‘Boof’ a softened thud
beside me; thirty foot fall,
a squirrel scuttles.
by Scooj
Tag: Urban
270. Stokes Croft, Canteen (3)
It is high time that I posted another fabulous wheatpaste by Tian from his recent tour of Bristol and the UK. I think that this might be my favourite of the lot. The figure is, I am sure, a very famous image, but regrettably my classical education was so very long ago and although I am familiar with the image, I don’t know who it is. Actually…on second inspection it looks a lot like Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra?).
Tian certainly brightened up the Stokes Croft area with his paste ups back in April 2016 and some of them are still there for all to see. Some though have been tagged, and others removed.
I rather hope Tian returns soon for another tour, he provided something very different for us to enjoy.
Summer buzzin’
Splendid Sunday sounds
as neighbours strim untidy
lawns; smells of Summer.
by Scooj
269. Dean Lane skate park (9)
There are a great many talented artists out there, I mean really talented, that choose to paint on the walls of our streets from time to time. I guess these people must enjoy it, because the work is often so fleeting, and the footfall of appreciating viewers is small. What I am rather clumsily trying to say is that creating street art, because you can must be very fulfilling, and that is a good thing.
This incredible piece is by Lemak, and in my view is technically brilliant. However, it is tucked around the back of some skating ramps and will be seen by so few people before it is over-painted. I have my photograph, and I am very happy with that, but a part of me feels sad that all the effort that has gone into this remarkable stencil? work will be lost so soon.
I have been writing about street art long enough to know that the ephemeral nature of it is understood and accepted by all, but when confronted by a piece such as this I wish it weren’t so. Lemak was the artist who created this beautiful tribute to DJ Derek back in April 2016.
Street
Ephemeral art
shines so brightly in our minds
we remember it.
by Scooj
268. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (14)
Well, here’s one for the cat lovers. I really don’t like posting street art without knowing a little bit about the artist, but in this instance I simply cannot resist sharing this piece as quickly as I can.
I spotted the glorious cat when driving my wife to the station this morning, and I guess it must have appeared sometime yesterday. It is fresh, striking, clean and catty. The artist is Dose? about whom I know absolutely nothing and am struggling to track him down on the Interweb. I have seen a couple of images on Instagram of the piece being painted, but there is no accompanying information about Dose.
There is something about cats and street art, like bananas and chocolate. This cat would be welcome in any alley. Glad to have photographed it in its full glory as I expect the taggers will be all over it by tomorrow. A wonderful wonderful piece. I expect to update this post as I find out more.
267. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (13)
On my return from a short break away from Bristol a week ago, I was welcomed home with this typically bizarre and busy piece by Tom Miller.
His works often include details of facial features, and an eye and mouth are the prominent features here. His works are visceral and organic, and you see different details each time you look at them. He talks about his style using the created word ‘imaginite’ which describes what metaphysical imagination would look like in solid form.
His works tend to be much more in the fine art category than ‘street’ but he has been masterful in transitioning between the two. There is something about his pieces that sets the pulse racing…an overload of colour and strangely warped familiarity. Dreamlike.
266. M32 cycle path (1)
A few weeks back I took my car in for its MOT and had to wait an hour or two before it was ready. It was too far to walk home, so I decided to explore an area that I hadn’t been to before, as I was nearby.
I suspected that I would find some graffiti and street art and was not disappointed. This area is an extension of the M32 roundabout, but a little more off the beaten track.
This is another wonderful bit of wildstyle writing from Deamze in delicious green and black. It looks like an older piece, but I can’t be sure, I don’t think the turnover is quite as high as in other areas in Bristol. It is a good piece, and there is plenty more to report on from this area.
265. New York, 10 Ave & 22 W St
The High Line is one of the most fantastic urban regeneration projects I have had the pleasure of visiting anywhere in the world. It is a linear park built on a raised railway, that fell into disuse after it was no longer required, in the meat packing area of New York. It has been brought back to life under the direction of the ‘Friends of the High Line‘. If you are visiting, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
On my recent family visit to New York, we started walking the High Line and after a little way decided to drop down to street level to find a bite to eat. This was indeed serendipitous, because as we emerged onto 10th Avenue, I could see a lift truck with a couple of artists on it painting a huge wall above a closed deli.
I instantly recognised the artist as the fabulous Pixel Pancho, whose work is so incredibly distinctive. I felt privileged to watch him and his team at work, and rather lucky to have accidentally stumbled on this. I have tried to convince my wife that this was pure coincidence; I don’t think she bought it…but it was.
Immediately I got snapping while my family checked out the Don Giovanni restaurant two doors away. I couldn’t stay long, and unfortunately I didn’t get to see the completed work, which looks rather good, don’t you think?
264. The Bearpit (20)
This is a beautiful triptych photographed in the West tunnel of the Bearpit back in January 2016. At the time I didn’t know very much about Mr Draws, the artist, and the images disappeared in my ever expanding archive.
Mr Draws appears to be getting more active on the street art side of things and his work is popping up all over the place. The last of his works I featured was in Dean Lane skate park, and you can see his style pulsing through this creature.
This piece is absolutely wonderful, I like to think of it as a fox, but on closer inspection, I’m not too sure what animal it is. Top marks for this lovely work, sadly long since gone.
Natural adventures 