Urban – Page 10 – Natural adventures

7285. Cumberland Basin

Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025

This wonderful piece of graffiti writing got me doing a bit of detective work, which happens when I don’t recognise a particular piece or artist. It took me a while, but I got there in the end to find out that it is by Ahum (obvious once you see it), an artist who has featured in the pages of Natural Adventures under the name of Blimma Blamma.

Wow, It is incredible how wrong you can be sometimes. The piece is by Hire and not by Ahum. I had convinced myself otherwise. I think I might be going slightly mad.

The letters HIRE are beautifully presented, with a fine midline and a deep drop shadow, perfectly offset with an orange bubbly decoration. Something as little different and joyous from Hire.

7284. St Werburghs tunnel (538)

Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025

It was an absolute delight to catch up with Face 1st while he was painting this piece at Kool Hand’s birthday celebration paint jam. We chatted for a long while about our shared common interests in nature and nature-friendly farming practices, such as regenerative farming, something he is keen to practice in his new home of Herefordshire.

These photographs are a little blurry… something went wrong with my iPhone camera in the darkness of the tunnel, but I wanted to share the piece nonetheless. Face 1st has been enjoying playing with his letter style and here he has crafted a script font with a deep drop shadow. Alongside is a small character laughing girl, and above it a motif by Soap. There was a good turnout for Kool Hand’s.

7283. Stokes Croft

Wilko and Boxi, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2025

More wheatpaste action from Wilko and Boxi, in advance of their upcoming exhibition. I have a feeling that it was Wilko who has been busy pasting these up around Bristol on behalf of both of them.

Regular readers will know that I am rather partial to wheatpastes, as they bring a completely different aspect to the spectrum of street art that we see around us. Some people don’t like them, because they become scruffy when they decay or because they get pasted up in inappropriate places, or because they are against street art more broadly. Funny how such people appear to be totally at ease with the plethora of advertising we are subjected to on the streets, as if it is somehow more legitimate and less offensive…

These are nice representatives of their artistic styles with draw on many influences.

7282. Cumberland Basin

Rusk Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025

Birthday paint jams are an opportunity for graffiti writers to break away from their customary letters (usually their street name) and play with the letters of the artist being celebrated. In this case, the Birthday boy was Dibz as he celebrated his 50th birthday, and the artist whiting his letters if Rusk.

Rusk is a fabulous graffiti writer and takes a lot of care with his work, leaving everything neat and tidy. The colours of the piece tie in with Halloween; purple, orange and green, and the spider webs decorating the edges clear up doubt, if there was any, that October 31 is very much front of mind. This is the first of several pieces from this paint jam.

7280. St Werburghs tunnel (537)

Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025

This puffy-faced character piece is by Zake, painted in celebration of Kool Hand’s birthday, although officially his birthday was a month earlier. It seems almost impossible to exaggerate the features in a Zake piece, but he has managed to do it here, with the result that it is all a little but disturbing, the cheeks in particular.

As I have explained many times when writing about Zake’s work, he creates so much depth in his work by playing very skilfully with light and shade, using up lighting and down lighting to cast shadows and to emphasise features. Clever work from a quiet and unassuming artist.

7279. Leonard Lane (52)

Alex Arnell, Leonard Lane, Bristol, October 2025

Boo! This is another slightly unhinged character piece by Alex Arnell in Leonard Lane. This time he has gone for a door at the north end of the narrow lane, which door lovers among you might see again some time in the distant future as part of a street art Thursday Doors selection.

The ghoulish creation is actually a political commentary piece which says ‘no red swastikas here’ meaning (I think) that St George crosses that have been appropriated to represent nationalism and racism are not welcome here, and he is in my view right. There is more than simply the character to admire in this piece, he is set alongside a road with a car, headlights shining, advancing towards a mini roundabout. It is these white mini roundabouts that have been painted with red crosses through them in a wave of ‘patriotism’ that has been sweeping the country. Unfortunate and rather sad that our tolerant nation resorts to this kind of posturing. Great piece from Alex Arnell. It is interesting that at the other end of the tunnel, a beacon of tolerance adorns the column of a building opposite.

7278. St Werburghs tunnel (536)

Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025

Mr Klue can confuse me from time to time; his abstract pieces all have such a strong ‘brand’ feel to them, and he loves to paint the same spots in St Werburghs tunnel, that I can sometimes forget whether I have photographed or written about particular pieces. I could have sworn that I had photographed this piece some time ago, but it appears not.

I spoke to somebody in the tunnel a little while back, and they were most complimentary about Mr Klue’s work, and especially about the tone and lightness of touch of his paint. I agreed, and then pointed out that you could make out the letters KLUE if you looked carefully. He thanked me and went on his way. There is indeed a lightness of touch in this piece and a couple of decent scrolls to boot. Always good work from Mr Klue.

7277. Dean Lane skate park (882)

J9449j, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025

There are some street artists who simply don’t appear to want to be followed, or at least that is how it seems, and it might be for a number of legitimate reasons. The first time I managed to pin down a name for this artist, he called himself j9449j on Instagram, followed by @Dr3amc0re94 and @all_4_n0thing, and now I can’t find him at all. My protocol for attributing artwork to artists who constantly change their names is to go with the first name I used for them, other examples include Slim Pickings (TES) and Biers (WD40).

The design of this piece and the colour palette are exquisite, with the chrome and bronze working perfectly with the black, white and turquoise. The abstract design carries, as always, a reflection of natural elements, such as leaves and grass, a feature of j9449j’s work. An attractive piece that is easy on the eye.

7276. Horfield skate park (15)

Daz Cat, Horfield skate park, Bristol, October 2025

I don’t visit Horfield skate park all that often, maybe two or three times a year, as turnover tends to be very slow there, but there can sometimes be one or two surprises, and amongst them on my last visit was this beauty from Daz Cat.

This double portrait piece featuring a fusion of Daz Cat’s cat and human forms is a feast for the eyes. The female on the left is more human (in spite of the blue skin) and the male on the right, more cat-like. Together they make a nice pair and demonstrate Daz Cat’s continual improvement.