4368. M32 roundabout J2 (1)

You know when an artist is in high-productivity mode, when the frequency of meetings is high. In the past week or so, I have met Klashwhensober twice, and both times stopped for a nice chat. I had shared links to posts on Natural Adventures, and bless him, he had read them, which was most kind, so we chatted a little about that. This piece is one of several that I photographed a couple of weeks back, investigating all the tunnels under the M32 roundabout, junction 2.

Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout (J2), Bristol, March 2022
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout (J2), Bristol, March 2022

I am not a big fan of tunnel pieces, because the lighting is always very tricky, and it is difficult to capture a whole piece in the frame due to the narrowness of the tunnel. The colours used in this ‘FLASH’ piece are most striking, and there is a creative and interesting cow-spot pattern fill. I mentioned to Klashwhensober that I might have to start posting several pieces of his at a time, because there are just too many to do single posts each time – there would be precious little else on the blog.

4366. M32 Cycle path (173)

It is great that Turoe manages to paint reasonably regularly in spite of some health challenges, and when he does paint he still has the ability to surprise. This rather retro piece is a bit of a beauty down on the cycle path, and I suspect it will be there for some time.

Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2022
Turoe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2022

The block letters overlap one another and are on the lean, but each one is perfectly finished with crisp, clean lines and borders. You can date the piece from around the time of the Oscar ceremony thanks to the reference to Will Smith. I love the way that street art does this, chronicling contemporary events before being irreversibly wiped from the ‘canvass’ through being buffed, bombed, tagged or replaced.

4355. M32 roundabout J3 (403)

I was fortunate enough to meet Corupt, just as he was finishing off this wonderful Stick piece. What I didn’t know until I returned a day or two later was that he still had quite a lot more work to do on it, and you can see what he added if you compare the two pictures below.

Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

One thing I have noticed from watching Corupt while at work a couple of times now is that he is very diligent and careful, taking plenty of time to get things just right. In this piece he has absolutely nailed it, with a perfect background, outstanding letter shapes (so Corupt), fabulous 3D shading in black and grey stripes, sensational fills and a wonderful white highlight to help the letters pop.

Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

The final touches included a yellow border and some shout-outs. The piece was a birthday tribute to his friend Rapa.

4352. M32 Cycle path (171)

More from Desi, who is really making her mark, literally and figuratively, on the Bristol graffiti scene. Her letters are easy on the eye, and it is her creativity with fills that is fast becoming.no her USP.

Desi, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Desi, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

The colour schemes she uses are carefully thought out and always turn out well. This piece has horizontal fades from dark pink at the top to white at the bottom. Each of the letters is emphasised with a highlight line within the letters which makes the piece so much better. Desi continues to grow.

4351. M32 roundabout J3 (401)

There was a period last year when we were spoilt with an avalanche of Hemper pieces, of course, keeping that level of productivity going was always going to be difficult, and the artist has now settled into a more occasional routine.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2022

This is a lovely piece, painted alongside Andy Council, from a couple of weeks back. This is wildstyle writing at its cryptic best. Letters made up of three dimensional slabs, which I must confess that I have difficulty reading. Hemper usually writes HEMS, but I can’t make it out here. This is a beautifully executed, highly complex piece that demonstrates just what an accomplished writer Hemper is.

4349. Dean Lane skate park (477)

I have always and will always love the work of Hire. Hire is one of a large contingent of Polish artists in Bristol, each one bringing something rather special to our city, and becoming part of its rich cultural heritage.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

This is a beautiful piece of writing set on a deep rich red background, giving it something of a sumptuous feel. I have to confess that I am not quite sure what the repeating pattern of letters says, I am used to picking out the letters HIRE or BF, but this is a bit of a mystery. As an exercise in repetition is is a stunner, and you might have a bit of fun playing ‘spot the difference’ between the three sections. Fine work from Hire.

4347. M32 Cycle path (170)

Alas, this piece from Asre didn’t last very long, which is a pity, because this wall tends to have a very low turnover and the writing/character combination is a good one. Although Asre has only really come into my radar in the past six weeks or so, he has managed to become part of the furniture very quickly indeed.

Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022
Asre, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2022

This piece combines some fine writing skills with one of Asre’s faces, and certainly makes an impact immediately. I don’t know much about the artist, but prior to his pieces appearing in Bristol, I suspect he was painting elsewhere, because the work is very accomplished, and his face well practised. I believe this was a birthday tribute to self.

4342. Lawrence Hill roundabout (17)

I don’t tend to visit Lawrence Hill roundabout all that often as the turnover is pretty slow, and pieces tend to get tagged quite a lot. However I did get down there about a week ago and was rewarded with quite a few decent pieces, many of them is good condition, including this rather nice Smut piece.

Smut, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, March 2022
Smut, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, March 2022

Smut is an artist who turns out consistently excellent pieces. A writer who uses a distinctive script style, with lovely smooth curves and sharp borders. With a few more of these it won’t be long before I have enough for a gallery. Always good to stumble across these.

4337. New Stadium Road (39)

She’s not been painting for all that long, but already Desi has established herself on the Bristol scene, and her short ‘desi’ pieces are appearing at all the popular spots in the city. Desi’s USP is to keep her letter designs broadly similar, with the rather special little heart over the ‘i’, but to fill the letters with experimental combinations of colours and fill styles, often blending in all sorts of curious ways.

Desi, New Stadium Road, Bristol, March 2022
Desi, New Stadium Road, Bristol, March 2022

The colour selection for this piece; black, pink, purple, white helps the letters to stand out from the wall without the need to buff the wall first. I am looking forward to watching on as Desi develops and improves, as I think there is headroom to work with here.

4336. Sprke Evans Park (36)

There are currently two top-drawer calligraffiti artists in Bristol at the moment. Stivs and Todoaciem. Both have their distinct styles, and both pay incredible attention to detail in their craft. This is a superb piece from Todoaciem, spelling CIEM on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park.

Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2022
Todoaciem, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2022

The letters of this piece are incredibly regular and to the untrained eye might be very hard to read, but all becomes quite clear when you know what the letters spell out. Todoaciem has chosen his colours well, with two tones of blue for his letters and black and yellow 3Dshading to help the letters pop. I cannot be sure if the blue and yellow colours have been chosen to support Ukraine, but even if they weren’t consciously, perhaps there was something unconscious about it. I’ve not seen one of these for a little while.