Frome side – Natural adventures

7376. Frome Side (66)

Sub and Bloem, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025

2025 has been an outstanding year for Bloem and Sub, with both artists making great strides forward with their work. In particular, Sub’s steady progress is beginning to bear fruit as he introduces more ideas into his letters, particularly with his fills.

I have always felt that Sub’s letters were a little over large, but now that he is being more creative with his fill patterns, the space lends itself to something quite grand, like this repeating black and white pattern. This must have taken a while to complete freehand, but it was certainly worth the bother. A deep 3D drop shadow in dark red sets the piece off beautifully.

In the middle of the two pieces is a wonderful character piece of Betty Boop, skilfully and faithfully reproduced by the pair. I have a feeling that both artists were involved in the creation of this character. It is not the first time that Betty Boop has appeared in Natural Adventures (see below).

Bloem, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025

Bloem continues with her outstanding work, and this Burberry check piece is simply brilliant. The letters spell out BLOEM, and the check design flows beautifully through the piece, swishing in all directions. I love the red smily face and strap handle. This is a supremely well crafted piece and a wonderful collaboration. Bravo!

7365. Frome Side (65)

Mesk, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025

I am sitting at the kitchen table listening to a Christmas mix, and have Slade ringing in my ears as I write. It has just transitioned to the Jackson 5 and Santa Clause is Coming to Town, and now on to Chris Rea (RIP) and Driving home for Christmas. I am definitely in the groove.

This is a nice piece of graffiti writing from Mesk on the north bank of the River Frome underneath the M32 motorway. The large letters spell out MESK in a white that could almost be mistaken for chrome (it can be difficult to tell sometimes, especially if there is a glare from the sun). There is a purple background that does enough to separate the writing from the adjacent graffiti. Sometimes less is more and that applies here in my view.

Happy Christmas 🎅🏼

7359. Frome Side (64)

Solar, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025

My last trip under the M32 alongside the canalised River Frome was a rather fruitful one, and this piece from Solar was one of the rewards for the marginally treacherous scramble down. Solar is an artist whose work has shown steady progression over the years, and he is turning out some superb writing that touches on anti-style.

Although it is difficult to provide a scale to this piece, I can tell you that it is very large. The height of it is about 7-8ft, so if you imagine the artist spraying the top at full stretch, you can get a sense of it. The irregular letters spell SOLAR and are painted on a grey background, which mimics the natural colour of the concrete. There is a fabulous two-tone orange fill, with the lighter colour running through the middle of the letters creating some depth. The piece is rounded off with a clean white border and some light blue spots for decoration. A classy piece from Solar.

7353. Frome Side (63)

Sketch, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025

I managed to sneak another trip underneath the M32 recently and picked up a couple more pictures of work by Sketch, which I might have missed last time. I haven’t seen his work anywhere else in Bristol. We really need to get this boy out and about so that more people can admire his modernist work.

The bright and vibrant piece owes a lot to the inspiring surrealist and cubist movements, with features being spread around the face in an abstract fashion. I love these creative pieces that combine spray-painting with art movements in a brave and exciting way. More please.

7314. Frome Side (62)

Sketch, Frome Side, Bristol, September 2025

During a little flick through my September folder, I like to go back from time to time to see if I have left pieces worth posting behind, I found this interesting piece by Sketch. The unusual portrait was on the opposite side of the river, so these pictures are slightly zoomed in and not of the best quality.

I haven’t seen any work by Sketch outside this spot, and I think he is very much in his ‘discovery’ phase. The portrait of a man, wearing big yellow spectacles, is all rather fluid, and slightly in the cubist style. Smoke is flowing out of the character’s nostrils and swirling around his face… perhaps he is vaping. There is loads to like about this piece, including its originality. I am curious to seeing where Sketch’s art takes us next.

7255. Frome Side (61)

I am really enjoying the art of Sketch. His modern pieces appear to draw so much inspiration from twentieth century styles, incorporating bright colours and abstract shapes and ideas. In this piece, Sketch seems to be experimenting on a rather busy concrete column under the M32.

The abstract shape seems to resemble a human form, but not quite, and it has been embellished with four nicely presented spheres and four purple ‘drips’. There is a simplicity of form that conjures up lots of ideas in the mind of the viewer. I am looking forward to Sketch breaking out of this safe space under the M32 and venturing to some of the more public spots… hoping it happens.

7246. Frome Side (60)

Totosoapcity, Frome Side, Bristol, September 2025

Frome Side, as I like to call it, is a spot that runs underneath a stretch of the M32. The concrete walls are on either side of the canalised River Frome, and crossing from one side to the other is perilous to say the least, across slender concrete slabs, about 2ft wide without a handrail. I tend to remain on the east bank, where the access is, and photograph the west bank from there, looking across the river. This piece from Totosoapcity was on the far west bank.

Totosoapcity has a unique and easy to recognise letter style which tends to remain pretty much as standard from piece to piece, and it is the decoration and fill that provides variation. The letters ARS(Z)A have a symmetry about them, and are filled with an unusual selection of colours in a radiating geometric pattern. The background is decorated with what looks like piles of rocks. Interesting stuff from Totosoapcity.

7244. Frome Side (59)

Finding my way back down to the Frome Side spot after it had been gated off for a while was a bit of a treat, because there were plenty of new pieces and a handful of new artists waiting for me. Ont of the new artists is Sketch, who has been fairly busy underneath the M32.

This Picassoesque column piece really appeals to me. Of course the style is wholly derivative, but there is no shame in that at all, because the same could be said of most art. The features of the character are painted in black and white, set on a background of colours in the broad shape of a head. I think I met sketch a while back, and he told me he was learning and practicing, which is great to hear. As he develops, he will get bolder with his black lines, and stronger definition. I love this and celebrate this relative newcomer.

7231. Frome Side (58)

Mr Riks, Frome Side, Bristol, September 2025

I know that Mr Riks has painted in this spot before, but I was still rather surprised to stumble across this one. There are two notable things about the piece, the first is that there is no buffed wall or background, so the writing is at risk of being overcrowded by the surrounding graffiti, the second is the day glo colours that go some way to mitigating that risk.

The nicely rounded letters spell RIKS in his distinctive font, and he has given them a bit of a lift with a deep 3D drop shadow drifting to the right. If I am honest, I think a little bit of extra background would have given this piece a bit more prominence, however, he might have been short of paint or time. Vibrant work.

7221. Frome Side (57)

I am thrilled to introduce you to an artist who is gently emerging from the bowels under the M32. I believe he signs his work ‘Sketch’ and although I have met him one time, holding a discussion over a fence, he said he didn’t really have a name as such as he was building up his profile and his work.

This is a really strong column piece that has overtones of the work of Picasso, and both the cubist and surrealist art movements. There is a portrait here with lots of eyes and a strong presence of colours beautifully worked together. There is a ‘black book’ quality to the work, like a sketch (for example the cross-hatches and white space), which I guess is how his name has come about. Lots more to come from this talented young artist.

	scooj on Shards
	M. on 7397. Turbo Island
	M. on 7397. Turbo Island
	beth on Shards
	scooj on Thursday doors – 8 Janua…

	scooj on Shards
	M. on 7397. Turbo Island
	M. on 7397. Turbo Island
	beth on Shards
	scooj on Thursday doors – 8 Janua…

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