer theme. This is the first of my posts from Monday 4 July. Please read the link above, as it puts this festival into context.
This extraordinary piece is by Gnasher (David Nash), who uses spray cans to produce hyper-real art – just amazing. This piece looks like an enormous blow up of a photograph. Big respect indeed.
You can find out more about this incredible artist from his excellent website. Together, the #do1cancer campaign has raised awareness of how cancer can impact on our lives, and is actively raising money through the support of graffiti artists and graffiti enthusiasts. Admirable stuff.
312. North Street Upfest shop
Upfest have chosen Gemma Compton as their promotional ‘face’ of upfest 2016, and what a very fine choice indeed. Her work is used on their twitter account profile and on the main website homepage. On an altogether larger scale, she painted the outside of the Upfest shop on North Street. The work was completed on about 11 June, and really brightens up the shopfront.
All of the work she has done for Upfest 2016 uses these wonderful ‘Spode’ colours and contain her signature motifs of birds, butterflies and flowers. It says in her Upfest artist profile that her inspirations have come from an upbringing in the Cotswold’s and her love of nature.
I love all the work she has done for the Upfest ‘brand’ this year, and am really looking forward to seeing her working at this year’s festival.
303. St Andrew’s Road
There are times when you think you know it all, or perhaps I shouldn’t judge…I’ll start again. There are times when I think I know it all (just ask my children), and I thought I pretty much knew where to find all the best places for graffiti and street art are. Writing this blog has shown me how utterly wrong I am. There I’ve said it.
Two dear friends of mine walked home with me a few weeks back, and were terribly polite by showing interest in my rather overbearing desire to tell them all about every piece of art we walked past. Who painted it, when they did it, what was there before, where you might find more of their work, who they collaborate with…and so on…oh my goodness they must have been very bored. They didn’t show it though, they are friends after all.
During our conversation, they asked whether I knew about the Alex Lucas bats piece by Montpelier Park. No I hadn’t. So they took me there straight away, and what a gift.
This beautiful work by Lucas adorns a small council tool shed on the edge of the park. The bats are so typical of her superb illustrations and so full of character. To top it off she has added a quotation by Gilbert White one of the early and pioneering English naturalists in the eighteenth century and author of Natural History and Antiques of Selborne, a book given to me by my late step father when I was a boy.
I like everything about this Lucas work. Where it is, the colours, the illustrations, the quotation, the fun of bats ‘playing’, the obvious love for nature, everything.
So I concede I really don’t know where all the street art in Bristol is, and I will be forever grateful to Jon and Jane for pointing this jewel out to me.
Here be dragons
The mystery of
form and function stimulates
the thinkers to think.
by Scooj
Old sly
Planting out on the
allotment being watched; I
turn, he slinks away.
by Scooj
281. Muller Road
This mural is deep in Zase country. Many of his works are on show in the neighbourhood, and recently this commission for the local veterinary practice has brightened up an otherwise drab wall. I suspect that business may have improved too.
These animals are beautifully painted, which is what we have come to expect from Zase designs. The animals are incredibly realistic, but seem to have a slightly cheeky cartoonish character about them. This is an artist at the top of his game.
He has also painted one of his trademark wildstyle burners, but I am unable to decipher it. He has dotted the whole piece with the words ‘love’, ‘compassion’ and ‘care’. All in all it is a wonderful community piece, and a local landmark.
Crows
Guardians of my
soul, they wait patiently for
my death, cackling.
By Scooj
- cackling – 3 syllables?
Natural adventures 