Combination – Page 8 – Natural adventures

6635. River Avon (73)

Klashwhensober, River Avon, Bristol, December 2024

This is a curious piece by Klashwhensober, painted alongside Sworm on a low wall that supports one of the bridges over the River Avon – a bridge that doesn’t actually lead to anywhere. It looks like this might have been a bit of a dregs piece, because there are a few colours involved, that don’t necessarily complement one another, and the light blue and yellow look rather thin, and perhaps were running out.

Klashwhensober has been painting a lot of character/writing combination pieces over the last year, and as a general rule of thumb, the more time he spends on a piece, the better the outcome. While all the design elements are present in this piece, it feels a little rushed and rough around the edges. The character on the left is a bit strange, and slightly divorced in style and colour from the writing. Overall, this is an interesting piece, but not one of Klashwhensober’s finest.

6628. Sparke Evans Park (114)

Jevoissoul, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, December 2024

Jevoissoul, who prefers to be called @slowlane100 on Instagram has had a very good year, and built up his repertoire from basic character pieces to tidy combination pieces, with writing that has seen a steady improvement. This wonderful piece, in Sparke Evans Park, shows how constant practice pays dividends.

The letters SLOW are bookended with two characters, one with a cap and one without, and both with the characteristic mouth design that epitomises Jevoissoul’s work. There is a lot to like in this combination piece, but overall it is the neatness that comes across most. I am looking forward to a further year of improvement.

6593. St Werburghs tunnel (464)

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2024

Minto went through a very rich vein of form and productivity earlier on this year, before falling off a little in the autumn, so it was super-nice to find this recent piece in the tunnel alongside Ren and Hypo, keeping things fresh in St Werburghs.

This is a classy combination piece from Minto, spelling out his name and including a capped character puffing out some smoke. Characteristic of his writing, the letters MIN form a wedge, followed by an elevated T rounded off with a large O. The irregularity of his letters tends to be something of a trademark. Very nice piece from Minto.

6574. Sparke Evans Park (109)

Solar and Nice One, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2024

This is another one from my archive. I was actually digging it out because of the piece by Nice One, which is sitting above a Solar piece. It is impossible to post one without the other, and so you are getting two for the price of one in this post. Solar is a reasonable active member of the PLB crew, and it is not so long ago that I posted a gallery of his work. This is a nice letter blocky piece from him, and I think he painted the PLB letters too.

Nestled on top of the Solar piece, Nice one has painted his Times New Roman font letters spelling out his name. Midway through the letters is an interesting character, looking like somebody from an age gone by. The black and white character is really well painted and something of a nice surprise. I don’t think, although I can’t be certain, that the pieces were painted as a collaboration nor even necessarily at the same time. I can’t be sure either, who painted the brick wall with water flowing from a pipe. Curious stuff.

6560. Brunel Way (303)

Conrico, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2024

In the furthest southern tip of the Brunel Way spot, is a DIY skate spot and this wonderful recent combination piece from Conrico brightened up this dark spot. It is usually pretty tatty around this wall, where materials for building ramps etc. for the skate park are scattered.

The writing is nicely done, set on a swirly patterned background, but it is definitely the portrait accompanying the writing that catches the eye. I think that it is the woman’s hair which draws the eye – it is a really nice and happy portrait. Not long after Conrico painted the combination piece, the council came along and buffed the wall, although they decided to keep the portrait, which is curious really, because it is all illegal graffiti.

I believe that the buffing is done by gangs of people doing community service for some misdemeanour or other. The problem, of course, is that this is a completely fruitless exercise, and waste of grey paint, because a buffed wall is a blank canvass.

6543. River Avon (68)

When I first met Jevoissoul, he told me that he had planned to paint his stuff as regularly as he could all over the city, and it would appear that he has lived up to his word. His distinctive character is more frequently these days accompanied by the letters SLOW, to create larger combination pieces.

Jevoissoul, River Avon, Bristol, November 2024

While his characters are not necessarily evolving, they are getting tighter, and the same can be said for his letters. It would appear that Jevoissoul is enjoying decorating walls, and It would be great to catch up with him again and chat about his work, past and future. A tidy piece from Jevoissoul.

6519. L Dub (52)

At the L Dub spot, there are two main areas for painting. There is the long tunnel that runs underneath the M5 motorway, and at the southern end is a disused water pumping station. Each of these offer different opportunities, with the tunnel lending itself more to graffiti writing, with the low long wall, and the pumping station offering more opportunities for character or other artistic pieces.

Kool Hand has taken advantage of one of the taller walls on the pumping station to create this combination piece. The orangutan character has grown a couple of Shrek ears and is resting on top of the words ‘Last radical souls’ which is the name of the LRS crew. Great use of the space, and a nice tribute to the crew.

6510. M32 roundabout J3 (636)

Smak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024

It is easy to become complacent, living in Bristol, when it comes to street and graffiti, and to take it for granted that we have something rather special, that most cities in the country or the world, simply don’t have. The graffiti sub-culture is thriving and grows both local talent and attracts artists form far and wide to get out there and paint walls. Artists like Smak, who are at the top of their game, are not a rarity, but common, such is the strength and depth of the field of artists.

This is a beautiful combination piece of outstanding writing accompanied by a comedy cartoon skull wearing a graffiti crown. The letters, which are easy to pick out, are beautifully proportioned and designed, and painted in prime colours, which you don’t see all that often. A wonderful piece from a gifted artist.

6508. Greenbank (138)

Nice One, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2024

I recently met Nice One for the first time, although he said that we had met before (I think that must have been before he was painting as Nice One), which I felt a bit bad about, because I like to try and remember these things. We had a great chat about all sorts of things, and I was able to tell him how much I was enjoying his work, and the superb way he combines his writing with characters and scenes – this piece being a perfect example of what I mean.

This piece wouldn’t look out of place in a gallery, but here it is for the citizens of Bristol to enjoy. The concept is beautifully executed, a landscape with moody clouds above a tree-lined lake, and the letters, in Times New Roman font emerging like monoliths from the horizon. This is a fascinating piece that demonstrates Nice One’s modest talent. One of the most memorable pieces of the year in my view.