Wispa and Jody, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2025
I was lucky enough to be present when this piece was being painted, but stupid enough not to say hello to one of the artists. I had been chatting for a while with Esme Lower who was painting next to this piece, and needed to get back home, so said a quick hello to Jody and unfortunately didn’t talk to the lady who was painting with him as I didn’t recognise her and had to dash. What an idiot – it wasn’t until I returned to the piece that I was realised I had been standing in the presence of the brilliant Wispa. Note to self – always say hello if you get a chance.
Wispa and Jody, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2025
Jody and Wispa have painted this wonderful combination piece, with the letters W_SPA from Wispa and the masked character by Jody. I don’t know who the character is, but the metallic shine to the mask and helmet is superb. Wispa’s letters are, as ever, immaculate. Next time I’ll make sure I say hello.
Tera and Kid Crayon (credit: Kid Crayon), Stapleton Road, Bristol, August 2025
I am going to break with tradition in this post and contravene my primary rule, that all photographs are taken by me. This is a rare occurrence and it has been necessitated by the fact that I visited this collaboration from Kid Crayon and Tera less than 24 hours after it had been painted, but I was met by a rather disappointing and talentless tag stating that Jesus loves me. While that may or may not be true, it rather scuppered my photo opportunity. Fortunately, Kid Crayon took some of his own pictures, and I have used them for this post. Exceptional circumstances.
Tera and Kid Crayon, Stapleton Road, Bristol, August 2025
This pair have been smashing it all summer long, but I think somebody has it in for them, because few of their collaborations have lasted more than a few days. The two outstanding portraits are painted in the dia de los Muertos tradition, although there are a couple of months before we get to that celebration.
Tera and Kid Crayon (credit: Kid Crayon), Stapleton Road, Bristol, August 2025
On the left, Tera, who I might remind you only started painting walls this summer, has painted a face that reminds me of the band Kiss in it’s makeup styling. He has created some superb depth in the contours of the face with clever reflections of the candles in the lips and cheeks. Utterly brilliant work.
Kid Crayon (credit: Kid Crayon), Stapleton Road, Bristol, August 2025
Kid Crayon, who has been mentoring Tera (and let’s face it has done a great job of that), has gone for a more traditional styling in the facemask makeup, with some nice flowers (mirrored in the hair) and black patterning. Lots of wrinkles in the neck and black nails on the ends of the woman’s fingers poised while she takes a drag on ger cigarette. Kid Crayon offers a slightly different take on candles, but both are superb. One of my favourite collaborations of the year so far.
Acesartworld, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024
Acesartworld, who appears to have recently changed his moniker to Ace has recently taken a significant change in direction in his work towards painting Transformer-influenced masks. Having painted several of these in Bristol this year, I don’t think he needs to sign them any more as they are quite unique.
Acesartworld, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2024
I think that this piece speaks of a tidy and regimented mind, paying attention to the symmetry and detail set on a buffed wall, creating clarity – there is no ambiguity or subtlety here – what you see is what you get. These mask pieces have created quite a nice ‘collectable’ series, and I fully expect to see more as the summer unfolds.
It looks like Acesartworld has found some inspiration from somewhere and some time to start decorating Bristol walls with his Transformer robot-style portrait pieces, of which this is the second of three recent works that I currently know about.
Acesartworld, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2024
Acesartworld has certainly gone for it with the buffing the wall bit, taking his red splash all the way to the top of the wall, perhaps following the example of Kosc, just to his right. A squarer buff would have sufficed for the piece in question. When Acesartworld creates these masks, he uses a long straight piece of wood, similar to pieces of passim by Acer One, to achieve the geometry he is looking for. This is an interesting development from the artist, and I fully expect to see more of these as the summer unfolds.
It feels quite satisfying to reach another landmark on Natural Adventures. This is the 6,000th post featuring graffiti/street art, and that is a lot of art and a lot of words too. The first piece I wrote about was on 16 July 2015 on Park Street by an unknown artist, and was a temporary installation rather than a painted wall, little did I know then that I would still be posting street art nine years later. Today’s landmark piece comes courtesy of Zake.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2024
The face piece is unmistakably by Zake, and although I don’t think it is one of his best pieces in terms of artwork, it is nonetheless striking and demands more than a cursory glance. A face appears to be emerging from a mask which is split down the middle, but the proportions of the mask don’t quite work for me. As ever, the skill with using light and shadow to create depth and texture is Zake’s forte, and the central brown face in particular is wonderfully crafted. Onward to the next 6,000!
It took a couple of attempts for Acesartworld to complete this robot head… the first time I saw it, it was just white outlines on the yellow background with a note in pink, that was quite difficult to read saying “pending WIP” (Work in Progress). I think that he was quite lucky that it wasn’t dogged, because it is the kind of place that it can happen.
Acesartworld, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2024
The bilaterally symmetrical piece is nicely designed and executed, although I note he had to extend his yellow background a little tom accommodate the ‘horns’. There is an interesting colour problem in the piece, which is that pink doesn’t work well on yellow, and the accents around the piece would have benefitted from having black borders. Acesartworld has since painted another of these ‘masks’, and it would seem to be something he is playing with – I look forward to seeing even more.
Laic217 seems to have a plethora of ways to surprise me. Often his pieces appear unannounced, and so discovering them definitely feels special, but what surprised me with this piece is that it immediately took me back to some of the very earliest pieces of his that I started photographing a few years back.
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
The character, for once, not a skull, is wearing a bucket hat with a satanic protection mask strapped to it. To the right of the portrait is a letter ‘L’ for Laic which has been hollowed out and blocked with a deep 3D drop shadow.
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
The face, with its harsh features, could only be by Laic217. I don’t know what it is about his style, but it is quite unique. Looking at the close up, it almost looks like it has been painted on a canvas with brushes, and maybe that is what gives Laic217 his uniqueness. This is yet another awesome piece from one of Bristol’s very best street artists.
Laic217 has been smashing it for years now, and I continue to enjoy the ride he is taking us on. His improvement and development continues from piece to piece, always getting better and more interesting to look at.
Laic217, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
This piece is full of sharp detail, in the flames, and the folds of the fabric but most noticeably in the reflections of the skeleton’s glasses. There is a lot of precision in this piece, and the mask being worn is amazing. An L on the hat for LAIC rounds the piece off nicely. There is always a home for every piece I find by the artist on Natural Adventures.
All in all, 2023 was a very good year for Laic217, with 18 pieces featured in Natural Adventures, some of which I would rate as his best pieces to date. This piece features a skull character wearing a devil mask, I mean why not? I also got lucky that I photographed it on an overcast day, as this wall can be very tricky to capture when the sun is out.
Laic217, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2023
Everything you’d expect to find from a classy Laic217 piece is here… the skull, something of the grotesque and threatening, the devil mask which is suspended by a gold chain, a bucket hat and of course outstanding folds in the fabric of the characters’ clothes. You can see a large gallery of Laic217’s magnificent work here.
Laic217 has been rather busy in October, which is music to my ears. He has been an ever-present on Natural Adventures, and been something of a tour de force when it comes to painting unsettling skeleton characters or distorted faces.
Laic217, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, October 2023
Tucked away at the far-right of the long wall in Sparke Evans Park, this piece tells its own story of a skeleton wearing a face mask of a face, if that makes any sense. The skeleton is smoking – a common theme in much of Laic217’s work. There is a confidence and swagger about his work which has been earned with many long hours spent honing his skills. This is a wonderfully assured and beautifully executed piece by Laic217.
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