Tag: Kid Krishna

5262. M32 Spot (164)

Kid Krishna, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023

I simply can’t keep up with Kid Krishna at the moment, and I think I am going to have to do a ‘sweep up’ post of pieces that I haven’t posted so far this year, because all of them deserve to be featured here on Natural Adventures. Not only is he incredibly prolific, but he manages to spread himself far and wide, although mostly north of the river, to be fair.

Kid Krishna, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2023

There is nobody else like Kid Krishna, both in terms of the person and his art. His lettering, although it is often such a mash-up, spells CRIE, and you can see a little CRIE at the bottom right-hand side of the piece. The letters TPN and NKA also usually make an appearance in his work too. In recent months, the letters have been incorporating fragments of character artwork, and there is a cat incorporated here. The white letters with green and yellow accents and decorations work incredibly well on the black background. This is a magnificent work from Kid Krishna.

5239. Cumberland Basin

Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

There is no stopping Kid Krishna these days, and it seems that I rarely go out taking pictures without bumping in to him. We usually chat for a while, which I enjoy, and each time we meet I get to know him a little better. Because he doesn’t really use social media, it can be quite difficult to know where all his pieces are, so often you get to discover them rather than hunt them down, and that is always most gratifying.

Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Nothing seems to phase Kid Krishna, for example a return on a wall… simply paint round it. This black white and yellow piece is fairly typical of his unusual writing, and he has included a character in the middle, which reminds me of a king in a pack of playing cards. There is no doubting Kid Krishna’s talent and his genuine enthusiasm for art, and I think we’ll continue to see much more from him this year.

5133. Brunel Way (200)

Kid Krishna, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023
Kid Krishna, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023

With this piece, that incidentally didn’t last very long, Kid Krishna demonstrated his incredible versatility. If I hadn’t met him when he was painting this piece, I’m not sure that I would have known it was one of his, although the fact that it was painted next to a Markinetic piece might have been a bit of a clue, together with the FFS, NKA and TPN.

Kid Krishna, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023
Kid Krishna, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2023

I think that I can see the letters CRIE in this rather more traditional wildstyle graffiti writing, which is so full of different textures and tones – a classy piece of work. We chatted for quite a long time, and I like it that Kid Krishna seems to be happy to stop and chew the fat – the subject of our conversation was one I seem to be having a lot lately, and the clamp down by BCC on graffiti/street art, and the recent announcement from the Government (and opposition) bout antisocial behaviour.

Of course in my mind, there is a big difference between tagging someone’s front door, which is vandalism, and painting creative artworks in places that have a culture of such. Maybe a topic of conversation for another post.

5120. M32 roundabout J3 (460)

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023

More unusual writing from Kid Krishna, this time on the wall to the right of the tunnel on the northern side of the M32 roundabout. This is a candidate wall for the ‘One Wall’ series of posts I write, showing a time series of pieces on the same wall… when I have time.

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023

Kid Krishna told me that he always writes CRIE in his work, although even though he has assured me this is the case, I struggle a little to see it sometimes. I guess it is not important what it says, instead, the composition being more central. This is a straightforward cream on black piece, with nowhere to hide, so Kid Krishna has really exposed his work here. There is some geometry and method in his writing, which you can see from the circles. Painted with rollers, this is a fine reminder of the versatility of the artist.

5062. St Werburghs tunnel (356)

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

I met Kid Krishna when he was painting this piece, and we chewed the fat for a little while. He was hungry and kept going on about getting a takeaway, and asked me whether I thought he could get food delivered to the tunnel entrance. Can you imagine having that conversation 25 years ago? How the world has changed.

Kid Krishna (WIP), St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Kid Krishna (WIP), St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

While I had Kid Krishna’s attention, I asked him about his letters and how he builds up his pieces. He told me that he starts with the letters CRIE, and that he writes the letters starting on the right and paints to the left – it’s just how he does things. H builds up the letters in layers until the whole thing ends up pretty much disguised. It is no wonder I have always struggled to read his stuff.

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2023

This particular piece is a belter, and has a kind of industrial or mechanical feel about it, almost looking like an engine or something. Kid Krishna continues to turn out extraordinary work.

