This is a pairing that has been very productive in recent weeks and one that involves two artists with very different temperaments, Hemper and Turoe. What is clear is that both of these artists are uber-talented and capable of turning out writing in a plethora of different styles.
Hemper, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2021
This collaboration is actually only one half of a slightly larger effort that included Veks and Benjimagnetic but somehow these two needed to be posted as one. The Hemper ‘HEMS’ is utterly outstanding and those shades from brown at the bottom to blue at the top are sensational. The letter style is nice and organic and has a kind of woodland/outdoorsy feel to it. So very good.
Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2021
The Turoe piece in a richly scripted style, spelling out, unsurprisingly, SHYTE, is beautifully done in a yellow gold colour. There is something funny about the juxtaposition between the fancy script and crude word. A fine piece from Turoe. Together, these artists with contrasting efforts have absolutely smashed this wall.
Hemper and Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2021
Both of these artists have had a very busy year in terms of throwing paint at walls. Benjimagnetic and Hemper are not artists I would normally pair up, but they have painted together in the past and continue to do so from time to time. Benjimagnetic’s style is much more consistent, whereas with Hemper, each piece is incredibly individual.
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
On the left is a fascinating piece from Benjimagnetic spelling BEN, which is much less frenetic and busy than his usual offerings. The yellow outline, where you can make out his letters, is sitting over a blockwork pattern, and the whole efect is compelling. Two little speech bubbles state: ‘Stand in the balance’ and ‘Hold your head up’
Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2021
To the right Hemper has created a sensational piece of writing spelling out HEMS in beautifully curvy letters which are filled to perfection with various colourful shades and bubbles. The whole thing is set on a very atmospheric green background with a few subtle shout-outs. ‘Free assembly is a right… …not a privilege’ is a sentiment very close to many Bristolian hearts at the moment. Kill the bill.
Yesterday I posted a gallery of Hemper’s work, and if you’ve not stumbled across it, you can find it here. This is yet another beauty in a disaggregated style, a little bit like Benjimagnetic perhaps, up at the M32 roundabout. I would like to say it is his most recent piece, but I know of at least two more since this one was painted.
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2021
At first glance, and to the untrained eye, this might look like a bit of a chaotic mess. It is however a beautifully crafted HEMS in several colours, without a solid fill, but instead a hint at fills and outlines. I think that this is the kind of piece that a novice simply couldn’t create. Appearances can be deceptive.
Here we have another absolute scorcher from the fantastically productive Hemper. This artist’s trademark is his extraordinary creativity; how many different ways can he present the letters HEMS? Combined with his enormous skill and talent.
Hemper, M32 cycle path, Bristol, March 2021
In this piece, Hemper has created a snakes and ladders board decked out in the garish colour squares that are so familiar to many of us from our childhoods. What an amazing thing to be able to do from a few old tins of spray paint. This is a magnificent, bright, happy piece. Thank you Hemper.
“Work to live, don’t live to work” – can’t argue with that.
It’s official, Hemper is on fire at the moment and having as productive a time of it as any that I can remember. I wonder if the ongoing lockdown situation has freed up some artists to paint walls more often than they normally would, and other ones to become almost invisible over the last year or so.
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
I think that Hemper has a very good eye for colour combinations and the purple and green combinations in this piece work fantastically well. Spelling out HEMS, the letters alternate between the two main colours, but each letter is uniquely fashioned and filled. Another outstanding piece of graffiti writing from this master.
Of all the ‘masters’ of Bristol graffiti writing, I think that Hemper is probably the least represented on Natural Adventures. I am not entirely sure why that might be. Perhaps it is the modest approach he takes to his highly technical freestyle work, or to the fact that he normally paints with other artists, which might take the attention away. I don’t know. Anyhow, I really ought to address this imbalance – perhaps with a gallery.
Hemper, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2021
In this piece under Brunel Way, Hemper spells out HEMS with some glorious curvy letters filled with a couple of shade of purple and embellished in a way that gives it a shiny 3D effect – how does he achieve that shiny thing? Some very clever white additions that give it a reflective quality. This is a real technical banger.
I have only met Hemper on one occasion and that was last summer. My first impressions were that he is an unassuming and modest fellow who has put in the effort and has a gift for graffiti writing and does it extraordinarily well.
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Hemper is a freestyle writer, which means that he doesn’t paint from a sketch in a black book but rather from his imagination. Combine that natural creativity with the fine motor skills that he has developed over the years, and you get outstanding pieces like this one. A little beauty.
Another one from a little earlier this year, and what a beauty it is from Hemper. This is a fantastically intricate piece of wildstyle writing from the artist in which each letter of the word HEMPERS (I think) is written with a completely independent style and colour regime and each is wonderfully elaborate.
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2020
I had a conversation with Hemper earlier in the year when he was painting this same wall, and he told me that he usually freestyles his pieces with a mental picture of roughly how he wants it to turn out. Well if this was what was in his head he has turned out a real gem. Exceptional work from an exceptional graffiti writer.
On the opposite side of the Dare To building from the Smak piece in my previous post on Natural Adventures is a fine quintet of pieces of which this is one. Each piece hosts the writers name together with a little character. This gorgeous rhapsody in green is by Hemper.
Hemper, Alfred Street, Bristol, September 2020
Spelling out HEMS, this intricate piece is absolutely amazing and incredibly detailed. The letters seem to pop out all over the place thanks to the skillful 3D shading effects. This is a work by a fine craftsman. I’m not too sure who the little green character is to the top left, but I think I recognise him from a contemporary cartoon series.
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