There is a lot of flesh in this combination piece by Stivs, an artist who is not afraid to push the boundaries when it comes to scantily clad characters. Whatever one’s views about such things, the artwork is striking and skilfully presented.
Stivs, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
Cat woman as you might not have seen her, although DC Comics did portray her in very tight catsuits, often with little left to the imagination – Stivs has just taken things to the next level. Stivs has given Cat Woman a couple of playful tattoos saying BAD CAT, and he has corrupted the initials ACAB (All Cops are Bastards) to ACAT, just because he can. D and S in calligraffiti-style bookend this character. Great work from Stivs.Cumberland Basin
This is a rather fun collaboration between Hire and Zake in Dean Lane. I can’t remember if these two have collaborated before, they probably have, but this is still a bit of a treat from the writer and the character artist.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
On the left, Hire has written his letters in a rather compact block, which is quite unusual, as he typically spreads his letters out a fair bit. The fills of orange and light blue have been nicely done and work surprisingly well together. A deep drop shadow is bordered with a drippy pink line with light highlights woven in.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
I’m not too sure what to say about Zake’s character piece, as it is all a little bit strange. A bald man with a huge mouth and multiple teeth has a little finger puppet attached to the end of his long tongue. The puppet character, which looks like some kind of lizard monster is spraying pink ‘vomit’ over Hire’s piece, thus creating his drippy pink outline. A great read-across between the two pieces in this collaboration.
Where to start? There is so much to unpick in this political stencil piece by John D’oh. I’m not sure that I can offer too many of my own thoughts that the piece provokes, but I am sure that they are shared to varying degrees by many.
John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, April 2026
The action of Israel (the state of) depicted by death handing over a flower to a small innocent child holding a teddy bear is very powerful and rather moving. The faux reassurance hiding behind the violence is what comes across most strongly. I could write an essay about this, but I am resisting the temptation and am time-limited. John D’oh doing what he does best.
Over the last year or so, Cheo seems to have upped his game (if that is at all possible), certainly in the frequency of his wall decorations. Cheo is a very talented artist who has been part of the ‘establishment’ in Bristol, but never lost his contemporary edge, and appears to be equally happy with his commercial work and his ‘graffiti’ art.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
This piece in Dean Lane is in a narrow section and quite difficult to photograph – where would I be without a wide angle facility on my phone? The character in the piece, wearing a LIDL T-shirt has been spraying (one assumes) a CHEO throw up in green and blue. He is holding a spray can out of which a rather surreal scene unfolds… a pink blob character, complete with a plunger stuck to his head and smoking a cigar. What!? Great work from a master craftsman.
I am very busy at the moment and haven’t had time to prepare the next set of Shrewsbury doors, so as is my custom when under time-pressure, I am repurposing some old graffiti/street art pictures that have already been published on this blog that feature doors. It means I can keep my rhythm going, quickly and easily.
These pictures were originally posted in October-December 2024 and were photographed from May 2024 onwards. I hope you enjoy them
Farrah, Eastgate Retail Park, Bristol, October 2024Hazard, Little Bishop Street, Bristol, August 2024Astrea (HNH), Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024Dave Bain and David J. McMillan, Church Road, Bristol, September 2024Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, November 2024Zase, Newfoundland Road, Bristol, November 2024Sepr, Gloucester Road, Bristol, November 2024Perspicere, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024Hazard, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2024Dave Bain, Upfest 2024, Bristol, May 2024Katie Scott, Upfest 24, Lime Road, Bristol, May 2024
That’s it for this week, I hope to get back on track with more doors from Shrewsbury next time. Have a great weekend.
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.
There are a great many graffiti writers in Bristol who never make it into the pages of Natural Adventures, either because their work is not very good (in my view) or I don’t really know enough about them to feel confident enough to feature them.
Squire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026
Happily, although I don’t know anything about Squire, his work attracts me in some way. I think that the word he has chosen is a memorable one and lends itself to writing pretty well. These dark blue letters have been accentuated with a vibrant green/yellow surround and decorative thick blue border. An interesting piece of writing that catches the eye.
Dibz and Fade are cooking on gas, and are churning out some superb pieces with alarming regularity. This particular spot on the side of a wooden constructed half-pipe has become a particular favourite for the pair.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a big fan of the Asterix series of books (I have them all), so this Dibz piece with Getafix holding up a flask of magic potion is certain to grab my attention. The black writing with its red drop shadow is faultless, but it is the character that wins the day for me.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026
Fade, who has been almost completely absent over the winter has painted these stunning letters which are just so neat and sharp. Sometimes fancy fills simply aren’t needed. There is a wisp of green fumes and some bubbles that bind the two pieces of wildstyle writing together. Fine stuff.
Biers has definitely come out of his quiet period, where he had temporarily lost his desire to paint, and his RABIES letters are popping up all over the place now. I do miss his little characters that accompanied his previous letter sequences, and I hope that they might come soon with these letters.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
This is a popular little stretch of wall which has quite a high turnover. Biers has painted his RABIES letters with a yellow, green and black fill and deep white drop shadow. The penny has only just dropped that the word RABIES contains (very nearly) the letters BIERS in it, which is perhaps why the letter form looks so familiar. Keep ’em coming.
It is so good to see Conrico firing on all cylinders this year, and I am super-pleased that he has been selected to paint at this year’s Upfest, something I know he has been keen to do for some time. He certainly deserves it.
Conrico, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
This is a bright and cheerful combination piece with a portrait alongside his Conrico letters and GYS (Graveyard Shift crew). The portrait is most beguiling, there is a lot hidden behind those large brown eyes, and I like the positioning of the subject’s hand under her chin. A wonderful piece delivered in his special style.
I do like it when Mr Klue ventures beyond his beloved St Werburghs tunnel, so finding this Mad Hatter piece at the gun emplacement up at Purdown made me very happy.
All the elements of a Mr Klue classic are here. The large hat with the ticket in the band, the invisible head, and the shirt and stripy tie, finished with a wisp of smoke rising to the left. I love the perspective created by light and shadow, and the use of pink for the left of the piece and yellow for the right. Great work from Mr Klue.
Natural adventures 