5008. St Werburghs tunnel (350)

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023

I met Kid Krishna for the very first time when he just completed buffing this wall and had begun this large and complex piece. As luck would have it, I met him again in exactly the same spot a couple of days later, it is funny how things like that happen.

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023

This is a magnificent beast, monumentally intricate and bewildering. His letters are so well disguised, that they simply become part of the overall experience – a little bit like Mr Klue’s work. This piece is a real workout for the eyes, in that search to make sense of it. The technique Kid Krishna uses to paint these writing pieces is to lay down the main structure of the letters with a roller, and then to add the borders and details, and it works very effectively. Kid Krishna told me that he is thinking of shifting to a new idea, so I’ll be scouring the streets to see what he does.

4970. St Werburghs tunnel (340)

I

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

have now met Kid Krishna twice in the space of a week, in pretty much exactly the same spot, which is pretty amazing really, given that I had never met him before that. He seems to like painting in the tunnel area, and this stunner was painted about a week before I met him.

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2022

A notable thing about Kid Krishna’s work is that is very often very intricate and busy, and of all the writing in Bristol, his letters are the ones I struggle with the most. The creature in the middle of the piece is, I am guessing, a spider from Mars and is in such stark contrast to the writing. This is the work of a very talented artist.

4956. Various locations

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2022

It seems fitting that I should post a catch-up batch of Kid Krishna pieces only two days after I met the artist for the first time, while he was painting a roller piece at the entrance to St Werburghs tunnel. Although our chat only lasted a few minutes, I was able to find out so much about the artist, his work and his aspirations. Overall, turns out he is not a woman (see previous speculation) and is in fact a really nice guy.

Kid Krishna, Stapleton Road, Bristol, July 2022
Kid Krishna, Stapleton Road, Bristol, July 2022

There is me thinking that Kid Krishna was a new kid on the block (demonstrating how little I know) but has been around for a long time, painting with the likes of Sick Boy back in the day. He has been in his native Yorkshire for some years, but recently arrived in Bristol, and has been busy painting the streets since.

Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Kid Krishna, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

Kid Krishna is a versatile artist, equally comfortable with graffiti writing as he is with painting characters, either using spray cans or rollers. He told me that he is looking at doing something quite different, and if it happens, we will all be in for a very welcome treat. Meanwhile, enjoy his incredibly unique and intricate writing in these three pieces.

4933. Cheltenham Road

Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022

It would seem that Kid Krishna ‘owns’ the walls either side of Boston Tea Party on Cheltenham Road, as there are pieces by the artist either side of the entrance, and both of them are character pieces, rather than the stylised writing we are more familiar with. This piece is to the left of the entrance, and is a bit of a stunner.

Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022
Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2022

Of course, there is more than just a passing nod to Vaughn Bode’s Cheech Wizard character in this piece, with the addition of some curious camera or lens in the middle. This is a beautifully crafted piece and one of my favourites from last year.

I am really confused about one thing, though. One time I drove past this piece when it was being painted, I saw a woman painting it, or at least I thought I did. I might have been mistaken, and my eyes aren’t getting any younger, but if I am right, then Kid Krishna might be female. Either Paul H can put me straight, or I will just have to find Kid Krishna at work.

4799. Cheltenham Road, Boston Tea Party

Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2022
Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2022

When you spend your spare time searching out and writing about street/graffiti art, you develop an amazing peripheral vision for noticing something different, something new, in the places that you visit most often. I was walking to the office last week (a rare occurrence these days), and from the corner of my eye I saw this bright flash of colour behind a hedge on the wall of The Boston Tea Party, where an Alex Lucas piece once proudly stood. The colour belongs to this outstanding piece by Kid Krishna, which I assume is rather new.

Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2022
Kid Krishna, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2022

For me at least, this piece was an extra surprise because it is by Kid Krishna, and to date I have only seen his writing, and wasn’t aware that he painted art pieces as well. This is an unusual, but compelling portrait piece in bright colours and almost in a cubist style. Great to see that Kid Krishna has several strings to his bow, and a great addition to his portfolio.