Anti-style – Natural adventures

7759. Montpelier Park

Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2026

More unusual and compelling graffiti writing from Solar, who is on a great run of form at the moment. This little park in Montpelier, has a wall which can hold 2-3 pieces, and although a little bit out of the way is always worth a look if passing, because it is possible to find the odd gem there. This is one of those.

These anti-style letters in green and brown/orange spell SOLAR, with the ‘R’ following the rise in the bank to the right. The observant among you might notice a second piece by the artist in the top left of the pictures – two for the price of one. This piece is similar to one he painted in Sparke Evans Park and which I featured recently. The ‘S’ having the same characteristic panel on it. More nice work from Solar.

Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2026

7757. Dean Lane skate park (932)

I have recently been having a virtual conversation with Taboo, and it is great to have a bit more of a connection with the artist. Over the last couple of months, I have found a stack of old pieces by Taboo, and he has been painting quite regularly, so I have a lot of catching up to do with his work.

This is a perfect example of Taboo’s anti-style graffiti writing, and this might be a good time to offer a definition of what anti-style means:

A rebellious sub-genre that rejects traditional graffiti rules like legible letterforms, flow, and colour theory.

The pink letters here spell out TABOO, and, consistent with a lot of his writing, his letters have a midline running through them giving them a bit of a 3D lift. A nice piece that might be inaccessible to some, but is a fine work in my eyes.

7700. Cumberland Basin

Rusty, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

On a fairly regular basis a mixture of visiting and resident artists come to Bristol for a paint jam, which tend to include artists like ARSA, Corupt, RBN One, Solar etc, and very occasionally they are joined by Rusty (who in a previous post I referred to as Rusta).

I absolutely love the look of this anti-style graffiti writing. There is something really organic about it, and I like the sketchy quality of the black lines and fills. The impression this piece gives is one of freedom and spontaneity. The touches of orange add that little bit of extra class. A lovely piece of writing from Rusty.

7639. Cumberland Basin

Whos, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026

I am absolutely sure that I have seen numerous pieces by Whos over the last year or two, but unable to make out the letters or be sure the writing is his. It is only when he writes clearly, like in this piece, that I can be sure enough to publish his work.

Although this piece is quite conventional, his writing would usually be described as anti-style due to an absence of pattern or form of the letters, where everything is a bit random and spontaneous. The white letters are decorated with some pink stars and a tribute line of “dorns 4 ever”. I certainly need to get better at hunting down and identifying his graffiti writing.

7614. Cumberland Basin

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026

I don’t tend to find as many new Taboo pieces as I used to, and that might be down to two factors. He might be painting less frequently, and/or maybe he isn’t painting the regular spots so often, and so I don’t come across his work as much. The upshot is that finding any pieces by the artist these days is a happy moment.

I have a feeling that this piece was painted as part of a birthday paint jam, I forget who for though. The red letters in anti-style form spell out TABOO in a combination of lettering and designs, with the second ‘O’ being formed of a jail window with eyes glaring from the dark space behind the bars. A fine piece from Taboo… I need to find more.

7426. Cumberland Basin

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2025

First day skiing in the alps today, so really not much time to write today’s posts. This is a wonderful piece by Solar that got left behind in my archives.

The colours are absolutely magnificent and the piece delivered in Solar’s inimitable semi-antistyle fashion. Great work.

6614. Cumberland Basin

Lee Roy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2024

Not long ago, I met Lee Roy, whilst walking our respective dogs, and he informed me that he was hanging up his spray cans for a while, which was disappointing to hear, because I like his work and the way he expresses himself through it. However, this piece might signify a return for the anti-style(ish) writer.

During his ‘lay-off’, he hasn’t lost his touch in the slightest, indeed, this is a rather sharp piece, beautifully presented and with an array of his favourite fill patterns and shapes. The purples and greys work well against the blight blue background, and this is a very fine ‘come back’ piece. Hoping this is more than a splash in the pan.

6411. Dove Lane

Taboo, Dove Lane, Bristol, September 2024

A couple of weeks ago, before we drove our daughter to her new university adventure, I had to drop the dog off with a dog-sitter which took me to a part of town I don’t go to all that often. While I wouldn’t describe the area of Redfield as a graffiti/street art hotspot, there are a few pieces knocking about the place and it is always worth having a little explore. I got lucky and found this Taboo piece, which might have been there for some time, but it was a discovery for me nonetheless.

This is a fabulous anti-style graffiti writing/character combination piece that Taboo is so good at, full of innovation and charm as well as being a little bit surreal. The letters spell out TABOO, with the last ‘O’ represented by a bricky busily building a wall. This is a wonderful piece that demonstrates the rare and extraordinary talents of Taboo.

6288. Lower Ashley Road (9)

Taboo, Lower Ashley Road, Bristol, August 2024

It is rare for new hoardings to remain unpainted or untagged in Bristol, and no sooner had these gone up around a new development site, than they were decorated with several throw ups including this fine anti-style graffiti writing and character combination piece by Taboo.

Taboo has been reasonably quiet lately, so this piece came as a very welcome surprise. As you can see it is a birthday tribute piece to Ffion, and includes a cute portrait of Simba from the Lion King Disney film. The writing, which is really on-point, spells out TABOO, of which the lion cub makes up the first ‘O’. I love the pink inside the second ‘O’, adding just another layer of interest.

6286. New Stadium Road (57)

Whysayit, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024

This is rather a special piece from Whysayit, because it is unusual to see anything by him quite as big and bold as this one, and to see his work on a (partially) buffed background. The anti-style letters spell out YSAE (why say), which stand out really well.

Although nicely finished, there is something quite raw about this piece, especially in the translucency of the orange colour, a colour, along with yellow, that can (depending on the brand of paint) be rather thin. I don’t know if he was running out of paint, or whether it is a feature, but the tail of the letter ‘E’ is finished off in white, in throw up style zigzags. The letters are finished off with a rather nice 3D drop shadow in dark blue with vertical green stripes and a clean white border. A very nice example of Whysayit’s work.

	scooj on 7753. Stapleton Road
	scooj on 7754. L Dub (90)
	scooj on 7751. M32 Cycle path (312…
	scooj on I am Ian
	hitandrun1964 on 7753. Stapleton Road

	hitandrun1964 on 7753. Stapleton Road
	hitandrun1964 on 7754. L Dub (90)
	hitandrun1964 on 7755. Dean Lane skate park…
	paulh121 on 7751. M32 Cycle path (312…
	paulh121 on 7752. St Werburghs tunnel…

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