One Wall – many faces (2)

Looking at a single wall and how it changes over time.

2. Door on the M32 Cycle path, Bristol

Daz Cat, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2020
Daz Cat, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2020

Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2020
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2020

Soap, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2020
Soap, M32 cycle path, Bristol, December 2020

Hanski, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2021
Hanski, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2021

Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, August 2021

Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

 

4366. M32 Cycle path (173)

It is great that Turoe manages to paint reasonably regularly in spite of some health challenges, and when he does paint he still has the ability to surprise. This rather retro piece is a bit of a beauty down on the cycle path, and I suspect it will be there for some time.

Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2022
Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2022

The block letters overlap one another and are on the lean, but each one is perfectly finished with crisp, clean lines and borders. You can date the piece from around the time of the Oscar ceremony thanks to the reference to Will Smith. I love the way that street art does this, chronicling contemporary events before being irreversibly wiped from the ‘canvass’ through being buffed, bombed, tagged or replaced.

4356. M32 Cycle path (172)

I am always slightly surprised that anyone would paint this particular spot; the wall is uneven and on a bit of a corner, but it is popular and has quite a high turnover. Maybe it is accepted that nothing here will last too long, whereas some adjacent walls are more sought after, and therefore inclined to have more longevity, especially with some of the more respected artists in Bristol painting them.

Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

Bogat and Asre (who goes by the name @runaway_joey on Instagram) paint alongside each other quite often, and judging from the shout-outs are obviously good friends. On the left is an unusual octopus piece spelling out BOG from Bogat, which is a little different from the long faces he normally paints.

Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

Asre on the other hand gives us exactly what you’d expect, with one of his trademark faces wearing a hat, and in this one also smoking a joint. The two artists have used the space well and are becoming part of the furniture after bursting onto the scene earlier this year.

Bogat and Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Bogat and Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

4352. M32 Cycle path (171)

More from Desi, who is really making her mark, literally and figuratively, on the Bristol graffiti scene. Her letters are easy on the eye, and it is her creativity with fills that is fast becoming.no her USP.

Desi, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Desi, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

The colour schemes she uses are carefully thought out and always turn out well. This piece has horizontal fades from dark pink at the top to white at the bottom. Each of the letters is emphasised with a highlight line within the letters which makes the piece so much better. Desi continues to grow.

4347. M32 Cycle path (170)

Alas, this piece from Asre didn’t last very long, which is a pity, because this wall tends to have a very low turnover and the writing/character combination is a good one. Although Asre has only really come into my radar in the past six weeks or so, he has managed to become part of the furniture very quickly indeed.

Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

This piece combines some fine writing skills with one of Asre’s faces, and certainly makes an impact immediately. I don’t know much about the artist, but prior to his pieces appearing in Bristol, I suspect he was painting elsewhere, because the work is very accomplished, and his face well practised. I believe this was a birthday tribute to self.

4332. M32 Cycle path (169)

One of the most noticeable things about Bristol street and graffiti art over the past two years has been the sheer volume of new artists either trying their hand at spaying walls or moving to the city famed for its graffiti culture, either way, it all adds to the vast melting pot we are privileged to observe.

Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Bogat, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

This is the first of many pieces, I’m sure, by Bogat to appear on Natural Adventures, but already I have several more lined up and in the archive. I am rather drawn to this style of street art, faces and portraits are always interesting. Bogat is ideally suited to columns and doors, because his work is often vertically drawn out and sometimes bleeds onto the ground. This is a birthday shout-out to his fiend and painting pal Asre (another new artist to Bristol).

This piece is on one of my favourite doors which has hosted many artists – I feel a special post coming up featuring this door. So much more to come from Bogat.

4295. M32 Cycle path (168)

This rather nice bubble writing and character combination was painted by 3F fino during an LRS paint jam on the M32 cycle path a few weeks ago. It has to be said that the LRS crew have been knocking it out of the park recently and are becoming a dominant movement in the Bristol street art sub-culture.

3F fino, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022
3F fino, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022

The light backdrop is helpful with helping the piece to stand out, and there is a fun interaction between the letters and the character which is taking a bite out of the ‘N’ of FINO. This is a clean and tidy piece which plays to the strength of 3F fino’s cartoon style. Gotta love the monster’s shadow.

4276. M32 cycle path (167)

The unannounced visits from Kleiner Shames are probably my favourite surprises in documenting street/graffiti art in Bristol. Kleiner Shames, who writes FOIS, lived in Bristol for a while before moving to London a few years ago. I understand he now lives in Cornwall (a wise man, if it is true), which would explain why some of his w (the St Mawes ferry, for example) has appeared down that way.

Kleiner Shames, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022
Kleiner Shames, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022

This is one half of a collaborative wall with Ysae, I think, a friend Kleiner Shames often used to paint with when he lived here. The beautiful flowing letters are perfectly set off with a nicely done 3D shadow, blue border and striking red background. Aah, reminds me of the old days.

4262. M32 Cycle path (166)

One of our most productive graffiti writers/artists in Bristol is Werm, formerly known as Eman, and he appears to have been concentrating on his writing in recent months, rather than his characters. This is another of his block letter writing pieces on the cycle path. He is so productive, that many of his pieces don’t get posted on Natural Adventures… I’ll have to find a way to remedy that.

Werm, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022
Werm, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022

The writing spells WERM and was painted as part of an extensive LRS (Last Radical Souls) crew collaborative paint jam a couple of weeks ago. The block letters are clear, with a couple of nice horizontal colour fill transitions. The decorations are nicely done, especially the stars through the middle of the piece. Werm is a talented artist, but I’d like to see him develop his character as well as his writing.

4261. M32 Cycle path (165)

One of the highlights of the winter, and forgive me if I have said this before, has to be the regular visits by Logoe to Bristol, during which he paints five or six pieces in as many days. This one was one of several I photographed in quick succession in and around the M32 area a few weeks back.

Logoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2022
Logoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2022

Logoe’s style typically takes the form of script writing spelling out Logoe, decorated with horizontal rows of colourful spots and often accompanied with some text. In this piece the text reads ‘Dance for me, Dance for me, Dance for me,… oh, oh, oh.”Probably lyrics from a song, but I don’t know which. Beautiful stuff from a great graffiti writer.