Tag: Stencil

4322. Horfield skate park (8)

This is a poignant stencil piece from John D’oh up at Horfield skate park. As is so often the case, John D’oh perfectly captures the moment and presents it to us with a political slant. His work can often include strong, assertive and for some, uncomfortable messages, but they capture a mood in a contemporary way.

John D'oh, Horfield Skate Park, Bristol, March 2022
John D’oh, Horfield Skate Park, Bristol, March 2022

The blue and yellow give this piece away as being about the Russian invasion of Ukraine by the ruthless and deluded dictator Putin. A little girl crouches in front of an urban landscape with a red cross emblazoned on it and between them is a hand rising from the ground on which there is a discarded stethoscope. The caption is too awful; ‘war ends lives before they have begun’. This piece speaks to the horrors unfolding in cities like Mariupol, where innocent people, women and children, have been murdered while seeking refuge. I do hope that Putin and his generals and political supporters get lynched when this is all over.

4149. Gloucester Road

The side wall of Bishopston Tiles has been a bit of a honeypot recently with several fabulous stencils by John D’oh, all with an environmental theme, something that the artist obviously cares about deeply. This sensational tiger stencil must have taken forever to cut and prepare. There are at least four layers that I can see, each using a greyscale tone from black to white.

John D'oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2021
John D’oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, December 2021

I might be doing the piece a disservice because there was some text accompanying the wall as a whole reading ‘Extinction is forever – endangered doesn’t have to mean extinct’. So a message of hope and a stencil of high quality and extreme beauty from John D’oh. Still more to come from this magnificent spot.

4091. Horfield skate park (7)

In this Halloween stencil piece from John D’oh we see a depiction of the ghastly Priti Patel as a witch on a broomstick, and I can honestly say it is a depiction that I thoroughly approve of, although her ideology and persona are rather more frightening than a regular witch.

John D'oh, Horfield skate park, Bristol, November 2021
John D’oh, Horfield skate park, Bristol, November 2021

Accompanied with the words ‘Happy Halloween idlers’ and a little silhouette of a power station belching out CO2, the piece does nothing for Priti Patel’s reputation. Although she is highly unlikely ever to see this piece, is is yet another contemporary record made by John D’oh chronicling these dark days of conservative government that seem to be squeezing the life and joy out of our country. It really is time for a change and a breath of fresh air, but unfortunately the UK is essentially a conservative country, and little Britain will be very slow to change.

4083. North Street

This old piece by John D’oh has been sitting in my ‘departure lounge’ for several years, and at last I have found the space to publish it. I am going to show my ignorance by not having any idea who the character portrayed in the piece is… a bit of popular culture that has passed me by, and maybe this is why I never posted it when I had prepared it way back.

John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, April 2016

Placed on a shopfront that I think has changed since April 2016 when the picture was taken, the text states ‘ life is sometimes just torture. As I said earlier I am not sure what the reference is, but I still like it, and the whole rather run-down scene nonetheless. As you might have spotted, I am going through a bit of a John D’oh purple patch and it has no signs of abating.

4079. Alexandra Parade (2), Weston-super-Mare

I have never made any secret of the fact that I love the work of JPS and that he is without question in my top five favourite street artists, although I don’t know who the other four would be. For this reason, it is always a pleasure to visit Weston-super-Mare, his original hometown, where so many of his stencil pieces adorn the town’s walls.

JPS, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
JPS, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

This is quite an old piece, but one that I have always admired. I took this picture on my recent visit, but I think I have a pictures from some time ago that just never got published on this blog. Shame on me, although my heightened sense of self-doubt wonders whether this might be a repeat of a stencil he painted elsewhere.

JPS, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021
JPS, Alexandra Parade, Weston-super-Mare, September 2021

This innocent-looking piece is a potent reminder of the fragility of planet Earth, but one that also transports us back to both our own childhoods but also to an era of innocence that is now long since gone. These retro scenes are always beautifully presented and executed and demonstrate why JPS is held in such high regard.

