Character – Page 10 – Natural adventures

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.

7088. L Dub (75)

I believe that DFC1848 lives in Cheltenham, but that doesn’t seem to stop him making fairly regular visits to Bristol, and this one was to join a paint jam at L Dub a little while back. DFC 1848 started his street art journey painting one or two cartoon characters again and again, building his technique and confidence until now where he seems to paint a huge variety of pieces almost at will.

This is a rather brash pink-faced character – some kind of animal (I am not too sure what) wearing a baseball cap with the letters DFC emblazoned on the front. The piece has two borders, a thin black outline, a thick purple border, all set on a chrome background, which adds interest, but I am not sure that it offers the contrast he might have been looking for. Nice shout-outs to DJ Perks and Donz who frequent this spot and who joined him whilst painting this.

7079. River Avon (88)

Werm and Scrapyardspec, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025

In my mind, some collaborations were just meant to be, and this magnificent joint venture from Werm and Scrapyardspec is simply awesome. Two utterly different styles, a writer and a character artist, have combined with skilful design and colour sharing to create a piece that just works brilliantly.

There is nothing pretentious about this combination piece, just two artists comfortable with what they do where the resulting whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The letters by Werm are nicely executed with straightforward fills and a bold white border. Scrapyardspec’s goofy character replaces the ‘E’ of ‘WERM’ and is integrated into the word with the clever use of an orange border bringing everything into the single piece. Excellent work, full of the joy of street art friendship.

7078. M32 roundabout J3 (698)

Sub had a busy month in July and appears to be pushing the boundaries with his work. This piece tucked away on the M32 roundabout seems to be a practice for a combination piece he followed up with in Peel Street Green (to follow soon).

Sub’s chunky letters and deep drop shadows in icy blues, together with a couple of decorative cracks, are accompanied by a Mario character which I would describe, perhaps a little harshly, as a good first effort. It doesn’t help that the eyes are a bit untidy. What you might notice, when I post the next version of the character in a few days the vast improvement. The learning journey with Sub continues.

7076. Brunel Way (325)

Scrapyardspec, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

This is something the same, but also a little different from Scrapyardspec under Brunel Way. He has used a buffed pillar (a crazy scheme devised by Bristol City Council to eradicate graffiti, which only serves to create nice clean new ‘canvasses’) to act as a solid backdrop to one of his wobbly characters.

Instead of filling the piece with colour, like all of his other pieces, he has gone for a simple white fill which works so well against the grey. The piece is clean and almost looks like a giant sticker, rather than a painted piece. Scrapyardspec has injected some great creativity into his standard character.

7074. St Werburghs tunnel (Ejits)

A short while back, Kid Crayon organised a paint jam for Frazzled magazine and assembled a fine line-up of artists, including Ejits. There is something very charming about her stylised cartoon characters, which tend to have a cheeky side to their personality.

This is a wonderful eye-catching cat, beautifully illustrated and perfectly finished. There is two-tone texture in the cat’s face and a strong dark pink border to keep everything neat and tidy. I am an admirer of her work, and would love to see (find) more of it on our streets.

7068. Dean Lane skate park (853)

Scrapyardspec, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2025

I get the feeling that Scrapyardspec might have moved to or near Bristol, or he is visiting more often these days, because barely a week goes by when I don’t discover a new piece by him.

This googly-eyed character is nestled neatly on the side of one of the ramps in the Dean Lane skate park, known locally as The Deaner. Perhaps the most notable thing about this piece is the green wibbly tongue, which I would estimate appears in about half of all his character pieces.

7060. St Werburghs tunnel (517)

Kid Crayon, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2025

There seems to be a direct correlation between the days and locations that Kid Crayon paints, and the longevity of his pieces. More than any other artist I can think of, his work gets painted over really quickly, and I have missed several of his pieces this year, arriving a day late.

Most recently, a piece in Cumberland Basin lasted a day maybe, and worse still it was only half painted over, which is rude, and not in the spirit of the unwritten graffiti code of etiquette. I rushed to photograph this one, and of course, it has bucked the trend and lasted a while, and was still intact yesterday.

This is a superb example of Kid Crayon’s playful style, with a great combination of letters and characters throughout the piece. The piece formed a part of a Frazzled Magazine paint jam, which included the artists Mind 49, Ejits, and Smak amongst others. There is so much to enjoy in this piece with so many little details to admire, for example, the munching maggot carving pieces out of the letter ‘C’at the start of the piece. Fabulous work.

7059. Brunel Way (322)

This is the middle piece of a Zinso-fest from earlier in the month underneath Brunel Way. The white buffed wall was the perfect opportunity for Zinso to practice his writing, and practice he did, turning out six pieces, three large and three small.

The bubble writing in the larger piece is beautifully decorated, each letter having its own colour scheme and one or two with spots as well. The ‘O’ at the end has a cheeky face for good measure. Similarly, the smaller signature piece in red also has a cheeky face, but appears to have a letter (S) missing. The full wall is shown below.

7052. M32 Spot (205)

Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025

I wish I had photographed this piece before it got tagged up at the base, because it is another truly classy column piece by Silent Hobo underneath the M32. I have noticed that many of Silent Hobo’s recent pieces have a rather melancholic tone, and I wonder if he is expressing himself through his art and the stories it tells.

In this piece, a young man is looking rather sad, and has a wooden stake piercing his heart. I would interpret this as being heartbroken, but perhaps I am reading too much into it. What I can say is that Silent Hobo’s portrayal of Bristol youth and their preoccupations and joys is unparalleled.

	paulh121 on 7503. Stapleton Road
	Sheree on 7508. Sparke Evans Park (…
	paulh121 on 7502. M32 roundabout J3 (…
	Sheree on 7506. Purdown (102)
	hitandrun1964 on Amnesty

	paulh121 on 7503. Stapleton Road
	Sheree on 7508. Sparke Evans Park (…
	paulh121 on 7502. M32 roundabout J3 (…
	Sheree on 7506. Purdown (102)
	hitandrun1964 on Amnesty

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