Bloem is an absolute delight and always happy to have a chat while she is painting. I managed to catch her as she was finishing off this wonderful piece in the evening sun. It was painted alongside Lupa and Desi as part of a mini-paint jam.
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
The combination piece is quite sublime, with a stunning leopard spot fill and Betty Boop cartoon character. You can see from the image above how important the small details and highlights that are added at the end of a piece can turn it from a good work to an outstanding one. For example the white border tidies up all the edges and the starburst on the earring creates a focal point.
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
There are a few artists in Bristol whose work has a strong and positive impact on my sense of wellbeing, and Bloem is definitely one of them.
I think that Kid30 is synonymous with Nottingham or vice versa, as he certainly seems to be the most prominent street artist in the city, with his work popping up all over the place. I only saw this piece after I had gone past it and looked behind me, whilst rushing to a meeting with my team colleagues.
Kid30, Nottingham, November 2023
I think the piece was painted in early September and Kid30, according to his Instagram, said it was the first time he had painted this spot, and due to the pigeon attention, likely to be the last. There are plenty of cartoon characters stitched in to the piece, but I can only make out a few of them. Betty Boop, with somebody else’s eyes, Yogi Bear (I think), Homer Simpson and the head of another cartoon hero. The picture of a masked character that is being pasted up appears in a lot of Kid30’s work, and I think is called Smallkid. I really like his style and would like to see much, much more.
Still, Pekoe and Maes, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2023
For some unknown and rather annoying reason, my attempts to photograph this fabulous collaboration from Still, Pekoe and Maes, were poor at best, despite visiting it and photographing it several times. I think that something to do with the greyscale colours of the piece and the artificial light in the tunnel messed with the autofocus on my camera and on my phone. This is the best you’re going to get.
Still, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2023
To the left a rather haunting piece from Still, including an excellent Betty Boop character to the right, and ghosts that look like they might have come from one of her early cartoon sequences. With the black and white colours it certainly has a 1930s kind of look to it.
Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2023
Next up we have another letters piece from Pekoe, who is definitely having a try at improving her graffiti writing, and in this game as we all know, the only way to improve is to practice. Getting into the ghostly spirit of the collaboration, Pekoe has included drips on the border and in the fills and included a number of eyes.
Maes, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2023
Maes is an artist who is quite early on in his development, and has surrounded himself with more experienced artists. He is getting to grips with his letters and hasn’t fully settled on a ‘Maes style’ just yet, although his letters are always large and bold, so there is never any mistaking the artist. This is an interesting collaboration which might have been better suited to October rather than May, but was definitely a talking point in the tunnel for a little while.
Natural adventures 