Tag: Cumberland Basin

5050. Cumberland Basin

Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

It feels like Lee Roy is a man in a hurry. I haven’t seen much from him over the last couple of years and now all of a sudden his work is appearing all over the city and it is difficult to keep up. This is a recent one on the long wall at Cumberland Basin.

Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

Lee Roy likes to paint his letters in a rather unconventional style, verging on anti-style. The letters are beautifully designed, but unruly and unfettered. There is scope for the artist to do whatever he likes, and he does. Weirdly, some kind of order is restored with the inclusion of a strand of barbed wire running through the piece. This is a really imaginative, creative and curious piece from Lee Roy. Watch this space for a whole bunch more from him.

5038. Cumberland Basin

Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

Another day and another monster character from Mote, although this one is a little different from his others. I am guessing that this is a representation of a jellyfish kind of creature, and the wobbly border line would probably confirm this.

Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

Unusually, Mote has signed this piece and I can’t think of any other occasion when he has done this, so that comes as a bit of a surprise. If I am honest, I’m not sure that the wobbly line thing works too well, but it is great to see the artist experimenting and stretching himself. Another one for the menagerie.

5035. Cumberland Basin

Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

The monkeys are back – at least for a fleeting moment. This piece was painted by Nightwayss, who recently returned to Bristol for a visit and kindly left us this reminder of the talent that we lost last year. It is always good when artists return the their former home city and drop a piece.

Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

Even the dog was pleased to see this graffiti writing piece. The departure of Nightwayss has left a hole in the street art scene and the PWA crew that he used to enjoy painting with. I hope that this will be the first of many return trips.

Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Nightwayss, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

The piece spells out NIGHT in a nicely selected palette of blue pink and red colours, but it is the monkey that continues to steal the show for me. I do miss them.

5023. Cumberland Basin

Mommynature and Nugmoose, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Mommynature and Nugmoose, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023

It has been a pure joy to see the recent collaborative walls from Mommynature and Nugmoose and to see how their contrasting styles sit comfortably side by side. As seems typical when artists paint together, Mommynature is usually on the left and Nugmoose on the right.

Mommynature and Nugmoose, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Mommynature and Nugmoose, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023

The beautiful pigeon in front of a yellow sun is by Mommynature and clearly demonstrates her growing confidence with painting walls and owning her space. The stencil-effect of the piece is cleverly executed, too. To the right, Nugmoose has painted another avant-garde piece, the explanation of which is deeply rooted in his own imagination. There is some alien writing and alien forms, all presented in a rather trippy fashion. I am loving these two and look forward to their next creative collaboration.

5007. Cumberland Basin

Desi, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Desi, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023

I met Desi earlier this week when she was painting a new piece in Dean Lane with her friend Lupa. I took the opportunity to ask Desi why she had started painting the letters VEIL, and her answer was swift and honest – “no reason, I just wanted to play with some letters”. So there you have it, sometimes there simply isn’t a backstory or meaning.

Desi, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Desi, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023

This is a very nice piece, simple in structure and well executed. Desi continues to improve, with strong fills and sharper lines, getting better with each new piece. It is interesting that most times (but not always, as I have learned to my deep embarrassment)  you can spot the gender of the artist. For example, it would be a rare thing for a male artist to put a heart instead of a dot on top of the “i” as Desi has done here. It is almost as if handwriting is transposed onto the wall in some way.

5003. Cumberland Basin

Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

This is another outstanding piece of writing from Kosc in his current series of greyscale pieces. In this piece, we have a familiar element of styling in the shape of ‘rivets’ holding the ‘metal’ pieces of the letters in place. This is a technique that the artist has used quite a lot in the past.

Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

These letters are strong, solid and uniform, and generally have a presence – some pieces just ooze style and confidence, and this is one of them. I have to say that I am very much enjoying this greyscale series… more to come I hope.

5001. Cumberland Basin

Gosia Wadada, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Gosia Wadada, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023

Visiting artists are always, always welcome in Bristol (although the authorities might be a little luke warm) and it is a fine compliment to the city that street artists come from far and wide to paint on our streets and in our graffiti spots. A recent visit to the city by Gosia Wadada, resulted in at least two pieces of which this is the first.

Gosia Wadada, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Gosia Wadada, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023

I don’t know too much about Gosia Wadada, and her Instagram account doesn’t really let on very much, but I can confidently state that she is not from round these parts. She seems to specialise in these stylised mouths, and in that respect is in good company (Pura Decadencia, Soap and Muckrock for example). This piece is neat and tidy and certainly grabs the attention. Some nice design work in the fills too. Watch this space for more from Gosia Wadada.

4995. Cumberland Basin

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023

This is not the first piece I have seen by Solar on this particular wall, and it seems to be a place where he can express himself a little bit better with a bit more space than some of the more congested walls he has painted about the place.

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023

Solar’s work is improving each time I see it, with a confidence and boldness to try new things all the time, such as the character face in the O of this piece. This has a nicely worked horizontal transition from red to orange to yellow and added interest with cross hatching to break up the piece. Nice work from Solar.

4956. Various locations

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022

It seems fitting that I should post a catch-up batch of Kid Krishna pieces only two days after I met the artist for the first time, while he was painting a roller piece at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel. Although our chat only lasted a few minutes, I was able to find out so much about the artist, his work and his aspirations. Overall, turns out he is not a woman (see previous speculation) and is in fact a really nice guy.

Kid Krishna, Stapleton Road, Bristol, July 2022
Kid Krishna, Stapleton Road, Bristol, July 2022

There is me thinking that Kid Krishna was a new kid on the block (demonstrating how little I know) but has been around for a long time, painting with the likes of Sick Boy back in the day. He has been in his native Yorkshire for some years, but recently arrived in Bristol, and has been busy painting the streets since.

Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

Kid Krishna is a versatile artist, equally comfortable with graffiti writing as he is with painting characters, either using spray cans or rollers. He told me that he is looking at doing something quite different, and if it happens, we will all be in for a very welcome treat. Meanwhile, enjoy his incredibly unique and intricate writing in these three pieces.

4951. Cumberland Basin

Stiff, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2022
Stiff, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2022

I have a feeling that I never posted this piece by Stiff at the time (June 2022) it was painted, because it wasn’t quite finished, and when I returned to photograph it in its final glory it had already been painted over. I have decided to share it now, simply because I like his unique take, and enjoy his art. Furthermore, I was lucky enough to meet him for the first time when he painted this piece, as he tends to be quite elusive.

Stiff, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2022
Stiff, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2022

Stiff usually paints some kind of alien character as the subject of his work, and I think that artists choose to paint aliens or monsters, because there are no references against which they can be judged, and you can be as creative as your imagination allows, in a way that portrait artists, for example, can’t. Nice work from Stiff.