Tag: Urban

Thursday doors – 10 December 2020

Doors 132 – Predictably, some more graffiti/street art doors from the archives

I have had another busy week and have barely ventured outside the house, so I have once again resorted to searching through my archives. These doors were originally posted on Natural Adventures (though not necessarily as Thursday doors posts) in February this year.

I hope you enjoy them…

Blurry picture on a blurry day – four doors to choose from

Sepr, Gloucester Road, Bristol, February 2020
Sepr, Gloucester Road, Bristol, February 2020

A tiny little door on the side of this caravan

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2020
Face 1st, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2020

OK, so there is only a bit of a door here, but give me a break…

Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, February 2020
Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, February 2020Sepr, Dalton Square, Bristol, February 2020

Fake doors on a fake train

Dibz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Dibz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I may have cheated with this window/door

Sake One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Sake One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
DNT, Richmond Road, Bristol, February 2020
DNT, Richmond Road, Bristol, February 2020

So that just about wraps it up for another week.

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.

by Scooj

3352. Cumberland Basin

This is simply wonderful. Clean, crisp, beautifully designed work from Pl8o on the wall overlooking the Cumberland Basin on the north side. There were several eye-catching pieces along this stretch when I took these pictures, including this one.

Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020
Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020

The colours chosen and bold letters scream out from the wall – no wallflower this one. I am really enjoying Pl8o’s pieces, in particular his creativity and although the central design stays similar from piece to piece, the execution and details vary considerably. I particularly like the way the letters are broken up by black lines, giving a block effect, almost like stone cladding. So much more to come.

3351. Brunel Way bridge (78)

Once again the busy Pekoe brings us good cheer with this tidy little portrait piece on a pillar supporting Brunel Way. One of the features I love the most about her work is the bright colours she uses for the faces she paints, and why not use them when it seems to work so well.

Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020
Pekoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020

Meeting her about a week ago was a genuine pleasure and long overdue. She celebrated her birthday yesterday, so I thought I’d post this piece to celebrate. The letters on the hat may not make much sense to readers, so I’ll enlighten you. BS3 is a Bristol postcode for the Bedminster area and RBF stands for the Resting Bitch Face crew.  Nice piece.

3350. M32 Cycle path (92)

You can go months without seeing anything from Rosalita and then out of the blue, three gorgeous pieces come along at once and each of them within fifty metres of each other. This is the second cherub piece I have posted in recent days and carries with it the message ‘We may not have it altogether, but together we have got it all’. This is a clever wordplay mechanism called a chiasmus (I love these) for example ‘I’d rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy’ or ‘It’s not the men in my life that count, it’s the life in my men’ (thank you, Mae West).

Rosalita, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020
Rosalita, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2020

The cherubs, one reclining and being comforted by the other, are suitably chubby and have been beautifully crafted. The fills add an extra layer of depth and intrigue. Both of the cherubs look rather sad and I wonder if they reflect the time we live in and the terrible year we have all experienced. Lovely piece.

3349. M32 spot (92)

I think I have featured more new Bristol artists on Natural Adventures this year than in any previous year. It seems that every week or two new talent emerges (or equally, I become aware of someone who might have been painting for a while). Part of this talent pool seems to be home-grown, but because Bristol is a known graffiti city it draws artists in from further afield.

Morph, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
Morph, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020

This piece is by Morph, who seems to favour the M32 skate spot, and is an interesting green face set on a black bubble background with the word MORPH written as if from a giant Posca pen. There is a simplicity about the piece, but also some nice shading work around the eyes, nose and mouth. It will be interesting to watch as Morph’s art develops over time. The first of I hope many posts showcasing the artist’s work.

3348.St Werburghs tunnel (211)

I had to have two goes to get photographs of this piece because it was raining the first time and when I got home to check the images, they were obscured by a rather annoying water drop on the camera lens – it happens from time to time.

Mes One, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Mes One, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

On the left of this collaboration is a rather tidy piece of graffiti writing spelling out MES from Mes One. I’m not sure if I have posted anything by the artist before, but he seems to do the odd piece occasionally, and he has collaborated with Slakarts on more than one occasion. I love the red dots at the base of the letters, a very nice touch.

Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020
Slakarts, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2020

On the right, Slakarts gives us another of his three-quarter character portraits that he seems to be so fond of at the moment. Together these two fill this particular space at the entrance to the tunnel really well. Looking forward to more collaborations from these two.

3347. Brunel Way bridge (77)

Over the past four months or so, some seriously epic pieces have started to appear on the ceilings under the M32 and Brunel Way. These magnificent statements are by Risco, and artist I was not familiar with before August this year.

Risco, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020
Risco, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020

This piece under Brunel Way is a full skeleton in partial foetal position and was painted round about 21 November. I suspect it’ll be here for many years to come, I mean who else is going to go to such effort to tag or over-paint it? I think that Risco must use rollers on long poles to do this and it must be back-breaking work which makes this all the more impressive. Well worth a look.

3346. Brunel Way bridge (76)

Angry Face is so definitely back on the scene and that is great news. For me he represents the rather more edgy side of Bristol street/graffiti art, and his mega-tag comes in both rough tag and finessed forms.

Angry Face, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020
Angry Face, Brunel Way, Bristol, December 2020

This column piece under Brunel Way is nicely done, and the characteristic face with spiky and cracked teeth is nicely decorated with little white bubbles on the two shades of blue face. It is always nice to find new pieces by Angry Face, especially when you know they are out there from the social media postings of others.

3345. St Werburghs tunnel (211)

I managed to catch up very briefly with Mr Klue as he and Mr Sleven were just finishing off this new piece in St Werburghs tunnel. The turnover of art in this end spot is relatively high because it has a good amount of daylight, and it is always worth photographing something new, because you just can’t be sure how long it will last.

Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

This is a true collaboration with the work and styles of both artists blending well together. The character with a TV head and outstretched arms is by Mr Sleven and the wispy orange and red abstract patterning by Mr Klue. These two collaborate quite often together and along with DNT and others form part of COM.64.

The two styles come together really well in this piece and the colours are striking. I like this one a lot.

3344. M32 Spot (91)

Pekoe has been a very busy lady lately, with a flush of small portraits dotted around the city, which is very good news indeed. After years of writing about her work I finally got to meet her at a paint jam last weekend. Although this piece was photographed before I met her, I was able to tell her how much I liked it.

Pekoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2020
Pekoe, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2020

Sometimes ‘street furniture’ interferes with taking photographs of street art, but in this instance I think it somehow adds to the ambience and environment. The bin, bike and coffee cup complement the scene, but the star here is definitely the outstanding yellow-faced portrait. I really like this piece, she has managed to create something special in quite a tight space and I like the way she has separated the portrait from the wall with a thick gold outline. A classy piece from the lovely Pekoe.