6779. Raleigh Road (10)

Mote, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2025
Mote, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2025

Although he hasn’t been painting too much this year, Mote has certainly been cherry-picking his spots, seeming to prefer rather nice, clean virgin spots, which makes him a bit of a pioneer for others to follow. This is a nice new hoarding on Raleigh Road and the perfect spot for a bit of ‘Motism’.

Mote, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2025
Mote, Raleigh Road, Bristol, February 2025

Mote is a master of creating unthreatening imaginary monster characters, and this cat monster falls perfectly into his specialism. The cat isn’t quite cute, and there is some pathos about the piece, maybe it is the stitching that has parallels with Frankenstein’s monster. As ever, it is always great to find new Mote pieces.

6753. St Werburghs tunnel (477)

Mr Crawls, Kool Hand and Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Mr Crawls, Kool Hand and Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

This is something of a rarity, a character collaboration. Often you get combinations of characters and graffiti writing in small or large collaborative efforts, but exclusively character pieces is unusual and just how brilliant is this collection from Mr Crawls, Kool Hand and Daz Cat?

Mr Crawls, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Mr Crawls, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

Mr Crawls has hit the ground running this year with some outstanding pieces and a slight change in direction or modification of his characters. He is always looking to move things forward and adding new ideas around his central theme of a bird wearing a hat. This most recent phase I would describe as stylised cartoon work.

Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

Another artist who has been busy over the winter is Kool Hand, and what a good artist he is, I have just updated his gallery and there are some really fine pieces to enjoy there. This piece features a three-quarter profile of his famous orangutan character, this time in green. Crisp and clean and really well presented.

Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

An artist whose work has become more sophisticated and complex over the last few years is Daz Cat. In the early days his cat pieces were fairly two-dimensional, and although fun to find, had plenty of headroom for improvement. Now Daz Cat is operating at an entirely different level, turning out first class portrait pieces (mostly of cats) with every outing. This smiling cat is a perfect example of his work, so full of character and detail and a enjoy to behold. Below is an example of his early work to give you an idea of what I am talking about. This is a very fine character collaboration.

Daz Cat, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017
Daz Cat, The Bearpit, Bristol, November 2017

6740. Sparke Evans Park (123)

Mr Two Gram and Desi, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
Mr Two Gram and Desi, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

Wherever you find a piece by Desi, you are likely to find a Mr Two Gram piece nearby. Like many partners (Ryder and T-Rex, Bloem and Sub), they paint alongside one another all over town, leaving their ‘household’ stamp.

Mr Two Gram, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
Mr Two Gram, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

I haven’t posted many pieces by Mr Two Gram, but have dozens in my archives, so I need to do a little better at posting them. His writing is distinctive, and depending on the size of the wall carries variants of his name. I suggested to him once that he might like to try character pieces, and although receptive to the idea, I haven’t seen anything in that direction.

Desi, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
Desi, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

This pairing was of course one part of a larger collaboration celebrating Desi and Even’s birthday and carried a theme of Studio Ghibli – a Japanese animation studio, hence the cartoon cat. Desi, who often writes VEIL, has painted a combination piece, which is quite unusual and something that would be great to see more of. Reflecting back to when I first started seeing Desi’s work, there has been a constant improvement, and this piece is truly one of her best, with tidy, clean letters and fabulously presented fills.

6720. Greenbank (151)

Lis (Le Imposter Design), Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025
Lis (Le Imposter Design), Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025

We long for those sunny winter days, they offer us a taste of a spring to come and provide a break from the monotony of overcast and wet weather that is typical of an English winter. The only drawback in my mind is that sunny winter days spell trouble for photographing art on walls, and that explains the long shadows on this piece by Lis (Le Imposter Designs).

Lis (Le Imposter Design), Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025
Lis (Le Imposter Design), Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025

Recently, Lis made the switch from her usual brushes and paint materials to spray paint, and has started ‘going large’ with her street art. It is a fascinating transformation, and what she has lost in the fine detail of her work, she has gained with ‘in your face’ impact. This portrait of a cat appears to be full of symbolism, with the character sitting in front of a crystal ball and wrapped in a stellar coat. Her spray paint work at this stage is a little one dimensional at this stage, but that is to be expected. I am full of admiration for her perseverance, and I am hoping to see much more of her work this year – she certainly appears to have the bug.

