Over the last few months I have seen quite a few of these TES pieces from Tes (Slim Pickings) but haven’t posted all of them, simply because there have been so many other pieces to post. Perhaps I’ll have to do a Tes sweep up post with all of them in it.
Slim Pickings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021
I have included this one because it is a particularly bright and summery example, although I was a little disappointed that he painted it over the lovely Jelly piece that had only been there for a couple of days. The Tes is, as always, nicely worked and I love the little blue-white flashes on the red 3D shadow providing a little bit of depth.
This is another piece from a paint jam in April this year on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. I have posted a couple of pieces from the collaborative wall already, but this one from Bnie is a little gem that I left behind.
Bnie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
I don’t know an awful lot about Bnie and have never had the pleasure of meeting her, but the more of her work I see, the more I like it. The element that she absolutely excels at is the 3D shadow fills, which are usually patterned in a way that few other artists do. It is the part that gives her away, no signature needed. The colour scheme was replicated along the whole length of the wall by all the artists but worked particularly well for Bnie. Always good to see.
This particular secluded spot near the long wall in Cumberland Basin has been ‘occupied’ by Eman and there are currently six or seven of his pieces crammed into this particular space, of which this is one.
Eman, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
Eman is currently playing around with all sorts of designs and seems to be having a lot of fun with creating new characters. This simple and cute creature is fast becoming a ‘thing’ and I wonder if Eman might fill the gap left behind by Followmyrabbits and start populating Bristol’s streets with these loveable alien/imagined animal things. I like the reversed colours and spots that Eman has used to great effect and the simplicity and clean lines. Look out for more of these creatures right here on Natural Adventures.
Some days just turn out really well, and last Thursday I met Jelly for the first time at the viewpoint, Cumberland Basin… an already good day became a whole lot better. I was on leave last week, so my dog walks became rather longer than usual and much more relaxed. The upshot was that I was able to visit more spots and stay longer at each. Cumberland Basin was my last stop for the afternoon and when I turned up, there were two artists at work, Jelly and Fierfear (to follow) and to help with introductions, Paul H happened to be there too, sunning himself on the viewpoint bench. Paul had been helping Jelly with a spot to paint.
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
My first impression with Jelly’s work was that it had a hint of a Pekoe/Hazard blend about it, but perhaps that had more to do with the portrait approach rather than the actual style. I thought I might have seen Jelly’s work in London (her home town) before, but since she’s only been spray-painting for two and a half years (!!!), it is highly unlikely. Perhaps I have seen her work on Instagram.
The portrait is a stunner, a beautiful face with big blue hair with green highlights. Jelly’s signature long eyelashes add a touch of class and the flashes on the hoop earrings are beautifully done. The tag line ‘Because I’m wurf it’ I think is a nod to a Bristolian accent, although I might have been tempted to change ‘I’m’ to ‘oim’.
Jelly, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
Of course, it wasn’t only the artwork that made this a red-letter day, but also meeting Jelly, who was very happy to stop for a chat and talk about her work. It is always great to welcome fellow Londoners to Bristol, and I hope that she enjoyed her day out enough to come and visit us again before too long, although I ought to add that it isn’t always such pleasant weather here.
Here we have another fine piece from Dog Bless the Band in muted shades spelling out MOTEL. It has been written in a style that bucks the trend of the more traditional New York wildstyle writing and has a much freer and somewhat anarchic feel to it.
Dog Bless the Band, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
Obviously it is the artist’s name that initially creates interest, but that is a bit of a side-show really. I love the subtle earthy tones of his work and ill discipline of his letter forms. The whole thing rather resembles the skin of a large mammal, like an elephant. Great work from an artist I know precious little about.
I am very much enjoying the high level of activity coming from Eman at the moment, and he really seems to be extending himself with a range of character pieces, including this very impressive skull from a few weeks ago.
Eman, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
I’m not sure how long Eman has been doing these kinds of pieces, but he seems to have a natural flair for them, and his soft blending as well as good proportions make this a piece that is easy on the eye. Adding to the impact of the skull is the neutral background with hints of colour that just give the whole thing a bit more oomph. Very nice work.
As I said in a post yesterday, I seem to keep bumping in to Eman, and this happened again at the weekend. I had made an excursion specifically to photograph this and another piece by him from a few days earlier, and guess what… he was in the same spot painting a new piece opposite this one. I think Eman rather likes this spot, which is nicely out of the way from the main drag.
Eman, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2021
The character piece is something that Eman has been working on and I believe he has created a sticker of it too. The character has a lot of charisma and is clean and simple on the black background. It is great to see a writer building on character skills. More to come from Eman.
Ordinarily this artist would need no introduction, but that is especially the case right now, as hardly a week passes without Pekoe appearing on the pages of Natural Adventures. This wonderful portrait in purples and greens was part of a large paint jam in Cumberland Basin, and the themed colours ran from piece to piece.
Pekoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
This is a wonderful piece from Pekoe and incorporates a new feature that she is incorporating, namely the dotted circle on the cheek with the tear in it. I have only recently noticed this embellishment, and think I rather like it. It’ll be interesting to see whether it becomes a mainstream part of her work. This is a fabulous portrait as always, and she even has a Kid Crayon party hat.
It would appear that this wall, after a considerable period of neglect is becoming a little popular. A week or two back there was a nice new collaboration from Mudra and Nugmoose. This has now been replaced with this more than half-decent piece from Pl8o.
Pl8o, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, April 2021
I am very pleased to see that Pl8o seems to be active again after quite a long absence – he is another artist who has gone to ground for much of the lock down period. This is a delightful deep-shadowed piece of graffiti writing spelling out the artist’s moniker yellow to orange to black fades. His letters lend themselves very nicely to writing and there is something very easy on the eye about them. Great to see Pl8o back hitting walls again.
Watching the progress of Big Hev is proving to be an uplifting experience. Her naive style is gradually becoming more sophisticated, and she is building on her themes. However, I think that she is very much at the start of her journey (one that I sincerely hope she pursues) and is learning from piece to piece.
Big Hev, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2021
Big Hev seems to like this spot, and why not, it is secluded and away from public gaze. Her customary portrait has fused a little with some abstract ideas and swirls and some hearts. I would consider this to be a practice piece, but all part of the formation of new and beautiful ideas.
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