Urban – Page 71 – Natural adventures

6764. Sparke Evans Park (124)

Lupa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

I have a feeling that this might be Lupa’s most sophisticated I have seen to date. Her familiar letters are given the solid fill treatment, with some decorative cracks. This is augmented with some circular patterns and accent lines placed in all the right places.

I have said it before that there is an authenticity to Lupa’s work that forgives the rough edges of her style. Big letters from a big personality, and something about her work that always makes me smile. Looking forward to loads more from Lupa in 2025.

6763. Ikea

Zake and Soap, Ikea, Bristol, January 2025

Three artists have come together to paint this wall, but I am not sure who one of them is. Zake and Soap are obvious candidates but I don’t know who painted the boat and sea. I fear I ought to do a little more research, but am short of time.

Zake has painted a ‘standard’ face with a big expression and plenty of shading which provides depth and character to the portrait. The way the face appears in the sky makes me feel like it could be a sun character. Soap has painted some beautiful letters, where the ‘O’ is a character from Adventure Time, or some other animation of that genre, which seems to be something he really enjoys including in his work. Nice work from the PWA crew.

6762. St Werburghs tunnel (479)

Goober and Maes, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2025

As you will know, I am on holiday. Writing posts can be a challenge while away. Routines are disrupted and inevitably trying to snatch a moment to write posts can be tricky. I am writing this after a long day of skiing, in preparation for tomorrow when I will be skiing… get the picture? This piece is a nice collaboration from Goober and Maes.

I have not posted much from either artist, but have plenty of their work, particularly from Maes in my archive. The collaboration works well, with Goober’s superb exploitation of the ‘OO’ opportunity, and some particularly imaginative letter shapes from Maes, whose work is on a huge improvement trajectory. Looking forward to posting more from both artists.

6761. St Werburghs tunnel (478)

Hemper and Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

Hemper and Hypo have been smashing it recently, and this is a wonderful recent collaboration in the tunnel. I fear that while I am away in France I will be missing a whole bunch of their work.

Hemper, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

Hemper, like Kid Krishna, has had something of a lifestyle change and has come out of it all guns blazing. This is a combination piece of writing and little blue characters, which might have been a joint effort from both artists. Vibrant and energetic.

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

After a quiet January, Hypo too has been in outstanding form through February and this is yet another fine piece from him, with great colour transitions and his familiar HYPO moniker. An outstanding collaboration.

6760. M32 roundabout J3 (656)

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

There is a clarity to Kid Krishna’s work at the moment which probably reflects his recently overhauled lifestyle, which is really good to see. The colours and design of this piece are outstanding and have a sense of purpose about them.

Although Kid Krishna conceals them well, the letters here spell CRIE, or that is what I have to believe, because that is what he told me all of his pieces spell. There is a wonderful structure to this piece, with each letter hosting a different colour regime, and being composed of ‘slabs’ or shapes. This is a tidy and sophisticated piece of graffiti writing.

6759. Mina Road (14)

Aspire, Mina Road, Bristol, February 2025

I am having way too much fun skiing to write comprehensive posts this week, and am completely worn out when I do have a moment. So this is a quickie.

I have known about this stunning Octopus piece by Aspire for a while, but simply haven’t found myself an a situation where I could park up and photograph it. A little late to the party, but I made it in the end. Aspire used to keep us very happy in Bristol when he lived here with his regular bird pictures, but he does come back from time to time, and obviously still has contacts in the city. I guess that this was a commission for the restaurant below. Superb artwork.

6758. Cumberland Basin

Noise, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025

It is always great to see the familiar chunky letters painted by Noise. I wonder whether Noise might be a bit of a ‘fair-weather’ artist, as he hasn’t been out painting much over the winter period, or maybe he has had other commitments that have kept him busy elsewhere.

Noise has compressed the letters a little to fit into the space, which makes them look even more chunky than usual. The rather dour colour and disposition of the letters is uplifted by the rather crude pink crosses, without which I think the graffiti writing could be a bit lost. A nice end result.

6757. Cowmead Walk

Hemper, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, February 2025

There is no question about it, Hemper has found a new level of energy, the likes of which I haven’t seen since around Covid lockdown, when he was pretty busy also. Barely a day goes by when there isn’t a new piece by this exceptionally gifted artist. One of the most notable things about Hemper is that every piece he paints is new and creative, he rarely, if ever, revisits old designs and copies them, each one is utterly unique.

This outstanding piece is like a ‘sampler’ where each letter shows off his astonishing technique and gift for colour, shapes, patterns, design and can control. Spelling out HEMS, the H, E and S all have white accents which provide depth and a 3D effect, whereas the E is much flatter and hugs the wall. There is so much to enjoy in this piece, that it is probably wiser not to describe it, but to let you enjoy it at your leisure. I rarely use the word genius, because it is in my view overused – in this case, however, I believe it to be appropriate.

Shab

A gallery of superb abstract figure pieces by Bristol artist Shab.

Instagram: @s.h.a.b

All photographs by Scooj

Shab, St Michael's Hill, Bristol, November 2017 — Shab, St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, November 2017

Shab, North Street, Bristol, September 2015

Shab, Magdalene Place, Bristol, June 2016

Shab, St Michael's Hill, Bristol, September 2016 — Shab, St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, September 2016

6756. M32 roundabout J3 (655)

Weas, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

Yet another debut on Natural Adventures, despite seeing the artist’s work about the place for quite some time now. This character piece is by Weas, or at least, that is what the letters say. The reason I haven’t posted any other pieces that I have photographed is that Weas hasn’t included letters before nor a signature, so I never knew how to identify the artist.

The character is most recognisable for the little ‘doughnut’ mouth, which is common to all Weas’ pieces. The character is reasonably simple in design and execution, probably taking only a few minutes to paint. I expect the blue blob was painted first, followed by the pink shadow and then the black outline and detail last. Expect to see more from Weas, now that I have started the ball rolling.

	Tanja on Thursday doors – 22 Janu…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday doors – 22 Janu…
	beth on Thursday doors – 22 Janu…
	Sheree on 7420. Cumberland Basin
	Dan Antion on Thursday doors – 22 Janu…

	Tanja on Thursday doors – 22 Janu…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday doors – 22 Janu…
	beth on Thursday doors – 22 Janu…
	Sheree on 7420. Cumberland Basin
	Dan Antion on Thursday doors – 22 Janu…

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