6395. M32 roundabout J3 (626)

Butch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
Butch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024

This is the third piece by Butch that I have posted, and although I can’t put my finger on exactly why, I really like what I see. There is a consistency to the letters from piece to piece, which means that the main focus is always likely to be on the fills and background.

Butch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
Butch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024

This work by Butch, is on the cusp between casual throw up and a polished tight piece, which is an interesting space to inhabit, and I see that there is potential to create some high class finishing, but perhaps not the desire to go full-on high-end. The letters are composed of solid ‘plates’ of light blue and dusky yellow, riveted together, a device used by some artists, and a very effective one too. This is great work from the PLB graffiti writer.

6359. Greenbank (134)

Butch, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2024
Butch, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2024

This is the second piece by Butch that I have found and posted and I am very much hoping to find and share a whole bunch more. I like this kind of writing a lot, I am not sure why. The letters cascade down from left to right, increasing in size as you traverse along. The fills are interesting and unconventionally but effectively applied.

Butch, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2024
Butch, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2024

PLB (Placebo) are an interesting crew of artists, managing to keep below the radar, enjoying their anonymous status, unlike many other artists and crews in Bristol. Butch has used the ‘rivet’ look which makes the letters look like metal plates bolted together. The whole thing would look better with a bit of background or a buffed wall, but I have a feeling that is not Butch’s style.

6340. Montpelier Park

Butch, Montpelier Park, Bristol, August 2024
Butch, Montpelier Park, Bristol, August 2024

Here we have yet another artist making a debut on Natural Adventures, in a year notable for the number of artists coming onto my radar for the first time. There is something very appealing about the simplicity and modesty of this piece, which reminds me a lot of Biers’ work, when I first came across him almost a decade ago.

Butch, Montpelier Park, Bristol, August 2024
Butch, Montpelier Park, Bristol, August 2024

Butch is a member of the PLB stable, and although I have probably seen his work before, this piece has elevated him in my consciousness. I like the letter shapes and the way that they are stacked over one another, casting shadows. The colour works well on quite a messy background, and the whole thing, although a ‘quick one’, made me smile. Look out for more from Butch.

6328. New Stadium Road (58)

Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024
Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024

I have a feeling that the very first Solar piece I became aware of was in this spot a few years ago, and this recent piece shows how the artist has improved enormously in a really rather short space of time. This one was painted alongside PLB stablemate Whysayit.

Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024
Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024

something went a little wrong with my processing of the photographs, but the first one is a much truer representation of the colours of the piece in the underpass. The letters spell out SUNSHINE in gorgeous shades of orange, and has a very deep 3D drop shadow, characteristic of Solar’s work. This is a bold and cheerful piece, perfect for the summer vibes.

6286. New Stadium Road (57)

Whysayit, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024
Whysayit, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024

This is rather a special piece from Whysayit, because it is unusual to see anything by him quite as big and bold as this one, and to see his work on a (partially) buffed background. The anti-style letters spell out YSAE (why say), which stand out really well.

Whysayit, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024
Whysayit, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024

Although nicely finished, there is something quite raw about this piece, especially in the translucency of the orange colour, a colour, along with yellow, that can (depending on the brand of paint) be rather thin. I don’t know if he was running out of paint, or whether it is a feature, but the tail of the letter ‘E’ is finished off in white, in throw up style zigzags. The letters are finished off with a rather nice 3D drop shadow in dark blue with vertical green stripes and a clean white border. A very nice example of Whysayit’s work.

6141. Montpelier Park

j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024
j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024

More and more these days, writers are stacking their graffiti writing, one piece on top of the other. I am not sure why they do this, perhaps it is all about proportions and wall space. Ultimately what it means is that you get two pieces for the price of one, and this double header is by j9449j (who keeps changing his handle on Instagram, so this will have to do) and Solar.

j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024
j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024

This spot is one I don’t get to all that often, but it is always worth it, because every time I have been recently, there has been something different on display. j9449j has painted some letters, which I struggle to decipher, but his organic and unique fills give away his identity. Solar, was recently the subject of a gallery I pulled together, and this anti-style writing flows beautifully, so typical of his work. A nice duo to stumble across.

