A gallery of outstanding cosmic pieces by Bristol’s magnificent Cheba.
Instagram: @cheba_bristol
All photographs by Scooj



















A gallery of outstanding cosmic pieces by Bristol’s magnificent Cheba.
Instagram: @cheba_bristol
All photographs by Scooj




















Cheba has been painting his cosmic pieces as long as I have been blogging, and probably considerably longer than that. This one at the back of Aldi, is a beauty and quite one of his best in my opinion.

Undaunted by a window and a couple of air vents, Chiba has created an incredible cosmic scene which lets our imaginations run wild. It is the reflection in the window that abruptly brings us back down to earth. An incredibly beautiful piece from Chiba.

I first encountered Marckinetic’s work when he used to paint alongside Kid Krishna, but the frequency of his pieces dwindled to virtually nothing, that is, until now. This is an absolutely stunning piece under the M32 to which access has been freed up, having been more difficult over the summer months. This piece was painted as part of a collaboration with another artist whose work I didn’t recognise.

Unfortunately, there is a bit of unavoidable glare in these pictures, which don’t really do the piece justice. The whole thing looks like it is a spaceship travelling through space, there is certainly movement from left to right with the black smoke trails. Inside the letters of the piece, Marckinetic has produced his incredible cosmic patterns, a trademark of his work. The whole piece is awesome, and it is great to see his work after what feels like a long time.

I realise that it is a first world problem, but one of the things I am agonising over at the moment is how on earth I post as many pieces from Upfest as I possibly can, alongside posting the regular everyday graffiti and street art that appears on Bristols walls every day. I guess it is a good problem to have, but it vexes me nonetheless.
This lovely piece from Bristol artist Cheba has been painted over one of my all-time favourite pieces in Bedminster by Willl Cross, which makes me a little sad, but that is the nature of street art.

Cheba is known for his atmospheric cosmic pieces, many of which can still be found around the city if you know where to look. In this one he has created a nebulous composition dotted with bright stars, looking like some of those photographs taken in space of vast ‘cloudy’ areas by exploration probes. There is a sense of both scale and calm in this attractive small piece.


At around the time that this piece is published, my beloved Arsenal FC will be a few minutes into their first league match in a couple of weeks, against Crystal Palace, and I will be at the Emirates Stadium cheering them on. The result of the game could determine my mood for the next few days, so I am keeping my fingers very firmly crossed. Naturally, I have had to plan my day carefully, and I wrote this post last night, to provide continuity of publishing my daily two street/graffiti art posts at around 11.55 and 12.55 UK time.

Raid is another artist who has been regularly hitting the walls of Bristol throughout last year, constantly adjusting and refining his letters to great effect. This one in the tunnel is a little bit more like some of the first pieces I saw of his, back in March last year, with an ornate lower case ‘a’. There is a very nice colourful fill with a cosmic feel to it, and enough of a background to help the letters pop. Definitely time for a gallery, even though I have less than one year’s worth of photographs of Raid’s work. Watch this space.
Come on you Gunners!

Lee Roy is a writer who has been knocking it out of the park this year with his distinctive style of writing. You can be pretty much guaranteed that whatever he paints will be bright and eye-catching. This is a lovely piece on the swimming bath wall in Dean Lane.

There is a bit of a cosmic theme going on here, and he even includes the words ‘cosmic gypsy’. Galaxies, planets and stars decorate the background, and there is a rather curious assemblage of toadstools at each end of the piece – perhaps hinting at the reason for the psychedelic scene? Nice one from Lee Roy.

I’ve not posted much from Marckinetic for a while, and that might be because he tends not to paint all that regularly. I might have missed a recent piece in the tunnel, but will have to correct that omission.

This is a typical piece from Marckinetic writing in his unique style, set on a cosmic backdrop. I would like to think that his letters spelled out Mark, but I really don’t know, and I haven’t yet met him to ask. The pink arrow features on either side frame the piece really well, and you can imagine that the piece would be poorer without them. These ‘extras’ are what sets people above the ordinary.

Cheba’s influence on the city of Bristol cannot be underestimated. His unusual cosmic murals can be found dotted about the place, although most famously on the walls of the Full Moon and Attic Bar in North Street, just south of Stokes Croft.

I spotted this piece last weekend while taking a young Japanese friend on a tour of some of the best spots for graffiti and street art in Bristol (a day to savour). Although Cheba’s work might look a bit random at first, there is some form and design in this piece with a diagonal row of stars and circles going bottom left to top right. There really is nobody else in Bristol who creates cosmic scenes as good as Cheba’s.

It has been a little while since I last posted anything from Marckinetic, so it is only right to resume with this stunner recently painted in Cumberland Basin. I can actually make out the letters in this one which look like MARC.

The fill for the letters is typical of the artist, offering a fantasy cosmic effect in a cluster of bright greens, oranges, yellows and blues. Angular and bold, the piece stands out from the crowd. It is nicely finished too with a bubbly surround and some white feature spots on some of the letters. Welcome back to Natural Adventures Marckinetic.

Another short one this morning, on account of my vacation. This is a lovely piece from Marckinetic, whose rather unusual style is distinct and recognisable. I like his incorporation of cosmic fills and backgrounds, a technique he obviously seems to enjoy.

The turnover on this wall tends to be rather slow, so most things that go up here will most likely be around for at least a month or two. It lends itself to long low pieces, which would suit Marckinetic down to the ground. Another nice piece from this relatively new to Bristol artist.