Tag: M32 roundabout

4299. M32 roundabout J3 (391)

Kool Hand is an interesting artist who appears to have returned to Bristol after spending a while in London. I’m not sure if that piece of information is correct, but I base it on where he was posting his work on hisd Instagram account. Whatever, he is definitely now in Bristol and painting like there was no tomorrow.

Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

Kool Hand has been broadening his portfolio considerably lately, adding to his trademark Orangutan ‘stamp’. I believe this piece is based on an axolotl (a newt-like creature from Mexico, that you can keep as a pet). The six fronds around the head represent the gills of the axolotl. This piece certainly stands out and grabs the attention and continues the development of content for the artist. Pretty in pink.

4297. M32 roundabout J3 (390)

Chill is now a firmly established member of the PWA (Pirate Wall Art) crew, which is a very good thing indeed, and he manages to get out and paint with them as he did with this collaborative wall recently.

Chill, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022
Chill, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

Chill’s black and white old-school comic style characters are a breath of fresh air and quite unique. This is a lovely piece with quite a lot going on. There is reference to NFTs (Non-fungible token – a modern concept that I struggle to grasp) and the story seems to be about food and money and affordability. As ever, Chill’s artwork is outstanding and he manages to ‘draw’ his black lines with great sharpness and tone. Another fun piece from Chill.

4296. M32 roundabout J3 (389)

At the second attempt, I managed to get a couple of shots of this wonderful piece from Merny. My first effort was scuppered by shadows cast on the piece from the bushes. The first rule of street art photography is to try to pick an overcast day, unless the walls you are photographing are not compromised by shadows or in shadow.

Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Merny, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

Merny is continuing his themed work featuring a person in an everyday situation with a caption and some point labels with numbers or letters in them. In this piece a lady with an iPad is looking at her screen and saying ‘oh dear’. Her utterance could be in response to any number of things, and the clever thing about this piece is that it requires the viewer to fill I the gaps and write their own story. The story for me is the Ukraine war. That could be me hovering over my iPad searching out the latest news. Another excellent piece from Merny.

4284. M32 roundabout J3 (388)

A week or two back , Billy and Merny had a great time painting a few spots. I love it when these two get together as their naive style shines a bright light on the incredible diversity of art in Bristol. Their work is always full of messages and commentary, usually reflecting the contemporary political landscape.

Billy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Billy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

This piece would seem to be a dove of peace, and perhaps the colours selected represent both Ukraine and Russia, locked in an horrific war of dictator Putin’s making. It is the written message that is so powerful in this piece, recognising that these are dark times and that the National mood is low. Billy simply says ‘I hope you are ok’. I hope we are ok too.

4268. M32 roundabout J3 (387)

What a very nice piece of classic wildstyle writing this is from Soker, especially welcome as he has been fairly quiet in recent months, and as one of the godfathers of graffiti writing in Bristol, things just don’t feel quite right when he isn’t out there painting.

Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Soker, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

The class and confidence ooze from this piece, which reads PUKE. I am not too sure about the back story to this one and I’m not too sure I want to know. Some classic features, the arrow and star, have been incorporated in this nicely proportioned piece. Great to see Soker out and about.

4267. M32 roundabout J3 (386)

I had spotted Elvs painting this lovely piece from my car as I was driving over the roundabout and returned a few minutes later to catch the artist just as he was adding the final touches to the piece.

Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022
Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022

This is another fantastic graffiti writing/cartoon character combination piece from Elvs, featuring Speedy Gonzales. Aside from his outstanding artwork, Elvs is a really lovely bloke, who always makes time for a bit of a chat. This piece, along with his previous Taz piece in St Werburghs tunnel, showcase the really high standard he has set for himself, and we are lucky that he comes to Bristol reasonably regularly to leave stuff like this for us to enjoy.

4258. M32 roundabout J3 (385)

You can expect to see a few more pieces by Klashwhensober in the coming days and weeks now that he has firmly established himself on my radar. This piece spelling out SOBA was recently sprayed on the M32 roundabout.

Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

The bold writing is accompanied with a rather brash character face in a baseball cap, making up the ‘O’ letter. There is some great fill work going on here and an energetic feel about the whole thing. Another member of the LRS crew that seems to be growing by the day. A nice piece.

4252. M32 roundabout J3 (384)

Bright, cheerful and straight to the point. This is a wonderful and uplifting piece of graffiti writing from Corupt on the M32 roundabout. The artist tends to use a few different sets of letters, including Corupt, Korupt and Stick, and I guess I could just as easily called him ‘Stick’, if I had seen those letters first.

Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2022

Corupt’s letters are very distinctive; usually quite regular in size and quite angular in style. The main characteristic though is the outstanding fill patterns throughout his work. This piece is stunningly finished with an orange and red border which is so tidy. BS3 is a Bristol postcode (Bedminster area) which Corupt often tags onto his work.

4239. M32 roundabout J3 (383)

It took me a long time to get round to photographing this lovely piece of writing by Stivs, and when I got to it, the far right hand side had been ever so slightly overpainted by Elvs, but in a respectful way.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022

Stivs has been knocking it out of the park over the last year, with each piece seemingly more complex and ornate than the last. His calligraffiti style of writing is so pleasing to the eye, but far less forgiving of mistakes, because of the uniformity of the letter style. A magnificent technical piece, painted for a friend’s birthday, it can’t get much better than this, or can it?

4220. M32 roundabout J3 (382)

The rewards for digging through archives are fruitful and nourishing, and this wonderful little collaboration from Mr Penfold and Merny (Morny) has managed to remain hidden for way too long. I am so happy to be sharing it with you now.

Mr Penfold and Merny (Morny), M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019
Mr Penfold and Merny (Morny), M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2019

These two have collaborated on more than one occasion, often in the company of Billy, but this is just the two of them. The abstract shapes on the left are from Mr Penfold and the lorry from Merny. The whole transport phase of work from Merny was quite one of the most unique themes in the Bristol street art world, and I have to say that I really miss it, which is why finding this in my archive is such a pleasure.