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.
#DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
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.
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.
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
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.
Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
This is an absolutely wonderful new paste up from Abbie Laura Smith, the first of a new batch she recently pasted up all over the Cumberland Basin area. It is such a treat having a wheatpaster in the city, and every time she releases and new collection, I am filled with excitement, and the hunt is on. Of course I always seem to miss one or two, but each one found is like a trophy.
Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
Abbie Laura Smith’s trademark work usually centres around an ink portrait of a woman, frequently with words or lyrics concealed within the work. The words ‘I wish I could buy back the woman you stole, out of control, out of control, you walk, walk, walk, walk, walk my winners’ are lyrics from a song ‘Y Control’ by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I particularly like the incorporation of a dark blue colour around the eyes, which breaks up the two-tone look of the piece. The placement of the wheatpaste is on a utility box that Abbie Laura Smith has used before, with a remnant from her previous piece still visible. Wonderful stuff.
Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2023
I believe that this beauty from Zaenone was another that was painted to celebrate Werm’s birthday on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. I guess the message ‘happy birthday Werm’ is a bit of a giveaway.
Zaenone, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
This is a bright and joyful piece by Zaenone, allocating a different colour to each of the letters ZAEN1. Lots of sparkles and highlights vpgive this piece a bit of energy, but it is the spotted border surrounding the whole thing that makes it feel a bit special, like a light bead around the whole thing. Very nice piece by Zaenone.
It has been a real pleasure to see that Conrico has been on fire this summer, both in terms of his output and the quality of his work. This piece was painted as part of a paint jam celebrating Werm’s Birthday. In his Instagram post Conrico used the hashtags #cowboy and #highplainsdrifter, which I think tells you something about the piece.
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
His graffiti writing/character combinations have been rather good lately, and this one is a great addition to his portfolio. Lots of swirls and atmosphere has been created with his paintbrush style of spraying. The cowboy is also beautifully painted.
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
There is an organic feel to Conrico’s work that is quite different from some of the more stylised and manicured characters that we see a lot of in the city. A very nice piece indeed.
Some viewers/visitors may wonder what the numbering convention at the top of each street/graffiti art post on this blog is all about, and might legitimately question whether it is helpful or not. In my mind, it is quite simple. The first number is the sequential listing of the blog post, so, this is the six thousand three hundred and tenth post I have written about street/graffiti art on Natural Adventures. The following name is the spot or road where the piece can be found, and the number in brackets (unconventionally there isn’t one for Cumberland Bain (a quirk)) at the end relates to the number of posts from that spot or location. It might have been simpler to instead have the name of the artist included as well, but when I started doing this back in 2015, I didn’t know who most of the artists were and so a place-based approach seemed more sensible.
This is an absolutely gorgeous and rather unexpected collaboration from Esme Lower and Bloem.
Esme Lower and Bloem
The collaboration appears to be entitled ‘Strength in numbers’ which might be a reference to the ‘counterprotest marches’ against the far-right riots that were happening around Britain at the time this piece was painted.
It is what I would call a ‘true’ collaboration where the piece is a mash-up by both artists, and although some parts are identifiable as being by one artist or the other, the whole thing is an integrated mixture. The hands and chain are definitely by Bloem and the eyes and teeth by Esme Lower, the rest could be by either one of them. It is great to see these two artists stretching themselves, and it would be wonderful to see more co-creations like this one in the future.
Mote and Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol,July 2024
This fine Mote and Mr Crawls collaboration is at the northern end of Ashton Avenue Bridge, and greets with good humour all who cross it. The pair appear to have gone with a full-on monster theme for this collaboration, combining their styles well.
Mote and Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol,July 2024
Once again we see their preferred chrome background, which is a quick and easy way to identify the artists. On the left, Mote’s monster, in pink, has a little bit of Frankenstein’s monster about him, perhaps sub-consciously. On the right, Mr Crawls has gone for the melting face look, a device used by other artists such as Laic217. It works really well with this character piece. All in all, a tidy and fun collaboration.
I’m not entirely sure how Acer One finds the time to paint so much, but I am glad that he does. One of the upsides of self-employment I guess. This is a really classy design piece in one of his favoured spots, which he pretty much ‘owns’ these days.
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
The word ‘love’ is written in the same format as the background, and emerges from it due to the curves in the lettering where they depart from the horizontal background pattern. If the letters were to straighten out, they would disappear into the wall altogether. The piece is nicely conceived, and as always with Acer One, beautifully executed.
I like the way that Werm is constantly trying to find new ways to present his letters, and explores different looks, while retaining his essential style. This piece takes him into the realms of bilateral symmetry of his letters WERM, which works surprisingly well.
Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
The letter colours contrast strongly with the green background, helping the piece to stand out… it will not be ignored. There is something quite mesmerising about the symmetry, and I like the direction this idea is taking. The left-hand side is stretched a little bit, knocking the symmetry out a fraction, but this is all something that Werm can work on and improve. Great new innovation from Werm.
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
One of the really enjoyable things about this summer has been the re-emergence of Kid Crayon and his painting partner, I Am Ian. They have collaborated several times recently, with their blend of colourful writing and cartoon-style characters. This piece is what I would call a ‘true’ collaboration, where it becomes difficult to determine exactly who painted which bits.
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
I don’t know I Am Ian to be a writer, so I guess that the letters are by Kid Crayon, as is the character on the left, I think. Although both characters are very similar in style, I think that the one on the right might be by I Am Ian. The whole piece is a fantastical mickey-take of the Cabbage Patch Dolls, turning them into a drug gang, ‘the Cabbage Patch Cartel’. Both mischievous and witty and great fun. More to come soon from these two.
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