Street art – Page 159 – Natural adventures

6037. Cumberland Basin

Daz Cat, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

From what I can gather, Daz Cat has been away for a little while travelling in Southeast Asia, and has recently returned to Bristol not only with some vigour but also with a newfound inspiration that is coming across very clearly in his new pieces, like this one in Cumberland Basin.

I can’t say I have really seen anything like this from Daz Cat before, it is like his work has taken a significant step change. There is more sophistication and depth to his character portrait, who appears to be a hybrid between a human and a cat. There are some great colours used in this piece, and the hair is just something else. Daz Cat has come a long way, and his journey is getting really interesting.

6036. Dean Lane skate park (717)

I think that it is fairly common knowledge that ACAB is a subversive acronym derived from the phrase ‘all cops are bastards’. I am guessing that it was coined in North America, because we don’t generally use the word cop in the UK, preferring the terms Police, bobby, old Bill, ‘pigs’ or even ‘copper’ but rarely cop. ACAB is used liberally in street/graffiti art, and this piece on the curved wall by Mr Draws, has a humorous take on the letters.

Firstly, I would say that this is a really attractive piece by Mr Draws, who continues to gently push his boundaries all the time whilst retaining his style and identity. The design is great, the letters are nice and tidy and the fill colours work surprisingly well. Mr Draws has softened the tone of the acronym so that it reads ‘all cats are beautiful’, and has added in a cat character for good measure. Perhaps one could term this piece ‘fluffy subversion’.

6035. Lawrence Hill roundabout (19)

Slakarts, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, April 2024

In amongst the dross in the tunnels of the Lawrence Hill roundabout, there are some real gems, but you need to hunt them down. This beauty by Slakarts stands out from the crowd, conspicuous on account of its superior quality in terms of both design and execution.

Although the character piece is on the small side, Slakarts has worked it into the location perfectly, following the contour of the handrail, rather than fighting against it. The winning combination of pink and blue colours is easy on the eye, but it is the crispness and clean lines that really grab me. I guess the piece is ll the more enjoyable for being in this location, where I wouldn’t ordinarily expect to find a Slakarts piece. Worth the trip alone.

6034. St Werburghs tunnel (425)

Laic217, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2024

Ha ha! This outrageous portrait piece by Laic217 at the entrance to the tunnel just makes me laugh. It has all the hallmarks of his work, that takes the grotesque to a new level, softened by some superb paint craft (by which I mean tone and depth) and a brilliant background.

I wouldn’t ordinarily associate Laic217 with St Werburghs tunnel, but it is great to see him painting here. The distorted face features an enormous toothy mouth and protruding chin, but the character seems happy enough with it. Street artists often add an edge to portraits by omitting to include pupils in the eyes, which gives a bit of a sinister appearance, unsettling for the viewer. The material of the character’s clothes is as you’d expect perfectly painted, and the backdrop of blue smiley faces on a pick background, is suitably trippy. This is a great piece from Laic217.

6033. Lawrence Hill roundabout (18)

Mind 49, Lawrence Hill roundabout, Bristol, April 2024

Lawrence Hill roundabout is a spot that is a little off the beaten track, and most of the graffiti down there is average at best, with a lot of bombers and taggers getting in some practice. Decent pieces tend not to last too long in a pristine state, but having said that turnover is pretty slow. I was therefore privileged on a recent speculative visit to find this beauty from Mind 49.

It has been wonderful to watch Mind 49’s development from a young artist at Upfest 17 when he was a youthful 16 year old painting under the name Mind Control. This piece follows the theme of concealed portraits that he has been painting in which parts of the face are obscured by hoods or glasses or other things and in this case by the fact that the subject is looking away. This style leaves more to the viewer’s imagination and is quite unusual in the street art world. This is a really wonderful piece tucked away from the more common spots.

