5348. M32 roundabout J3 (488)

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

When I first encountered Daz Cat’s pieces, they were pretty much always portraits of cats, sometimes dogs, and reasonably basic, but with that Daz Cat style. Over time his work has become more sophisticated, and about 18 months ago reached a new level, each piece telling stories, rather than just a portrait.

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

This one on the St Werburghs entrance to the roundabout, is a piece that uses the square space supremely well, and the illustrative rabbit (or cat with very long ears) curled up in a tight ball appears to be spinning. There is lots of movement here and even though it is painted in greyscale, it makes a strong impression. Who’d have thought he’d be producing stuff like this a few years ago. Great to see.

5336. M32 roundabout J3 (487)

Noise, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Noise, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Background noise. I have only recently become consciously aware of Noise and his rather distinctive style of writing. I have a few of his pieces in my archive, but until now didn’t know much about him, and actually still don’t apart from his name. Noise has been a presence in Bristol, but somehow I just haven’t picked him up on my radar.

Noise, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Noise, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Noise’s writing style is not only accomplished, but rather easier on the eye than some writers. His letters are large, rounded and distinctive, and share a quality with Dopes’ letters. The fills here are beautifully done and create a kind of shiny surface effect. This may be the first, but certainly won’t be the last piece by Noise to appear on Natural Adventures.

5335. M32 roundabout J3 (486)

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

Kid Krishna has had a quiet couple of weeks, which means that I can catch up on some of his pieces, although there is so much happening at the moment, it is never easy to catch up on anything. This is a bright, happy piece from Kid Krishna, featuring elements of the Wizard from Vaughn Bode.

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

I can’t really express how good I believe this piece to be. It is clean, tight, cryptic and joyful, and since Kid Krishna appeared on the Bristol scene about 18 months ago, he has been turning out pieces like this one with extraordinary regularity, and in doing so, really pushed the boundaries with his unconventional style.

5328. M32 roundabout J3 (485)

Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

I have said many times before on Natural Adventures that it is always a great pleasure to welcome new artists, and over the last year or so there have been an incredible number of new entrants onto the scene. One of the latest to showcase her work is Hiccup, a Bristol artist, nail artist and creator of hand-crafted jewellery.

Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Hiccup, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

This is a nicely worked piece of a hand holding an old brick cell phone – I had one like it for many years. The letters ACAB (All Cops are Bast**ds) appear in the display – a common motif for street artists. Nails feature prominently, which perhaps comes as no surprise. A nice piece, with plenty more to come, I hope.

5309. M32 roundabout J3 (483)

Mote, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

I simply can’t keep up, not with Mote and not with any other artists either. Whilst it might sound like a complaint, it is not really a bad thing because it signifies a thriving street art and graffiti writing culture in Bristol… as if we didn’t know that already.

Mote, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Mote, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Mote himself, has really been on full throttle lately and this piece on the M32 roundabout is part of his series of bird monsters, that he seems to be particularly keen on at the moment. In these bird pieces, Mote creates a delineation between the face and beak/bill and the rest of the bird, defined by different colour schemes. There is a lot to like about these giant ‘doodles’ and they have become very much a part of the furniture in the city.

5305. M32 roundabout J3 (482)

Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Tucked away, hidden by a bush on the M32 roundabout, is this fun little character piece by Bean. Although each of Beans pieces that I have seen so far are different characters, there is something about his style that it quite distinctive. It might be the colour palette that he uses, which often includes lots of bright yellow, orange and red.

Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Bean, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

This cartoon character, with a green moustache is sporting a fine headdress of flowers and toadstools. The piece it really neat and tidy, and beautifully drafted, with great use of light and shade to create depth in the facial features. I am very much enjoying Beans’s work, which seems to crop up at reasonably regular intervals.

5300. M32 roundabout J3 (481)

Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

He doesn’t paint all that often, but when he does, Serm pretty much always does a grand job of it. I think it might have been the polite thing to do to buff the wall a little first, because you can still see the Hypo piece beneath, but it is no big deal, because overpainting is part of the way of life for graffiti writers.

Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Although the writing clearly spells SERM, I keep reading SESK, because there used to be a writer in Bristol called Sesk some time ago, a writer of some notoriety I might add, but that is another story. The chunky letters are really nicely filled with a complex layering of patterns, topped with some thin line bubbles. To go with the chunky letters is a very deep 3D drop shadow drifting to the right, in a range of blues. This is a nice tidy piece by Serm, and after a couple more from him, I’ll have enough for a gallery.

5285. M32 roundabout J3 (480)

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

It took me two visits to get a clean picture of this piece by Kid Krishna, because his bike was parked in front of it the first time (while he was painting an adjacent piece). What is interesting is that the light conditions were different on each occasion, which affects the colours in the images.

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

Kid Krishna is smashing it everywhere he paints at the moment, and in a very short space of time has become a dominant force in the city. In this fascinating piece the writing, CRIE, is compressed into the central part of the work and is surrounded by fish designs, some realistic and some abstract. The piece demonstrates a strong artistic bent and creative mind. The explosion of ideas in his work is sometimes difficult to interpret, for example what is the man in the top hat, eating a sardine, all about? His work continues to surprise and delight… regularly.

5284. M32 roundabout J3 (479)

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

Tick-tock, regular as clockwork, Hypo keeps turning out new pieces, each of which is a welcome addition to his expanding and improving portfolio. I have definitely seen an improvement in his work in recent months, and although he has been around for a long time, I think he is reaching a new level.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

Hypo continues to produce pieces with an element of symmetry to them, achieved through shapes and colour schemes. I have seen him use this kind of fill pattern in the past (Upfest 2017), producing what looks like a horizon on a landscape. Another great piece from Hypo.

Hypo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Hypo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

5273. M32 roundabout J3 (478)

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

This is another busy and eclectic piece from Kid Krishna. An explosion of sub-conscious and conscious thought pinned to a framework of graffiti letters spelling CRIE. Kid Krishna really is a unique artist and interesting character, utterly absorbed in his artwork and constantly challenging his own ideas.

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

I was lucky enough to meet Kid Krishna just as he was starting this piece, and it is fascinating to see that his starting point was the hand in the centre. The hand and the character hint that the artist might have had a classical art education – the proportions and perspective are expertly painted.

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

The busy nature of the piece suggests that Kid Krishna has a busy mind, and his work reminds me a bit of Tom Miller’s brain dumps. There is always so much t look at and to try to work out. Lots more to come from Kid Krishna.