6769. River Avon (78)

Sub, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
Sub, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

Alas, we leave France today, our skiing adventure over for at least another year, but it will be good to get home and reunite with our son who has returned from his travels in Thailand. I haven’t left myself much time to write today’s posts, as we have an early transfer down the mountain to Chamberis airport. I will start with this piece from the ever-improving Sub.

Sub, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
Sub, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

Big bold black letters (only three of them) have customary deep drop shadows in grey, creating a chunkiness Sub specialises in. Some random pink splatters break up the large black surfaces. A wispy blue background finishes the piece nicely, with a few subtle spots mixed in. Sub is a very busy boy.

6768. Peel Street Green (37)

Hemper, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2025

Hemper continues with his odyssey through various styles and ideas, so much so that I am beginning to wonder whether some of his new pieces can possibly be by him, such as this curious combination piece in Peel Street Green.

Hemper, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2025

It looks like there is a message here ‘open your mind’ and perhaps that is a mantra he is working with currently. The letters are in the style of the monster energy drink logo, and the character looks like he has been drinking a little too much of it. It is so refreshing to see Hemper pushing so many boundaries, not only creatively, but also energetically. A wonderful and weird piece.

6764. Sparke Evans Park (124)

Lupa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
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.

Lupa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
Lupa, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

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
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 and Soap, Ikea, Bristol, January 2025
Zake and Soap, Ikea, Bristol, January 2025

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
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.

Goober and Maes, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2025
Goober and Maes, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2025

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, 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, 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
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.

6758. Cumberland Basin

Noise, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025
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, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025
Noise, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025

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
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.

Hemper, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, Cowmead Walk, Bristol, February 2025

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.

6755. Cumberland Basin

Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025
Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025

This post has been written in advance, because I will be making an early start today departing for our skiing holiday to the French Alps. I will try to post every day while I am on holiday, but it all rather depends on how things go. Meanwhile, I’d like you to enjoy this beauty from Hire.

Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025
Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025

Although Hire’s work has been difficult to decipher from to time, the letters are always there, however, I have noticed that there he is drifting into a kind of abstract presentation, and this piece isn’t unlike some of Ments’ pieces, which I used to describe as organic/abstract. I love the colour selections, the shapes of the letters and the neon glow of the border green in this writing. First class stuff from Hire.

6754. M32 roundabout J3 (654)

Hemper and Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper and Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

Hypo and Hemper have been super-busy this February, Hemper in particular. This collaboration has taken up quite a lot of space on the long wall on the northern side of the M32 roundabout, and it is a really impressive production piece.

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

Hemper has produced a stunning piece of writing to the left spelling out HEMS. He has a vibrant colour horizontal gradient running through the letters, and his subtle white trims and flashes give it all a super depth and lifts it away from the wall. I think that the B boy character is also by Hemper along with the urban landscape behind.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

Hypo, who often paints with Hemper continues the colour scheme bringing balance to the production. This might just be one of the best pieces I have seen from Hypo. The depth of his letters is great, and the graded fills perfectly done. I particularly like the interstitial spots between the letters. There is a superb ‘old school’ vibe about this collaboration.