Tag: M32 roundabout

5442. M32 roundabout J3 (504)

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

Face 1st going solo, perhaps none of his PWA friends were free to paint or maybe he simply fancied painting on his own for a change. It looks like Face 1st needed to scratch an itch and managed to do just that with these two pieces on the roundabout.

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

The red/orange and green colours of the first piece work exceptionally well and have a rather natural feel about them. The piece takes us back to the standard form for a Face 1st piece, that is a laughing girl (with gloop) and the letters FACE making up her big hair. I suspect Face 1st could probably paint these in his sleep.

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

The second piece is not dissimilar in its overall form, but the smiling girl is more of a toothy girl and her hair has sprinkles and candles, which makes me wonder whether this is a quick birthday celebration piece for somebody close to the artist. Both pieces are full of fun and mischief, as we would expect from the prolific PWA man.

5432. M32 roundabout J3 (503)

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018

You’d need to go back to 2018 to remember this beauty from Soker. I don’t know how, but this piece got stranded and forgotten deep within my archive, and a quick delve has unearthed it for me to post today. Soker is one of the very best writers in Bristol, which is why it is a little surprising that I never posted this one.

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2018

The first thing to grab the attention is the classy colour palette. The fills in the seamlessly intertwined letters are of the very highest class, drifting from which, through yellow to oranges with consummate ease. The letters spelling SOKEM are pretty much perfect, and so cleanly finished. The buffed wall helps the piece to stand out and the pink and purple spots the cherry on the top. As close to perfect wildstyle writing as you will see.

5428. M32 roundabout J3 (502)

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

There is never a time when I am not thrilled to find a Pekoe piece. She belongs to a small handful of artists who define the Bristol scene and ones that I always keep a special eye out for. This modest piece on the M32 roundabout marks a return to her portraits, which have been playing second fiddle to here writing recently.

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

This pink faced girl with green hair is in three-quarter profile and is glancing out of the side of her eyes, giving her a slightly irritated or angry look. With great lips and the signature tears, this small piece reminds us what a great artist Pekoe is. It is amazing that she has found the time to paint this piece, given her bust summer festival itinerary.

5409. M32 roundabout J3 (501)

Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Dopes is another artist whose presence in Bristol has been fairly intermittent for some time, so it was great to see this wonderful piece on the roundabout a couple of weeks ago. When one sees a piece like this, it demonstrates just how powerful and important it can be to buff a wall first to bring out the best in the work.

Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Dopes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

This piece is dazzling and has a great energy about it, with the yellow light bursting out from behind the purple and pink filled letters. I’m not so sure about the golden pattern on the background, which looks rather flat compared to the vibrancy of the rest. This is a really classy piece from Dopes, I only hope we don’t have to wait so long for the next one.

5396. M32 roundabout J3 (500)

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

I am celebrating 500 posts from the M32 roundabout J3 with this magnificent graffiti writing piece by PWA’s Soap. My eye was drawn to it immediately, and for a fraction of a second I thought that Liverpool artist Lost Hills might have been in town for a visit. I thought this because Lost Hills Features Jake the Dog from the animation series Adventure Time in all of his work. But no, this was a Soap piece for sure.

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Soap has been developing his writing considerably over the last three or four years, and incorporating cartoon characters into his letters has been central to his look. The letters are usually fairly flexible, adding to the overall artwork of the piece, rather than being the central focus. Plenty going on here, lots of fill patterns and a general feel-good factor. Great colours too.

5393. M32 roundabout J3 (499)

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Lee Roy was just finishing off this piece when I turned up on my ’rounds’ and he made plenty of time to chat with me before packing up, which was kind of him. On the two occasions I have been lucky enough to meet him, I can honestly say he is one of the most gentle and likeable characters on the street art circuit (although to be honest, nearly every artist I have spoken to over the years have been thoroughly decent and generous with their time).

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

There is so much to like about this one. The blood-red background is the perfect backdrop to contrast with the lighter greeny blue letters. Lee Roy’s letters are that strange combination of being quite regimented in his own style, while at the same time being disorderly and anti-style in nature… he carries off this effect perfectly. There are plenty of fills to enhance the letters, and a fabulous selection of drops in greens and orange. I like this one a lot.

5391. M32 roundabout J3 (498)

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Kosc is surely one of Bristol’s most talented and versatile artists painting at the moment. Whether he is painting portrait pieces of graffiti writing in a collaboration or alone, his work is always immaculate and extraordinarily creative.

Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

This piece on the M32 roundabout is in his metallic/greyscale style and presents the letters KOSC with a little bit of disintegration between the S and K. Some trademark rivets in the letters add to the metallic look of the letter panels. A nicely thought out and executed piece from Kosc.

5389. M32 roundabout J3 (497)

SkyHigh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
SkyHigh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

A rather nice bit of bubble writing, but what’s so special about that you might ask. The first thing that you might notice is that it is beautifully finished and much less crude than most throw ups painted in this kind of style. In short the piece has class.

SkyHigh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
SkyHigh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Perhaps the reason it stands out is that it is by the superb SkyHigh, and if you look carefully the letters, with the tiger print pattern, read SKY! with the word ‘high’ written in black script in the middle. I guess that the artist was passing through, as he often visits Bristol with Roo to visit friends/relatives. Often we are treated to a large SkyHigh wall with his unique style of high-end block lettering, but not this time. Great to see all the same.

5387. M32 roundabout J3 (496)

Daz Cat and CD.TC, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Daz Cat and CD.TC, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

It is always a great pleasure to see these two collaborate, it is a pity that it just doesn’t seem to happen all that often. I imagine that the limitation probably stems from CD.TC’s availability, as Daz Cat is a constant presence on our streets.

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

There would appear to be a bit of an Italian theme going on with Daz Cat’s cat holding a little white pendant with the words ‘Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella…’. There is also a shout out to ‘Caroline’ on the cat’s pink shirt – maybe she is the bella. This cat feels very much like ‘old school’ Daz Cat, reminding us where he came from.

CD.TC, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
CD.TC, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

CD.TC continues the theme, with his rather cheerful monster character calling out ‘Ciao, ciao, ciao’. There are some nice touches going on with this piece, for example the sun visor glasses and the cross of sticky plasters at the base of the piece. As one might expect, the character has a disproportionately large mouth and gleaming teeth. Always great to see these two painting together.

5378. M32 roundabout J3 (495)

Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Oh! how I have missed Tasha Bee’s work in recent years! She has had a long lay-off while concentrating on her Pot Heads pottery business. At last she has found a moment to paint one of her extraordinary portraits and there is no question that she hasn’t lost her touch in the slightest, carrying on exactly where she left off.

Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

I hope that this isn’t a one-off and represents a return to Bristol’s walls, because she has been sorely missed. The subject of the portrait has a serene expression, a trademark of Tasha Bee’s work, and has flowers in her hair. Perfectly executed and modestly hidden away behind a bush, this piece is a thing of beauty. Bravo!