Cumberland Basin – Page 11 – Natural adventures

6360. Cumberland Basin

Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024

I am getting close to the end of the latest batch of wonderful paste-ups by Abbie Laura Smith, and genuinely can’t wait for her next release, which might not be for a while as I imagine it probably takes quite a lot of time to draft and assemble her wheatpaste pieces, and to find suitable locations for them too.

This is another amazing portrait piece in black and white, where large parts of the face and hair are taken up with words, which might be lyrics to a song, but I haven’t yet deciphered them. I can read some of the phrases, but when I Google them I don’t get anything that makes sense. I will keep trying. This is the skill of ALS’ pieces, they ask questions and create curiosity. Clever and beautiful stuff.

6356. Cumberland Basin

Lokey (Lokea) and Ember, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024

It is so good to see Lokey painting a little more often these days, and I wonder if the frequency of his painting is related in any way to his daughter joining him and ‘collaborating’ with him – pester power can be a very compelling force. This is one of several recent collaborations that Lokey has painted alongside Ember.

Lokey has taken to writing LOKEA, which I suppose is simply switching things up a little, which writers like to do from time to time. His distinctive anamorphic writing style lifts wonderfully well from the wall. His daughter, Ember, has painted a cat, her character of choice, and I have to say it is rather good. I don’t know how old she is, but I can see that there is great potential. It looks like naïve, childish art because that is exactly what it is. Fantastic!

6346. Cumberland Basin

In my view, wheatpasting is a much underrated branch of street art, perhaps because the artwork itself is usually created in a studio and the street art bit comes into the placement of the piece. I, however, embrace the art form because it is often quite meaningful or challenging, and the skill of placement is as significant as the art itself.

Abbie Laura Smith is Bristol’s only active wheatpaster at present, so when she releases a batch of her work, it is always an exciting time trying to track them down. This is classic Abbie Laura Smith… a black and white portrait of a woman (slightly moody) with long, flowing hair. The piece almost looks like a woodcut, although I think it is an ink drawing. I’ll need to find out more about her technique. I can comment on the composition, though, which I think is wonderful. More from this batch to come.

6345. Cumberland Basin

Foksymoron, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024

Having been largely overlooked but not unnoticed by me over the last few years, Foksymoron has been ‘going large’ recently, growing his fox character from a small mega-tag to a fully fledged adult adorning walls that wouldn’t have been conceivable only a short time ago.

This piece has the rather laid back cool fox reclining and accompanied by a speech bubble with the unromantic words “Straight in, no kissin”. Foksymoron’s foxes have long been a part of the furniture in the Bristol hot spots, but now they are moving centre stage, and deservedly so. Who doesn’t love a fox?

And here is another little extra from Foksymoron with one of his mega-tag foxes.

6342. Cumberland Basin

#DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024

There is a charm and a simplicity to #DFTE’s philosophical musings, which have grown from small framed installation art pieces to these large full-scale wall street art graffiti writing pieces. Throughout, he has never lost or compromised his ‘house font’, which identifies his work so specifically.

Black and white pieces always make an impact, and this one is no exception. The words spell out the phrase “You are already perfect”. Kindness at its simplest and best. Often less is more when composing messages, and this one lands with grace and impact. The drips from the letters create an accidental (or intentional) 3D drop shadow. Another wonderful piece to enjoy from #DFTE

6335. Cumberland Basin

Hurrah! this is the second paste up in a new batch from Abbie Laura Smith dotted around the Cumberland Basin area. I would say that this one is by quite some considerable margin the largest that I have seen yet from Abbie Laura Smith.

The piece is different also in that it is a fuller portrait piece from the waist upwards, rather than the customary head portraits that ALS usually creates. The torso is covered in writing, which I haven’t had time to reconstruct fully, but I can see the phrase “Nope, you are lucky enough to tell the tale that those before you…” running down the arm. The piece as a whole feels more ambitious than previous works, and I sense that ALS is pushing a few boundaries, which is so good to see. More coming soon.

6332. Cumberland Basin

Ryder and Inkie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

I am rather tired this morning. I got back late last night from Copenhagen, after a wonderful long weekend there with my 89 year old mother. We packed a lot in to the three full days, and I am still processing much of the trip. I have managed to keep my posts going on Natural Adventures through this period, but might need to slow down a little as I ease myself back into work after two weeks off.

This wonderful collaboration between Ryder and Inkie was actually painted way back in May and for some inexplicable reason never got posted at the time… it happens.

Ryder, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

To the left, and slightly impacted by the shadow cast across the top, is some superb writing by Ryder, which is accompanied by Evil Edna, the television character from the cartoon series Willo the Wisp. There are some great fill colours, oozing confidence, without overcomplicating things. Great to see Ryder managing to paint a little.

Inkie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

Inkie is arguably the best know Bristol artist still regularly painting in the city, and this is a sumptuous example of his stylised lettering. The piece is pretty much perfect in every way and like Ryder’s piece is confident and uncomplicated. Both are writers at the top of their games, with nothing to prove, and it comes across in their work.

6331. Cumberland Basin

Mr Tanner, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

I was lucky enough to meet Mr Tanner a couple of weeks back under the Brunel Way flyover, and following our chat I was mindful that there was a piece of his lurking in my archive, and so prompted by the encounter, I decided to dig it out and post it. Here it is.

Mr Tanner writes TOPIA, and each of his pieces seems to be quite unique, with originality appearing to be his USP. This is a rather organic looking, but tight piece of graffiti writing painted back in May this year. Although he lives in London, Mr Tanner appears to be a reasonably regular visitor to Bristol. I dearly hope that the piece he was painting when I met him will still be there on my return from Copenhagen.

6325. Cumberland Basin

Wit can be a difficult thing to achieve with street art, but #DFTE combines placement with sentiment perfectly in this small ‘extra’ piece painted recently in Cumberland Basin, overlooking the world famous Clifton Suspension Bridge.

I have seen #DFTE use this phrase before, but I think that this simply has to be the perfect placement, and one which will be seen and I’m sure appreciated. I can’t think for the life of me what the sign originally said, but it can’t have been a fraction as interesting as this. Great fun from #DFTE.

6321. Cumberland Basin

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024

By the time you read this, I should be some 35,000 feet or so in the air somewhere between Bristol and Copenhagen, so I wrote this post yesterday. I am spending a long weekend in Copenhagen with my mother who gifted me the trip as my 60th birthday present.

Acer One has been smashing it recently with a range of different ideas, including these cryptic boule writing designs that are designed to challenge the viewer to work out what is going on… visual puzzles I guess you could call them.

The gold letters along the top spell ‘Change is inevitable’ and the black letters running along the bottom of the piece spell out ‘Growth is optional’. So this piece is both a puzzle and philosophical. Great technical work from Acer One.

	paulh121 on 7403. Dean Lane skate park…
	hitandrun1964 on 7402. Stapleton Road
	paulh121 on 7402. Stapleton Road
	Loveswing on Winter afternoon
	scooj on 7400. St Werburghs tunnel…

	paulh121 on 7403. Dean Lane skate park…
	hitandrun1964 on 7402. Stapleton Road
	paulh121 on 7402. Stapleton Road
	Loveswing on Winter afternoon
	scooj on 7400. St Werburghs tunnel…

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