By the time you read this, I should be some 35,000 feet or so in the air somewhere between Bristol and Copenhagen, so I wrote this post yesterday. I am spending a long weekend in Copenhagen with my mother who gifted me the trip as my 60th birthday present.
Acer One has been smashing it recently with a range of different ideas, including these cryptic boule writing designs that are designed to challenge the viewer to work out what is going on… visual puzzles I guess you could call them.
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
The gold letters along the top spell ‘Change is inevitable’ and the black letters running along the bottom of the piece spell out ‘Growth is optional’. So this piece is both a puzzle and philosophical. Great technical work from Acer One.
It can be a little confusing when one artist writes the name of another artist, but in this case Kosc writing Mudra was unlikely to cause misidentification due to their very different styles. I think that Mudra had been expected to join Kosc and Stivs painting this wall, but he didn’t make it, so Kosc gave him a rather large shout-out.
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
Kosc’s writing style is so cleverly done, with a midline through the letters, and shading either side of it, creating an amazing 3D effect, a device used by many graffiti writers, but mastered only by a few. The grey tones create an almost metallic sheen to the letters and the starbursts around the outside add to the shiny effect. A very nice piece of writing from Kosc.
I believe that this beauty from Zaenone was another that was painted to celebrate Werm’s birthday on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. I guess the message ‘happy birthday Werm’ is a bit of a giveaway.
Zaenone, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
This is a bright and joyful piece by Zaenone, allocating a different colour to each of the letters ZAEN1. Lots of sparkles and highlights vpgive this piece a bit of energy, but it is the spotted border surrounding the whole thing that makes it feel a bit special, like a light bead around the whole thing. Very nice piece by Zaenone.
It has been a real pleasure to see that Conrico has been on fire this summer, both in terms of his output and the quality of his work. This piece was painted as part of a paint jam celebrating Werm’s Birthday. In his Instagram post Conrico used the hashtags #cowboy and #highplainsdrifter, which I think tells you something about the piece.
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
His graffiti writing/character combinations have been rather good lately, and this one is a great addition to his portfolio. Lots of swirls and atmosphere has been created with his paintbrush style of spraying. The cowboy is also beautifully painted.
Conrico, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
There is an organic feel to Conrico’s work that is quite different from some of the more stylised and manicured characters that we see a lot of in the city. A very nice piece indeed.
I enjoy getting to where people paint, and by that I mean, in this example, that although Hypo paints a lot in central Bristol, this is his local spot and somewhere that I expect he feels very much at home painting. I visited this spot on a warm, sunny day, which was as much a nature ramble as a graffiti hunt.
Hypo, L Dub, Bristol, August 2024
I am never quite sure about the colours blue and yellow together, which is curious, because they are the traditional colours of my beloved Arsenal’s away kit, but of course, I forgive my football team anything and everything. The HYPO letters are nice and regular, painted in two tones of blue and decorated nicely with spots and stars. A thin 3D Drop shadow and two border lines round the piece off nicely. Hypo in his natural habitat.
Well, this is surely one of the more unusual pieces from Hire, that indicates he is enjoying pushing boundaries. When I first encountered his work a few years ago, his USP was his spiky, sharp letters that could poke your eye out if you weren’t careful. Contrast that with this organic green piece spelling HIRE.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Each letter resembles a bushy tree with green branches and canopy, in various orientations. The letters are set on a dark conifer woodland silhouette. This is a very nicely considered and executed piece from Hire – connecting with nature.
Some viewers/visitors may wonder what the numbering convention at the top of each street/graffiti art post on this blog is all about, and might legitimately question whether it is helpful or not. In my mind, it is quite simple. The first number is the sequential listing of the blog post, so, this is the six thousand three hundred and tenth post I have written about street/graffiti art on Natural Adventures. The following name is the spot or road where the piece can be found, and the number in brackets (unconventionally there isn’t one for Cumberland Bain (a quirk)) at the end relates to the number of posts from that spot or location. It might have been simpler to instead have the name of the artist included as well, but when I started doing this back in 2015, I didn’t know who most of the artists were and so a place-based approach seemed more sensible.
This is an absolutely gorgeous and rather unexpected collaboration from Esme Lower and Bloem.
Esme Lower and Bloem
The collaboration appears to be entitled ‘Strength in numbers’ which might be a reference to the ‘counterprotest marches’ against the far-right riots that were happening around Britain at the time this piece was painted.
It is what I would call a ‘true’ collaboration where the piece is a mash-up by both artists, and although some parts are identifiable as being by one artist or the other, the whole thing is an integrated mixture. The hands and chain are definitely by Bloem and the eyes and teeth by Esme Lower, the rest could be by either one of them. It is great to see these two artists stretching themselves, and it would be wonderful to see more co-creations like this one in the future.
Oof! This is an absolutely outstanding framed piece of writing by Smak, which stands out ‘poster-like’ from the long wall of the M32. Rather well concealed, the letters spell out SMAK, and there is an overwhelming sensation of a tropical island landscape conveyed by the palm trees and a possible reference to a bright sun.
Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
The way the piece is pulled together has a collage appearance, as if a youngster had cut up pictures from a holiday brochure (remember those?) and stuck them onto a rectangular piece of paper. This is a truly memorable piece by Smak and something a little special.
This outstanding abstract piece of graffiti writing by Mr Klue has it all, and has taken a bit of a shift in colour composition from his usual palettes of blues, greens, purples or oranges. It is really quite unusual to come across a piece by the artist with a white background, and it leaves the viewer with quite a different impression.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
The wispy letters spell out KLUE, and I am pleased to note the incorporation of his floating steps, which I think really adds something to the mystery and spirituality of his work. It is interesting to see that he, and others before him, have chosen not to paint the semicircle of chipped wall along the top of the piece. Wonderful work from local artist Mr Klue.
I’m not entirely sure how Acer One finds the time to paint so much, but I am glad that he does. One of the upsides of self-employment I guess. This is a really classy design piece in one of his favoured spots, which he pretty much ‘owns’ these days.
Acer One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
The word ‘love’ is written in the same format as the background, and emerges from it due to the curves in the lettering where they depart from the horizontal background pattern. If the letters were to straighten out, they would disappear into the wall altogether. The piece is nicely conceived, and as always with Acer One, beautifully executed.
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