5336. M32 roundabout J3 (487)

Noise, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Noise, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Background noise. I have only recently become consciously aware of Noise and his rather distinctive style of writing. I have a few of his pieces in my archive, but until now didn’t know much about him, and actually still don’t apart from his name. Noise has been a presence in Bristol, but somehow I just haven’t picked him up on my radar.

Noise, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Noise, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

Noise’s writing style is not only accomplished, but rather easier on the eye than some writers. His letters are large, rounded and distinctive, and share a quality with Dopes’ letters. The fills here are beautifully done and create a kind of shiny surface effect. This may be the first, but certainly won’t be the last piece by Noise to appear on Natural Adventures.

5335. M32 roundabout J3 (486)

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

Kid Krishna has had a quiet couple of weeks, which means that I can catch up on some of his pieces, although there is so much happening at the moment, it is never easy to catch up on anything. This is a bright, happy piece from Kid Krishna, featuring elements of the Wizard from Vaughn Bode.

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2023

I can’t really express how good I believe this piece to be. It is clean, tight, cryptic and joyful, and since Kid Krishna appeared on the Bristol scene about 18 months ago, he has been turning out pieces like this one with extraordinary regularity, and in doing so, really pushed the boundaries with his unconventional style.

5334. St John’s Lane (3)

Rusk, St John's Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Rusk, St John’s Lane, Bristol, June 2023

The paint jam on the new hoardings on St John’s Lane turned out some very special pieces, including this gorgeous writing from Rusk. Before posting it, I really ought to have gone back and photographed it without the mottled light on it, but I am both lazy and impatient, so have decided to post it warts and all.

Rusk, St John's Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Rusk, St John’s Lane, Bristol, June 2023

Rusk has been turning out this very special ribbon-style writing for  little while now, and I have to say that I definitely like it. It is almost like a transition between flat wild style and anamorphic style, having plenty of three dimensional depth to the letters sitting on a flat background. Great colours, great letters spelling RISKY beautifully presented and finished.

5333. Cumberland Basin

Daz Cat, Werm and Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Daz Cat, Werm and Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

I am very pressed for time this morning, so this is a bit of a quick one. There were actually four pieces in this collaborative wall, but these three were more familiar to me and formed part of a set, with the fourth having a slightly different feel to it. The three artists, well known to regular readers are Daz Cat, Werm and Kool Hand.

Daz Cat, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Daz Cat, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

To the left of the three is a rather cool rabbit character, or long-eared cat, sitting cross-legged and striking something approaching a yoga pose. What you don’t get from this picture is the scale of the piece which is probably 9ft tall, I know this because I painted something immediately to the left, which was dwarfed by it.

Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

In the middle is another stunner from Werm, who is getting his style sorted with his small letters and expanding decorative extensions. He has consistently been one of the most productive artists on the streets for quite some time , and rarely disappoints.

Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2023

On the right, Kool Hand has painted one of his customary character/writing combinations in his soft curvy style. The toothy dog is leaning on the letters, and both elements are nicely highlighted with white dots which offer depth to the piece. Altogether a nicely colour coordinated triptych from the trio.

5332. Brunel Way (212)

Lee Roy and Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Lee Roy and Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

This was my third attempt at photographing this fine collaboration from Lee Roy and Waste, under Brunel Way, because of the rather irritating light and shadow that is cast on sunny days from the left. I got there in the end. I was lucky enough to be there when the artists were painting the piece and I got to meet Lee Roy for the first time, and what a genuinely lovely person he is – we chatted plenty.

Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Lee Roy, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

The collaborative wall is clever in that each side is a reversed-out colour version of the other, and how different they look, using the same powerful pink and black colour scheme. Lee Roy talked to me about his rather free style and said that he used to write really tight letters, in a more traditional graffiti manner, but that he found it increasingly unenjoyable, striving for perfection and instead has adopted a more liberated style, tending towards anti-style. He certainly seems to be happy with his current work, and has been churning out pieces at a terrific rate so far this year.

Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Waste, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

I don’t know much about Waste, other than that he is a friend of Lee Roy’s from out of town. I forget where… Cardiff? Swindon? I should have made a note. I like this piece a lot, and note that Waste has made things easy for himself, using the ‘tram-lines’ in the wall to keep his letters regular. All in all a very nice collaborative wall, which fortunately remained undogged long enough for me to get some decent photographs.

