740. Dean Lane skate park (44)

You’ve got to be slightly crazy not to love an owl…I think I might have said this before somewhere in this blog. It took me a long time to post this piece, it has been sitting in my archives, because I wanted to be sure who the artist was. It is by the French artist Braga Last1 and was sprayed during a visit to Bristol in September 2016.

Braga Last1, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016
Braga Last1, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016

I love it when artists from all over Europe, and indeed, the world come to visit Bristol and leave pieces for our citizens to enjoy. It certainly validates Bristol’s claim to being a world class street/graffiti art destination, something that is becoming a bit of a USP for the city.

Braga Last1, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016
Braga Last1, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016

This is a beautiful piece and captures the form of the owl so well. The eyes are absolutely amazing. Despite being in Dean Lane, the piece stood in place unmarked for a couple of months before eventually being painted over – a mark of respect from other artists.

 

 

 

 

Nature calling

 

In the early hours

I rise from my bed; sublime

bird song surrounds me.

 

by Scooj

673. North Street, In Recovery

I took this picture during Upfest 2016, and was going to enter it as one of the pieces from the event. What a mistake that would have been. The piece is a collaboration between Copyright and Gemma Compton and was sprayed some years ago.

Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

Of course I never usually get to see shutter pieces, because they tend to be up during the times I am out on the streets taking pictures. The work of these two artists works so well in combination; they both like bold colours, reds and blues, and both usually include female subjects. Gemma in particular likes to incorporate natural motifs setting the pieces off nicely.

Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016

This is a striking and enduring collaboration from this couple.

 

 

Gone

 

Trees and hedges clipped

nowhere for the birds to perch

miss the joy they bring.

 

by Scooj

Nature boy

 

Forever outside

discovering worlds under

every upturned stone.

 

by Scooj

578. North Street Green (5)

Gemma Compton’s work is rather special, usually incorporating wildlife and in particular insects and birds. In this beautiful example she has created a series of hawk moths (death’s head?) laid out in a pattern, with her customary blue and white background.

Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, November 2016
Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, November 2016

The piece almost feels like a study or looks like something from a scientific collection. The moths are inanimate and objects to be admired, rather than thriving living insects. Another facet of her work is her great drips in this case as a sort of back wash.

Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, November 2016
Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, November 2016

The piece I posted at Wapping Wharf recently also has one of these moths and copious drips. I think both were created at around the same time. What is not to like about her magnificent work?

Mimic

 

Incorporation

of natural forms, calms the

fraught urban landscape.

 

by Scooj

540. Picton Lane (6)

This is another beautiful bird creation by Aspire in Picton Lane, a little alleyway tucked away in Montpelier. I think these are house sparrows, which were so common when I was a youngster, but are something of a rarity these days.

Aspire, Picton Lane, Bristol, June 2016
Aspire, Picton Lane, Bristol, June 2016

I am full of admiration for the way that Aspire can just turn up to a wall and within a few hours transform it into something of beauty. His talent is as rare as the birds he paints.

Aspire, Picton Lane, Bristol, June 2016
Aspire, Picton Lane, Bristol, June 2016

I am filled with horror to learn that he has recently moved to London. Our loss is most certainly London’s gain. I wish him all the very best…the streets are lined with gold don’t you know.

Aspire, Picton Lane, Bristol, June 2016
Aspire, Picton Lane, Bristol, June 2016

I am sure that he will come back occasionally to his native Bristol, lest we forget (an unlikely scenario). Bon voyage.

Cornish Rockpools

 

Where tompot blennies

thrive and encrusted spider

crabs scuttle away.

 

by Scooj

Inspired by the utterly brilliant blog by Heather Buttivant called Cornish Rockpools: https://cornishrockpools.com/blog/ – go take a look.

 

509. Upfest 2016 (66)

Time to post a few more pieces from Upfest 2016. This wonderful fish, in the playground of Ashton Gate School, is by Angerami, an artist from Sao Paolo but who now travels the world for his art. He has a Wikipedia page, but sadly it is in Portuguese (I think), and I don’t know what it says.

Angerami, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Angerami, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The biography for Angerami in the Upfest Programme is as follows:

‘Angerami uses travel as an immersive process in the nature, revealed through art in many different medias. Travelling is a passion, which allows connection with his perception of time, space, spiritual awareness and human presence on earth.’

Go figure that out…translated I guess from another source. He paints fish on walls, and that is good enough for me.