6117. Cumberland Basin

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2024
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2024

Although I have been featuring Solar on Natural Adventures since 2021, it wasn’t until May this year that I actually got to meet him while he was painting this piece. As with pretty much all the artists I meet he is a really nice person and managed to instantly dispel some of my imagined preconceptions of members of the PLB crew, which were largely based around not having met any of them.

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2024
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2024

I would categorise Solar’s writing style as soft anti-style, meaning that while he bucks the trend of conventional graffiti writing, there is some order and consistency to his letters, nothing too chaotic or anarchic. The letters are nicely done but the star of the show is the ‘implied’ drop shadow in blue and black, which is a very clever mechanism I haven’t seen deployed before. You’d think that the colour scheme wouldn’t work, and at first that was my impression, but actually it seems to work remarkably well.

Solar

A gallery of fabulous anti-style graffiti writing from Bristol artist Solar.

Crew PLB (Placebo)

All photographs by Scooj

Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2026
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, April 2026
Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2026
Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2026
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2026
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2026
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2026
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2026
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2025
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2025
Solar, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025
Solar, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025
Rowdy, Ryder, Taboo, Sage and Solar, Coronation Road, Bristol, January 2025
Rowdy, Ryder, Taboo, Sage and Solar, Coronation Road, Bristol, January 2025
Butch and Solar, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2025
Butch and Solar, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2025
Solar, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2025
Solar, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2025
Solar, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
Solar, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
Solar, River Avon, Bristol, December 2024
Solar, River Avon, Bristol, December 2024
Solar and Nice One, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2024
Solar and Nice One, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2024
Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024
Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, August 2024
j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024
j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2024
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2024
Solar, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Solar, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Solar, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023
Solar, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2023
Solar, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, May 2023
Solar, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, May 2023
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2023
Solar, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2022
Solar, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2022
Solar, Frome side, Bristol, October 2022
Solar, Frome side, Bristol, October 2022
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2022
Solar, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2022
Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, April 2021
Solar, New Stadium Road, Bristol, April 2021

5760. M32 Spot (178)

Whysayit, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2023
Whysayit, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2023

In my opinion, a much overlooked artist is Whysayit, who writes the letters YSAE in a distinctive anti-style all of his own. Indeed the whole PLB crew, to which he belongs, are an elusive bunch, who don’t get nearly as much recognition as they deserve, but maybe that is the way they like it. I first became aware of his work when he used to paint alongside Kleiner Shames a few years back, and I recently published a gallery of his fine work.

Whysayit, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2023
Whysayit, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2023

This colourful piece is brought alive by the striking red background, which definitely helps it to stand out. Imagine if it had been painted on an unbuffed wall, it could struggle to be noticed. The pastel shades transition across the letters from pinks to blues to light green in a pleasing way. A drop shadow in blue is bordered off not with one line, but two, a black and a peach. Nice work all round from this unsung hero.

5425. Sparke Evans Park (78)

Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

Solar is definitely an artist I would like to know more about, as he is something of an enigma to me, and I have never had the fortune to meet him, or indeed most of his elusive PLB friends. His work is quite unique and touches on the anti-style, but not in a way that is similar to others who paint that way. Although he changes his fonts from piece to piece, there is a consistency about his letters within a piece.

Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023
Solar, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2023

The most striking thing about this work is the colour combination and contrast between the blue and black letters and the red and orange surround, set on a blue buffed background. I can’t really describe the letter forms, but can say that somehow they are typically Solar, and the gentle way he has of almost disguising his name. I will soon be able to pull together a gallery of his work which will be a great showcase of his individual style.