Hypo has been smashing it for a while now, and not only creating some outstanding graffiti writing pieces, but also switching things up a fair bit too, in terms of style and presentation. In this piece on the M32 Cycle path, he has framed his letters within quite a tight area, and pulled it off really well.
Hypo, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2024
The gold and silver letters are nicely designed with a kind of post-industrial weight to them, there is chunkiness and brutalism about the letters, and the red border with big drips speaks of a kind of pain, a bloodletting that comes with industrialisation. My interpretation only of course. Something a little different and challenging but also well presented by Hypo.
Well, well, well, this outstanding dragon character piece came a little bit out of the blue. It is by Cheo, one of the godfathers of Bristol street art, whose frequency of painting has declined a little in recent years, but whose work is always to be celebrated.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
In this game, if you snooze you lose, and I arrived a littler too late to photograph the piece before it had been dogged. The blue cock and balls (one of the most ancient forms of graffiti), probably sprayed by kids, slightly ruins the flow of the piece, but takes nothing away from the enormous talent of Cheo. Every little detail is perfectly worked, such as the folds in the clothing, the dragon’s face, and the crispness of the flame sprite. The signature bee rounds the scene off nicely. So good to see, albeit a little late.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
I went back to Dean Lane a few days later and the blue tags had been removed, although another one appeared to the right of the piece.
Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2025Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025Hypo and Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2025Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2024Minto, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2024Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2024Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024Minto, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2024Minto, Cumberlan Basin, Bristol, April 2024Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2024Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023Minto, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023Minto, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2022Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2019Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020Cheo and Minto, the Lakota, Moon Street, BristolMinto, the Lakota, Moon Street, Bristol
Ivy broomrape, Orobanche hederae, River Avon, Bristol, June 2024
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Holoparasite
a plant without chlorophyll
ivy devourer
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by Scooj
30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
Every year, almost like clockwork, Mr Klue springs into action and follows up with frenetic activity for a month or two before slowing down again for the autumn/winter. This piece marks an up tick in activity which has produced several gorgeous ephemeral works in his favoured spot, St Werburghs tunnel.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2024
The abstract smokey writing style adopted by Mr Klue makes for difficult reading, but this piece is easier than some to read, and you should be able to make out the letters KLUE, if you look hard enough. I’m not sure that Mr Klue gets the credit he deserves for his unique style of graffiti writing, probably in part due top his modesty, so this is a big shout out from me for his consistently brilliant work.
Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024
Wowzer! A word I rarely use, but this outstanding anamorphic piece by Uncle left me breathless, and even now, looking at the photographs, it plays tricks with your mind. This kind of anamorphic art has been around for centuries, and in its more formal settings is called trompe l’oeil, which in French means ‘deceiving the eye’, and which can be seen in cathedrals, churches, palaces and streets all over Europe (and beyond I expect). Street artists have been refining the style and are now creating some utterly mind-boggling work for all to enjoy.
Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024
One of the things about anamorphic art is that it often has to be viewed from a specific point to achieve the full effect, and the first photograph just about hits the spot. Uncle has managed to create a green box that appears to be sunk into the building, and the 3D lettering in red, white and blue is sitting within the ‘recess’. Much of the illusion is created with very clever use of light and shade and shadows cast.
Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024
I am so pleased that Upfest invited Uncle, who is from Hong Kong, to paint this piece this year, and I hope that it encourages more of this kind of awe-inspiring art in the city. You can find more of Uncle’s work on his Instagram feed, that has quite a few interesting images and reels of this piece. Outstanding work.
I have mentioned before that Upfest has a blend of local, national and international artists every year, but what is noticeable this year is that many of the Bristol-based artists have been given large feature walls to paint, which is great to see, and to be able to showcase some of our own homegrown talent.
Sepr, Upfest 24, The Nursery, Bristol, May 2024
This is an outstanding mural from Sepr, who is no stranger to the pages of Natural Adventures – you can see more of his work in this gallery. The green colour palette is masterfully worked in this cartoon-style balloon ark. There is a wonderful story unfolding here of animals sharing a balloon trip (balloons, like street art, being one of Bristol’s USPs) under a warm sun. Sepr has designed the piece to work around the doors and windows of the house, which interestingly has no window above the door, allowing more mural space. In my view, this is a masterpiece of stylised cartoon street art that brings smiles to the faces of passers-by. Awesome.
Doors 269 – Doors from Cheltenham, July 2023 (Part III)
Good morning from Bristol, where the mood has been lifted by a couple of wonderful warm days, although the clouds today probably signify the end of our summer! This week I bring you the final selection of doors from a visit I made to Cheltenham last July to experience the Cheltenham Paint Festival. There is not too much to say about these doors other than they are a random selection from my wanderings, I hope you enjoy them.
Double doors, one without door furniture, Cheltenham, July 2023
Typical Cheltenham door with ironwork awning, Cheltenham, July 2023
A new door with ironwork awning, Cheltenham, July 2023
Cherrington Chambers double doors, Cheltenham, July 2023
Grand entrance, door and fanlight window, Cheltenham, July 2023
Green door, steps and wonderful fanlight window, Cheltenham, July 2023
Door with graffiti and ‘Apache attack helicopter’ stencils, Cheltenham, July 2023
I have a busy day ahead, so that’s it I’m afraid for another week. Next time I am thinking a return to Umbria in Italy is on the cards, 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.
Common foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, Liskeard, Cornwall, June 2024
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Leafy green backdrop
frames centrepiece perfection
poison dressed in pink
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by Scooj
30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
Luke Smile, Upfest 24, West Street, Bristol, May 2024
Life in full colour! This outstanding Upfest piece, by Luke Smile in a way reflects the previous two posts (Shane O’ Malley and Paul Monsters) in its joyful use of colour and specific reference to colour in the words. Although this is not the first time I have seen Luke Smile’s work in Bristol, he is not a regular visitor, so it felt especially good to see this piece.
Luke Smile, Upfest 24, West Street, Bristol, May 2024
Luke Smile is a British artist and designer and has been concentrating on his ‘Smile sans’ font which we see here in this mural. I have lifted Luke Smile’s description of the font from his website, because I am sure his explanation is far better than anything I could write:
‘The bespoke font has a hollow-like quality where the 3D areas of the letterforms leave space for bold colour and texture whilst casting interesting shadows’
I have to say that this piece really struck me when I first saw it and it remains one of my favourites from this year’s festival.