Chrome – Natural adventures

7459. Dean Lane skate park (900)

Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2026

It has been a while since I last saw Benjimagnetic paint the letters BEN, as he appears to have preferred the letters GRO lately. The colour selection for this piece is absolutely fabulous, and the two tones of purple add to the splendour.

The whole thing is much more contiguous than some of his pieces, which can be rather more deconstructed. There is a really subtle, but effective, thin black drop shadow to the left of the letters, offering some definition. The letters are set on a chrome background which includes a little line drawing sketch around the outside. A classy piece from Benjimagnetic.

7456. River Avon (109)

Malibueb, River Avon, Bristol, January 2026

Many times I go out to photograph street art, I come away empty-handed, especially when it has been raining a lot, but every once in a while I get lucky, not only with finding new pieces but also meeting the artists who paint them. This trip to the River Avon was particularly fruitful.

I caught Malibueb while he was finishing this piece off, and chatted with him, because I wasn’t familiar with his work, and guessed he was visiting. It turns out he is a Swiss musician and was doing a set in Bristol that evening, but he also paints a bit – well he was just being modest I think, because this is a fine chrome combination piece with an excellent old school character rounding it off. It is always good to welcome visiting artists to Bristol.

7452. Cumberland Basin

Roma, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2026

What a fun-packed weekend. Yesterday I drove back from Cornwall to Bristol after my workshop and then on from Bristol to London to stay with my wife’s brother and family before heading off to a football match this afternoon. Arsenal v Sunderland in case you are interested. It has left very little time for me to write blog posts, and this one was composed last night in Bristol between journeys.

Roma is another artist who writes in a simple and authentic manner using four letters. This is a wonderful chrome piece, set on a dusting of orange. I am seeing more and more of her pieces about the place, which can only be a good thing.

7435. River Avon (107)

Squire, River Avon, Bristol, December 2025

Squire is an artist whose graffiti writing I see from time to time, and which I rather like. I know very little about him, other than that he likes to paint alongside another artist, whose letters I can’t decipher and so don’t post their collaborations.

This might be the best piece I have seen to date by Squire. The asymmetrical chrome letters are bounded by a black drop shadow of sorts and a thick red border. To complete the piece, a dark blue line crashed horizontally through all of the letters. Nice work from Squire.

7347. M32 roundabout J3 (731)

Lupa, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2025

Every once in a while, the walls of the M32 roundabout are treated to a new coat of grey paint courtesy of the council and courts in the form of community service. It is a marginally futile exercise, because it never takes too long for freshly buffed walls to be tagged and painted by street/graffiti artists. A blank canvass is an irresistible itch that needs to be scratched.

Lupa, who has been fairly quiet this year, has painted this rather nice chrome piece in one of the tunnels under the roundabout. The chrome has picked up some of the colours of its immediate environment, such as the glow of the orange lighting and the light reflecting in from the ends of the tunnel, creating a warm effect. Her chunky letters are bordered with a pink line, although there is a small mistake on the top of the ‘U’ where the border encroaches too far (nit-picking). I love the happy/sad faces, and it is great to see her work again.

7332. Dean Lane skate park (888)

It is rather nice to be picking up a rather gentle drumbeat of pieces by Mesk. I have always been aware of his graffiti writing, but only really sought out his work since I met him in the spring.

This is a rather nicely presented chrome piece in the Deaner with the letters MESK clearly bordered with a strong black line. There is a bit of interference with the chrome piece below, which is a pity…a little bit of background decoration might have overcome that. That being said, this is a nice tidy piece.

7326. M32 roundabout (729)

Mage, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2025

Mage used to write under a different name, and then went for something completely different. I’m not sure that he could have picked four more difficult letters to write, especially in their capitalised format… lots of lines, angles and complication. Maybe that was the challenge.

This is a well presented chrome piece with a nice deep blue drop shadow, set on a green splash. All neat and tidy, but what lifts this piece to a different level is the wonderful string of spots in yellow and purple, running through each of the letters, without which the piece would probably feel quite basic. A lovely idea well executed.

7312. River Avon (101)

Mr Riks, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025

It is curious how I associate different artists with specific settings or spots. I say this, because I really didn’t expect to see a Mr Riks piece down here alongside the River Avon. This spot tends to be quite experimental, and a lot of emerging artists use it to practice their letters, forms and techniques. To find an established artist like Mr Riks painting here is, to my mind at least, quite unusual.

The letter form that Mr Riks writes with is so distinctive; smooth rounded edges, letters compressed without any see through gaps and a superb solid border are all things I would expect to see. This is a fabulous chrome piece with nice shout-outs to his mates, Ryder and Kush.

7311. M32 roundabout J3 (726)

Roma, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2025

Although I have posted a couple of pieces by Roma before, I know little about the artist. There is something rather pleasing about the letter shapes, or perhaps it is simply the connection and love I have for the city of Rome.

This is a nicely presented chrome piece with a deep drop shadow in red and thin black border. The ‘o’ of ROMA is a little skull. The writing is nicely decorated with a small wave of blue stars and spots running horizontally through the letters. A rather nicely considered sand presented piece.

7148. Dean Lane skate park (864)

Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025

Benjimagnetic has had a rather strong late summer flourish with his nicely designed pieces dotted about the place. His letters GRO have superseded his preference for writing BEN in years gone by.

This is a rather nice chrome piece with the outlines and definition provided in a subtle lilac, which works remarkably well, with neither tone dominating the piece and indeed complementing each other rather well. Three little black patterns round off the piece nicely.

	Dan Antion on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…
	Sheree on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…
	Tanja on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…
	restlessjo on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…
	wrookieschu on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…

	Dan Antion on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…
	Sheree on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…
	Tanja on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…
	restlessjo on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…
	wrookieschu on Thursday doors – 19 Febr…

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