Tag: Cumberland Basin

4767. Cumberland Basin

Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

What an absolute beauty from Mote. Tucked away in a little corner of Cumberland Basin is this magnificent example of one of Mote’s monsters, and quite possibly one of his best to date.

Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Mote, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

I really like Mote’s attention to detail and clean work. All of his fills are always solid and his fine lines clean. These monsters are on the opposite end of the spectrum to throw ups. Mote spends time on painting his characters with real diligence and accuracy. It is worth noting that some of the decorative dots around the bottom of the background incorporate the previous piece that Mote painted over. The finished pieces are imaginative and always bring a smile to my face. I love this piece.

4765. Cumberland Basin

Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

It is always special to see pieces by Smak. He is an artist pretty much at the top of his game and completely in command of his outstanding work. You know that you are looking at something really classy from the effortless way is comes across from the wall to your eyes.

Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

Smak is rather keen on these colours, but actually looking back on the extensive gallery of his work, he actually pretty much uses every colour under the sun. Beautiful letters, beautifully painted, oozing class.

4759. Cumberland Basin

Saor, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Saor, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

I go away for a few days and whaddayaknow, a whole bunch of walls have been refreshed, including the long wall at Cumberland Basin. There are several beauties that have gone up there, and this fine piece by Saor is right up there.

Saor, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Saor, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

The thing I most like about Saor’s work is that every piece he paints is immaculately turned out. The lines are sharp, the fills solid and the designs imaginative. As his work develops, there are definitely some similarities with the Bristol writer Epok, whose letter designs contain combinations of curves and geometry in harmonious balance. This is a lovely piece from Saor.

4703. Cumberland Basin

Evey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Evey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022

It is quite by accident, but wholly appropriate, that I should follow up a piece by Bnie with a piece by Evey. The two artists are part of the RBF crew and often paint alongside one another.

Evey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Evey, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022

I consider this to be Evey’s best piece that I have seen so far. The green palette set on the red background works exceptionally well and makes it difficult not to notice the piece. Large bold letters, filled with a clever array of greens and a thick black 3D border combine well. There are some nice sharp lines, in particular at the base of the first ‘E’ and the white highlight is subtle, but helps to lift the letters. Upwards and onwards… it is great to watch on at the improvement as it happens.

4698. Cumberland Basin

Vozie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Vozie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022

This is the first piece I have posted by Vozie, an artist from Cardiff, and inspiration to many female artists in the area. Up until this year I hadn’t really been aware of her work, but since Upfest, I have noticed a few of her pieces about the place.

Vozie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Vozie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022

Vozie is an extremely good writer, as this piece demonstrates and has all the features you might expect to see from a talented and experienced writer. The whole piece is really tight, with stunningly crisp lines and borders, but it is the design, colour selection and faded fills that ooze class in this piece. I am so pleased to introduce Vozie to the pages of Natural Adventures with an absolute belter.

4688. Cumberland Basin

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022

This piece from Laic217 was painted while I was away on my family summer holiday, but I was more than aware of its existence due to the fact that it was all over the Bristol Instagram feeds that I follow. Of course, on my return home, I made a beeline for the spot in Cumberland Basin.

Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2022

There is something rather striking about the portrait piece, and I have a feeling the background pattern has a lot to do with it. The portrait itself is a classic piece of Laic217 art, disturbing and menacing, with the figure clan in a full mask and goggles. It has a dystopian future feel about it.

4618. Cumberland Basin

Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

If you take a look at Pl8o’s work over the last few years, it is clear to see that he has made significant progress, added characters to his work and great sophistication in his letters, which are becoming more and more elaborately disguised.

Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

This recent offering from Pl8o Is beautifully designed and carefully painted with some interesting colour transitions vertically and horizontally. It is the letter designs that steal the show though, he really seems to be putting a lot more thought into these designs. A nice piece from Pl8o.

4617. Cumberland Basin

Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

Sometimes street art is edgy, sometimes political, and sometimes just great fun, and this collaboration by Dave Sharp and #DFTE falls into that latter category. The two pieces on a black buffed wall leap out at you, and it is a sour old soul that couldn’t find something to like about it.

Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

To the left is a fabulous SpongeBob SquarePants piece, by an artist I don’t think I have come across before, Dave Sharp, and what a great job he has done, bringing the children’s cartoon character to life. To the right is a typical philosophical phrase from #DFTE, albeit in a much larger format than his smaller framed pieces. “Happiness is being confidently weird” – I think I can live with that. Nice drips, by the way.

4609. Cumberland Basin

From time to time, the street art community is rocked by the death of one of their fold. It might be felt by everyone or by just a few close friends. When it happens, it is common to produce tribute pieces for the departed friend, and some artists keep the tribute alive for days, weeks, months or even years, for example Haka keeping the memory of his friend CKone in our minds in most of his pieces even now.

Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

This is one of several tribute pieces for Sear by Stivs, and there are several other tributes about the place. I haven’t ever really encountered Sear before, but he was a graffiti writer and close friend of Stivs’. This piece is a fine tribute, beautifully structured and proportioned and the colour combinations perfect. A work of love.

4600. Cumberland Basin

Sometimes, when a piece has been tagged, you have to look beyond the tag and see the piece for what it is underneath the disrespectful scrawl. Inca (the mole) is an artist whose work I simply don’t seem to come across all that often, so when I do, I like to publish it, even if tagged.

The Mole, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
The Mole, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

Inca on this occasion has painted his mole character, although sometimes he writes INCA, so it helps to know what to look out for. Inca’s mole character is most endearing, and the simplicity of the piece supports the maxim that sometimes less is more. The mole outline seems to have been superimposed on a sunrise landscape, with some lovely horizontal colour transitions, and of course, there is always the subliminal Ukraine flag when blue sits above yellow. A nice piece tucked away.