Another wily old fox from Foksymoron, this one hiding from view under Brunel Way, in a place that only a few skaters and cyclists will ever really get to see and enjoy. This fox is so laid back, he spends much of his time on hid back.
Foksymoron, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Although Foksymoron has been painting foxes for a long time now, it is the scale and dynamism of his pieces that is catching at the moment, and it would seem that he has taken his art form to a new level. Of course, these aren’t the most polished pieces of street art and are a character version of a throw up, but they are full of character and have their own story to tell
Doors 281 – Doors of Central London – Part II – March 2024
I got my knickers in a twist last week with Thursday doors, and published my post on Friday, which was perhaps a reflection of my physical state at the time, suffering from what I didn’t know then was Covid. I feel a whole lot better today, and I am making a good recovery. Fortunately I have been able to postpone my much-awaited fishing trip to Cornwall for a couple of weeks, so all in all, things have worked out ok.
This is the second set of doors from a trip I made to London in March this year, photographed on a walk after a workshop I was facilitating from Holborn to Bloomsbury. The doors reflect a reasonably affluent part of town, and I hope you enjoy them.
Multiple doors and shop frontage, Staple Inn, High Holborn, London, March 2024Grand three-door entrance with boot scrapers on either side, London, March 2024Hazardous ‘floating’ door, London, March 2024Stunning entrance with tiles, iron gates and red stone and modest black door, London, March 2024Strong black double doors with large fanlight and some great tiles, London, March 2024Black double doors and distinctive granite pillars, London, March 2024Large black door with a fine white surround and fan light, Lord Eldon (Lord Chancellor) lived here, London, March 2024
I think that there will be one more post from this particular collection next time, and then I’ll move on to something else. May I wish you all a happy weekend, and my thoughts are with those suffering storms and those suffering conflicts. Keep safe.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Sait Bare and Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
I think that Zake is not only incredibly prolific, but is also one of those artists who is happy to collaborate with anyone. Some artists are quite particular about who they collaborate with, but Zake, it would seem, just loves to paint with other artists. In this piece he has teamed up, to great effect, with Sait Bare.
Sait Bare and Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
The writing, spelling SA(I)T, is by Sait Bare and is typical of his non-conformist letter shapes and cloudy fills, a style that takes a little getting used to, but which is really growing on me. The ‘i’ is supplied by painted by zake in the form of one of his distinctive cartoon portraits, whose body makes up the stem of the ‘i’ and whose head is the dot on top. This is an unexpected and rather successful collaboration, and I suspect not the last from this pair.
Sometimes wildstyle graffiti writers can be guilty of overthinking their work, and I feel that Werm went through a phase where he did just that, and while his pieces were technically awesome, they were, for my taste, just a little too over-complex.
Werm, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
This one is a recent work in a series of bilaterally symmetrical graffiti writing pieces that Werm has been focussing on. He tends to work in themes and ideas which he runs with for six months or so, and then moves on to some new concept, constantly evolving and improving. The colours palette is very ‘Wermy’, and by that I mean contains reds and cream, which he uses a often as a combination. This is a nice piece, and well worth buffing the wall to provide a clean background.
I have been aware of Risky’s writing about the place for some while now, but I would say that in the last six months or so he has really upped his game, and is turning out some rather nice writing and some interesting fills, where his earlier pieces were perhaps cutting his teeth or practising.
Risky, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
This one in Dean Lane follows a fairly basic formula, and has been executed really well. The letters RISKY are in two tones of red giving a basic light/shadow effect, which provides depth to the letters. The writing has a contrasting green drop shadow and the whole thing is bordered with a dark blue line. There is lots of thought and care that has gone into this piece of graffiti writing, and I look forward to this continuing evolution from Risky.
Bbygwya (Flux), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024
There have been many ‘get well’ tribute pieces about the place for Mena, who suffered a motorcycle accident (I think) while travelling in Thailand a while back, and this one in Cumberland Basin by Bbygwya, or Flux as she is more commonly known is an absolute beauty.
Bbygwya (Flux), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2024
Bbygwya is something of an enigma who can produce some really high quality pieces in varying styles, but is also rather fond of quick and dirty throw-ups. I particularly like the horizontal fills in this piece and how they give the whole thing the appearance of shiny metal, by design or accidentally. A nice shout out of ‘We love you’ rounds the whole thing off nicely.
Zoe Power, Upfest 24, The Tobaccco Factory, Bristol, September 2024
At Upfest 2024, the format of the festival changed a bit, and I don’t think that it worked as well as it has in the past. I believe that the changes have come about by the enormous cost of hosting a festival over two days, and the rapidity of the clean-up afterwards have worn down the organisers. So this year we had feature walls which were painted over a three week period, allowing for a lot of high-end murals, and small 1m square boards – there was nothing in-between, which is the bread and butter for most street artists.
The 1m boards were painted on three occasions, and I managed to photograph them on one of those occasions, missing out on the other two. This was a board painted by the wonderful local artist Zoe Power.
Zoe Power, Upfest 24, The Tobaccco Factory, Bristol, September 2024
The stylised painting is full of symbolism, and a story of our time. It features a hand holding an olive branch, and rarely have we needed to see the olive branch extended more than now. There is a simplicity and crispness in the piece that betrays the complexity of the underlying messaging and what it represents. It is always a real treat to see Zoe Power’s work.
Tymon de Laat, North Street, Bristol, September 2024
Although this is one of the more awkward walls to photograph, it often hosts some of the best Upfest pieces. This year it was the turn of Tymon de Laat and he has done the spot proud with this incredible portrait piece of a Mexican man, called ‘Moon over Matalán’. It is simply beautiful.
What is good about Upfest is that you will often get a chance to see the artists at work, and sometimes stop for a chat. Unfortunately the artist was busy up a scissor platform when I was passing by and I never got a chance to say hello.
Tymon de Laat, North Street, Bristol, September 2024
This year I managed to get up onto the roof of the building adjacent to the wall and took some super shots of the piece as it is meant to be seen, but which most people don’t get to see. The old man has paint on his face, which is a trademark feature of Tymon de Laat’s work. There is so much character in the man’s face, and his hat captures the atmosphere of a hot Mexico.
Tymon de Laat, North Street, Bristol, September 2024
Surrounding the portrait is a garland of dried corn and chillies, rounding the piece off nicely and without which the piece might feel a bit stark. This was clearly one of my highlights from this year’s festival. Bravo!
Perspicere, Upfest 24, The Tobaccco Factory, Bristol, September 2024
Sometimes street art takes on a new and vibrant form, and even when you think you’ve seen it all, an artist like Perspicere will come along and blow your mind. I have been aware of Perspicere for a couple of years, but managed to encounter him at work twice this year, both at Upfest and at the Cheltenham Paint Festival.
Perspicere, Upfest 24, The Tobaccco Factory, Bristol, September 2024
Perspicere works with thread that is suspended between rows of hooks along each side of the frame. By threading the line across from one hook to another again and again in a very specific order he builds up a layer of thread that has depth and colour, tricking the eyes. He uses only four colours of thread (red, blue, yellow and white) and the whole thing is worked out using a computer programme, and he has to follow the directions meticulously. The end result is mind-boggling, especially on the scale that he works to.
Perspicere, Upfest 24, The Tobaccco Factory, Bristol, September 2024
I think that you have to have a special kind of patience and determination to do this kind of thing, but perhaps it is a rather mindful exercise and great for zoning out. A fine addition to the spectrum of art at this year’s Upfest.
Natural adventures 