I haven’t really left myself enough time to write very much about today’s wonderful piece by Smak. For some this might be a blessing… consider it an early Christmas present.
Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021
I have neglected Smak for far too long, and haven’t posted anything by him for months. The reason is simple, there is so much great and new stuff being created out there that the competition for space o Natural Adventures is as high as it has ever been. This is classic Smak wildstyle graffiti writing. Subtle colours, great design and lovely tight artwork. Standards are still high in the Smak camp.
Different artists have different creative patterns or routines. Some paint the same thing over and over again, tweaking and perfecting it (for example Slim Pickings – TES), others create something extraordinary and different every time (Sled One, Tom Miller, 3Dom). Some only write, some only create characters and some combine the two. Mudra too has a modus operandi, which is either to create a character portrait or to write MUDRA cryptically incorporating characters and symbols. This piece falls into the latter category.
Mudra, Cumberland Basin, September 2021
This lovely piece from a little while back on the long wall at Cumberland Basin spells out the artist’s name, where the ‘d’ in a little breakout star at the bottom is replaced with a wonderful stylised portrait of a pink-faced, purple-nosed lady with shocking yellow hair. A wonderful and creative piece beautifully worked nice clean lines and fills.
Ooh! Creative, imaginative and lots of fun, this wonderful piece from Slakarts down in Cumberland Basin is an elaborate expansion on his regular face template. In this piece, Slakarts is telling much more of a story than simply painting up his mega-tag that we see quite a lot of in the city.
Slakarts, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2021
A man, a flower and a dog are the subjects of this lovely piece, and the confidence and boldness ooze out of the wall. Slakarts’ work is typified by the thick outlines and solid fills that present as clean and tidy work. There are some similarities in this work and that of Roo, which is a compliment indeed. More sophisticated stuff from Slakarts to come.
And here is yet another fine piece from Tack Jucker, the artist who just keeps on giving. This wonderful Macaw parrot head is so striking… it is big and bold and quite an unusual thing to see on the Bristol scene. Funnily enough, I would normally expect to see a piece like this painted on a buffed wall, but somehow just sticking it over other graffiti seems to work really well.
I know that Tack works from sketches and photographs and I imagine that this is probably taken from a stock photograph online. There is nothing wrong with that, Aspire does the same thing with his birds, and you can often find the Googled picture he has used.
Tack Jucker, Cumberland basin, Bristol, October 2021
This is another lovely piece from this relative newcomer to Bristol, and I am loving his work.
Although I haven’t posted much from Turow for a while, he is still churning out his work pretty regularly and switching it up as he goes along, as you can see from this rather different stylised block writing piece.
Turoe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2021
Looking like ancient monuments on the lean, these large golden letters with a pink border certainly stand out, and the white line and shimmer across the top of the letters helps to create a nice 3D illusion. Some interesting little blobs across the bottom add a stylish finishing touch. Another one for the gallery.
Well this is a real beauty from alien specialist Nugmoose down in Cumberland Basin. All in black and embellished with bright colourful flowers, this five-eyed alien is difficult to ignore, and plays to all of Nugmoose’s quirky strengths.
Nugmoose, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2021
Nothing lasts very long on this wall, so I was very pleased to get pictures of this one before it was painted over. No signature required from this artist, because his style and content is fairly recognisable, but just in case there is doubt, the alien script, in this instance on the character’s forehead, is a dead give away. An enjoyable piece from Nugmoose.
It is always a pleasure to come across a Pl8o piece, even more so since I met him. There is something about his letter choice that really appeals to me, so not only is it a nice bit of word play, the shapes of the letters work really nicely together.
Pl8o, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2021
In this piece, Pl8o has reverted to his big block letters after a brief flirtation with script, although the dep 3D shadings he favours are not present in this one. A decent enough throwie (throw up) and another to add to his repertoire.
Brace yourselves for some more wonderful pieces by Maybe, which although this post is titled Cumberland Basin, actually come from three different spots in Bristol. The feature image was the first piece that I found from Maybe that wasn’t under Brunel way, but was posted on a column on the north bank of Cumberland Basin.
Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
This first piece has two face balloons whose strings are lovingly intertwined as they drift off into a galactic scene. It is also a dreadful photograph and slightly out of focus. My camera is getting a bit goofed up and I think I will be replacing it fairly soon.
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021
The second piece was in Dean Lane skate park on one of the ramps and it is the only one I have seen there to date. Here a face looks on as a hand picks out a star, once again on a galactic background. There is a calmness and serenity about most of Maybe’s pieces that makes them really accessible for all to enjoy.
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2021
The final piece from this group was from Brunel Way, where most of his pieces have been painted, and this one features another face and hand combination, where the hand is actually another face. All of this curiousness is set on a stunning Red Sea and red sunset. A true beauty. We have come to a point where expectations of his work are getting higher and higher, because his pieces are getting better and better.
One of the great things about living in Bristol is that it has enormous credibility with street/graffiti artists from all over the country and indeed the world, and so visits from some of the greats are not uncommon. Even so, it was rather a surprise to come across this exceptional piece of floral writing from Curtis Hylton on the long wall at Cumberland Basin a couple of weeks back.
Curtis Hylton, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2021
I haven’t seen writing like this before, and it is a real privilege to see it right here in Bristol. Spelling out SAME (Curtis writes under the name Samer), the floral patterns and colours blend seamlessly painted on a cosmic cloudy backdrop. Utterly breathtaking work from this super-talented artist.
I don’t know how it has happened, but I have got terribly behind with my posts today – something of a rarity. Possibly going for a run first thing upset my rhythm and routine. I’ve not been doing much running lately due to a knee injury, but am trying to ease myself back into it.
Mudra, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
To the point and to the wonderful old piece by Mudra, reminiscent of his very first pieces in Bristol. An old man with white moustache, red cheeks and glasses (maybe), superb work on a bare brick wall, and nicely signed-off with his @ signature. Good to be able to post some of his older work.
