Portrait – Page 5 – Natural adventures

6995. Mina Road (15)

Stivs and Vane, Mina Road, Bristol, May 2025

This wall, I believe, is owned by the householder behind it who has been happy to give permission to Silent Hobo, in the past, and more recently Stivs and Vane to decorate the wall. This recent makeover is their second collaboration here, and they have created something truly beautiful.

The art nouveau style of this two-part collaboration is not only really unusual, but arresting, and perhaps something you might expect to see on the near continent rather than in Bristol. Vane’s photorealistic portrait is engulfed in flowers and surrounded with a stunning art nouveau design, not unlike the metro signs in Paris.

Stivs continuers the theme, with the highly designed background and floral decoration, and also includes a portrait, although one that is perhaps slightly less photorealistic. This collaboration is as outstanding as it is unexpected. A very special piece.

6984. St Werburghs tunnel (506)

Daz Cat, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2025

What a beauty by Daz Cat. My first thought was who has he been collaborating with? – but there was only one signature and I realised pretty quickly that Daz Cat was trying out something a little new. I can confidently say that his portrait/cat character combination is a huge success, and I look forward to seeing more pieces like this from him.

There is a lot to talk about in this ‘self-collaboration’ and I’m sure I won’t be able to do it justice. Starting with the portrait, there are some obvious Daz Cat trademarks, particularly in the patterning in the eyebrows and hair. The proportions and perspective are near perfect, and I think that it demonstrates what I already knew, that Daz Cat is a very talented artist.

The cat character is more along the lines of what I’d expect to see. There is a story here. The cat is holding a snail which has a flower growing out of its shell – what it means, who knows? But it looks great. I look forward to more of these self-collaborations in the future.

6970. Greenbank (161)

Conrico and Werm, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2025

This is a fine collaboration from two artists who never seem to stop, both totally dedicated to their art and sharing it with us. This is the kind of collaboration which is more about artists painting together rather than any kind of fusion between their styles, colours or design.

On the left, Conrico presents a portrait of a woman in the foreground, who looks like she is taking a selfie in front of an island paradise – probably a Japanese island in the East China Sea. Conrico’s portraits are improving all the time and becoming more of a feature of his work. Of course, he has enough paint to add in his letters, with a feint reflection in the inviting sea.

To the right, Werm’s letters are beautifully presented, with the middle two letters a little smaller and ‘sitting on top’ of the rest of the piece. Lots of depth and intricate design work in this graffiti writing. Both artists have very different technical styles, but this collaboration works incredibly well.

6964. Dean Lane skate park (837)

OOF! This is a superb character portrait piece by Nice one, so full of movement and vibrancy. The ‘sketchy’ style that Nice One adopts for his character pieces has an impressionist quality, with what appear to be brush strokes rather than spray paint work, especially around the face and hair. This is a clever technique, and I suspect rather difficult to do.

The character is wearing enormous glasses, with a hint of reflection in them, which is incredibly effective. There is no need for a signature, when the whole piece sits over a huge ‘Nice One font’ ‘N’. A superb piece from an artist whose work is beautifully executed and always interesting.

6952. Stokes Croft

Mauro Goblin, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2025

I’m beginning to regret ever having said that, unlike other street art hubs in the country, Bristol is rather light on paste ups. Ever since I first made that comment, I seem to have found wheatpastes all over the place. Whether I am just seeing more because I am looking more or whether there has been an influx, I cannot say, either way, it is good news.

This is a stunning portrait piece by Mauro Goblin, an artist I believe from Valparaiso, Chile, featuring Beth Gibbons from local band Portishead. The stencil piece is sprayed on to paper which is then pasted up, hence the sharp edge around the portrait. A little bit of orange spray paint behind the piece significantly adds to the impact. What a privilege to have this piece in Bristol.

6947. Dean Lane skate park (835)

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

I am used to seeing Zake character pieces that tend to be head-on round faces in a cartoon style with lots of light and shade creating depth, so this is something a little different.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

The profile portrait of an androgenous person draws more on a realistic version of a character than the cartoon style I am used to from Zake. The hair, in particular (most of his characters are bald), is great to see, demonstrating that Zake is far more than simply a one-trick pony. Definitely an unusual piece from one of the most prolific artists painting in Bristol at the moment. I have updated my gallery of Zake’s work so you can see what I mean.

6940. River Avon (84)

Buser and Mr SCE, River Avon, Bristol, April 2025

This wonderful collaboration piece alongside the Bristol Avon came as a complete surprise. I am familiar with Buser, but I have never seen anything by Mr SCE before and assume that he was visiting.

The combination collaboration shares some commonality with the orange blast around the writing and portrait. Buser’s letters are well crafted although the colour combination is a little too overpowering for me, and there is quite a lot of brown in there. I am beginning to wonder if brown is the colour of 2025.

The two-tone portrait by Mr SCE is beautifully painted and it is a bit of a shame that it is so off the beaten track, although it is likely to remain here longer than in some of the more accessible spots in Bristol. Such is the quality of this portrait, that I will certainly be looking out for Mr SCE’s work in the future.

Nice One

A gallery of outstanding writing, portraits and landscapes by the brilliant Bristol artist Nice One.

All photographs by Scooj

Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, April 2025

Nice One, Montpelier Park, Bristol, April 2025

Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, February 2025

Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, February 2025

Nice One, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025

Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, January 2025

Solar and Nice One, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2024

Nice One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024

Nice One, Greenbank, Bristol, October 2024

Nice One, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024

Nice One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Nice One, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

6933. St Werburghs tunnel (498)

Jest Soubiquet, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2025

Jest Soubriquet is an artist with several ‘noms de plume’ such as Jest Likes and Likes Wan Tu or Likes 12, which makes things horribly difficult for my tagging his pieces, which is why I stick with the first name I came across… it just makes things simpler for me.

This is another of his wonderful colourful patchwork portraits, and probably the best I have seen so far. The highly stylised portrait features a pouting woman whose face and hair are splashed with some delightful colours, and yet somehow appears to be completely normal – if that makes sense. I mean, nobody actually looks like that, but our brains compensate for the unusual colours and presents a normal portrait – clever things brains. Clever art from Jest Soubriquet.

6929. St Werburghs tunnel (497)

I often comment about artists who paint in a particular style, and ask myself whether they could do something completely different, marking them out as a versatile artist. Well, Bean has gone the full mile with this portrait piece that couldn’t be further removed from his usual cartoon characters.

I have to say I was quite flabbergasted when I saw this, and admire Bean even more than I did before. I knew he was clearly very talented, but this portrait takes my view of him to another level. I hope he will be painting in Bristol more over the Summer months, and will wait to see what other hidden talents he has in his locker.

	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	scooj on 7658. Tobacco Factory –…
	scooj on Champions
	scooj on Champions

	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	scooj on 7658. Tobacco Factory –…
	scooj on Champions
	scooj on Champions

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