You’ll have cottoned on by now that Minto’s birthday paint jam in St Werburghs tunnel was very well attended indeed. This piece is a fine tribute by Hypo, who often paints alongside Minto these days, so it has extra relevance and potency.
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
Hypo has painted the letters MINTO, but entirely in his recognisable style. What is interesting is that, while HYPO is a word that can have some bilateral symmetry, MINTO is not, so this Hypo piece does look quite different in shape from his customary pieces. There is lots to admire in this graffiti writing, and we see the continuation of using little spheres to help decorate the work, something Hypo appears to be enjoying these days. A lovely piece from a friend to a friend.
This futuristic cityscape by Conrico has made it straight into my favourites for 2025. It was painted over the central section of a three-way collaboration by Sled One, Oust and Stivs, and if you look closely to the right side of this piece, you’ll see a shout-out to Oust.
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025
There is so much depth in this piece, not only literally with the deep perspective of the street scene, but also emotional depth. Conrico depicts a world without humans, who have been replaced by AI robots, who have inherited the ordinariness and drudgery of their human forebears. It feels like a direct replacement, rather than the shiny new world we are being promised by Elon Musk and the like, and presents an alternative view of the future.
Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025
The mural is full of pathos, perhaps epitomised by the touching scene in the foreground where a robot is crouching to pet a cat, a real cat. All of this scene is painted with Conrico’s unique style that looks like the whole thing was painted with brush strokes. This is a truly outstanding work. Bravo Conrico, Bravo!
Sled One, Oust and Stivs Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2025
Doors 335 – Doors of Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2025 (Part XV)
You will be pleased to know I am sure that I am approaching the end of my series on doors of Marrakesh and will be done by Christmas. This week I return to the Medina after a couple of excursions and include one of my favourite doors of the whole trip (the feature door and first one in the post). These doors were photographed on another random walk through the backstreets of the city.
We managed to pack in so much into the week, and would have loved to have spent a little longer there, although it was the High Atlas mountains that I would return for in an instant, where the communities living and thriving on the edge of some stunning landscapes appealed to my love of nature and natural spaces.
I hope you enjoy this week’s selection:
Door and chairs, Rue Riad Zitoun el Jedid, Marrakesh, January 2025Stunning wooden frame and studded door within a door, Rue Riad Zitoun el Jedid, Marrakesh, January 2025Intricate iron door within a door, Rue De La Bahia, Marrakesh, January 2025Iron door with fine decorations, Rue De La Bahia, Marrakesh, January 2025Arched iron door with litter piled up behind it, Rue De La Bahia, Marrakesh, January 2025Superb wooden door and stone arch, Rue De La Bahia, Marrakesh, January 2025Wide-angle shot of pots, gates and a door, Rue De La Bahia, Marrakesh, January 2025Perfectly framed door within a door, Derb Si Said, Marrakesh, January 2025Beautifully carved wooden door, Derb Si Said, Marrakesh, January 2025Door to Riad Jazz with beautiful green tile steps, Riad Jazz, Marrakesh, January 2025Old studded door within a door, Rue Riad Zitoun el Jedid, Marrakesh, January 2025
That just about wraps it up for another week. Next time I find myself on an unplanned and unexpected excursion, sometimes the best kind, towards the north of the city, and a very long walk from our hotel. Until then, have a cracking 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.
I think that this might be the third piece of graffiti writing by Avem808 that I have posted on Natural Adventures, and I am really liking what I see from the artist. There is an intricacy blended with fluidity about this piece that plays with the eyes.
Avem808, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025
I am not entirely sure what the letters spell. I’d like to believe it says AVEM, but I think that there is more to it than that. It is a wonderful tribute piece to a departed friend, Frank, and painted with heart and soul. The colours fit into that ‘fruit salad’ palette (a popular sweet of my childhood, and partner to Black Jacks) and make for an upbeat and joyful piece. There is lots of detail, and it is one of those pieces that deserves a long viewing time.
Sub’s improvement over the last couple of years is marked, and his persistence admirable. He paints regularly and in lots of different spots, constantly refining his technique and turning out some distinctive pieces.
Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2025
In this piece, his blended fill is really well done, transitioning seamlessly from grey to turquoise. He has also managed to achieve a fascinating cloudy pink line running through his letters, a great effect. I think that these letters have slightly softer edges than some of his previous pieces, and it is a good look. Clean, tidy with interesting ideas… what’s not to like?
Hurrah! I have waited a long while for Haka to continue his series of Children’s picture book pieces, and here, underneath the busy Brunel Way flyover, is a superb piece from the Janet and Allen Ahlberg book series ‘Funnybones’. This is not the first Funnybones piece that Haka has painted, and I genuinely hope it isn’t the last.
Haka, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025
What I like about these pieces by Haka is the way he remains loyal to the original artwork while having just a hint of his own style in there. The ‘forever’ shout-out to CK1 and to Jesse and Remy negates the need for a signature, but he has signed the piece nonetheless. Great work from Haka.
I have made a few trips into the office recently, which has both benefits and disbenefits. It is great to have some face to face meetings with ‘real people’ and good to catch up with old friends, which is always nice. The walk in, however, takes 40 minutes, effectively adding 1 hour 20 minutes of unproductive time to my day. On the upside, it is not entirely unproductive, as I get to see if there is any new art along the way. On one such walk, I found this stunning shutter and shopfront piece by Vane in Stokes Croft. It took me a little bit of detective work and luck to find out that it was Vane (Vandalist) who had created this wonder.
Vandalist, Stokes Croft, Bristol, November 2025
I was looking for an explanation of the portrait piece and found it on Vane’s Instagram feed. His words are as follows:
I was asked to paint this memorial portrait on Stokes Croft, Bristol – of the late, great Gerald Valentine Phillips. Gerry was a pillar in the local community. Despite his history as an addict he spent 25 years clean, helping people through their own recoveries and founded a number of care based charities in Bristol including Emerge and Cherry Orchard Care
The backstory to this piece makes it all the more poignant. Painting portraits on shutters cannot be easy, and this is a technical feat as well as a visual joy. It is lovely to see how community figures can be remembered in this public way. Well done Vane.
Since his return to painting in Bristol, Asre has focused on his writing, but it is his cheeky character pieces that first caught the eye a few years ago, and this is a fine example of one of those. I am a little sad that he chose to paint over a long-standing Haka piece, but that is the nature of street/graffiti art, constant churn and renewal.
Asre, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025
The character is nicely framed and fits the space perfectly. Asre’s stylised cartoon characters are easily distinguishable thanks to the crosses in the eyes and the zigzag line in the mouth delineating the teeth. I am guessing that this was painted as a bit of an ‘extra’ while painting some writing nearby. Nice one.
Feek rarely paints our streets these days, so seeing this piece in the tunnel for Minto’s birthday was a particular joy. His zany cartoon style lends itself so well to the street scene, offering mini stories and curiosities for those lucky enough to see his work.
Feek, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
In this humorous character piece, a rather fed-up brain is taking leave of the skull it belongs to, declaring ‘that’s it, I’m off’ while the hapless skull utters the word ‘wuh?’. An amusing story perfectly portrayed with clarity and detail. This is a lovely piece by Feek and a reminder of what we are missing.
Natural adventures 