Horseshoe crab

 

Ancient encrusted

survivor of Earthly time

washed up on the shore.

 

by Scooj

259. North Street, Workout (2)

It recently occurred to me that I am going to have to work through my backlog of Upfest 2015 pieces, because it will not be too long before they get replaced during the 2016 extravaganza and appear a little out of date. July 23-25 will see an influx of 300 artists showing off their talent, and I have to say I can’t wait. Among them will be Louis Masai, a London based artist who is renowned for his beautiful animal works.

Louis Masai, North Street, Bristol, January 2016
Louis Masai, North Street, Bristol, January 2016

Louis Masai gained an art degree from Falmouth in Cornwall, and has been living in London since 2010. More about him from his own website. This is a beautiful picture of two macaws (I seem to have posted a lot of these lately) and a clear and simple message that they belong in the wild and not in cages. I can go with that. His work is outstanding and his presence in Bristol this year will be a real bonus.

 

252. No fixed abode (1)

I caught sight of this caravan across the M32 while out for a walk last week. It had all the hallmarks of a work by Aspire, but it wasn’t until I downloaded the pictures onto my PC that I was able to see the signature.

Aspire, Caravan M32, Bristol, May 2016
Aspire, Caravan M32, Bristol, May 2016

When I see a piece like this, which I might add is another beauty, I am left with so many questions. Who lives in the caravan? How does Aspire know them? Was it a commission? and so on. This is an unusual and distinctive piece.

Aspire, Caravan M32, Bristol, May 2016
Aspire, Caravan M32, Bristol, May 2016

Swan

 

Resting in Spring sun

natural soft down pillow;

no synthetics here.

 

by Scooj

Japanese Knotweed

 

Hostile alien

ornamental, unwelcome

in the native lands.

 

by Scooj

 

  • Edited because I can’t count. The word ‘hostile’ replaces ‘invasive’. Sorry fellow counters.

238. Wilder Street (3)

I knew it existed and was determined to find it and, a little by accident, I did. This Hyacinth Macaw is instantly recognisable as an Aspire piece and it is absolutely magnificent. He just seems to get better and better.

Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016

The work, which was completed at the beginning of May, absolutely captures the macaw perfectly and brings it to life. The peculiar stoop that macaws exhibit fits the space so well. This is a clever and absolutely outstanding piece. What next I wonder.

Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Aspire, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016

233. North Street, the Masonic Pub

I have taken many photographs of this magnificent parrot since it was created at last year’s Upfest (2015), but somehow I just haven’t made time to put together a post. It is a difficult piece to photograph because of the white space on the wall and from the sky, which tends to bleach the picture out a bit.

Luis Seven Martins (L7M), North Street, Bristol, May 2016
Luis Seven Martins (L7M), North Street, Bristol, May 2016

The magnificent piece is by Luis Seven Martins, also known as L7M. He is another artist from Sao Paolo in Brazil (a hotbed of street art talent). Born in 1988, he has been working on street art from the age of 13. He specialises in drawing birds using a mix of spray paint and acrylics. This parrot is a beauty and one of the outstanding pieces of Upfest 2015. His Facebook page is here.

Luis Seven Martins (L7M), North Street, Bristol, May 2016
Luis Seven Martins (L7M), North Street, Bristol, May 2016

230. Warden Road

One of the true pleasures of photographing street art is finding some of subtle hidden pieces that are out there, but are often overlooked. 23 Magpies specialises in wildlife wheatpastes, often stuck in such ordinary places that if you blink you miss them.

23 Magpies, Warden Road, Bristol, May 2016
23 Magpies, Warden Road, Bristol, May 2016

This lovely work of a crow on sheet music is pasted onto a utility box, much as the chameleon was not far up the road on Dean Lane. I don’t know how long this has been here, but I only noticed it last week.

23 Magpies, Warden Road, Bristol, May 2016
23 Magpies, Warden Road, Bristol, May 2016

I am very fond of these pasteups, they feel like my own little treasures. If you look carefully you can see one of Andy Council’s pieces in the background.

227. The Bearpit (15)

Back in April, there was a massive explosion of new pieces appearing in the tunnels of The Bearpit. This beautiful piece by Beastie, I believe, only happened because he was hanging out with some other artists and decided at the last minute to join in.

Beastie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Beastie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

As is often the case at the moment, you have to be very quick to get ‘clean’ photographs of anything in the Bristol hotspots. By the time I got to this one, it was already quite heavily tagged. It is a really lovely work, Beastie is a very talented artist. Sadly, his cat in Hillgrove street has recently been defaced, which is a real shame, it is one of my favourite pieces in Bristol.

Waking up

 

Spring temperatures

soar, stirring dormant slow worms

from languid slumber.

 

by Scooj