5112. M32 roundabout J3 (459)

Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023
Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023

In Bristol, we have several what I would call ‘occasional’ artists, who are accomplished in their own right, but simply don’t paint walls all that often and Serm would fall into that category. For example, I have only spotted five of his pieces since February 2021, and although he may have painted more than that, his pieces are few and far between.

Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023
Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023

The great thing about these occasional writers is that it is always extra special when you do come across a piece. Serm tends to paint large block letters, which he has done on this occasion with a yellow background and shades of purple and lilac in his letter fills. There is a strong sense of industry and solidity in the piece looking like it would weigh a lot if you could pick it up. A few more years, and I might have enough Serm pieces to cobble a gallery together.

5095. M32 roundabout J3 (458)

Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

WTF! is what I thought when I first saw this. I have heard of artists trying something a little bit different, but this piece takes the theory to a whole new level. We know and love Slakarts for his stylised faces, which have evolved over the last few years, but this piece is a complete departure into the realms of abstract art.

Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Slakarts, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

If I had seen this without knowing who it was by (via some Instagram investigation), I don’t think I would ever have guessed it was Sakarts. There are no design indications or patterns that would give him away. The only possible link to his usual work would be the colours, and that is probably because these are the colours he has in his stock. The abstract piece is a well-balanced mash-up of shapes and colours, with one or two reference points, but nothing much to go on.

This is a fascinating piece from Slakarts, but I am going to have to ‘let go’ a bit to fully buy in to this change in direction, or is it a one-off, I wonder.

5090. M32 roundabout J3 (457)

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

I have said in recent posts featuring Zake that his work is getting ever more adventurous and zany, well this piece on the M32 roundabout pretty much supports my assertion. This is Zake pushing boundaries and having fun.

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

This piece was painted as part of a PWA crew paint jam, and combining with the crew has certainly nudged his work along, perhaps being inspired and encouraged by his friends. The face is huge and green and slightly unsettling, due to the absence of pupils. Zake’s mastery of light and shade conveys real depth and creates definition of features. This is an excellent character portrait from Zake – where to next for this artist? Whole bodies? Photorealism?

5085. Cumberland Basin

Roo, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, March 2023
Roo, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, March 2023

Naturally, whenever SkyHigh comes to town, Roo will be with him, as they are partners as well as painting partners. This ensures that we receive a double hit of great artwork from two wonderfully talented artists, each time they come to Bristol.

Sky and Roo 0007 5 March 2023_edited
Sky and Roo 0007 5 March 2023_edited

This is a beautifully executed and framed piece from Roo, featuring a dog with a spray can. What I love about Roo’s work is that everything is perfectly finished. There are no rough or blurry edges, no see-through fills, and the composition is always first-class. The cartoon style is perfect for her animal characters, and there is always a sense of fun in her work.

Roo, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Roo, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

On this occasion, Roo left behind some extras, one of them a few yards away from this piece, another in Dean Lane and a small cat piece in the middle of the M32 roundabout. She and her other half can come back any time they like!

Roo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023
Roo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023

5070. M32 roundabout J3 (456)

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

Given that Zake is knocking out his stylised face pieces at an alarming rate at the moment, there is a strong likelihood that you’ll be seeing lots of his work on Natural Adventures. For example, this is the third piece I have featured here since the start of the month.

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

This glorious face, especially impactful due to the black background, was painted over one of his previous pieces, and this is a spot particularly favoured by PWA artists. Zake is using his specialist skills, when it comes to light and shadow, to create great depth and exaggerated features in this smiling character’s face. Beautifully done and definitely memorable.

5057. M32 roundabout J3 (455)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

Stivs has been absolutely smashing it with his character pieces lately. Better known for his calligraffiti writing, who knew that his artistic skills are so much broader than that. He really is an exceptionally talented and diligent artist.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

This beautiful girl character piece forms the letter ‘S’ in the middle of DSC, his crew letters and he has named this piece Dodgy Sheila Crew – playing with the letters. Stivs is using these orange tones in his character pieces at the moment, and they are extremely effective, in a way that greens, blues and greys etc might not be.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

I am including an almost complete piece that Stivs painted a day or two before this one, which had been painted overt by the time I went back to get a clean shot of the finished work. It is another stunning portrait piece. In recent weeks Stivs has taken his work onto another level.

5052. M32 roundabout J3 (454)

Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

Kool Hand is another artist who has been keeping things ticking over nicely pretty much for the last year. His characters have been diversifying a little over that time and new favourites have emerges, like the dog in this piece. There was a time when his work was almost entirely confined to orangutans and crocodiles.

Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

The letters KH are book-ended  with two characters, his trusty orangutan wearing a cap on the left and a toothy dog on the right. Both characters have wings, although I am not sure of the significance of this addition. The colour scheme has focussed on blues, and works really rather nicely. The piece was painted as part of a larger paint jam a few weeks back.

5045. M32 roundabout J3 (453)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

Face 1st has come up with this belter during this PWA paint jam on the M32 roundabout recently. Not one laughing girl, but three, and of course, one of them has an exploding head.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

It would appear that Face 1st has been experimenting recently with finding ways of breaking up his heads, with explosions or slices. I’m not too sure what his unconscious mind is doing here, but it certainly makes for a creative display that is never presented in a gory way, more as a passing interest. Face 1st continues to delight.

5034. M32 roundabout J3 (452)

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

This is a cracking Soap piece from another recent PWA paint jam – these guys are certainly getting busy, and with the days starting to get noticeably longer I would expect to see quite a lot more from them in the coming weeks and months.

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2023

Soap appears to have moved on quite a bit from his skull/mouth days and has been having fun writing SOAP with a combination of characters and incredible fills and details. The Ice King cartoon character is becoming a regular feature in his work, and in this piece the ‘A’ of SOAP is a lovely nod to his PWA friend Face 1st. This is a dazzling and fin piece from Soap.

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.