This outstanding abstract piece of graffiti writing by Mr Klue has it all, and has taken a bit of a shift in colour composition from his usual palettes of blues, greens, purples or oranges. It is really quite unusual to come across a piece by the artist with a white background, and it leaves the viewer with quite a different impression.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
The wispy letters spell out KLUE, and I am pleased to note the incorporation of his floating steps, which I think really adds something to the mystery and spirituality of his work. It is interesting to see that he, and others before him, have chosen not to paint the semicircle of chipped wall along the top of the piece. Wonderful work from local artist Mr Klue.
Ooh! I love this abstract writing piece from Mr Klue. It has been a while since I last saw one of his pieces with the distinctive ethereal steps. The colours too are a slight digression from his recent penchant for purples and blues.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2024
It is almost impossible to distinguish them, but the letters Spell out KLUE, as is customary in his pieces… I will get caught out one day, I’m sure, when they spell something else. There is something that is very pleasing on the eye about this piece, and a version of it would not be out of place in an art gallery or hung on a wall. Fabulous work from Mr Klue.
More abstract fantasticness from Mr Klue, who after a long absence from the streets has now hit a rhythm and it turning out some lovely pieces in the St Werburghs tunnel on a regular basis.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2022
This one is in his prime spot, which I am sure will have made him very happy, and reintroduces another of his recurring themes, floating stairs or steps. I don’t quite know the significance of the steps, but Mr Klue uses them in a lot of his work. A stairway to heaven perhaps? Such is the new productivity of the artist, I am struggling to keep up with posting his work, especially with Upfest and a trip to Porto to report on. Never been so blog-busy.
As mentioned previously, Lee Roy has had an exceptionally busy spring, and although he has been painting for a while he only appeared on my radar in February this year, and for every piece posted, there is at least another one in the archive.
Lee Roy, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, May 2021
What I like about Lee Roy is that he is constantly rethinking his work and his most recent ‘reimagining’, to use a contemporary word, has been to drape his pieces onto the ground and cascading down steps as in this example from the M32 cycle path. A great idea very nicely executed. Inevitably, there is more to come from the artist.
One of the nice things about the Cheltenham Paint Festival is the large number of Bristol-based artists that are asked to paint. Mr Klue is a particular favourite of mine. His modest demeanour betrays his obvious talent and unique abstract style
Mr Klue, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
I am not overjoyed at my hopeless photography. The close-up is a little too close and I have cut off the left hand edge of the piece. This is a colourful piece that probably spells out KLUE, but might not, and presents many of the trademark features we would expect to see in one of his pieces; floating steps, wisps of smoke and coiled cones give the artist away. I am rather taken with the orange ball, a nice feature.
I am a little pressed for time this week, so here are a couple of doors I photographed over the last two days during my brief walks escaping from lock down.
I really struggle with social distancing, it feels so unnatural and uncomfortable. Crossing into the middle of the road to avoid oncoming pedestrians on the pavement feels embarrassing, almost insulting, but I guess we all have to do it. I am lucky that it is impacts like this that have most affected me so far, they are trivial compared to the impacts on others.
The point being that my walks are not linear but rather they are zig zaggy and the upshot is I do walk to places I might not have walked before and get to see interesting things.
The first door is up some steps, that look like they could do with a bit of repair work. Not a house for people with mobility problems. The wall on the left of the steps has a great warning to us all… zombies are coming.
Steps and daisies lead up to a yellow door, Gloucester Road, Bristol, May 2020
The second door isn’t really a door, it is more like a window, both physically and metaphorically. Lock down has certainly led to a surge in creativity, with gardening and baking topping the charts, but a local family (I am guessing) have made this brilliant model of a home in lock down. Take time to look at it and see what it tells you about the family. I think this is lovely and a great capture of life in the time of Coronavirus.
Behind a glass door, a scene from a lock down household, Bishopston, Bristol, May 2020
A wonderful interpretation of lock down life, Bishopston, Bristol, May 2020
That’s it for another week. Look after yourselves.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you ought to 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.
There is this rather interesting crossover that occurs when a street artist paints a commission and I can never quite admire a commission as much as a piece from the heart. Maybe that is just me. On the one hand, businesses are supporting artists and paying them for their work, and this is so obviously a great thing. On the other hand, the artist paints to a brief and in some sense loses a degree of freedom. This piece, by the brilliant Silent Hobo, was commissioned by Averys – one of Bristol’s long-established wine merchants, and is actually perfect for the location.
Silent Hobo, Park Street, Bristol, March 2019
Once again, we have a Bristol fox featured in a piece of local street art… note to self, I must do a ‘fox gallery’ sometime. The stairway is at the bottom of Park Street and leads directly into Frogmore Road that runs underneath. Follow the sign to Averys and you will walk past two outstanding JPS stencils and a wonderful 3Dom abstract piece. Not to mention the Banksy nearby. A little street art hotspot.
Natural adventures 