7111. River Avon (89)

Bags, River Avon, Bristol, August 2025
Bags, River Avon, Bristol, August 2025

I have a great many pieces by Bags in my archives, but have only posted a fraction of them. I keep meaning to post more from this stalwart of the No Frills crew, but somehow never seem to do it. This is a recent piece, one of several, in which he has played with bilaterally splitting his letters into two colour sections, with the BA in one colour and the GS in another.

Bags, River Avon, Bristol, August 2025
Bags, River Avon, Bristol, August 2025

He has painted so many of these, that his letters must come very easily, and he tends to keep the general shape of his letters consistent from piece to piece. The dark blue and red colours work well, and I rather like the half-and-half appearance. I’ll try to post more of his pieces in the future.

7079. River Avon (88)

Werm and Scrapyardspec, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025
Werm and Scrapyardspec, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025

In my mind, some collaborations were just meant to be, and this magnificent joint venture from Werm and Scrapyardspec is simply awesome. Two utterly different styles, a writer and a character artist, have combined with skilful design and colour sharing to create a piece that just works brilliantly.

Werm and Scrapyardspec, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025
Werm and Scrapyardspec, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025

There is nothing pretentious about this combination piece, just two artists comfortable with what they do where the resulting whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The letters by Werm are nicely executed with straightforward fills and a bold white border. Scrapyardspec’s goofy character replaces the ‘E’ of ‘WERM’ and is integrated into the word with the clever use of an orange border bringing everything into the single piece. Excellent work, full of the joy of street art friendship.

7071. River Avon (87)

Trafficity, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025
Trafficity, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025

The name of the game in Trafficity’s work is consistency. His basic design of the letters ZIOS, with its near symmetry, hardly changes from piece to piece, with only the colours and peripheral decorations that vary. He must be able to paint this piece with his eyes shut.

Trafficity, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025
Trafficity, River Avon, Bristol, July 2025

There is a sharp contrast between the upper yellow section and light-blue lower section of the letters, perhaps amplified by the dark background. Not my favourite colour combination, but it seems to work well. I do sometimes wonder what Trafficity’s work would look like if he went for some different letters or new designs, but maybe it would disrupt the ‘brand’. Who knows?

7032. River Avon (86)

Zake, River Avon, Bristol, June 2025
Zake, River Avon, Bristol, June 2025

I am writing this post (last night) in a lonely hotel room in Warrington. Tomorrow, I am attending the launch of a new National Nature Reserve just outside the town, something I have been working on for a few months. It will be great to see the partnership project come to life.

This piece by Zake is a superb example of his work, and he has really managed to keep the whole thing very neat and tidy. Although it doesn’t look like it, the piece is quite large, and on a wall he decorated back in August 

Zake, River Avon, Bristol, June 2025
Zake, River Avon, Bristol, June 2025

As with all of his portrait pieces, he has created great depth using light and shade to lift the face from the wall, deceiving the eye. Big teeth and a lack of pupils in the eye, give the character a sinister appearance, which is a bit of a Zake trademark. Below is his previous piece in this spot.

Zake, River Avon, Bristol, August 2023
Zake, River Avon, Bristol, August 2023

6990. River Avon (85)

Pl8o, River Avon, Bristol, June 2025
Pl8o, River Avon, Bristol, June 2025

Not every piece that appears on Natural Adventures is necessarily of the highest calibre, but that isn’t really the point. I like to include a representative spread of pieces from low end to high end, from spray paint to wheatpastes and from graffiti writing to portraits. I like to feature it all here, rather than creating something exclusive. The risk, of course, is that not everybody is going to like everything, although there will, I hope, be a broad enough spectrum of artwork here that most people will see something that they like eventually.

Pl8o, River Avon, Bristol, June 2025
Pl8o, River Avon, Bristol, June 2025

I have included this piece from Pl8o, mainly because it has been a very long while since I last saw something from him. This piece isn’t going to set the world on fire, but it has a certain attractiveness to it. The letters are nice and uniform, and painted on a particularly challenging wall surface. I hope it signals a return to more frequent pieces from a graffiti writer I like a lot.

6940. River Avon (84)

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

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

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.

Mr SCE, River Avon, Bristol, April 2025
Mr SCE, River Avon, Bristol, April 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.

6822. River Avon (83)

Werm, River Avon, Bristol, March 2025
Werm, River Avon, Bristol, March 2025

Werm is becoming one of those consistent, drumbeat graffiti writers whose work is always there and reminds us what the Bristol street/graffiti art scene is all about. His current style takes us through his playing with symmetry of the letters WERM, forever striving for perfection.

Werm, River Avon, Bristol, March 2025
Werm, River Avon, Bristol, March 2025

In addition to his beautifully presented letters, Werm has set the piece on a pattern of pixelated cubes, adding just enough interest to lift the piece. Unfortunately, the afternoon sun has crept into the right-hand half of these pictures, but that is a daily hazard when photographing street art… and bins, and parked cars etc.

6791. River Avon (82)

Foksymoron, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
Foksymoron, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

Although he has been present across the city for a few years, Foksymoron (great name) has upped his game in the last few months and is becoming more prominent in both placement and size of his pieces.

Foksymoron, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
Foksymoron, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

This fox, alongside the River Avon fits the space really well, looking as if the for is loitering with intent. Hands in pockets and looking rather pleased with his cool look, the fox is a simple design which Foksymoron seems to be able to replicate with considerable ease. Bristol foxes… part of our urban furniture, both real and painted.

6785. River Avon (81)

Omie, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
Omie, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

I don’t visit this spot as often as some of the others, as it is a little further to drive for me and more difficult to squeeze into a lunchtime break. The upshot is that when I do go, there are usually a few new pieces for me to enjoy.

Omie, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
Omie, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

Omie is an artist who only came onto my radar about 18 months ago, and he has been turning out a wonderful variety of pieces in that time. He is a creative artist who changes his style completely with each new piece. The more I look at this one, the more I like it.

His chunky block letters in two shades of green and with a deep drop shadow are decorated with what I can only describe as what looks like drizzles of chocolate sauce or marmite (take your pick) running through the midline. A really clever idea and beautifully executed. The letters are set on a contrasting background of pink and orange bubbles, which provide contrast and help the piece stand out on the busy wall. Great stuff.

6777. River Avon (80)

Bloem, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
Bloem, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

Bloem has started 2025, where she left off in 2024, in fine form, producing both tremendous graffiti writing and street art pieces in equal measure. In this combination piece, Bloem has managed to bring together some stunning line calligraffiti writing and some artwork that is heavy on some of her favourite themes.

Bloem, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025
Bloem, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

The writing spells out BLOEM, and is quite distinct from the rest of the piece, appearing and disappearing, playing tricks with your eyes. The centrepiece is a blue hand with long fingernails (why is this not a surprise?), and the clever bit is the creeping grey flowers running through the hand and breaking out of it at different points. Bloem is one of the most creative people I have met and is a natural talent, whether on the street, or making jewellery. This is a fabulous piece that underpins her status as a rising star.