Calligraffiti – Natural adventures

7636. M32 roundabout J3 (769)

Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

I think that it is fair to say that Sub is an artist who has grown on me over the last couple of years. At first, I considered his letters too large and uninteresting, but to be fair, he has worked really hard and improves from piece to piece. He is developing his fill skills significantly and is now turning out some fine pieces.

It has been great witnessing this improvement, and here, Sub has elaborated on his letters and worked on a shaded midline running through them. This technique is at the heart of calligraffiti, and I think the Sub, in this piece, has made his first flirtations with the style. So much more to come from Sub.

7630. M32 roundabout J3 (768)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

Back to some of his Calligraffiti, Stivs has produced a few of these DSC (Dog Shit Crew) burners recently. Stivs is pretty much the only calligraffiti artist left in Bristol at the moment, so spotting his work really isn’t all that difficult. As far as I know Todoaciem (who wrote CIEM) is back in Spain and Wxttsart (who writes MILK) appears to have gone to ground a little.

These three letters, presented in a sumptuous red on a dark purple background have a strong impact. The letters and drop shadow are further picked out with a contrasting thin yellow border. This is lovely, neat and tidy work which somewhat betrays the difficulty level. If it were easy, we’d see an awful lot more of it.

7577. M32 Spot (220)

Stivs is an incredibly talented artist who is as comfortable painting his character pieces as he is with his calligraffiti. His has been producing pieces at a steady pace over the past few months, but I haven’t bumped into him for a long while… maybe our clocks are on a different plane.

Tucked away in a corner of the DIY skate park underneath the M32, this piece is a classic bit of Stivs Calligraffiti writing. The letters are beautifully presented with a perfect midline providing depth to the letters. There are four shades of pink in the letters for the top, bottom, left and right elevations, which leaves us with a 3D effect, as if the letters are standing out from the hoarding. Skilful work.

7562. M32 Spot (218)

A couple of quick ones today, as I have a busy day – happy Good Friday to you. This is one of those slightly confusing pieces where the letters presented, and the artist are not the same person. The letters say OUST, a Bristol graffiti artist but they are painted by Stivs.

In this nod to Oust, Stivs has adopted his superb calligraffiti style. Superb lettering, with a defined midline ridge, four borders in black oranges and yellow, all presented on a light blue background with decorative spots. A truly great piece of writing from a very gifted artist.

7492. M32 roundabout J3 (744)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2025

In this post, I take another quick jump back in time, to November last year, to share this script piece from Stivs. It has been quite noticeable that Stivs has changed the ratios of his pieces over the last year or so. He used to split his character pieces and calligraffiti roughly 50/50, but these days he has shortened his writing, often to the initials DSC, and is painting fewer character pieces. I guess, other factors have impacted on how much he paints at the moment.

The three letters, DSC, stand for ‘Dog Sh*t Club’ which is probably why the letters are preferred. Stivs has worked the letters really nicely in a Gothic style, and the bronze colour really stands out. The harsh letters are somewhat softened by the surrounding yellow cloud with what looks like red and orange sperm cells wiggling their way into the letters. A curious piece, but one I wanted to share from the archive.

7191. M32 roundabout J3 (717)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2025

At around the time Face 1st left Bristol about a year or so ago, he had been doing quite a lot of experimentation around his writing and different font ideas. On his visits back to Bristol, he has switched between his writing and his character combination pieces. This one is writing only.

The letters spell out FACE 1ST in a rather unusual typeface that looks like a first step towards calligraffiti, but has too many soft edges and freedom to be considered as that. I am a huge fan of Face 1st’s work and would like to see him painting more of his character pieces, and concentrating less on his writing, but I think that he might feel differently. A nice collaboration with PWA fellow Soap.

7090. Sparke Evans Park (138)

Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2025

It looks like Stivs will once again be dividing opinion with this combination piece on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park. Although it was painted alongside the countless Paroe tribute pieces, it is not clear that this is one of them, and even if it were, it would seem a little inappropriate.

This is not the first time Stivs has painted a topless woman, but I worry that he might have missed the mark with this one, accompanying it with the words ‘Equal opportunities’. I’m not too sure what point he is trying to make, but it doesn’t sit all that comfortably with me. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a prude and am all for nudity in street art (as in all art), it is the messaging that worries me. The artwork is good, and the calligraffiti spelling out DSC – 25 – Stivs is totally in keeping with his style and talent.

6935. Cumberland Basin

Todoaciem, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025

I believe that Todoaciem has moved back to his native Spain, which would explain the absence of his outstanding calligraffiti on Bristol’s streets in recent months. I think he makes the journey back from time to time, probably to see his Bristol friends, and when he does he drops a piece, and this was a recent one from Cumberland Basin.

As ever, the writing is inch-perfect, spelling out CIEM, with incredible precision and discipline. The horizontal depressions in the wall make it a little easier to gain the uniformity of the letters, but that doesn’t take away from the skill needed to paint with this level of accuracy. Todoaciem’s fills transition beautifully in horizontal layers, and create a kind of metallic sheen for the piece. It is always great to find a piece by Todoaciem, especially as they are fairly infrequent these days.

6872. M32 roundabout J3 (674)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025

Now that Face 1st isn’t living in Bristol, and he paints less frequently, he appears to be a little more judicious in what he paints, and seems to be experimenting a lot more with his writing and his fonts.

This is a wonderful chrome combination piece with Face 1st’s trademark laughing girl character and hair made up of the word FACE. This time though the letters have more of a calligraffiti style to them, and are nicely finished. Somehow, Face 1st is, for me at least, emblematic of the Bristol scene, and I am so pleased that he comes back reasonably regularly to remind us of his talent and style.

6814. M32 roundabout J3 (667)

Stivs and Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

It was great to see this collaboration from Stivs and Pekoe recently, two artists who are knocking out some fabulous work at the moment. To the left, the calligraffiti letters are by Stivs and the character portrait on the right is by Pekoe.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

Stivs has written his familiar letters DSC, which stands for Dog Supremacy Crew (formerly Dog Shit Crew – I think). The beautiful letters are not quite as elaborate as some of his calligraffiti pieces, but are nonetheless impressive. From the size and intricacy of it, I would think that he painted this fairly quickly.

Pekoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

To the right, Pekoe, in keeping with the collaboration colour scheme, has painted this wonderful blue-faced portrait of a young woman with a fabulous hairdo. There is a symmetry in the face, and a slightly haunting stare. The piece is beautifully produced, and so very neat and tidy. I am not sure what the significance of the road cone is, but I’ll take it.

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