6426. Brunel Way (296)

Werm, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
Werm, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024

Sometimes wildstyle graffiti writers can be guilty of overthinking their work, and I feel that Werm went through a phase where he did just that, and while his pieces were technically awesome, they were, for my taste, just a little too over-complex.

Werm, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024
Werm, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2024

This one is a recent work in a series of bilaterally symmetrical graffiti writing pieces that Werm has been focussing on. He tends to work in themes and ideas which he runs with for six months or so, and then moves on to some new concept, constantly evolving and improving. The colours palette is very ‘Wermy’, and by that I mean contains reds and cream, which he uses a often as a combination. This is a nice piece, and well worth buffing the wall to provide a clean background.

6415. Dean Lane skate park (762)

Hypo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Hypo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

I am really flagging. This is a beauty from Hypo, who I met at the M32 roundabout a couple of days ago. He continues to turn out quality pieces with great regularity, and this one is so full of energy and effervescence.

Hypo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Hypo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

We talked a little of his penchant for symmetry, and chatted about Werm who is going through a phase of writing his letters with a bilateral symmetry. In symmetry lies perfection… That’s yer lot, back to bed for me.

6352. St Werburghs tunnel (442)

Kool Hand and Werm, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Kool Hand and Werm, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

I have so much catching up to do, particularly in respect of Kool Hand, who has been trotting out pieces throughout the year, but doesn’t make it into Natural Adventures nearly as much as he should. This is a lovely collaboration between Kool Hand and Werm painted in the tunnel not so long ago.

Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

The dog character painted by Kool Hand, I would guess is a female character on the account of the lipstick, long nails and hoop earring, although I guess it could be a cross-dressing or drag dog. He/she/they is spraying the adjacent piece by Werm, a common device in street art.

Werm, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024
Werm, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2024

Werm is continuing with his newest design incarnation, which presents the letters WERM in long interlocked lettering that uses bilateral symmetry as a clever presentation of his letters, similar to the symmetry common in Hypo’s work. I think it works very well and disguises the letters perfectly. There is a deep stripy 3D drop shadow that helps the piece to pop a little. Nice work from the Bristol duo.

6298. Cumberland Basin

Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024

I like the way that Werm is constantly trying to find new ways to present his letters, and explores different looks, while retaining his essential style. This piece takes him into the realms of bilateral symmetry of his letters WERM, which works surprisingly well.

Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024
Werm, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024

The letter colours contrast strongly with the green background, helping the piece to stand out… it will not be ignored. There is something quite mesmerising about the symmetry, and I like the direction this idea is taking. The left-hand side is stretched a little bit, knocking the symmetry out a fraction, but this is all something that Werm can work on and improve. Great new innovation from Werm.

6236. M32 roundabout J3 (605)

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

More colourful fireworks from Hypo. This piece reverts to his symmetrical style of lettering, where the ‘H’ and ‘O’ are broadly similar in shape and the ‘Y’ and ‘P’ generally reflect one another. This is a design that Hypo has played with for years and tends to work really well.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

It is the fills though that grab the attention in this piece, with several horizontal layers of colour, I can count at least four, each of which is decorated with well-placed spots. There is a lot of energy piece, which is provided by the depth created and the sparkles at strategic points on the letters. Another great piece of graffiti writing for the collection.

5966. St Werburghs tunnel (418)

IMG_7948_edited
IMG_7948_edited

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
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.

5814. New Stadium Road (54)

Raid, New Stadium Road, Bristol, January 2024
Raid, New Stadium Road, Bristol, January 2024

It feels like Raid has been really upping his game lately, both in frequency of painting and in the quality of his work. When I first saw this piece, I said “oh yes!” under my breath, knowing that I was looking at a really classy piece of writing that has come about through hard graft and honing of skills. Watching Raid’s development is a joy and a pleasure.

Raid, New Stadium Road, Bristol, January 2024
Raid, New Stadium Road, Bristol, January 2024

It is impossible to ignore the brilliant fill pattern, which although quite simple in concept is beautifully executed and really effective… it has the ‘wow’ factor. The letters RAID are in a rotationally symmetrical form, a form that Raid has used several times before. An outstanding piece of graffiti writing.

5152. M32 roundabout J3 (463)

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

Hypo has had a new lease of life recently – perhaps his work/domestic circumstances have changed, but he is out and about painting more than I have seen since 2015, so much so, that I felt compelled to compile a gallery of his work last week.

Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

As well as an increase in the quantity of his work, I feel like there is a commensurate improvement in the quality of it too. This is a lovely piece that pops out of the wall thanks to some clever shadow work and use of white highlights. There are several colour transitions in his fills, at least seven, and the finishing with dots works nicely too. In most of Hypo’s work there is a bilateral symmetry and that really comes to play in this piece. Fabulous work from this established Bristol artist.

4640. St Werburghs tunnel (304)

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2022
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2022

Yet another hugely underrepresented writer on Natural Adventures is Hypo. There is no logical explanation, but he has painted a few pieces recently and perhaps I can address this imbalance, soon, I might even have enough pieces for a hypo gallery.

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2022
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2022

This piece, was painted alongside a Benjimagnetic piece in the tunnel, and is a superb design, both in colour selections and in the incorporation of a bilaterally symmetrical lower portion in brown. I can’t quite make out whether it spells a second word under HYPO. Excellent work from an excellent writer.

4411. Dean Lane skate park (487)

It would seem that Hire has returned to a fairly regular rhythm, having not painted very much during the lockdowns. This is, of course, great news, and the work he is presenting at the moment is as good as it has ever been.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

This stunner was painted a couple of weeks ago, and Hire has achieves a certain amount of symmetry in this piece, although a closer look will reveal that it isn’t symmetrical at all, it just looks that way. Hire has created a very clever piece indeed and it is beautifully presented and executed. So good to see him painting regularly.