Cumberland Basin – Page 5 – Natural adventures

6890. Cumberland Basin

Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

Minto has a very distinctive style, and his writing tends to be a vehicle for combining a collage of characters and icons, bringing together an eclectic selection of thoughts and ideas into a single piece.

In this piece, Minto has gone for some solid fills, a different colour for each letter, and has used the parallel horizontal lines on the wall to proportion everything. His character looks a little sinister to me, as if he is up to no good. This is a well-presented piece from a very accomplished graffiti writer.

6882. Cumberland Basin

Totosoapcity, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

I have seen quite a few pieces by Totosoapcity in Bristol before, but hadn’t known who the artist was, so haven’t posted them. This could mark the opening of a little floodgate for when I do some digging in my archives, which I like to do from time to time. I’m not sure that Totosoapcity is from Bristol, but must be reasonably local I would think, because we see visits every few months.

This piece is part of a large collaboration from a group of artists I am not too familiar with, but who have done a great job on this wall, selecting a themed colour approach to all their writing. I think the letters here spell ARS(Z)A, and have a pleasing symmetry to them. The red, pink, black, brown, yellow and orange colours are not my favourite combinations, but work reasonably well – not sure about the pink. They do, however, contrast perfectly with the themed grey banner background, which is consistent through the entire collaboration.

6881. Cumberland Basin

#DFTE and Dave Sharp, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

These two artists collaborated on almost this exact spot back in July 2022 – how time flies, I had it in my mind that it was last year. From what I can gather #DFTE and Dave Sharp are good friends, and this fine collaboration ‘anxious iron giants’ combines the distinctive writing of #DFTE with the artistic talents of Dave Sharp.

I would love to see more from #DFTE – the power of words is so beautifully presented with his unique style, going big on the drips, but he doesn’t seem to paint all that often. Dave Sharp, I don’t know much about, but he has captured the Iron Giant robot really well, perhaps tinged with a little anxiety… who knows. Their combination works really well, and as a bonus, here is their last one…

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

6874. Cumberland Basin

Unknown artist, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

Regular readers will know that I don’t like to post work by artists unknown to me, and I will often hold photographs of pieces back until I know who they are by. In some instances, particularly when I don’t think I will ever find out, I relent and post the piece anyway. This beautiful horse is one such example.

I don’t often see horses painted in Bristol, there is not much crossover between equestrians and street artists. This is a nicely painted two-tone piece in which the horse appears to be almost ghost-like, or in the form of a ‘patronus’ (for Harry Potter fans). The words ‘Lotty is horsey’ might give some clues about the originator, but I am left none the wiser. The piece was too good and unusual not to post.

6867. Cumberland Basin

Trafficity, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

I don’t go out drinking very often, but last night I joined some colleagues to bid farewell to one of my longest-standing work friends, who has decided to take early retirement. It was a fabulous evening reconnecting with people I haven’t seen for many years, and I will treasure the occasion. On the downside, I drank a little more than I am used to and have a sore head this morning. My posts today will be necessarily brief as a result.

This is an outstanding piece by Trafficity with a simpler fill style than many of his pieces, but sticking to the overall design with determination. Looking good on the blue background. The letters spell ZIOS in case you were wondering.

6962. Cumberland Basin

Noise, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

Although he has had a relatively quiet winter, Noise has woken up for the Spring and is starting to make his presence felt once more. This is a wonderful big bold piece of graffiti writing and is set in a Vaughn Bode landscape.

It is customary for most graffiti writers at some point in their ‘career’ to pay tribute to the American underground cartoonist who was active in the 1960s and 70s, and Noise has done so with a fabulous Cheech Wizard on the left and a scattering of toadstools along the base of the piece. Nice work.

6854. Cumberland basin

Weas, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

This year, I have become increasingly aware of pieces by Weas (@weaselmilk_) dotted about in most spots I visit. He tends to paint some rather wobbly characters, on columns or in tight spaces, but this piece of writing and characters demonstrates his wider capabilities.

The psychedelic swirl running through the letters WEAS has an interesting effect and draws the eye in… so much so that when I first saw the piece, I didn’t even notice the three characters subtlely sitting on top of the word. I think that there is a close association between the ‘alien’ characters and weed, with the one on the left enjoying a smoke. Expect a whole lot more from Weas.

6829. Cumberland Basin

Dirtygypo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

Dirtygypo has returned to the streets with a few pieces this spring, and this is a rather nice one painted in Cumberland Basin. The letters still puzzle me. There are thoughts that they could spell Pilger or Dirty, but I don’t think it is either of these.

The letter forms are consistent with his usual approach, but he has added in some great colours, and the lightening breaks in white really stand out through the piece. The characterisation of the first letter is one of several signatures that aid with identification, but to be honest, his writing is unlike anything by any other artists in Bristol and is easy to identify. It is just those damn letters that perplex me.

6827. Cumberland Basin

Butch, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

I have to confess that I have a real soft spot for Butch’s graffiti writing. I like the name, I think it lends itself well to the art form, I like his letter shapes and I like his understated presence.

Butch has a fairly standard approach to arranging his letters where, going from left to right, each letter overlaps its successor. With the addition of some shadows, this method provides some depth to the piece. This looks like a bit of a quick one, with a white fill that barely does the job of filling. A couple of nice spots round the piece off nicely. More on the way from Butch.

6825. Cumberland Basin

Foksymoron, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

Is it just me, or have WordPress been goofing around with default settings again? I hate it when they do this, because one has to spend time adjusting, or finding the formats that you are used to and comfortable with. Grrr. To offset this morning irritation, I bring you this lighthearted piece from Foksymoron.

This humorous piece talks about Bank Holiday Wednesday – of course there is no such thing – Foksymoron adds to this with a speech bubble ‘Day off and a pay rise’. Well, someone was in a good mood when he painted this. The cool fox, with his customary sunglasses, is wearing a camouflage hoodie and jeans. A picture of contentment.

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	M. on 7400. St Werburghs tunnel…
	skat on Winter afternoon
	Cethru Cellophane on 7400. St Werburghs tunnel…
	paulh121 on Sands
	M. on 7398. Peel Street Green (…

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