Category: 5. Street Art

3083. M32 roundabout J3 (239)

When people say to me ‘I didn’t recognise you at first with your beard’ I know that I haven’t seen that person for at least five months, and that was the opening of my conversation with Decay recently at a paint jam at the M32 roundabout recently.

Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Not only was it good to catch up, but it was also amazing watching him bring this piece together. One of the first parts that he added was the large splatters of grey paint, using a rather interesting contraption attached to the cap.

Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Decay works so effortlessly and with such mastery of his lettering that witnessing this piece coming together was like watching something magical unfold. I believe it to be one of his finest pieces to date and that is a very high bar indeed.

Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Decay, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

There is a lot going on in this piece, but somehow it looks very simple. Perhaps the lack of black outlines for the letters adds to the simple feel, but the complexity lies in the shades of grey and shadows and the injections of colour and shapes. I love this piece, top notch.

3082. Cumberland Basin

Sled One is simply knocking out great pieces at the moment, all of equally high quality and imaginatively pioneering. This sausage on a mobile phone is such a great example of his creativity… a sausage? who’d have thought it?

Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020
Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020

Of course this is a mash up of writing (SLED) and a character, something that Sled One is a master of. Other writers will often add a character to the side of their work, but they rarely synthesise them into the piece itself. He has a rare talent. It is so good to see Sled One hitting the streets so frequently and it is worth making hay while the sun shines, because he can go quiet for extended periods (work demands probably). Sausages.

3081. M32 roundabout J3 (238)

This piece was photographed during a crazy purple patch of brilliant artists hitting the M32 walls a couple of weeks back and I just so happened to be fortunate enough to see them at work two days running. On the second day, when I took these pictures, I had returned to the roundabout to photograph the finished pieces from the day before and was treated with finding a whole ton more artists at work. It doesn’t happen often but when it does it is so rewarding.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

I managed to introduce myself to Hemper for the first time and although I have seen him painting before, I’ve not really had the opportunity to say hello. When I arrived Hemper was about half way through this freestyle piece. It is something rather different and resembles slightly a stained glass window.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Hemper was using up dregs from cans hence the explosion of colour, and sprayed the colours first, before carefully going over each colour with the black outline to create this wonderful effect. A great piece on a great day.

3080. Brunel Way bridge (50)

Ments has been taking an experimental new direction over the last six months or so with a new kind of organic wildstyle writing.  A blending of curved shapes and shades loosely coming together to form cryptic letters.

Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2020
Ments, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2020

I would have to say that this piece has utterly won me over and I think it is one of the best pieces I have seen from Ments in a while. If these shapes and shades were worked in chromes, greys and whites, there would be a liquid metal feel to it, but no, he has gone for a full colour version of molten metal and it is fantastic. It has been worth the wait to see this new direction for Ments, and I have another new one to share with you soon.

3079. Brunel Way bridge (49)

Under Brunel Way, alongside the River Avon is a popular wall (a supporting slab of concrete) that has featured many times on Natural Adventures. Occasionally the curved end of the wall receives some artistic treatment and in this case it is from Daz Cat, another busy artist since late May.

Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2020
Daz Cat, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2020

In this piece we are treated to another full length body cat character, rather than the cat face that we are more accustomed to seeing. This full body approach allows us to see the full scope of talent that Daz Cat has to offer, and the rather elderly-looking cat is wearing a rather nicely painted red outfit with blue trimmings. An enjoyable piece for sure.

3078. M32 roundabout J3 (238)

This fine piece by Soker was a part of the graffiti writer paint jam from a week or so back. I do think that there is a lot to be said for prepping a wall beforehand for artists of a certain calibre such as Soker, that makes a kind of statement that this work is worth proper treatment – some might view this as taking the edge out of graffiti and I would understand that, but I like it.

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

This piece is on the face of it wonderfully simple, until you take a look at the orange fills with blue drips and the use of five colours graded horizontally in the letters. The purple spots just add something special (Imagine the piece without them). Great work from a graffiti master.

3077. Dean Lane skate park (334)

This is one of two pieces by Laic217 painted about a week ago. I missed the other one at the M32 roundabout which lasted about 12 hours. Here we have a nice study in black, grey, white and pink set on a rather untidy grid.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020

What I like about this piece is that Laic217’s use of the pink really emphasises the character’s accessories – the strange glasses, the neck chain, spray cap and signature on the bucket hat. It is always great to see his work popping up about the place, and I think I might have a newish one to find today!

3076. St Marks Avenue (9)

I was walking in Easton last week, without the dog, which meant I was able to extend my range a little further and go a bit faster than normal. I decided to visit St Mark’s Avenue to see if anything had changed since I last visited a few months ago. Much was the same, but there were a couple of these bright colour portraits which I didn’t recall seeing before.

Unknown, St Marks Avenue, Bristol, July 2020
Unknown, St Marks Avenue, Bristol, July 2020

Regular readers will know how I rarely post pieces by unknown artists, but sometimes they simply deserve to be written about and maybe I’ll get lucky and find out who the artist is in due course. The white face is decorated with colourful makeup and looks as if it is prepared for a festival of some kind. I think the portrait definitely looks better viewed from the right than from the left – amazing how different it can look from different angles. I have pictures of another piece by the same artist which I will post in due course – I hope with the artist’s identity.

Update 21 August 2020 – I believe this piece is by Rosalita

3075. M32 roundabout J3 (237)

Inkie’s work is consistently outstanding. What a privilege it was to happen upon a paint jam a short while ago at which some of the great and the good of the Bristol and London graffiti writing scene converged on the walls of the M32 roundabout on two consecutive days. A highlight of the year so far.

Inkie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Inkie, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

This piece needs no introduction. Rather I suggest that you simply admire the burning tones and typical ‘fairground’ lettering style that has become representative of the Bristol street art scene. A huge surprise and a red hot piece – happy days.

3074. Cowmead Walk (2)

One of the nicest walls in Bristol has just had a makeover. The whole wall in Cowmead Walk in St Werburghs is quite awkward to photograph, so I have split the collaboration by 3Dom, Sepr and Feek into three separate posts of which this is the first. Painted in deep rich colours, this 3Dom piece is truly outstanding.

3Dom, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, July 2020
3Dom, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, July 2020

3Dom’s character is perched on the edge of a hamster wheel in the corner of a room with some strange pink and green plants growing up from the carpet and a Swiss cheese plant thrown in for good measure. The character is, in 3dom style, a composition of shapes and forms assembled in a surreal way into ‘human’ form. Typically the character’s legs are clad with stripey trousers. The tubes coming out of the cube head have a smiley and a sad face on them, although I’m not sure what this is depicting. There is so much detail in here that you could spend a long time looking at it – feel free to go right ahead. Such quality.