I was familiar with the M32 Spot some time before I started photographing street art, because I used to drop my then 12 year old son off for wet-weather skateboarding. The M32 Spot DIY skatepark was pretty much the only (free) skate park option when it rained, and for a skating obsessed boy this was the destination of choice. That boy turns 18 next weekend. Where did that time go?
Feek, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020
This lovely piece by Feek, like so many pieces by the artist, really chimes with the skating community. The painting features a monster contributing to the DIY building of the skate park. My favourite bit… his signature in the teeth.
I love this for lots of reasons. Firstly because it is by John D’oh and secondly because it is a stencil, but mainly because it is overtly critical of the Wetherspoon owner Tim Martin, one of the most odious characters to have emerged from the Brexit debate. This man ranks as one of the supreme self-interested businessmen who puts making money for his business and for himself above the interests of the country. This attitude was exposed in the early days of lock down when Martin was calling for leniency for pubs and to allow them to remain open. Sod the virus eh?
John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020
Neatly placed on one of the columns under the M32, this piece is a beacon of hope, in that in poking fun at Wetherspoon it reinforces the responsible approach to protecting ourselves from coronavirus. I applaud this political commentary piece.
What I love about John D’os work is that it lays down a historical (usually political) narrative of our time. This is the second version of this stencil in the area, I posted the other one a while back, and it records with an element of humour the madness of the run on loo paper at the start of lock down. As an additional note, you can’t move in supermarkets for bog roll at the moment, so what was the panic all about?
John D’oh, M32 Spot, Bristol, May 2020
I like the retro look of the piece and of course the setting in amongst an array of contemporary tagging. More to come from John D’oh who was a little busier than some other artists during full lock down, taking his allotted hour of exercise on the streets and walls we know so well.
Back in October 2019 I remember seeing this piece from Panskaribas and being rather pleased about it, because it was the first I had seen for several months while the artist had been out of Bristol.
Panskaribas, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2019
It is a rather weird and wonderful piece which has taken me rather a long time to work out. I think it is a pair of trainers joined together by a single trousered leg… peculiar, yes, but oh so very Panskaribas. I think that since then he has painted a few more pieces about the place, but I have been very neglectful and I’m not sure I have posted any of them. I must rectify that.
Yes, I’m still working through my archives, unearthing some of the nice pieces that got left behind, which is inevitable when I can only post two new works a day. This is a rather nice column piece from Daz Cat back in July 2018.
Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018
Yesterday’s second post was by Kool Hand, and given that these two like to paint together, this might have been sprayed during the same session. Daz Kat usually, but not always, paints cat faces each of which has its own character and colours. The text reads ‘scum triumphant’ – I’m not too sure what it means but it is a good graffiti message. I like the work of Daz Cat, it has a gritty and slightly edgy feel to it, which is what this is all about.
This is another piece from a little while ago on a column under the M32 by Kool Hand. This artist has done a few pieces at this M32 spot in recent years, and often pairs up with Daz Cat for his sessions.
Kool Hand, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018
Kool Hand has created a rather dashing crocodile kitted out with hoodie and trainers and clasping a spray can in his tail. I like the way Kool Hand works, with strong outlines and clean solid fills. A nice piece.
This was a modest piece from Rezwonk, tucked away on a back fence at the M32 Spot from August last year. It includes a wonderful Charlie Brown character and yellow bird and the writing faithfully adopts the colours of Charlie Brown’s shirt.
Rezwonk, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2019
The interesting thing about this piece is that although the colours of the letters match Charlie Brown, the writing style doesn’t. I would love to see if Rezwonk could reproduce this idea with writing that adopted the cartoon curves and line drawings of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. That said, I love this piece and Rezwonk is a favourite on Natural Adventures.
Another piece from January last year, released from the archive, this one is by Minto. My knowledge of Minto is a little bit patchy but I think he used to live in Bristol and then, like so many street artists/designers, moved to London, so pieces here are few and far between.
Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2019
This is an unusual piece of writing, unlike anything I have seen before really, and I am not certain it is necessarily in Minto’s usual style either. Not really my cup of tea, but it is always great to have a spectrum of art in the city.
Going through the archives is turning out some nice surprises, and I have been fiding quite a few old pieces by Conrico, like this one at the M32 Spot from August 2018, at a time when I wasn’t familiar with the artist.
Conrico, M32 Spot, Bristol, August 2018
This wonderful melty column piece I suspect in some way might be drug related. There is certainly something fairly unusual and dreamlike going on and the separation of the character’s head and copious amounts of smoke suggest something weird is going on. Ever colourful and imaginative, Conrico is a lovely bloke whose work really brightens the place up.
Utterly inexplicable! how on earth did I fail to post this brilliant column piece by Kid Crayon back in June 2017? And how have I not retrieved it from my archives before now? I think this illustrates just how many pictures I have in my archives that get left behind and that what you see here on Natural adventures is just a fraction of what is out there on the streets every day.
Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2017
What is quite unusual about this column piece is that it spans three sides of the column and so is impossible to enjoy from standing in one position.
Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2017
On the first face (or is it the third?) is a purple-faced girl and monster, apparently unrelated. Purple or blue-faced characters is a bit of a trademark for Kid Crayon, as is the turquoise colour that he uses a lot in his work.
Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2017
On the second face are some more rather weird animate and inanimate objects along with another face, this time I am pretty sure it is a self-portrait of the artist, and if it isn’t, it ought to be because it looks a lot like him.
Kid Crayon, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2017
On the third and final face of the column are a couple more characters one of whom is singing? a rainbow. Let’s embrace and own this as a Coronavirus rainbow of hope. This is unfathomable and simply brilliant work by one of my favourite Bristol artists and incredibly nice guy.
Natural adventures 