6686. Sparke Evans Park (117)

Even, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
Even, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

Earlier on this month, there was a very well attended RBF (Resting Bitch Face crew) paint jam in Sparke Evans Park, celebrating Desi and Even’s birthdays. This piece is one of the birthday girl’s offering, and it is really rather good.

Even, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
Even, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

This combination piece, brings together some lovely curvy letters in Even’s classic style and the ‘V’ is replaced with a fabulous smiling Cheshire cat. The piece is really bright and joyful, and certainly stood out on a rather cold and wintery day. There is so much more great work to post from this particular paint jam.

6675. Greenbank (147)

Daz Cat, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025
Daz Cat, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025

A few years ago, Daz Cat was painting charming cat portraits, but compared to the pieces he is turning out today, they were flat and unsophisticated and his work since then has elevated several levels. He is now turning out complex pieces that tell stories and have amazing depth to them.

Daz Cat, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025
Daz Cat, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2025

This cat with ginger hair and plenty of attitude contains so many interesting features and details. I love the wristwatch and the zip on the tracksuit top, small things that add so much to the story. Also interesting is the creative border, which, rather than being a solid black line, is a dynamic red interface between the character and the background. A very nice piece from Daz Cat.

6662. Cumberland Basin

Rowdy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
Rowdy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025

A little while back, it looks like Ryder and Rowdy had a bit of fun in the north side of the Cumberland Basin area, with lots of small pieces dotted about the place. I am assuming this column piece was part of that session.

Rowdy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
Rowdy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025

This is so Rowdy… three crazy colourful cats, looking a little bit like children’s drawings. The colours work incredibly well on the pinky red colour of the column. A piece full of mischief and joy from one of the most established street artists in Bristol.

6660. Greenway Bush Lane (1)

Mote, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
Mote, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025

This is the first time I have visited this spot, and it looks like a fairly new one, with a long hoarding that is mostly in mint condition. So far, it looks like Mote and Mr Crawls are the first to ‘colonise’ it. This is a wonderful character piece from Mote, who has had a quiet Winter so far, but appears to be kicking into gear now.

Mote, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
Mote, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025

This monster piece, by Mote, resembles a cat who looks both sad and scary in the same moment. The state of the cat reminds me a little of the feral cats that can be found everywhere in Marrakesh (still fresh in my mind and nourishing me). It must feel rather nice being the first to a new spot and painting some ‘virgin’ boards. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a recognised spot, or just occasional. I don’t know what the letters WYWH stand for, but will try to find out.

6565. Nine Tree Hill (8)

Kid Krishna and Daz Cat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, November 2024
Kid Krishna and Daz Cat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, November 2024

Two artists, two very different styles, and not a collaboration from Kid Krishna and Daz Cat. Actually, you could argue that there are three artists represented here, because the background of sunflowers and a swirly sky in a Van Gogh style has been on this wall for a while now, and is by an artist unknown to me.

Kid Krishna and Daz Cat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, November 2024
Kid Krishna and Daz Cat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, November 2024

To the left, Kid Krishna has painted one of his mega tags, which are simpler than his larger and more complex graffiti writing pieces. These quick throw ups are usually painted using rollers and can by completed in minutes. The letters, in pink, spell out CRIE as with all of his work, although it can sometimes be difficult to decipher. He has selected two very strong contrasting colours, pink and black, for maximum impact.

Daz Cat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, November 2024
Daz Cat, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, November 2024

To the right, Daz Cat has painted one of his cat portraits on the front door of a flat. The gold cat has also been painted in haste, I would suggest, as it is a simple outline and single colour piece. I always like it when he tags his pieces with Caroline, who I guess is his special person. Cats are always most welcome on Natural Adventures.

6502. M32 roundabout J3 (635)

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024

Like sentinels guarding the gate to Rivendell, well not exactly, but sentinels nonetheless painted naturally by Daz Cat. The character on the left is definitely a cat, but I am a little unsure about the creature on the right and am going to assume it is a dog. Cats and dogs are appropriate for this spot, because when it rains heavily, this tunnel floods, and you can see it is partially flooded in this picture.

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024

Daz Cat has been reasonably quiet this year, but these quick ones have brought him front of mind once again. The cat painted in steel blue tones is looking a little vexed. It is great to see how much depth Daz Cat works into his characters compared to the flat cat portraits he was painting when he started.

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024

The dog? portrait on the other side reflects the same colours as the cat and also has a certain amount of depth to it. This is not the first time Daz Cat has painted on either side of the tunnels here. Let me see if I can dig out a previous example…

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2019
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2019