5376. M32 roundabout J3 (494)

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Although his frequency of painting has slowed just a little since the spring, Hypo continues to have a sizeable presence in Bristol, which can only be good news. I will be brutally honest about this piece and say that I don’t think it is his best work. The concept and letters are all good, but the colour transitions through the piece feel a little lost and I am thinking that the grey background might not be helpful in this respect.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is still a lovely piece of writing, but I know that Hypo has recently been smashing it and this one doesn’t quite make the bar IMO. I guess consistency can be difficult to maintain, but I know that he will be out and about again with another banger. I look forward to his next piece.

5372. M32 roundabout J3 (493)

Kapochino, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Kapochino, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Although I have photographs of work from previous visits that Kapochino or Kapo has made to Bristol, I believe this is the first I have posted… (checks notes). Kapochino is a writer who includes character faces on the sides of his work, but in Bristol I have only seen the character faces, which are a bit of a mega-tag statement saying “I woz ‘ere” kind of thing.

Kapochino, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Kapochino, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

In this piece, Kapochino has decorated a utility box in the middle of the M32 roundabout with a granny version of his character complete with a bun and drooling mouth. It is always gret tom welcome frequent visiting artists to Bristol, and I am mindful of digging out some of his previous work.

5371. M32 roundabout J3 (492)

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

I was fortunate enough to meet Lee Roy for the second time this week, when he was just finishing off a piece in this exact spot, and it reaffirmed my first impression that he is a really decent and likeable fellow, who is happy to talk about his work, and shows an interest in what I do to record and report on the pieces that I see.

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

This piece of graffiti writing has a modest colour palette, but contains all the fun elements you might from Lee Roy. The letters are painted in a semi anti-style way, following the freedom he enjoys. The fills vary from letter to letter but the white accent lines are consistent, and I particularly like the yellow stars and hoops on the arrows at each end. Some nice ‘shout out’s to other artists round the piece off nicely. Lee Roy remains on a hot streak.

5362. M32 roundabout J3

Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

Super-quick one this morning, travelling day. Benjimagnetic has painted this super piece on the M32 roundabout, full of vibrancy, colour and movement. It probably spells BEN, I think I can see it, because that is what he tends to write.

Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Benjimagnetic, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

This might be the most colourful Benjimagnetic piece that I have seen – perhaps he was using up dregs. All the signature elements are here in this piece. Gotta go. Normal service should resume tomorrow.

5354. M32 roundabout J3 (490)

Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

This is an absolute classic from Mind 49, who has done a lot of maturing lately, and has absolutely nailed it with this piece on the roundabout straddling the M32. Mind 49 has produced something really special here with the letters MIND forming a backdrop to a really unusual portrait.

Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

I don’t know who the portrait is of, but it looks like a Middle Eastern character popping a cigarette into his mouth. The photorealistic portrait is full of richness and interest, and totally not what you might expect to see in this spot.

Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Mind 49, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Unfortunately, when I last saw the piece, some muppet had dogged the face of the gentleman, which is simply so difficult to understand. Let’s hope it doesn’t put off Mind 49 from returning to Bristol.

5352. M32 roundabout J3 (489)

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

This is the second piece I have posted by Noise, and I suspect I have some others in my archive somewhere. Noise is a graffiti writer, whose writing I really like, it is chunky, confident, assured and nicely crafted.in this piece Noise has also included a character, which is seen quite commonly in graffiti art, but I can’t remember the name or context of the character. A quick Google search tells me it is Orko from He Man.

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

The letters spell out noise and are filled beautifully and finished off with a splendid white border. I can’t put my finger on it, but I really like Noise’s writing style and look forward to posting more over the coming months.

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.