M32 roundabout – Page 10 – Natural adventures

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Scrapyardspec, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2024

One of the important functions of Natural Adventures is to represent the broad spectrum of graffiti and street art that I encounter on my walks in Bristol, and sometimes other cities too. I could concentrate on high-end murals or throw ups and tags, but that all becomes a bit niche and exclusive, and my intention is to share the full spectrum of free art on the walls of my adopted city.

The distinctive pieces by Scrapyardspec are part of this amazing offering, and this quirky three-eyed monster character is demanding to be looked at and enjoyed. It is more than simply a bit of fun, it is part of a series of pieces that, combined, form a presence and familiarity around the place. I like what Scrapyardspec does and how he does it.

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Astrea, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2024

One of the most rewarding things about writing a blog on street art and graffiti is that if you do it for long enough, you get to see new artists burst on to the scene and develop their ideas and improve their technique. An artist who has recently caught my eye is Astrea (formerly HNH), whose distinctive black and white designs are becoming more frequent and elaborate.

This is the first time I have seen Astrea add a portrait to her abstract patterns. The central character is a little bit unsettling, with star eye makeup and a tongue sticking out. The tongue looks like it has stitching running through it. The surrounding swirling design is very much in keeping with what we have seen before from Astrea. Great to see her gaining in confidence.

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Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2024

Sub paints his large three letter pieces reasonably often, but I have been waiting for one that has the ‘wow’ factor, and with this enormous piece on the roundabout, I think he has pretty much got there. I first saw this piece on Instagram, before I photographed it, and was actually really keen to go and see it for myself.

I think that the buffed wall really helps in this instance, and the colour selection of orange and blue works really well. Sub has paid great attention to the dimensions of the drop shadow, which drifts off to the left. There is a fusion of his letters, through which the blue fill bleeds across the piece. The thing I like the most is the thin line patterning, which is just about right. Any more decoration and it would look fussy, any less and it would look bare. In my view, this is Sub’s best piece to date.

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Werm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2024

I find myself sitting on a Great Western train on my way to London to get to a football match between the mighty Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. The journey has provided me with the gift of time that I don’t get too much of these days, and I am enjoying every second. I am even pushing the boat out with the third street art post of the day, something I am finding increasingly difficult to do.

This wonderfully symmetrical piece by Werm is typical of his style at the moment, and one in which I think he is hitting his best form. The letters in a script-like pattern spell WERM and are filled with two shades of orange. The drop shadow is dark blue and the border green. I feel instinctively that these colours shouldn’t really work well together, but somehow they do. In true graffiti writing style, Werm has included plenty of shout outs around the perimeter of the piece.

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Zeks, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024

There is a simplicity and clarity in Zeks’ work, where less is definitely more. His child-like quality and themes work so very well. The autumn leaves in front of the piece complement the ‘blue sky’ background, so well, conjuring up visions of gorgeous autumn days.

The combination piece is split into distinct halves, with a beautifully illustrated urban landscape to the left (looking like one of those 1960-70s cartoon series), which is so full of character. The writing in contrasting and bright colours spells out ZEKS, and is filled with interesting but unfussy shapes and designs. This is a delightful and calming piece from Zeks.

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Mr Draws, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2024

By the time this post is published I’ll be somewhere between Bristol and Leeds, on our way to visit our daughter who is in her first term at university there. The upshot of this is that I wrote this post last night after work, a little tired and not particularly inspired. Basically I am making excuses for a waffling post.

Mr Draws represents the constant beating heart of Bristol graffiti writing. I have said it many times and my view hasn’t changed. Regular and dependable. This set of fused DRAWS letters in dark blues has a devilish theme running through it with horns and an inverted cross. I wonder what is going on here. I might need to have words with Mr Draws.

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Sled One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024

Sled One is another artist whose street work comes in peaks and troughs… nothing for ages and then several come along in quick succession. He is on a roll at the moment, and this beautiful combination piece was painted alongside the Smak piece that I posted a day or two ago.

This surreal piece is quite magnificent, featuring a skull character smoking a cigarette whose lighter appears to have quite a high flame setting, The humorous piece is beautifully composed and clean as a whistle. The letters SLED are interesting in that they are large for a signature or small to be on terms with the character, but that is Sled One for you, he does what he does, and always does it brilliantly.

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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.

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Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024

Like sentinels guarding the gate to Rivendell, well not exactly, but sentinels nonetheless painted naturally by Daz Cat. The character on the left is definitely a cat, but I am a little unsure about the creature on the right and am going to assume it is a dog. Cats and dogs are appropriate for this spot, because when it rains heavily, this tunnel floods, and you can see it is partially flooded in this picture.

Daz Cat has been reasonably quiet this year, but these quick ones have brought him front of mind once again. The cat painted in steel blue tones is looking a little vexed. It is great to see how much depth Daz Cat works into his characters compared to the flat cat portraits he was painting when he started.

The dog? portrait on the other side reflects the same colours as the cat and also has a certain amount of depth to it. This is not the first time Daz Cat has painted on either side of the tunnels here. Let me see if I can dig out a previous example…

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2020

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2019

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Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2024

I really goofed when I photographed this extraordinary character piece by Stivs, because it was accompanied by some writing on either side, but t the time I didn’t recognise the writing. It turns out that it was all one piece with Oust providing the writing, which I haven’t included here, because the character piece stands up in its own right.

There is no doubt about it, Stivs is an extremely talented artist and is equally comfortable painting portrait and character work as he is with graffiti writing. This Samurai character is superbly presented, with great use of contrasting colours to provide light and shade and therefore depth. You can deconstruct the piece by looking at the blocks of solid colour, which when you stitch it altogether has an incredible effect. Very nice piece from Stivs.

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