Tag: UK

6810. Cumberland Basin

Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

Kool Hand is a bit of an unsung hero on Natural Adventures. I kind of take it for granted that he will turn out regular pieces in his unique no-nonsense cartoon style, but that smacks of complacency on my part, and I feel I need to ‘big him up’ a little, because he deserves higher recognition of his work.

Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

This is a lovely, clean and tidy character piece featuring a cartoon duck tossing a spray can in the air. Wearing a bucket hat, the duck in a coat has a friendly demeanour about him and seems to be having a good time. The piece is set on a solid purple background, and the superb yellow border bleeds out in countless places to form bubbles. A well conceived and executed piece from the fabulous Kool Hand.

6809. Picton Lane (19)

Kid Krishna, Picton Lane, Bristol, March 2025
Kid Krishna, Picton Lane, Bristol, March 2025

I rarely visit Picton Lane, so when I do, there is usually something new to find, and this piece from Kid Krishna made the trip worth it. Kid Krishna is on something of a roll at the moment, and he is definitely a bit of a ‘peaks and troughs’ kind of artist, but he is without doubt peaking at the moment.

Kid Krishna, Picton Lane, Bristol, March 2025
Kid Krishna, Picton Lane, Bristol, March 2025

The soft colour palette is easy on the eye and sits nicely on the purple/blue background. As ever, his letters spell CRIE, although I find it a little difficult to see in this piece. His letters are made up of lots of shapes, many of which almost morph into something recognisable and then morph away again. Unusual, clean and tidy work from a superb artist and nice man.

Medley

Dynamic sky, St Philip's Marsh, Bristol, March 2025
Dynamic sky, St Philip’s Marsh, Bristol, March 2025

.

A sudden flurry

crows cawing and gulls mewing

then return to calm

.

6808. St Werburghs tunnel (483)

Nips, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2025
Nips, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2025

Aha! There is a certain consistency and reliability with Nips’ pieces that I am really attracted to. Her letters tend to be similar in shape from piece to piece, but it is in her fills where she really excels and shows off what she can do.

Nips, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2025
Nips, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2025

Set on a fairly elementary yellow backdrop, the letters NIPS are filled with a stunning patterned mix of pinks and blues, with some great designs and reversed out spots. The eye is drawn to the female symbol in the dot of the ‘i’, which is assertive and proud. Nips has included a couple of nice shout-outs to Basik and Roma too. I hope we see plenty more of Nips in 2025.

6807. M32 Junction 3 (666)

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

A major feature of the resurgence of Hemper recently has been the way he has experimented and embraced a whole raft of different styles. He has always painted original pieces, full of imagination, but I am not sure that I have seen such variation in letter shapes and overall appearance before.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

This large and unusual piece spells out HEMS, obviously, but is also surrounded by a subtly coloured background of mini ‘Hems’ in a kind of bubble graffiti style of writing. This must have taken quite a while to paint, but the overall effect was worth it. Lots more to come from an artist who is on a journey of rediscovery.

6806. M32 Spot (200)

Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025
Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025

One of the great pleasures over the last eight or so months has been watching the development of Lis (formerly Le Imposter Design), from an occasional line-drawing artist to a full-on and busy spray can street artist. Her transition has been swift, but he has held onto some of her original techniques and augments some of her pieces with pens for the finer detail.

Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025
Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025

This is an unusual study piece on a column in the M32 Spot. There was a tagger a few years ago who used to paint coffee pots like this all over the city, but this is the first one I have seen since then. The piece has a naive art style about it, and is fun to look at, and I wonder if it had a dual function of being a bit of a practice for borders, lines and shading. So much more to come from an artist who is in overdrive.

Liver birds

The Royal Liver Building, Liverpool, March 2025.
The Royal Liver Building, Liverpool, March 2025.

.

Silent sentinels

overlook murky Mersey

civic resonance

.

by Scooj

6805. Cumberland Basin

Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

Ooh! How brilliant to see Mind 49 returning to the streets after a relatively quiet start to the year. Commensurate with his last piece at the Greenbank spot in January, Mind 49 has combined a photorealistic portrait with a cartoon illustration, carrying some threat and menace.

Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025
Mind 49, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2025

The portrait is superb, painted in his unique style that creates what I would term a blurred photorealism, rather than some of the perfect sharp pieces that you see from time to time. The cartoon parts begin around the main character’s neck and show him holding a pistol. In the background, a hooded character looks on. I love the way that Mind 49 brings these two very different styles together and makes them sit side by side effortlessly. Looking forward to more as the days get longer and weather warms up.

6804. M32 Spot (199)

Jest Soubriquet, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025
Jest Soubriquet, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025

I am not entirely sure where Jest Soubriquet is based, but he comes to Bristol to paint often enough to make me think it is probably along the M4 corridor somewhere. This piece is painted on one of my favourite walls in Bristol under the M32 and features a wolf.

Jest Soubriquet, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025
Jest Soubriquet, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025

While I would say there are one or two things not quite right with the Wolf, I think it is a great representation and the colours and shading augment the animal really well. I am interested in the overall composition, which places the wolf in front of a brown and pink background, which might represent something, but I am not sure what. The words’Beware the dogs of war’ accompany the piece and perhaps put into some kind of context. Always great to find pieces by Jest Soubriquet.

6803. Greenway Bush Lane (7)

Desi, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, February 2025
Desi, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, February 2025

Desi has been as busy so far this year as at any time I can remember, which is great news. This piece was painted in Greenway Bush Lane, which is fast becoming a graffiti hotspot, alongside Pekoe and Pura Decadencia.

Desi, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, February 2025
Desi, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, February 2025

The orange colours are nicely blended through the VEIL letters, although the paint is a little thin (often the case with oranges and yellows in particular), and there are some nicely reversed out spots for decoration. Desi has added some subtle star bursts, which almost make the piece look slightly out of focus, an interesting effect. Long may this productive streak last!