I think it’s safe to say he’s back. Slakarts has been knocking out a few pieces lately, perhaps making up for lost time over the last couple of years, during which he has been reasonably quiet. With this quick one, he is maintaining his ‘mega-tag’ presence, reminding us that he is out and about.
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol February 2024
Slakarts hasn’t buffed the wall for this piece, and ordinarily that might lead to it being a little bit lost, but his colour selection and precise spray can work are strong enough to help it stand out over the mess. More to come from the resurgent Slakarts soon.
It was great to catch up with Stivs while he was painting this piece, and it gave me the opportunity to tell him how much I admired his incredible technical skills with creating these amazing calligraffiti letters. Stivs has made a deliberate choice to move back to writing words he used to write before writing Stivs, namely the word KRAP and variants of it. In this case he has written KRAPSTER.
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
The letters are not only beautifully crafted and proportioned, but they also incorporate four shades of yellow, one for each elevation, which together create the appearance of gold letters and a three-dimensional effect. The letters are set on a contrasting matrix of pink lines and squiggles, which rounds off the whole production nicely. Great piece by Stivs.
Oh my! This is Kosc at his very best, and even by his high standards, he has excelled himself. It is obvious that Kosc works very hard to develop his skills and looks to improve from piece to piece, stretching his repertoire and pushing boundaries. When you strive and work hard, you get your returns and this feels like a landmark piece to me.
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
From the background I would guess that this is an oriental scene and portrait, featuring a beautiful woman with flowers in her hair. The greyscale portrait has a softness of touch about it, accentuated by the solid chunky letters either side. I am not too sure why the ‘C’ melts away, but there must be a reason behind it.
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
To me, what absolutely makes the piece perfect, is the stunning landscape setting featuring mountains and trees and old buildings, painted in subtle shades of blue. Whether it is deliberate or not, the spilt paint on the ground draws the piece out towards the viewer and adds to the overall impression. Brilliant work from an artist at the top of his game.
Kool Hand, Face 1st, Soap and Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
This collaboration from the Pirate Wall Art (PWA) crew is a little different in one key respect, and it doesn’t take too long to figure out what that is, but to spell it out, Soap and Face First’s writing resembles throw-up style graff quite unlike their usual individual styles.
Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
To the left Kool Hand, an occasional PWA collaborator, has painted a blue leopard wearing a yellow bucket hat, and why not, pointing, I would like to think, in admiration of his friends’ writing. Kool Hand is perhaps an underrated street artist in Bristol, whose work often goes under the radar, particularly on social media.
Face 1st and Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
Unusually for a triptych collaboration, the centrepiece here is writing, and a very fine combination from Face 1st on top and Soap underneath. The writing designs are quite old-school and in themselves nothing to write home about, but the fills elevate this central panel to a different level altogether. The pink fill is decorated with a whole bunch of squiggly designs, but the clever bit is how the fills transition seamlessly between the two pieces of writing. Great stuff.
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
I said in a post a couple of days ago, that Zake has been smashing it for a long time. He is a machine, turning out creative and fun pieces at a rate of at least one a week, This piece on close inspection is a little grotesque, as the main character is putting an arm into a mincing machine. The stuff of horror nightmares. Perhaps it is a representation of Sweeny Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street. Who ever it is, there is a story here. All in all this is a fine February collaboration from the PWA boys.
Saor, formerly known as Flava136, is an artist at the top of his game and one who paints in a similar style to Epok. He consistently pushes the boundaries of design, precision and interesting content. Saor often paints with his NTS crew mates, Mudra and Kosc, and this piece was part of a recent collaboration on the north wall of the M32 roundabout.
Saor, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
There is a lot to like about this outstanding piece of writing. The letters spell out Saor in Black Grey and white, with some subtle but impactful tints of green. There is a sense of geometry creating a framework from which some more organic shapes and forms are trying to emerge. Perhaps a tension between precision and softness that grabs the attention. The can control that Saor has is second to none and this is a magnificent piece of graffiti writing. We are blessed.
I mentioned a little while back in a Minto post that we were likely to see a lot more of his work, and indeed that is exactly the case. There is something quite unique in the way that Minto combines his letters with characters or scenes to build up a story, and this one is a very green story.
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
The letters spell out, unsurprisingly, the word MINTO, and contains three or four faces sort of organically melded into the letters. To the right, the end face reminds me of the faces on the trains and other vehicles in the Thomas the Tank Engine books, but maybe that is just me. This is a nicely thought out and painted piece from Minto.
On return from a week out of Bristol, the first piece I came across was this double-header by Stivs, which was a bit of a treat. A few days later, I was lucky enough to run into Stivs, on the other side of the roundabout and he told me that before he wrote STIVS, he used to write CRAP or variants of it, and that these two pieces are in recognition of that.
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol February 2024
It looks like Stivs is enjoying some dayglo colours, giving his formal calligraffiti style letters a bit of a 1980s vibe. The first piece, I think, reads KRAP, which is slightly amusing because the word is at odds with the fine writing. Another artist who has done something similar in the past is Turoe, with his shite/shyte pieces.
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol February 2024
The second piece is perhaps a little easier to read. I am glad to see that my dog’s rear end has managed to make it into the shot, just as a reminder that he is with me 99% of the time when I am photographing street/graffiti art. I expect lots more to come from Stivs this year, especially as he now lives a little closer to this spot.
There was no stopping Hemper during the Covid period, but now things have returned to relative normality, his productivity has fallen back considerably, which makes it extra special when he does get out and paint one of his stunning burners.
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
This is a wonderful piece of graffiti writing bursting with colour and energy, spelling out the letters DRAPE, which I am guessing is a shout-out, rather than a tribute. Each letter in this piece has been given a different colour treatment and fill patterns. There is lots to look at and enjoy in this skilfully pulled together writing.
Marckinetic and Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
I am mildly hungover following a wonderful wedding party for our niece, in the extraordinary setting of Farnham Castle on the border of Surrey and Hampshire, and am writing this post sitting in the car, waiting to get home back to Bristol. Fast forward a few hours, and I am now completing this post at home, a little later than usual.
Marckinetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
This is a fabulous collaborative wall from Marckinetic and Kid Krishna, a duo who have started off 2024 in vigorous fashion. Marckinetic’s disguised FFS letters are written in such a unique style and filled with his wonderful ‘cosmic’ patterning, that they simply couldn’t be by any other artist. Creative and wonderfully presented, his work is always a pleasure to see.
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
Kid Krishna has been on fire this year too, after a relatively quiet period, so much so that I am going to have to gather up several of his early year pieces into a single post soon. The colours of this piece broadly match those used by Marckinetic, and create a feast for the eyes, enhanced by being painted on the black background. The letters CRIE are probably there somewhere. This is a fabulous collaborative wall from these unconventional graffiti writers.
Throughout the winter, Laic217 has been in a good rhythm of painting, and I think that it has a lot to do with teaming up with the PWA. Although this wonderful piece isn’t part of a collaborative wall, it was painted at the same time as an adjacent PWA collaboration.
Laic217, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
This skull piece draws on so many of Laic217s trademarks, such as the brick wall, which hasn’t made an appearance for a little while, and the wonderful folds in the fabric of the clothes the skeleton is wearing. I don’t think I will ever tire of his work, or lose that spark of excitement I get every time I find one of his pieces.
Natural adventures 