5243. Cumberland Basin

Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Kosc has been smashing it for a long while now, both with his arty pieces and with his writing, and this is another fabulous example of his greyscale graffiti. I managed to catch up with Kosc last week as he was painting a new piece on the M32 roundabout, unfortunately I never saw the completed piece, as the entire wall was bombed by DBK before I returned a day or two later.

Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

With clever use of light and dark shades and a midline ridge running through each of the letters, Kosc has managed to get the letters to pop out from the wall, creating a wonderful 3D effect. I would like to see Kosc experiment with anamorphic writing, because I think he would be excellent at it, and we don’t seem to have any anamorphic writers in Bristol at the moment, other than Zase. Another fine piece from Kosc.

5217. Norrisville Road (4)

Kosc, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2023
Kosc, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2023

This road was one of the first I wrote a blog post about, in fact it was number 21 (this is 5,217), and the portrait piece was on the other side of the road, by Dora, an artist whose debut on Natural Adventures was in fact her first and last appearance. This piece is by the irrepressible Kosc, and what a belter it is.

Kosc, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2023
Kosc, Norrisville Road, Bristol, May 2023

The colour palette of the piece is exquisite and works beautifully with the blue buffed background. There is often quite an industrial/urban feel to Kosc’s work, but the letter fills in this one are a little bit softer, almost dreamy, although I can see a few ‘rivets’ here and there.

It is amazing to see how far this artist has come over the last few years, from his early pieces under a different name, to being in the top division of Bristol writers. There is so much to love about this one.

5198. M32 roundabout J3 (473)

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

Kosc is always on fire, whether it is his graffiti writing or his character pieces, he never disappoints. This is another outstanding piece of writing painted in day glow orange tones, a colour that he favours, but one that fades if left out inn the elements for too long.

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

The letters spell out Kosc and have his trademark ‘rivets’ in place at certain junctions in the lettering, making the whole thing look like a piece of metalwork. The transition of fill colours is exceptional, and the shading within each letter creates a fabulous 3D effect. I think that Kosc may have missed a bit of shading on the far left part of the letter ‘K’, a minor detail, but you can’t unsee it.

5026. M32 roundabout J3 (451)

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023

This is another wonderful greyscale/chrome piece from Kosc, in a series of pieces that he has been working on recently. The elaborate letters spell KOSC and are presented on a KOSC printed background, a technique I have seen the artist use before. I guess he must have a roller with the letters on it, or a print block, to cover the whole wall… it could be a stencil, but it doesn’t quite look like it to me.

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2023

Once again Kosc has included his rivet theme which makes it look like the letters have been made up of metal plates welded and riveted together, which is a clever illusion, considering the whole thing is flat paint on a flat wall. A nice shout-out to the NTS crew and XXIII round off the piece nicely.

5003. Cumberland Basin

Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

This is another outstanding piece of writing from Kosc in his current series of greyscale pieces. In this piece, we have a familiar element of styling in the shape of ‘rivets’ holding the ‘metal’ pieces of the letters in place. This is a technique that the artist has used quite a lot in the past.

Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023
Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2023

These letters are strong, solid and uniform, and generally have a presence – some pieces just ooze style and confidence, and this is one of them. I have to say that I am very much enjoying this greyscale series… more to come I hope.

4993. St Werburghs tunnel (347)

Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023

Kosc is having something of a purple patch with his greyscale pieces that are to be found around the city. He seems to have found a new theme that he is enjoying exploring, and as an onlooker I am thoroughly enjoying seeing.

Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2023

The effect that Kosc achieves, using only greyscale tones on a green-grey background, is awesome, creating a kind of metallic look, especially where the dark and light tones meet in the diagonal line across the KOSC letters. This is the work of an artist at the top of his game who appears to be enjoying his painting.

4936. M32 roundabout J3 (444)

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

This is an absolute beauty from Kosc, who has been dazzling us all year with his outstanding craft and innovation. The stylised portrait and writing piece has overtones of American art deco about it and reminds me of the Chrysler building in New York.

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2022

The grey and white colour selection is a combination that works really well together, creating a metallic appearance through the whole piece. Set on a muddy green background, the piece is modest and yet highly impressive. Another outstanding piece from Kosc.

4832. St Werburghs tunnel (321)

Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022

I was once told that to assume something will make an ‘Ass’ of ‘U’ and ‘Me’, a very helpful tip in the communications world. The assumption here, is that this unsigned piece is by Kosc. The evidence supporting my assumption is that NTS is a crew he belongs to, and he is the only artist I can think of who produces accurate anatomical pieces.

Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022
Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2022

I am no expert, but looking at this magnificent skull, I would say the dentition suggests a grazing lifestyle and the horns would lead me to think this was an ungulate (a hoofed mammal). I would plump for some kind of bovine, possibly a buffalo of some kind, maybe an African buffalo. A lovely piece, and something a little different.

4807. Dean Lane skate park (538)

Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

As part of a collaborative wall, this is something rather different from Kosc, but the high quality of the piece is there for all to see. Taking a break from his writing, which he seems to have been enjoying of late, Kosc has created this amazing rat skeleton character.

Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

There is more than a little menace about this rat, brought about by its posture and open mouth. You can tell that Kosc enjoys the anatomy of the creature and clearly has a good understanding of skeletal structure. There is some complementary artwork from Saor, whose part in this collaborative wall was just to the left, that cuts through the rat’s tail. Fabulous artwork from Kosc.

4784. Cumberland Basin

Kernow 0016 4-13 Oct 2022_edited
Kernow 0016 4-13 Oct 2022_edited

definitely appears to be enjoying his writing at the moment, and has produced several fine pieces of writing, including this recent one painted during a paint jam a couple of weeks ago.

Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022
Kosc, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2022

The letters KOSC, take a familiar form with an industrial appearance and painted rivets. The shading and central lines in the letters create a 3D effect lifting the letters out of the blue flash background. Graffiti writing that is very easy on the eye.