Mind Control, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

6032. St Werburghs tunnel (424)

Fade and Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2024

Ah! Bravo! Bravo! What a magnificent and, if I am honest, slightly unexpected collaboration from Fade and Pekoe in the tunnel. Although the pair have painted together in the past, it still somehow feels like a surprise when they hook up to paint together.

I was going to write that this might not be the tightest of pieces, but the more I look at it the better it gets I’m my view. The sumptuous colour palette of gold and light purple ticks all the boxes and turns a good wall into a great one. Fade has kept the purple flashes to a subtle minimum, with just enough colour to complement the wonderful gold writing. Lifting the letters further is the beautifully clean white accent line along the upper edges of the letters. Brilliant.

I wasn’t too sure about Pekoe’s portrait on first glance, but I am sure now that it is absolutely on point. The lady is wearing a gold hoody that frames a beautifully expressive face and flowing hair. The woman’s face looks quizzically amused about something, and seems to be suspended in that moment before breaking into laughter, at least that is what I see, and that is the joy of art, we each take home what we see. I really love this collaboration and look forward to their next project together.

6031. St Werburghs tunnel (423)

Turoe is nowhere near as productive as he has been at certain times in the past, so it is always great to come across a new piece. Although the frequency has dipped, the quality of his writing hasn’t diminished one iota.

This is a lovely chrome piece in the tunnel, which is really brought to life with the steel blue border, without which the writing would disappear on the wall, and struggle to be noticed. Small things like this come so easily to experienced writers, and the thought that goes into design, colours and site location contribute to the final outcome. A fine piece of graffiti writing from one of the best.

6030. M32 roundabout J3 (576)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2024

Here we have some more calligraffiti writing from Stivs, who appears to have had a bit of a rebirth lately and is painting furiously all over the place. I use the word ‘furiously’ deliberately because the words he is choosing to write recently are on the bluer end of the scale and play into the passive-aggressive arena, contrasting the beautiful writing with the potty mouth language.

I believe this piece says KLAPE or KLAPY, which I think is just another way of saying CRAP, although I might be mistaken. The writing is, as ever, very neat and tidy, and has a sparkle about it, helped along with the little starbursts at the top of each letter. Much more to come from Stivs, and I am struggling to keep up as it is.

6029. Dean Lane skate park (716)

The little passage alongside the swimming pool wall in Dean Lane is often full of surprises, and I was thrilled to find this lovely floral piece by Peggy, especially as she has been reasonably quiet over the winter.

Peggy, who I guess has been busy with her tattooing, managed to find some time to create this display of leaves and, of course, a flower including an eye in the centre. Lots of symbolism tied up with the eye, but I am not too sure what it might mean. Peggy has chosen a nice palette of colours and finished the piece neatly. Perhaps this is a sign of more activity over the summer – fingers crossed.

6028. Stokes Croft

Kid Krishna, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2024

It took me rather a long while to photograph this magnificent writing/character combination piece by Kid Krishna, but parking near this spot is a real issue, so I waited until I walked in to work (a reasonably rare occurrence since Covid) before snapping it up. Fortunately it has been respected and remained untagged since it was painted.

The Tribute piece almost looks like it has been created by two different artists, and it brings out the artistically ‘bipolar’ aspects of Kid Krishna’s skill sets. The character, which looks like a beetle-mole mash up is detailed, sharp and clean, whereas the writing looks much more fluid and spontaneous. This is a really classy combination piece from an artist who is red-hot at the moment.

	hitandrun1964 on 7576. Brunel Way (353)
	scooj on 7568. M32 roundabout J3 (…
	Sheree on 7576. Brunel Way (353)
	paulh121 on 7575. M32 roundabout J3 (…
	hitandrun1964 on 7575. M32 roundabout J3 (…

	hitandrun1964 on 7576. Brunel Way (353)
	scooj on 7568. M32 roundabout J3 (…
	Sheree on 7576. Brunel Way (353)
	paulh121 on 7575. M32 roundabout J3 (…
	hitandrun1964 on 7575. M32 roundabout J3 (…

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