3381. Cumberland Basin

I am writing this on Christmas Eve Eve (last night) and really ought to be asleep, so please excuse typos or nonsense. I have Paul H to thank for this post. Last week I had been down to the river to check out Brunel Way and to walk the dog. On the way back to the car I bumped into Paul and we chatted for a while under darkening skies. I jumped into the car to head over to Dean Lane and then the heavens opened. Just as I got back to the car, Paul called me and said I simply had to get over to the other side of the river by the Create Centre to see a whole bunch of new stuff. I was reluctant because of the rain, and I had to get back to work to chair a Zoom meeting. I had just enough time and braved the weather. It was so worth it too. This is the first piece from a fabulous paint jam from the day before.

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2020

Ments has always been a favourite of mine because of his organic, abstract writing style of which this is a perfect example. It would seem I got there just in time, because such was the force of the rain that some of the paint was running (can that happen?). Thanks Paul, thanks Ments, fabulous piece.

3352. Cumberland Basin

This is simply wonderful. Clean, crisp, beautifully designed work from Pl8o on the wall overlooking the Cumberland Basin on the north side. There were several eye-catching pieces along this stretch when I took these pictures, including this one.

Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020
Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020

The colours chosen and bold letters scream out from the wall – no wallflower this one. I am really enjoying Pl8o’s pieces, in particular his creativity and although the central design stays similar from piece to piece, the execution and details vary considerably. I particularly like the way the letters are broken up by black lines, giving a block effect, almost like stone cladding. So much more to come.

Untimely death

.

Face down in the mud

the pale corpse of a young man

sadness overwhelms

.

by Scooj

I was walking my dog down by Cumberland Basin today and spotted a human body on the far bank. I was going to call the police, but noticed that a couple of uniformed officers were on their way to investigate. Within ten minutes the rescue services had arrived on the scene, and they set about recovering the body.

I feel numb and shocked and terribly sad. It is an image I will find hard to forget, and of course there are all the unanswered questions about what led up to this tragic event.

3288. Cumberland Basin

It took me a little while to solve the mystery of these faces that started to appear all  over Bristol from about September time. Of course the answer was staring me in the face (almost literally) all the time, but I simply didn’t make the connection. It wasn’t until I saw an Instagram post by the artist that the penny dropped. It is of course by Slakarts.

Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristtol, October 2020
Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristtol, October 2020

Slakarts is another artist who has been fairly quiet for most of the year, but suddenly a rash of pieces very similar to this one started appearinng a few weeks ago. It is strange that an artist who is known for using a certain style changes the basic shape of his pieces and then repeats them all over the place in the form of a mega-tag, but that is what Slakarts has done. I like this piece with strong lines and fills, and it certainly catches the eye. Look out for more on Natural Adventures before too long.

3282. Cumberland Basin

With this modest piece hidden away in Cumberland Basin I bring you another artist new to Natural Adventures… drum roll… 3F fino. The wall is in a little tunnel that can easily be missed while admiring the main long wall of this spot, and 3F fino has used the space really well.

3F Fino, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020
3F Fino, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020

There is a North African Feel to this piece but I might be making some unconscious bias assumptions based on the headgear and could be quite wrong. What I particularly like about this wall is the background. The white wash has been applied in a way that has left the brick mortar lines, the result being what looks like a ceramic tile wall. An interesting debut to this blog.

3279. Cumberland Basin

Discovering new artists about the place is definitely part of the fun of seeking out street art, and meeting Mudra and subsequently finding several of his pieces in quick succession has been very rewarding. Although he has not been in Bristol long, he is certainly making his mark.

Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020
Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2020

This piece is on the long Cumberland Basin wall and incorporates his soft pastel colours into the letters MUDRA. The writing is really clever with the letters being concealed through the piece – can you find them? In the centre is one of Mudra’s pink faced characters wearing a cap. This is a fine piece of work which stitches in all sorts of ideas and techniques. Lots more to come…

3093. Cumberland Basin

By god I think he’s got it. After a few months of experimenting with an organic fluid style, Ments has triumphed with this piece down in Cumberland Basin. It is beautiful, stylish and classy and just shows where practice and creativity can get you.

Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020

I could rave about this piece all day, but it is difficult to know exactly where to start. Ments usually writes the letters MENTS in his work, but I am struggling to find any letters in this piece, instead we are presented with a free-form abstract piece that is simply a pleasure to look at. I am so looking forward to where this journey is going to take us.

3082. Cumberland Basin

Sled One is simply knocking out great pieces at the moment, all of equally high quality and imaginatively pioneering. This sausage on a mobile phone is such a great example of his creativity… a sausage? who’d have thought it?

Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020
Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2020

Of course this is a mash up of writing (SLED) and a character, something that Sled One is a master of. Other writers will often add a character to the side of their work, but they rarely synthesise them into the piece itself. He has a rare talent. It is so good to see Sled One hitting the streets so frequently and it is worth making hay while the sun shines, because he can go quiet for extended periods (work demands probably). Sausages.

2572. Cumberland Basin

I think I said this last time I posted a piece by Nevergiveup but I will say it again because it is still pertinent… gone but not forgotten. I discovered a new (to me) graffiti spot in the Cumberland Basin recently, and one which I think Nevergiveup also discovered a little while before he left Bristol.

Nevergiveup, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2019
Nevergiveup, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2019

This rabbit looks like it has had a little dose of nuclear radiation, but apart from the extra eyes ears and tooth it seems to be in the rudest of health. I love the location of this rabbit and for me it really adds to the quality of the piece. Still plenty to come from #followmyrabbits.

2426. Cumberland Basin

Even though I have heard of Acerone, I think that this is the first piece of his that I have knowingly seen. He paints with this fabulous photograffiti style and the wall that he has painted this amazing Clifton suspension bridge on would pretty much have this view were it not for all the concrete in the way.

AcerOne, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2019
AcerOne, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2019

Acerone is busy with family and art projects so does not paint walls too much these days, but I have a feeling that painting this wall might well get him back into the groove. I certainly hope so, because this is a real stunner and sits at the top table of Bristol Street art this year.