Only a few days ago I posted a piece by Mr Penfold, a collaboration with Mul that was at least a year old, and now I present a contemporary piece by the artist containing the same endearing character, that has a passing resemblance to Disney’s Pluto.
Mr Penfold, Purdown, Bristol, May 2025
I love it when artists who make a living from their commissions and studio designs and illustrations, take a little bit of time out and decorate our streets. It feels like they are doing it for love and joy rather than for money, and there is something about that that is a refreshing break from the avaricious world that we live in. Thank you Mr Penfold for brightening up my day.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, there is an authenticity I really like about Lupa’s work. Her modest pieces stick to her general formula, and her letters are unpretentious and fun.
Lupa, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
In this piece she has pushed herself to incorporate an intricate grey and white box background pattern which must have taken ages to do. It has worked really well and raise the interest level in the piece considerably. Her letters are nicely filled with a combination of colours that are easy on the eye. A very nice piece of graffiti writing from Lupa.
I often comment about artists who paint in a particular style, and ask myself whether they could do something completely different, marking them out as a versatile artist. Well, Bean has gone the full mile with this portrait piece that couldn’t be further removed from his usual cartoon characters.
Bean, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2025
I have to say I was quite flabbergasted when I saw this, and admire Bean even more than I did before. I knew he was clearly very talented, but this portrait takes my view of him to another level. I hope he will be painting in Bristol more over the Summer months, and will wait to see what other hidden talents he has in his locker.
I have to be a little brief this morning. I am staying with family, and I think breakfast is ready…
I have noticed that Sait Bare likes to paint in this area by the river, and would guess that he probably lives nearby.
Sait Bare, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2025
Perhaps the most notable thing about this lovely piece is the colour selection, which reminds me of a stick of rhubarb, and once seen that way, it can’t be unseen. The letters SAIT are nicely filled in the base colours and liberally decorated with colour- matched dots. The whole thing is nicely rounded off with a black and white stripy drop shadow. An attractive piece of graffiti writing.
Andy Council has painted this exact spot a number of times, and I can only think that the shape and size of the wall suits his pieces really well. I had to make a return visit, because I arrived only moments after he had completed the piece, but there was a dirty great big shadow running right through the middle of the piece. Obviously, I managed to get some better pictures the second time.
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
The creature looks like a cross between a dinosaur and the Alien creature from the film series. It is, as you’d expect, beautifully crafted from a load of component parts that come together beautifully to make the whole. The writing to the left ‘Rising Trichomes’ I think might be a reference to cannabis buds, and not, as I first thought, the dinosaur species name, haha. A fine piece from Andy Council.
Ordinarily, I would expect a 3Dom piece to stick around for a month or two at least, but this wonderful piece only lasted a couple of weeks, which is a shame, but at least it was painted over with a decent piece, and it wasn’t tagged or bombed.
3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2025
There is always a great deal of symbolism in 3Dom’s work, and here is a large eye character bearing the heavy weight of a skull. There is so much more going on here than simply the idea. The colour selections, light cast, shadows and perspectives are all impeccably presented and sets a bar for character artists across the land. You might spot a yellow Mr Bloopy in the background too.
It is a little disappointing that I have missed a couple of pieces by Hire this year, which is a real pity. You have to be quick off the mark in this game, and if you snooze, you lose. However, it does feel like Hire’s pieces, a bit like Kid Crayon’s pieces, tend to get painted over rather quickly. I am not sure if this is deliberate targeting or simply bad luck, I would like to think it is the latter, but whatever the reason, it makes their work feel even more precious.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
This is a slightly strange piece by Hire, which I think is meant to represent a pile of poo, with some excited insects making the most of it. Certainly it is an unusual composition in brown (why is everyone painting with brown this spring?), spelling out ODIAH, letters which Hire likes to use from time to time. How much better the piece looks with the subtle green glow on the edge of the letters, without which it would all look a little flat. Unusual and interesting work from Hire.
There are a number of artists who have a signature piece or style that through repetition become recognised, and lean towards iconic. Examples in Bristol would include Full Time Ghoul, Mr Underbite and perhaps most famously, Slim Pickings, who writes TES. The visiting Scrapyardspec is one of these artists.
Scrapyardspec, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2025
This is a fine double character piece from Scrapyardspec, looking a little golden in the late afternoon sun. His endearing, wibbly/goofy characters haven’t deviated much from the archetypal form and are beautifully filled with green and yellow colours that match the parched grass verge perfectly. His regular visits to Bristol are more than welcome.
Doors 308 – Copenhagen, Denmark (part VIII), September 2024
I made a mistake last week. Today is not my last post from Copenhagen, it is in fact definitely the penultimate post and next time will be the last one – I promise.
I am getting a little overwhelmed with work and real life distractions, but my blog is my safe space where I can exercise a little mindfulness and calm, for me. I try to make time and space to write every day, and even though some of it is absolute nonsense, it is a great discipline. I say all this, to try and explain my error last week. It is, however, trivial and unimportant.
This week’s doors are from a slightly less affluent area of Copenhagen and is a series of graffiti doors. My knowledge of Danish street/graffiti artists is negligible, so I won’t even try to identify them. I do like the way doors are used in this way, whether it is high-end art or simply tagging, it adds a layer of story to the doors. I hope you enjoy them.
Rex and Bobby door, Estlandsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024Heavily tagged doors Viktoriagade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024Tagged steps, entrance and door, Dybbolsgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024Three sets of doors, Ullerupgade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024Tagged door with a rather nice owl in the middle, Amerikavej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024So much tagging going on with these institution doors, Kapelvej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024Fabulous character painted on basement doors, Kapelvej, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024Yellow bird and double doors (I saw a lot of this bird character on my visit), Norrebrogade, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2024
While I recognise that this selection of doors might not be everyone’s cup of tea, they further illustrate a different aspect of how doors are seen and used. Next time, I will be bidding a fond farewell to the doors of Copenhagen, I hope to see you then.
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.
This bold piece by Corupt is in the darkest part of the St Werburghs tunnel, and I had to do a little bit of brightness and colour manipulation to bring out the best in these photographs. The tunnel is a great street art/graffiti spot, especially in wet weather, but the light conditions can make photography very challenging at times.
Corupt, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2025
This is a really beautifully presented Chrome piece, spelling out STICK, set on a pink background, with a fine red line outside the thicker black border, a design element that is a bit of a signature of the artist’s work. There is something rather unusual and appealing about his letter style. Great piece if you can actually see it in the gloom.
Natural adventures 