Natural adventures

Thursday Doors – 10 September 2026

Doors 370 – Doors of Madeira (part I) – September 2025

I have a busy week or two coming up and then go on a holiday, so I thought I’d get ahead of myself a little and prepare this post last Sunday to aleviate some of the pressure.

This next series of doors were taken during a family holiday almost exactly a year ago in Madeira. My wife and I chose to go there, because of the pleasant September climate, but more to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and return to Madeira where we spent our honeymoon. Although so much has happened in our lives between visits, Madeira itself had changed very little in the intervening years, which in a way was quite comforting.

These doors are in chronological order and don’t follow any deliberate themes, but as you’ll see some combined two of my interests – doors and street art, in a way that is so satisfying. I hadn’t planned for this serendipity, although others in my family suspected it was contrived.

I hope you enjoy these doors as much as I did:

Doors in a large frame, Rua de Sao Filipe, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Iron gates, Rua Das Rosas, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Door with flower-decorated panels, Travessa de Joao Ribeiro, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Sea scene door, Travessa de Joao Ribeiro, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Door with a mural of a fisherman under the moon, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Door with a Mondrial-style painting with cartoon cats and dogs, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Abstract door, Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Door with a photograph of a man holding up a scabbard fish (local speciality), Rua de Santa Maria, Funchal, Madeira, September 2025

Just a little taster of some doors from Madeira, and a sense of what is to come from this charming and beautiful Atlantic island. Naturally I felt like I had hit the jackpot when we strolled into this area in the capital which is well known for its painted doors… who knew? More to come next time.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.

7899. M32 Cycle path (323)

j9449j, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026

j9449j or All 4 Nothing if you prefer is a very different kind of writer. His nature-based anstract writing is nigh on impossible to read, but his decorative style is easy on the eye, and it doesn’t really matter that the letters are so disguised.

This piece has an interesting colour selection choice which on paper probably would look a bit odd, but the blue, white, green and chrome actually looks good – it is unusual to see chrome incorporated into a piece in this way. This is just one of several recent pieces from the artist, who seems to be on a bit of a roll.

7898. M32 roundabout J3 (793)

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2026

This little corner of the M32 roundabout where the footway underpass meets the outside walls has been a popular spot for Daz Cat over the years. It is the perfect size and shape for his cat characters and often left alone by graffiti writers because of the portrait dimensions.

This is a superb classic Daz Cat cat portrait piece. The sophistication that he brings to his pieces is lightyears away from his early work, and offers so much depth and detail. I love the little close-fitting hat, but the tongue hanging out wins me over completely – a great observation of cats that sometimes strike this pose. A fine piece by Daz Cat.

7897. Dean Lane skate park (940)

Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2026

They’re at it again. Although it took Dibz and Fade a little time to warm uop this year, once they got going they have been fairly relentless all summer long. This is just a nice study in wildstyle graffiti writing on one of their favourite walls.

The pair have gone for a pink theme, although when I first saw the collaboration, my first thought was Liquorice Allsorts and I can’t unthink it. This is a great example of technical graffiti writing executed to the highest standard. Exactly as I’d expect from these two.

7896. St Werburghs tunnel (591)

The Cat Came Back, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2026

Oh how good is it to see this third recent piece by The Cat Came Back? Sadly though, I haven’t seen any more from the artist since I photographed this last month. In this fine combination piece, the artist shows off his considerable writing skills alongside a beautiful cat girl portrait.

Where has The Cat Came Back been all this time I wonder, and are these pieces a flash in the pan or something to look forward to seeing regularly? The letters spell out Jones, which I am guessing is the artist’s surname. Great letters shapes and fills. The portrait is really well painted and perfectly proportioned. The piece is bold too, set on a black background. Lots to like here.

7895. Cumberland Basin

Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

Zake has come along such a long way from his early column pieces under the M32 back in 2018 when I first came across his work. This year he has turned up the dial with a variety of really different character pieces that each tell a bit of a story.

In this piece, Zake has painted a cartoonish demonic character playing some mystical pipe. Behind him is a group of hooded characters, looking a little creepy to me, with lanterns held on sticks. Perhaps out protagonist is summoning them to do their evil deeds. Something a little different from Zaake.

7894. M32 roundabout J3 (792)

Roma, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2026

Roma has settled into a rather nice rhythm of painting and is also settling into a fairly consistent letter style. Her distinctive overlapping letters are quite pointy, although she has painted smoother letters in the past, and her ‘O’ and ‘A’ have an additional embellishment at the top.

In this piece she has chosen to paint over a particularly busy piece – by Biers – which does distract a little from her own work. Perhaps a bit more background would help to delineate her work from the existing work of others. I know that this is a stylistic approach used by many writers, but my view would be to consider the wall, not only the letters. The blended fill and horizontal stripe of stars is fabulous and well executed. Upwards and onwards.

7893. M32 roundabout J3 (791)

Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2026

Photographing this piece by Bloem, even with the shadows cast across it was a smart move, because the next time I visited to get some better pictures, it had been over-painted – which was a great pity. I have noticed that quite often, fresh pieces get painted over not because of any vindictive mission on the part of another artist, but because they genuinely have no idea how long a piece might have been on a wall for. People like me, who visit spots regularly have a much better idea of what is new and what is old.

Bloem’s work is really quite exceptional. She has in a relatively short space of time learned her craft and clearly has a great gift for spray painting walls. The gift is twofold though, her can-control is one thing, but combined her worderfully creative mind allows her to paint her outstanding artwork with confidence and ease. These letters, spelling BLOEM, are painted in her favoured blue tones and are beautifully designed and decorated. Another triumph from Bloem. If only the sun had drifted behind a cloud, just for a minute.

7892. Purdown (105)

No fuss, no bother. What you see is what you get from this throw up piece by Butch. There is no pretension from this graffiti writing, simply his skeleton format, without frills. Often a piece like this would struggle to make the cut for Natural Adventures, but I like his work and include it when I can.

I’ll be popping up to Purdown this morning for a dog walk, it is one of the few graffiti spots where both the dog and I get what we each need from a walk. The yellow and black letters overlapping from the left reflect the parcherd grass and contrast with the wide dramatic sky. A nice straightforward piece.

7891. Dean Lane skate park (939)

I like to publish as many pieces by Werm as I can, because it has been an amazing privilege to be able to chart his journey since his arrival on the Bristol street art scene. Over the years, he has navigated his way through various styles, learned a lot and always looked to adapt and improve, to the point now where we see a mature and confident graffiti writer who seems to be enjoying his craft.

This is an amazing piece, bursting with colour and energy. The letters themselves are incredibly clean and tight, close to perfection, but I think the thing thart brings the whole alive is the contrasting spotty background, introducing a whole different colour regime and softer edges counteracting the sharpness in his letters. A great piece of graffiti writing from Werm.

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