It was a sunny day when I took these pictures, and I’m afraid you are stuck with a rather unattractive shadow, cast in the afternoon sunshine. I’m glad I took the pictures when I did though, because the piece was gone by the next time I visited. This is another in a recent spate of pieces by Cort, and I have to say that he is hitting a rich vein of form, in my view at least.
Cort, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2025
Cort plays a lot with his writing, both in his choice of his letters and in his unique styling of each one. Here he spells Kortos, a corruption of his usual Cort, and presents each of his asymmetric letters with a different fill that across the whole piece forms a regular Patton or concept. The beautifully painted letters sit on top of a contrasting yellow and turquoise background. Great work from Cort.
Fade, Jody, Dibz, Cheo and Acid Face with a Brace, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
In Bristol, we are really lucky and get to see a lot of collaborations and paint jams about the place, bringing together local artists who are often joined by visitors, invited or passing through. We get to see all sorts of different styles and levels, and then occasionally a top drawer special production like this one from Fade, Jody, Dibz, Cheo and Acid Face with a Brace.
Fade, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Photographing this production in its entirety was something of a challenge due to its sheer length and some difficult light conditions, with so much open sky above the wall. To start us off on this wall we have a semi-submerged piece by Fade, with the water level cleverly portrayed using different shades of colour above and below the water line, a theme continued by each artist through the production. Some dramatic skies round off Fade’s section nicely.
Jody, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Next up is a portrait piece by Jody featuring a warrior with a deep fur collar and long sword, so I am imagining a Viking theme going on, although I can’t help feeling that the hairdo doesn’t quite match the machismo of the character.
Dibz, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
In the centre and holding the whole production together is a piece of typically brilliant writing from Dibz, again, with the water line running through it and incorporating a wonky long sword. The dramatic skies also continue through this story.
Cheo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Cheo brings a whole different style to the piece, while faithfully following the Viking idea. His cartoon warrior, wading through the water, is festooned with long blonde hair tied up with red bands. His snarling face is made rather comical with the tilt of his helmet. Of course, a trademark bee, also with a helmet, is in attendance.
Acid Face with a Brace, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Rounding off the production is some more writing from Acid Face with a Brace, whose collaboration with Dibz and Fade in Dean Lane from earlier in the summer is still very much intact. The theme is beautifully embraced by Acid Face with a Brace, and he has included a wave breaking over his letters, mirroring the Fade piece at the other end. Awesomeness all round.
It is crystal clear that Tera doesn’t do things by halves. New to the form of street art, he has picked it up at an alarming rate and is churning out large fantasy character pieces, making significant improvements with his technique every time he paints a wall.
Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
Tera is a tattooist by profession, which comes across in his elaborate designs, but I am amazed at how he has managed to upscale his work from a few square inches to several square feet in size. The fantasy warrior, with three swords, seems well-prepared for any eventuality. The detail in the hands is superb, although the design of the mask and headdress is lost a little (I am being uber-picky). Basically, Tera keeps smashing it, and I suspect he’ll continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Although this piece is unsigned (which in itself is a clue), I have made the pretty safe assumption based on the letter font that it is by Nice One. The piece is a protest piece about the war in Gaza and says ‘Smash Elbit’. Elbit is an international military technology company and defence contractor based in Israel, and clearly central to the annihilation of Gaza and its people.
Nice One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
The bleak piece, which appears like a smashed window, is a reminder that we are all witnesses to a genocide that western democracies have failed to stop, and indeed appear to support. It cannot be that hard to get tough on the Israeli government, can it? Street art once again providing a running commentary of contemporary issues with impact.
Mr Draws has had a very good spell of painting, both in terms of productivity and quality of his work. I have always admired his unpretentious approach to finding the joy in his graffiti writing.
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
This colourful piece is notable perhaps for its enormous black drop shadow, which gets a little lost without reference lines to the protruding points of the letters DRAWS. The fills have great colours and are nicely sone, and he has added a smily face, which he seems to be rather fond of at the moment. An uplifting piece.
Totosoapcity, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
Every once in a while I take a trip through my archives and spot pieces that I failed to post first time round, and give them a second chance. This is a piece by Totosoapcity from a year ago, July 2024, before I knew his name, which is why I probably didn’t post it then.
Totosoapcity, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
All of Totosoapcity’s pieces are instantly recognisable, because of the shape of his letters, which is quite unique, and doesn’t seem to deviate too much from piece to piece. I think the letters spell ARSA, with the ‘S’ reversed. In this piece he has gone form the trusty pink and blue combination with a cream and red striped drop shadow and red border with decorations. Decent, unusual and distinctive writing. Watch this space for more of his work from my archives.
I think that this year, perhaps more than any other year, I have seen an increase in the number of visiting artists painting in Bristol, which tells me that it is very much a destination city for street/graffiti artists. This is, in my view, a really great thing and opens up opportunities to get acquainted with a huge diversity of artwork from across the country and beyond.
Squarms, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
I’m not too sure exactly when these colourful skeletons, painted by Squarms, appeared, but it was probably around the same time as some others under Brunel Way, perhaps in late June. These skeletons are brilliantly presented and have a feel of graphic design about them, as if they could be found on cards, posters, t-shirts etc.. Something a little different to enjoy.
Scrapyardspec, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
Scrapyardspec has returned to Bristol recently and dropped a whole load of pieces at spots all over the city, which seems to be his modus operandi when he visits. This multicoloured goofy face is in the little ‘tunnel’ area alongside the long wall at Cumberland Basin.
Scrapyardspec, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2025
There is something completely loveable about Scrapyardspec’s characters. You pretty much know that you are going to get a wobbly face with lots of teeth and googly eyes, but there is enough variability within that formula to ensure that each piece is interesting and unique in its own way. The background colours are what mark this piece out from some of the others, being much more colourful ‘a la fruit salad’ I would say. More to come from our welcome visitor soon.
Unsigned pieces are always difficult to identify, but I have hit upon a bit of reverse engineering in my thinking; as well as looking for clues in the lettering or style of the piece, I also think about which artists I know that never sign their work, and this often leads me to a small pool of artists to investigate. Endz is one of those artists, and closer scrutiny of the style (which varies considerably) helps to draw conclusions.
Endz, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2025
Endz also paints under another name in Bristol, but likes to keep the two identities separate. The sketchy style, which some might interpret as untidy, is deliberate and feels like it might have dropped out of a scrap book or something. The grey tones of the letters are interspersed with small blocks of orange that jazz the whole piece up a bit along with an orange border. Interesting work from Endz, and certainly a little different from the mainstream.
This piece by Zake is something a little different, a variation on a theme from the artist. It is rare to see Zake paint anything approximating to letters, but here we are with an unusual combination piece.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Two letters and two faces, making up the vowels, are nicely designed and set on a grey background with watery bubbles. For once, I will forgive the use of brown paint, because it is subtle and in keeping with the ‘slatey’, earthy, feel of the whole composition. It is always a pleasure to see artists try something new.
Natural adventures 