4067. Gloucester Road

Since the first lockdown, my daughter and I have watched quite a few old shows by Bob Ross, and been mesmerised by them. Our viewing is interspersed with comments like ‘how does he do that’ or ‘that is just ridiculous’. As amazing as his landscapes are, they are not really my cup of tea, but watching him create them is truly awe-inspiring. This reference piece by John D’oh is a nice nod to the talent of Bob Ross.

John D'oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, November 2021
John D’oh, Gloucester Road, Bristol, November 2021

This stencil is one of many by John D’oh adorning the walls of Bishopston Tiles, and if you are in the area, it is well worth stopping by for a few moments to enjoy them. The words are another witty commentary on the disastrous state of deforestation, something that the COP26 climate agreement might at long last be starting to address. Our role in all of this is not to let our Government off the hook, even for a moment, and to continue to campaign hard for systemic policy changes in how we do things in the UK. Plastic bag tax was just a start, but shows what can be done.

This is the first of many posts I’ll be writing about this wall.

4063. Brunel Way (132)

I knew about this piece, by Lemak, a long time ago, but never actually knew exactly where it was. I never found out at the time and then forgot it had even existed, so I was super happy to find it a week or two back, and although it has been a bit tagged, the quality of the piece shines through.

Lemak, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2021
Lemak, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2021

Lemak is an artist who spends a lot of time in his studio, but occasionally he treats us with one of his highly complex multi-layered stencils on the streets. I’ve not seen anything new since lock down, but that doesn’t mean to say there hasn’t been anything.

This piece, on the Greville Smyth Park side of Brunel Way was painted way back in April 2019 and features Daddy’s Lil Monster, Harley Quinn, a DC comics character. Superb work from a superb artist.

4054. Princess Street (4), Burnham-on-Sea

You will be seeing a lot of work by John D’oh on Natural Adventures over the coming weeks, for which I make no apology. I love his stencils and the contemporary commentary accompanying them that give us a sense of time and place, important for chronicling our political and societal landscape.

John D'oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021
John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021

This piece in Burnham-on-Sea was painted a little while back, but seems so very timely, and the message is clear, it is just such a shame that we need reminding. Greta, behind the mask, has been instrumental in galvanising the popular discourse on climate change and I’m sure she will not stop now. If anything the hard work of putting pressure on governments, and holding them to account, begins now.

4038. Purdown HAA Battery (38)

A timely commentary piece from John D’oh, that is rightly sceptical about our ability to face up to the challenges of climate change, when we can’t even keep our rivers clean. As somebody who has spent more than half my working life on protecting rivers and river-based recreation, it is a pity that our rivers are still subjected to the most terrible pollution, but on the other hand, we must recognise the huge improvements that have occurred since the 1980s when Britain was referred to as the ‘dirty man of Europe’. I fear, for a host of reasons, that the  phrase may once again be used to describe our nation as we continue to prioritise company profits over environmental outcomes.

John D'oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, October 2021
John D’oh, Purdown Battery, Bristol, October 2021

The single-layer stencil from John D’oh features Brian Cox (I think) pondering whether “COP26 is going to be like our rivers… full of shit”. I sincerely hope not, and we must all rally round this conference as best we can to push forward better outcomes for our planet. The hard work begins now, and it will be up to citizens to demand more from their governments, but also to take personal responsibility for modifying their own behaviours. Less talk, more doing.

A thought-provoking stencil piece – thank you, John D’oh.

4012. Princess Street (2), Burnham-on-Sea

John D’oh is an artist whose work I have enjoyed enormously over the years, but I simply don’t see his work all that often as he tends to scatter it around the West of England and often in places I don’t visit often. Well Burnham-on-Sea is a bit of a John D’oh goldmine, so this is the first of several posts of his work from this sleepy town.

John D'oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021
John D’oh, Princess Street, Burnham-on-Sea, September 2021

This is a typical single-layer stencil from John D’oh that is humorous with strong undertones of seriousness. His work often features political satire, and he is definitely a visual commentator, chronicler and observer of our time. Here though the simple message is illustrated with a mildly macabre scene, and one that many cat owners will be all too familiar with. It was great to find this and several other pieces on my trip to the coast.