I always like finding pieces by Daz Cat, as there is something comforting and very ‘Bristol’ about them. I do miss his rather larger storytelling pieces, which seem to be few and far between these days, but I expect that is because he is otherwise occupied and only has time for his smaller cat characters.
Daz Cat, Purdown, Bristol, December 2023
This one up at Purdown is a classic piece of Daz Cat artwork. The cat character is looking straight out from the wall with long whiskers and flattened ears (to fit the limited space). The trademark shape on the Cat’s forehead marks this as a Daz Cat piece… no signature necessary. More please in 2024.
Daz Cat, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2023
I have to say that I am missing the large ‘storytelling’ pieces that Daz Cat has produced over the last couple of years, and can only think that he is busy with other things to have time to put into his more complex pieces. I will have to make do with enjoying his quicker pieces that he is continuing to turn out reasonably regularly.
Daz Cat, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2023
This is a wonderful blue cat in three-quarter profile, full of detail and character, which demonstrates just how far Daz Cat has developed over the last few years. There is a confidence and self-assuredness about his work now, as if he has nothing to prove, that comes across as relaxed and easy to look at. I hope he gets some time soon to pull together one of his storytelling pieces before too long.
This is the second Cobo piece I have posted in a short space of time and the second featuring a cat, which is nice to see. His big fat chrome/grey letters spell out Cober and are full of depth and character, and resemble large monolithic rock formations.
Cobo, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2023
The cat is not exactly what I would call cute, but is a really nice addition to his writing. Overall, this is an impressive and imposing piece from an accomplished artist, who has a preference for decorating transport vehicles, but who has done a great job here.
I have only seen a few pieces by Cobo, since I met him last year, and was probably expecting to see a little more from him, so it was good to find this piece in the tunnel recently. It is possible that I might have missed some pieces, and of course he might have painted in some unusual spots, as I know he likes to paint away from the crowded places.
Cobo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2023
I think that the cats are also by Cobo, and looking through his Instagram feed, I have seen them associated with other pieces. The letters spell out COBER, painted in a chunky style, not dissimilar to the work of Noise. Great to see.
by the time I publish this post I’ll be in Exeter, on my way home from a fabulous fishing trip in Cornwall. Everything goes back to normal tomorrow.
Haka has had a very busy year with painting walls, although his work rate has dropped a little during late summer, so it was fabulous to find this new piece on the M32 Cycle path recently. This joyful piece combines writing with a children’s picture book character, and this time it is the turn of Mog, the forgetful cat, by Judith Kerr.
Haka, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, September 2023
Although this reproduction of Mog is not as faithful as some of Haka’s other picture-book recreations, it is very much recognisable and worked into his own style. There is a lot of joy in the piece, which is brought about by great use of a colourful underlay. The letters are really tight – not always the case with Haka’s writing – and the whole thing is a rather charming (I don’t like using that work because it sounds patronising) work. Great to see.
Daz Cat and CD.TC, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
It is always a great pleasure to see these two collaborate, it is a pity that it just doesn’t seem to happen all that often. I imagine that the limitation probably stems from CD.TC’s availability, as Daz Cat is a constant presence on our streets.
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
There would appear to be a bit of an Italian theme going on with Daz Cat’s cat holding a little white pendant with the words ‘Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella…’. There is also a shout out to ‘Caroline’ on the cat’s pink shirt – maybe she is the bella. This cat feels very much like ‘old school’ Daz Cat, reminding us where he came from.
CD.TC, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
CD.TC continues the theme, with his rather cheerful monster character calling out ‘Ciao, ciao, ciao’. There are some nice touches going on with this piece, for example the sun visor glasses and the cross of sticky plasters at the base of the piece. As one might expect, the character has a disproportionately large mouth and gleaming teeth. Always great to see these two painting together.
I don’t think that I would have predicted that Smak and Elvs would have teamed up to paint an Upfest collaboration, and yet that is exactly what they did. What I really like about the piece is that it is an integrated collaboration, with elements from each artist woven into the whole.
Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
I had a little chat with Elvs, just as he was finishing packing up, and rather irritatingly (for him) I pointed out a little mistake, which he then felt obliged to correct. It was only a small thing, but once seen, it couldn’t be unseen. In the picture above, the mistake is that the yellow body of the character didn’t quite align behind the blue triangle. The image below shows Elvs making the necessary alteration.
Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
The whole piece is brilliantly painted, with some fine blue and pink letters (the perfect colour combo) by Smak and a dog/cat character playing around behind the writing. This is a fun piece that really captured the atmosphere and vibe of the festival.
A little bit about the mechanics of Natural Adventures, which might explain why there is a bit of a time-lag between a piece being painted and that piece being posted on the blog. I would guess that on a typical day I will come across 5–10 pieces of street/graffiti art that are new to me, and all of these go into a monthly folder. I then select from the folder pieces I’d like to feature on the blog and upload them in batches, so that I usually have at least a week’s worth of images ready to go, which gives me time to write the post in the morning before work, or the evening before.
So anything appearing on Natural Adventures will be at least a week old, and often considerably more. In exceptional cases I might fast track something special to the front of the queue, but that is rare. So if you are looking for ‘breaking news’ blog posts here, you are in the wrong place.
Daz Cat, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
This is an interesting piece from Daz Cat in a spot that he likes to frequent. The blue cat character, with the yellow top, appears to be casting away an abominable creature with rabbit ears, horns, cat-like claws and a dragon tail – what is that thing? There is lots of movement in the piece, aided by the cream flashes, but its meaning is a little lost on me.
Looking at it again, the creature looks like it is by GYS? And the style is rather different from Daz Cat’s. There is nothing on Instagram that would help me work this out, though.
Kool Hand and Daz Cat, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2023
I can’t believe we’re almost at the end of May, but it is true and with each day that passes more and more pieces of graffiti writing, and street art adorn our city walls. It can be a struggle at times to keep up, but a pleasurable struggle, if there is such a thing.
The light wasn’t particularly helpful on the day that I photographed this collaboration between Kool Hand and Daz Cat, but I might have just got away with it.
Kool Hand and Daz Cat, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2023
To the left, a Kool crocodile chills up against a colourful palm tree, looking almost like a piece of quilt work (watch out Louis Masai!). On the right is a Daz Cat cat floating and mixing music. What is interesting about the collaboration is that Kool Hand’s work is quite flat, and Daz Cat’s has depth and perspective, bringing different aspects and styles to the piece. It is always good to see these two painting together.
The quickest of quick ones this morning. It is my wife’s sixtieth birthday today, and there is much celebrations to do, and guests to prepare for.
Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Sunny days and a dazzlingly bright piece from Lee Roy, who has been painting a lot lately. He has jazzes this piece up a little with the inclusion of a rather scary cat. Great work, marred only by the sight of a shadow-selfie… it happens sometimes.
Natural adventures 