5331. Dean Lane skate park (613)

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

One of the first street artists/graffiti writers I met, way back, was Jee See, while he was painting a column under the M32 motorway. He was really happy to talk about his work and was very welcoming, giving me the confidence to keep going with my blog.

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

This ‘seismic’ piece on the famous curved wall in  Dean Lane makes me laugh, because it illustrates the importance of bringing a ladder or finding something to stand on when painting tall walls. Jee See’s familiar block letters with 3D drop shadows diverging halfway through the piece have been a steady feature of the street art scene for some years, although he doesn’t appear to paint all that often these days. The piece presents well, with white letters on a black background – nice and simple.

5330. Dean Lane skate park (612)

Corupt, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Corupt, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

Corupt is another of the Bristol stalwarts, whose work is consistently on-point and pleasing to the eye. This vibrant yellow piece spelling out STICK (one of two monikers the artist uses) is painted on one of the smaller ramps in the Dean Lane skate park.

Corupt, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Corupt, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

What I particularly like about this piece is that when I photographed it, it was still quite fresh. Skate park ramp artwork usually deteriorates reasonably quickly for obvious reasons, and it is unusual to find pieces in good condition. There is nothing flashy or pretentious about this piece, and yet it still packs a punch and makes an impression.

5327. Dean Lane skate park (611)

Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

Cheo has definitely woken up from a reasonably long quiet period, and it would appear that his friend and painting collaborator Dibz has ha something to do with it, at a guess. The two have combined to create this wonderful picture-frame piece featuring a Vaughn Bode lizard by Cheo and tight writing from Dibz.

Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

The influence of Vaughn Bode on the graffiti art scene has been quite extraordinary, and continues to be as vibrant now as when the artist himself was alive. Che’s lizard is perfectly drafted with a lot more perspective and depth than some renditions I have seen. The bee, of course, is lovely too. Dibz has gone for some rather more basic writing than we are used to seeing, but it is just so perfectly executed, flawless I would say.  This is a very good collaborative wall from two of Bristol’s finest artists.

Mr Sleven

A gallery of creative and imaginative street art from Bristol’s Mr Sleven

Instagram: @mr.sle7en

All photographs by Scooj

Mr Sleven, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023
Mr Sleven, Purdown, Bristol, May 2023

Mr Sleven, Purdown, Bristol, January 2023
Mr Sleven, Purdown, Bristol, January 2023

Mr Sleven, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
Mr Sleven, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021

Mr Klue and Mr Sleven. Brigg's Lane, Bristol. February 2021
Mr Klue and Mr Sleven. Brigg’s Lane, Bristol. February 2021

Mr Sleven. Brigg's Lane, Bristol. February 2021
Mr Sleven. Brigg’s Lane, Bristol. February 2021

Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020
Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2020

Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020
Mr Sleven and Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2020

Mr Sleven, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2020
Mr Sleven, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2020

Mr Sleven, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019
Mr Sleven, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019

Pekoe and Mr Sleven, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2019
Pekoe and Mr Sleven, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2019

Pekoe and Mr Sleven, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2019
Pekoe and Mr Sleven, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2019

Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019

Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019
Mr Sleven, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2019

Mr Sleven, Brighton Street, Bristol, November 2018
Mr Sleven, Brighton Street, Bristol, November 2018

Mr Sleven, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2018
Mr Sleven, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2018

Mr Sleven, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Mr Sleven, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

5325. M32 roundabout J3 (484)

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

It wasn’t there for very long, but it was fun while it lasted. Biers (otherwise known as @Jimothy_Slip) created this magnificent Popeye and Olive Oyl WD40 piece on the M32 roundabout a week or two back, and it simply made me smile.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

It has been a while since I last saw one of Biers’ writing/character combination pieces, and so this one was a real treat. There might be many people who see this who won’t get the reference, because I don’t think that Popeye is a thing these days, which is a bit of a shame. I love the crushed spinach tin with a spinach NFS popping out of it, and Olive Oyl peering out of the 0 – I guess Biers missed a trick here, because he could have had Olive at a porthole. Great fun stuff.