It is my birthday – a significant one, and I have slightly taken my eye off the ball with writing my blog, so this will be an exceptionally quick one. Here we have a fun cartoony piece from Jevoissoul who emerged on the scene as recently as October last year.
Jevoissoul, M32 Cycle path, Brisol, December 2023
The character has a cartoon Picassoesque feel to it and reminds me of an artist who used to paint in Bristol called Panskaribas (see below). Jevoissoul often accompanies his work with the word Slow, and he has done so in big letters in this piece – I expect to see a lot more from the artist this year.
Panskaribas, New Stadium Road, Bristol, October 2018
Wxttsart and Mind 49, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2024
This collaboration is one panel of an end of year paint jam on the M32 Cycle path, parts of which have hosted some outstanding pieces in 2023. This piece brings together the styles of two incredibly different artists, Mind 49 and Wxttsart (recently rebranded as Whatsxmilk).
Wxttsart and Mind 49, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2024
The unmistakable anti-style calligraffiti from Wxttsart spells ‘Mindout’, a clear reference to his painting partner. The letters are beautifully constructed and consistent in form, and this writing is a little more conventional than some of his work. The contrast with Mind 49s portrait couldn’t be more marked.
Wxttsart and Mind 49, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2024
There is something slightly elusive about much of Mind 49s portraits, a vagueness that allows the imagination to fill the gaps. There is an absence of sharp focus, so often found in photorealism, that makes Mind 49s pieces so special. The subject’s features are partly obscured by the shadow of the cap, adding some mystery to the piece. The folds in the material of the cap are beautifully worked. This is a fine piece and fine collaboration. A great way to end 2023.
This piece by Mr Keos, was definitely worthy of inclusion in Natural Adventures, as it is rather different from any writing that we usually see in the city. Looking at his Instagram feed, it looks like Mr Keos paints all over the country and was simply passing through Bristol in December nd dropped a couple of pieces.
Mr Keos, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2023
His letters are big, bold and distinctive, no chance of any confusion here. The work oozes experience from an artist who appears to be very prolific. The chrome letters stand out nicely on the orange background and the subtle black feature patterns at the base of the letters turn this from a good piece of graffiti writing into something rather better. I’ll be looking out for at least one other piece he painted in Bristol.
I haven’t seen many pieces by Todoaciem this year, and I hope that his lack of painting on the streets is because he has other important things happening in his life, such as employment or family etc. The rarity makes each piece even more enjoyable to find, and this piece of calligraffiti alongside the M32 motorway is an absolute belter.
Todoaciem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023
The writing spells out CIEM ONE in rich gold and purple tones, the colours of royalty. A light dusting of light blue serves to lift the letters a little. Todoaciem is a master of calligraffiti, and his letter proportions and shapes are outstanding, to leave us with a superb example of this style of writing.
Biers has had a very busy couple of months, producing some rally nice work along the war. This is a fabulous WD40 piece on the M32 Cycle path, following his usual formula of his letters accompanied by a character, although this time the character is at the right-hand end, rather than peering through the hole of the ‘0’.
Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2023
The chrome writing is very nicely presented, although unless you knew it said WD40 is, in my view, very difficult to read. The character has defeated me, except I wonder if he is one of those little characters from Star Wars – Jawas I think they are called. Probably not, but my knowledge of popular culture is limited. May I wish you a very pleasant and restful Christmas Eve.
Well, this doesn’t happen very often. I completely forgot to write my blog posts this morning, and am now in a bit of a panic. I think it must be the disruption to my normal routine, and that feeling that I have an awful lot to do before Christmas. Perhaps the character piece by Zake adequately describes my state of mind today.
Zake, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, December 2023
This piece was part of a PWA paint jam, but alas, by the time I got there this was the only bit of it left. The laughing face full of depth and texture, has a fractured skull through which his brain appears to have turned to jelly. I suspect that there is some Face 1st influencing going on with this fun piece.
Klashwhensober, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2023
A couple of quick ones from Klashwhensober who has been keeping a steady flow of pieces coming off the conveyor belt through the whole of 2023, almost unrelenting. Through that time he has been exploring a lot of new ideas and improving along the way.
Klashwhensober, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2023
This one on the cycle path is really nicely finished, which can’t necessarily be said for all of his pieces. The eye is immediately drawn to the face in the middle of the ‘O’, which creates a strong focal point. The colours are interesting, and I am not sure I would have used pink against the orange, but it seems to work ok.
Klashwhensober, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2023
I find I have to combine pieces by Klashwhensober, because if I didn’t i would probably never post them such is the high volume of pieces he produces. This one is more in the classic style of the artist with strong black letters with blue patterning and drop shadows. The orange and yellow spotty background helps the letters to stand out a little. There is so much more to post from Klashwhensober, so watch this space.
There is a special reason for really admiring this piece by Slakarts, and that is the skill with which he has painted this roughly textured and flaky hoarding without appearing to compromise his final outcome in the slightest. The piece jumps out from the wall and oozes quality.
Slakarts, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, November 2023
Slakarts, as I have mentioned recently, has seriously taken his foot off the gas with his street pieces, so it is always a real treat to find one. The piece tends towards the abstract, merging a couple of his iconic stylised faces into one. The yellow and green colour combination works particularly well on this rather dreary wall. Great stuff from Slakarts.
This is an unusual piece, which I think was probably a Halloween celebration, by an artist I have not encountered before, Jak MCS. No pun intended, but this is without doubt an eye catching piece, and I would have posted it sooner had I known who the artist was.
Jak MCS, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
I would like to think that the writing says something, but the only thing I can come up with is voodoo, although it looks more like goo goo. Each of the elements of the piece, the eyes, the letters and the background are well done, but for me, there is something not quite right and it might be something as simple as the thinness of the yellow paint. Great to see yet another artist painting in Bristol.
From time to time I get to see pieces that I really like and can’t quite explain what it is that sparks my interest. This is one of those pieces. I was mystified originally about the artist, and my first thought was WERM, but I discounted that very quickly on the grounds that the letters weren’t right, and it isn’t quite in his style – it was a plausible guess for about ten seconds. Then I had to do a little digging to establish that it is by Zaenone, an artist I know nothing about.
Zaenone, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
The colourful fills fade into one another in vertical strips in quite an unusual way and the letters are open, allowing the bleed of fill through the whole piece. A nice, strong white border contrasts with the fills and the black drop shadow. Two weird faces bookend the letters and create some additional interest. This is a fun and well balanced piece from Zaenone.
Natural adventures 