3469. M32 roundabout J(3) (279)

The story behind this unusual and unsigned piece is that I photographed it a little while ago… I photograph most of the graffiti art that I find, and if I don’t know the artist will keep it in my archive until a moment of good fortune reveals their identity. This was one such piece.

Last week I was doing the rounds and I encountered an artist painting over this piece. Having not met him before I politely introduced myself and asked him what name he painted under, ‘Smoke Perfume’ was his reply. Furthermore he told me that the piece he was painting over, the subject of this post, was also by him. What luck.

Smoke Perfume, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2021
Smoke Perfume, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2021

The design of this piece is neat and tidy and the colours have something of a ‘look at me’ quality. The transition of the two red fills is beautifully done with dancing red flames and there is a black splatter surrounding the piece. I don’t yet know what the letters spell out, but I am working on it. I like this very much and there is another piece from Smoke Perfume coming soon to Natural Adventures.

Soge

A gallery of outstanding graffiti writing and characters from Bristol artist Soge

All photographs by Scooj

Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2020
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2020
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
Soge, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020
Soge, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2018
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2018
NEVERGIVEUP and Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
NEVERGIVEUP and Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
Soge, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
Soge, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Soge and Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Soge and Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2017
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017

3468. Picton Lane

There is little more I can say about this piece other than it is utterly outstanding. Of course, I can’t leave it like that, so I’ll give you a bit more background. I am guessing it is a commission, because it is on a business wall, but what a commission. The artists are Smak, Sled One and Kosc, and they have smashed this wall out of sight. The only downside is that it is an absolute beast to photograph on account of being in a narrow lane and on a curved wall.

Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Kosc, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021

From left to right the artists are Kosc, Smak (SM), Sled One and Smak (AK) and they have used a wonderful combination of black red and grey colours. Decay of old would be in his element. Kosc has painted an amazing photorealistic portrait with a bit of a glitch in it and has spelled out his name. This is simply magnificent. On its own this one third of the piece would be worth the trip.

Kosc, Smak and Sled One, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Kosc, Smak and Sled One, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Smak, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Smak, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021

Smak has spread his letters either side of the Sled One piece with the SM sandwiched between Kosc and Sled, with the AK rounding off the piece on the right-hand side. As you would expect from Smak, the letters are flawless and the design simply brilliant.

Sled One, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Sled One, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021

Taking up centre stage in this three-way collaboration is a celebration of the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood. Sled One is the king of crazy creativity, and here the wolf is chewing on a spray can, which is squirting paint on one of two ladybirds in the piece. Look closely at the picnic basket, and you might just see a hint that the wolf hasn’t gobbled our heroine up but has instead squished her into the basket.

This is a glorious collaboration from three of Bristol’s best street artists. get yourslf down there.

Sled One and Smak, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Sled One and Smak, Picton Lane, Bristol, January 2021

3467. M32 Cycle path (106)

It is those PWA boys again working their magic, this time along the M32 cycle path. Always happy and always brightening up our lives, and let me tell you our lives need brightening up these days.

Soap, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2021
Soap, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2021

Soap and Face 1st tend collaborate by painting their separate pieces joined by a colour palette and some decorative features. This time thy have gone for pinks and purples and Soap, spells out SOAP with some lovely fills and a rather fetching bone across the A.

Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2021
Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2021

Face 1st brings us a laughing girl with FACE for hair, and carries across the same colours and some similar fills. This is yet another great collaboration from this pair.

3466. M32 Cycle path (105)

There are a great many artists in Bristol that I could label ‘old faithful’ and Biers is definitely one of them. His style is very recognisable with irregular letter sizes, but a ‘house-style’ font that is very much his own.

Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2021
Biers, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2021

I was pleased to see this piece appear and the others with it because this wall had remained stagnant for far too long. In my view it is one of the best walls in Bristol, but the turnover tends to be quite low, and so anything new is always welcome. This is Biers at his best, clean and crisp with decent fills and nice white accents to create a 3D feel. classic Biers.

3463. Cumberland Basin

I can’t recall seeing these two collaborating before, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, simply that my memory doesn’t serve me as well as it used to. Sepr and Acer One is a partnership that I wouldn’t have predicted, as their styles are very contrasting, but this new wall is Cumberland Basin is absolutely spiffing.

Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021

The central section is by Acer One and is an amazingly technical piece of writing, based on a geometric design style for which he is known. Standing up close, it is near impossible to work out what these letters say, but by stepping back, the brain interprets it more easily and it says ‘More Love’ – I don’t think any of us can argue with that.

Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021

The central panel is bookended by two exquisite characters from Sepr. On the left is a devilish Cupid whose love arrows are finding mischief, in particular with a seagull who appears to be smitten.

Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
Sepr, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021

To the right a female Cupid character is also firing love arrows across the piece. I don’t quite know what these two characters symbolise, but they are brilliantly painted and a lot of fun. Maybe they are a representation of the frustrations of lockdown and our distance from our loved ones.

All in all a superb collaboration and well worth a visit.

Sepr and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021
Sepr and Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2021

3461. Brunel Way bridge (88)

Of all the ‘masters’ of Bristol graffiti writing, I think that Hemper is probably the least represented on Natural Adventures. I am not entirely sure why that might be. Perhaps it is the modest approach he takes to his highly technical freestyle work, or to the fact that he normally paints with other artists, which might take the attention away. I don’t know. Anyhow, I really ought to address this imbalance – perhaps with a gallery.

Hemper, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2021
Hemper, Brunel Way, Bristol, January 2021

In this piece under Brunel Way, Hemper spells out HEMS with some glorious curvy letters filled with a couple of shade of purple and embellished in a way that gives it a shiny 3D effect – how does he achieve that shiny thing? Some very clever white additions that give it a reflective quality. This is a real technical banger.

3460. M32 Spot (102)

I have expressed before how much I like this wall. Protected from the rain, it is a wall that can change at almost any time without warning. Sometimes you need to be patient to photograph it because this is a DIY skate park and it can get quite busy, but there are often some really nice pieces here, including this one from T-Rex, so it is worth waiting.

T-Rex, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2021
T-Rex, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2021

Spelling out T-REX, this is an extraordinarily colourful and happy piece, with each letter having at least two fill colours and patterns expertly and cleanly executed. I have a feeling it is dedicated to Ryder – perhaps a birthday or anniversary or something like that. This is great graffiti writing.

3458. Moon Street (86)

It has been sad to witness the downfall of graffiti spots in the Stokes Croft area under the relentless march of gentrification. I understand that redevelopment is part and parcel of the growing up of a city, it is just a shame that local communities and cultures are swept aside, without any allowance for them. For example the creation of ‘legal walls’ to keep that ‘feel’ of an area. Obviously that goes against the proliferation of clinical, sanitised, overpriced housing that we see emerging in towns and cities across the country.

It is the lack of imagination and creativity that is so upsetting, almost as if town planners and corporate architects have had their ‘fun chips’ removed. It is all about squeezing as much profit out of every square inch of land, no regard for local communities or indeed the natural environment. I don’t see much in the way of creation of proper green spaces accompanying the gentrification agenda. Let’s line our pockets with gold. Greedy fools.

There won’t be many more posts from Moon Street, is my guess, because of this relentless building programme, and many street/graffiti artists seem to have abandoned the area altogether. That is why it was especially gratifying to come across this quick collaboration from Rezwonk and Mena.

Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2021
Rezwonk, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2021

Rezwonk has been fairly quite over the last six months, working on other projects not entirely unrelated to his art. This piece has an industrial/construction feel to it, with rivets locking pieces of his letters in place. Modest, but really nicely done. This could be walked past quite easily as a simple throw up, but it is rather more sophisticated than that.

Mena, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2021
Mena, Moon Street, Bristol, January 2021

Menaces adopted the same colour scheme, but her fills are rather more straightforward. Both artists have followed the ‘code’ of the colour scheme, and it is one of those collaborations that are joined but not fused. Nice to see.

3457. L Dub (24)

When it comes to writing about graffiti writing by Ryder, there is little more to say than he is an exceptional talent and seeing his work is always accompanied by a bat-squeak of excitement.

Ryder, L Dub, Bristol, January 2021
Ryder, L Dub, Bristol, January 2021

A recent trip to L Dub was fruitful, and among that crop of superb pieces was this one from Ryder. Full of colour and a fine fluid movement of the letters which makes this piece of writing very easy on the eye. Sophisticated and smart.