This one is not for the easily offended, and if graffiti cock ‘n’ balls are not your thing, I think you might need to move on pretty swiftly. This is a rather mischievous collaboration between The Cat Came Back and DNT on the Turbo Island wall.
The Cat Came Back, Turbo Island, Bristol, January 2020
On the left is the cock – one of graffiti’s most enduring images – that is part cock, part cat. I can’t quite make out the writing, but I think it says ‘I’m Cat’. You can make up your own minds about this one.
DNT, Turbo Island, Bristol, January 2020
On the right is another kind of robot sort of creation from DNT. The whole collaboration looks like it was painted in a bit of a hurry or under the influence of alcohol/other. A bit of fun for some.
What a week. This is my first Thursday doors post since the lock down was imposed in the UK, and it is a very unsettling and confusing time for us all. Under our rules we are allowed one outing a day for personal exercise, provided we follow all the social distancing rules.
I am alternating my exercise of choice between working on the allotment and walking the dog (in my wildest dreams I never thought that the dog would offer me the means of temporary escape from ‘house arrest’). Yesterday we took a walk down to Stokes Croft and Montpelier and, never one to pass up an opportunity, I photographed some doors.
Just in case you thought this might be irresponsible, I kept my distance from the few people that were out (mostly, like me, exercising in some way), and carried out all the necessary hand washes before leaving and on return home. One observation was that I saw more homeless people on the streets than I saw homed people… I worry about their fate, a group already likely to be more prone to sickness and with nowhere to go to keep clean.
So here are some doors from my exercise dog walk:
Green gates, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020Pink door, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020Two doors and a tiled entrance, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, March 2020Garden gate, Ashley Road, Bristol, March 2020Solicitor’s door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2020
Well that’s it for this extraordinary week during an extraordinary period in all our lives.
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.
It has been almost exactly a month since I last posted a Thursday doors entry on Natural Adventures. It has been busy at work lately and I have felt the squeeze a little.
These are two doors I recently photographed. Neither of them particulsrly attractive, but they more than make up for it in Character.
The first door is on the side of the amazing Mickleburgh musical instruments shop in Stokes Croft – we actually bought our piano there and it is an incredible place, almost Dickensian in its demeanour.
Where is the chicken? Flat door, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2020
The door has been tagged, bombed and slapped (with stickers). I can make out a tag by 2HOT and a slap from Ryder. I’m not too sure who the face and ‘ou est le poulet’ is by but the whole thing adds up to a cornucopia of street graffiti so commonj in this area.
Restaurant kitchen door, off Park Street, Bristol, March 2020
The second door is a little different and looks like it has seen a whole ton of action over the years. Much used but not much loved. It appears to have a thick layer of grease or something dripped on it, but the thing that really makes stand out for me is the extractor fan… the door would not be complete without it.
More doors coming soon.
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.
I think that this is the last qWeRT pasteup of our googly-eyed friend that I managed to find after a visit to Bristol by the artist a few weeks ago. This yellow love-heart character was pasted on a wall that sees quite a lot of tagging action, and not long after I took this picture the wheatpase became quite badly tagged, which is a pity.
qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2019
There is something rather special about qWeRT’s wheatpastes, and it seems that all of them carry messages of love and hope and who can complain about that? Unlike spray paint, paste ups eventually get wet and peel away, a process that can take a few weeks in exposed places to a few years if they are more sheltered. This one I fear may not last too long.
A cheeky little mosaic flower from Angus below the front window of what used to be the It’s All 2 Much art gallery in Stokes Croft. Now, either this is reasonably new (I don’t think it is) or I have been wandering around with my head in the sky. This particular design was used by Angus at Upfest 2017 and there are a few of them in Bedminster, but I’ve not noticed this one in Stokes Croft before.
Angus, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2019
Always witty and pushing for new ideas, Angus has created this Mario Brothers flower using mosaic tiles, which give it a pixellated look a la video game. So good to see his work in North Bristol… something of a rarity for this artist.
I have said before that there aren’t many paste ups in Bristol, however I seem to have found quite a few in recent weeks. This wonderful wheatpaste by qWeRT is one of several pasted up during a visit by the artist recently.
qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2019
Tucked away behind a bus stop in Stokes Croft is this rather endearing googly eyed character. I would be prepared to bet that very few people waiting at the bus stop have even noticed this new addition to the colourful tagged wall behind them. I don’t actually know too much about qWeRT or where he/she comes from, but I have seen a lot of these characters in London, so I am guessing that might be qWeRT’s home. Still a few more to post from this recent Bristol binge.
Oh what a beauty… a little piece of heaven just dropped onto the wall beneath Banksy’s Mild Mild West, and it is an absolute humdinger by Hazard. Painted only last week, Hazard has smashed it out of the park (to use a modern phrase – my kids would be laughing if they read this, but not much chance of that ever happening).
Hazard, Stokes Croft, Bristol, November 2019
I love Hazard’s work, and it is great to see that she is capable of so much more than her trademark portraits. This piece is so good in my view that I actually think it is my favourite of hers… ever. She has captured the colours and proportions of the pigeon perfectly and has somehow created an irridescence on the bird’s breast with greens, whites, yellows and purples – what a job eh? And.., the flowers, flipping heck, the flowers!
I think I might be able to call myself a pigeon fancier, at least this pigeon.
I believe that there is some explanation on the fence in front of this piece, but it wasn’t there when I took these pictures, so I can’t tell you what it says.
