Tag: Cumberland Basin

5539. Cumberland Basin

The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023
The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023

This character/writing combination is by The Last One, and is the second piece by the artist to appear on Natural Adventures… it won’t be the last. The artist has a very strong style with writing that is quite unique. I can’t quite make out the letters. At first I thought it might be ZFG, but looking at it and other pieces on Instagram, it might be LAST.

The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023
The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023

The character, beautifully painted, is Speedy Gonzales from Warner Brothers’ Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons. The Last One has a fabulous touch for recreating these characters, remaining faithful to the original while adding a little extra depth. I’m not sure where The Last One is based, but trips to Bristol appear to be quite regular, which is great news.

5534. Cumberland Basin

Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023
Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023

Demonstrating that he is not a one-trick pony, Mr Crawls has painted this ‘stripped back’ version of one of his bird characters. Painted on a pink background, the chrome and black piece is quite unlike his other work, and shows the artist playing around with his characters.

Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023
Mr Crawls, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023

I am very much enjoying Mr Crawls birds cropping up all over the city, and likening the way that he is switching things up from time to time. It is interesting to see that he has started signing his work, and I wonder if that is something to do with his level of confidence, or maybe even starting to market his brans a little. Unusual and enjoyable.

5520. Cumberland Basin

Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

Hiccup, or Bloem as she is signing herself, is fast becoming a favourite of mine. Not only is she developing her technique at lightening speed, she hasn’t been painting walls for all that long, but she has a wonderfully creative mind, and her work is exciting and varied. This ’tile’ piece is a great example of her versatility.

Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
Hiccup (Bloem), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

There is a little bit of the Willow Pattern in this tile piece, which adopts the colours of Delftware, or Spode. What Hiccup has done here is quite original, and certainly different from anything I have seen in Bristol before. There is a softness of touch in the piece, and an ease with itself, which I can’t properly articulate. The patterns and the letters are beautifully painted, and the flashes through the letters gives the tile a shiny look. Beautiful work from Hiccup. I would love to meet the artist, to be able to complement her on her great work.

5516. Cumberland Basin

The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

There are times when great pieces appear, and I have absolutely no idea who painted them. In most cases this will be because the artist is a visitor, and their signature undecipherable. When this happens I become reliant on social media channels to try and find out more. This was a piece too good not to include in Natural Adventures, but I had to be patient before I happened upon an Instagram post that provided the artist’s name. It is by The Last One from the ZFG crew – time for me to do some more homework.

The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023
The Last One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2023

To me, this is a really classy writing/character combo, and stood out when I first saw it. I note that The Last One has since returned and I will be posting another piece by the artist in due course. I would like to think that the writing spells ZFG, but I am not too sure. What is clear is that the writing is accomplished and clean, and easy on the eye. It is perhaps the rendition of Bugs Bunny that really wins the day though – presenting a rather fretful-looking bunny, superbly painted. Welcome to Bristol.

5503. Cumberland Basin

DFC1848, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
DFC1848, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

This is a fun little extra piece painted by DFC1848 during Werm’s birthday paint jam, sprayed in addition to his rather splendid blue and pink wolf. DFC1848’s portfolio of characters has expanded massively over the last couple of years, and he has a confidence and ease in his work.

DFC1848, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
DFC1848, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

I stopped to talk with DFC1848 for a little while at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, and he was as affable as ever, and introduced me to a couple of other artists he was painting with at the time. He is an artist who fills me with inspiration, as he has worked hard at developing his style and technique from a fairly low base only 3 or 4 years ago, before that he was like me a street art photographer and archivist.

5498. Cumberland Basin

The Mole, Cumberland Basin. Bristol, August 2023
The Mole, Cumberland Basin. Bristol, August 2023

Inca the Mole, paints from time to time in Bristol, usually with his LRS crew friends, which was the case with this pink and blue piece for Werm’s birthday paint jam. The pink and Blue colour scheme was enthusiastically embraced by all participants in the paint jam, which makes a collaborative wall more of a collaboration as there is a golden thread running through all the pieces.

The Mole, Cumberland Basin. Bristol, August 2023
The Mole, Cumberland Basin. Bristol, August 2023

Sometimes The Mole paints a mole, sometimes he writes Inca, and sometimes he does both. In this case it is the letters, complete with a sensational fill, which he varies with a different pink in the ‘C’, that are the subject of his efforts. The whole piece looks really rather nice and is nestled comfortably on a puffy white cloud. It is obvious that this was a hugely successful paint jam, and I am sure we’ll all be looking forward to something similar next year.

5491. Cumberland Basin

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023

As far as I possibly can, I like to post every Laic217 piece that I find and with very few exceptions, I have managed to do that since starting Natural Adventures. Both Laic217 and I have been on an incredible journey since 2015/16, and now his steady drumbeat of outstanding artwork continues to feature in the blog, with this compelling piece from a week or so ago.

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023

There are several of Laic217’s favourite themes incorporated in this portrait piece, returning once more to his facial distortion, where bits of flesh are stretched across the character’s mouth and teeth. The grotesque nature of Laic217’s work is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, although it would be difficult to deny his extraordinary artistic talent. Other ’emblems’ of his work are included, such as a cap with a smiley face, tracksuit with zip and a smoking cigarette/joint.  The purple mask/colouring around the eyes is something new, and the eyes themselves are particularly nicely done. As ever, I was genuinely excited to find this piece.

5479. Cumberland Basin

Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

Such is the volume of pieces dropping in Bristol these days, that I am still posting pieces from Werm’s birthday celebrations, like this one by Kool Hand, from some weeks ago. I don’t think that I am ever going to get close to getting on top of this and perhaps need to be a little more judicious in my selections, although this is a challenge, because part of the point of the graffiti/street art posts on Natural Adventures is to showcase the range and diversity of pieces, from high-end to beginners, without prejudice.

Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

In this piece, which is pink, consistent with the colour choice for the paint jam, Kool Hand has reverted to his staple orangutan character and the letters KH. As Kool Hand has developed his artwork, so this character, which has a three-quarter profile and loads more depth than some of his earlier renditions, shows off how far he has come and continues to improve. A nice piece with a familiar face.

Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2019
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2019

5466. Cumberland Basin

Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

I don’t quite know if Mind 49 has moved to Bristol, the West of England or something like that, but he is painting in the city much more frequently than he used to and, I have to say, he is knocking it out of the park on a regular basis. This pink portrait piece was his contribution to Werm’s birthday paint jam a little while back.

Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

Mind 49 has a great touch, and his artwork almost looks like it has been painted with brushes. His portrait work is excellent, and he hasn’t gone down the route of super photorealistic, giving his pieces a bit of street authenticity, I like to think. The material on the jacket has been well painted, with plenty of texture, shading and folds that give it depth. Mind 49 is really establishing himself with this kind of portrait work in Bristol.

5455. Cumberland Basin

Peanutsdeli, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
Peanutsdeli, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

I am a huge admirer of Peanutsdeli’s work, but unfortunately he does most of his painting in the Cheltenham/Gloucester/Stroud area and only occasionally comes to Bristol, which is a real pity. This is an absolute belter, painted for Werm’s recent birthday jam.

Peanutsdeli, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023
Peanutsdeli, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2023

The slim characters that Peanutsdeli creates, look like they are straight from a comic book and have something of a Manga style about them. In this piece, we have a vibrant heroine, complete with red hair and blue cape. The character is outlined with a thin black line, a trademark feature of Peanutdeli’s work. Loads of movement and beautiful detail in the piece, which obeys ‘house’ colours of blue and pink selected for the collaborative paint jam wall. I would love to see much more of Peanutdeli’s work in Bristol.