6993. M32 roundabout J3 (691)

Hypo, Cheo and Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Hypo, Cheo and Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

Birthday paint jams have definitely become more of a thing since I started writing about street art (about ten years now). This was a well attended birthday celebration for Hypo, which turned out some superb pieces. This is a triptych from the birthday boy, Cheo and Hemper.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

I’ve pretty much said all there is to say about Hypo’s work in so many posts over the last couple of years, and this is another fine example of his wildstyle writing, perhaps more cryptic than some of his pieces. What an accolade that so many great artists came out to celebrate with him.

Cheo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Cheo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

Cheo is one of the ‘godfathers’ of character work in Bristol, and this is a superb cartoon-style piece featuring an artist (is it Hypo?) pondering whether he should be using red or yellow paint. The animation is so full of humour and movement, it almost feels like watching a film clip. Of course, a signature bee is in attendance.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

Hemper always, always turns out outstanding pieces. This one is as creative as ever, and spells out Hems in blue and white dappled letters set on a red splash. Everything in on point, and it is easy to see that this is the work of a graffiti writing genius. Three great pieces coming together in this birthday collaboration.

6978. M32 roundabout (690)

Dun Sum, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Dun Sum, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

There is something rather special and unique about Dun Sum’s incredible creations. He doesn’t come into the centre of Bristol often, but when he does, his work always makes an impact. Often, Dun Sum will paint approximations of real creatures, but there is usually a bit of a twist, and sometimes complete fantasy. This chameleon, however, is identifiable as such, with only a little artistic cartoon licence.

Dun Sum, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Dun Sum, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

Having had a household chameleon pet ‘George’ a few years back, I am rather partial to any piece representing the charming little lizards. There is plenty of charm and humour in this piece, something Dun Sum excels at, and great to see him paint on the roundabout for Hypo’s birthday paint jam.

6976. M32 roundabout J3 (689)

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

It barely needs repeating, but Hypo has been smashing it for at least a year now, and each of his pieces brings to the fore another aspect of his technical ability and creativity. This rhapsody in blue was one of a couple of recent pieces painted on this wall by Hypo.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

To manage to get a piece to ‘pop’ when it is painted in the same colour as the background is a skilful thing to do and Hypo has managed to do it well here with a clever use of a deep 3D grey drop shadow and some deft white highlights and starbursts. The tones are really lovely and his fills intricate with blue stars and yellow spots. A very fine piece of graffiti writing.

6972. M32 roundabout J3 (688)

Posh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Posh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

There was a fabulous turnout for Hypo’s birthday paint jam a little way back, and one of the highlights for me was this small piece by occasional artist Posh. By occasional, I mean that he doesn’t paint the streets all that often, which is a real pity, because his work is refreshingly different.

Posh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Posh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

Posh has painted a collection of curious characters who seem to be having a fun time. I think the monocles and top hats are part of the whole posh thing. Is that a cake the girl is holding? And who is the dude in the aeroplane?  There is lots happening in this busy sketch piece. Looking forward to seeing more from Posh.

6968. M32 roundabout J3 (687)

Face 1st, Zake and Soak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Face 1st, Zake and Soak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

I cannot think of a time when I haven’t been utterly delighted to come across a PWA collaboration, and this beauty filled me with good cheer a couple of weeks back. There is a good chance that the collaboration will; remain intact for a while, as this stretch of wall tends to have quite a slow turnover.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

The three artists contributing to the collaboration are Face 1st, Zake and Soap. Face 1st needs no introduction and is probably the artist who has appeared most on Natural Adventures, and deservedly so. This is a classic theme for the artist, with a laughing girl’s face and big hair spelling out FACE, with some diamonds chucked in for good measure.

Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

In the middle is this wonderful cartoon character piece from Zake which also fits into his archetypal style, with so much depth, the face seems like it could roll off the wall and into the pathway. Zake seems to be painting at least once a week at the moment and is smashing it.

Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

The triptych is completed with a lovely piece of writing from soap, who doesn’t get out as much as he used to, but still manages to collaborate reasonably often with his PWA chums. His letters and fills are sublime and, as is usually the way with his work in recent years, has an Adventure Time influence with the incorporation of the Ice King. Superb collaboration with a shared inclusion of a colour scheme throughout.

6961. M32 roundabout J3 (686)

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025

Although this piece is a little bleached out by the strong sun, I am so pleased to have captured it at all. So many times when Kid Crayon has painted a new piece, I get down to photograph it, and it has gone. I don’t know if this is purely coincidental, or whether there is something more sinister going on. Suffice it to say that I have missed at least two pieces by him this year.

Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025

It is fantastic to see Kid Crayon getting out more often this year, after quite a long period of low productivity – due in part to his real work being very busy. In this piece, the letters CRAYON can be seen with a little reversed out KID at the start. Each letter has an individual paint treatment, with the base colours alternating through the word. The ‘O’ is represented by a character with a blue face, donning a rather fetching Eat crew baseball cap. A floating crayon in front of the character’s mouth rounds the piece off nicely. There are so many KC trademarks in this fun and uplifting piece.

6951. M32 roundabout J3 (685)

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

Hypo continues in his rich vein of form and is working his colours really hard at the moment, but not in a chaotic or random way, but rather in a considered and thoughtful manifestation.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

Each of the letters HYPO are given an individual colour scheme with blended tones beautifully worked. The letters are afforded a chunky 3D effect, thanks to the skilfully placed white highlight lines that deceive our eyes. Another fabulous piece in an outstanding and lengthy series of graffiti writing.

6949. M32 roundabout J3 (684)

Subtle, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Subtle, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

It is totally awesome to see Subtle again after quite a long break. His work, for me, epitomises the Bristol style of graffiti writing. I have mentioned that different towns and cities, regions or countries have distinct styles, and this piece by Subtle oozes Bristol.

Subtle, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Subtle, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

The piece itself is painted in rather dark colours and a little difficult to pick out with the light behind the wall. Great big fat letters on a buffed wall with a dollop of red decoration is just what the doctor ordered, and a great way to start the day. Classy and beautifully executed. Welcome back Subtle.

6941. M32 roundabout J3 (683)

Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025

I sometimes wonder if I might get a little tired of posting street art, and occasionally I do get tired, but my interest simply doesn’t wane, and as long as there are street/graffiti artists out there painting, I will be writing. Admittedly, I might slow down a little, but that is life. There are a few artists in Bristol who provide a real tonic for those periods when I need a little uplift, and Bloem is without question one of those.

Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025

In this piece Bloem has decorated some rather nice bubble writing with grey flowers and flower buds, keeping the whole piece rather subtle and modest. Her improvement and progress really has been quite remarkable, and she seems to turn the dial up a notch with each new piece. Unfortunately, this one didn’t last too long, but it was an uplifting beacon while it remained.

6938. M32 roundabout J3 (682)

Microsoft

Mr Crawls and Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025
Mr Crawls and Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

Mr Crawls and Kool Hand have been painting together more regularly of late, and it is good to see.  Their character styles, although quite different do complement one another rather well.

Mr Crawls, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025
Mr Crawls, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

Mr Crawls has painted one of his ‘skeleton’ bird characters, which look slightly creepy if I am honest, but are very much part of his repertoire. He has shown another side to his talent here though, with some very nicely presented writing, spelling out JIM. I expect that this is a shout out to a friend/family member.

Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025
Kool Hand, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

Kool Hand presents his orangutan character, who over the years has developed and become ever so slightly more sophisticated. The solid fills haven’t changed much, but the clean lines have improved and the overall shape of the head has softened. Some nice white flashes add to the 3D appearance of the character. A rather nice collaboration.