Urban – Page 6 – Natural adventures

7321. River Avon (103)

Avem808, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025

I think that this might be the third piece of graffiti writing by Avem808 that I have posted on Natural Adventures, and I am really liking what I see from the artist. There is an intricacy blended with fluidity about this piece that plays with the eyes.

I am not entirely sure what the letters spell. I’d like to believe it says AVEM, but I think that there is more to it than that. It is a wonderful tribute piece to a departed friend, Frank, and painted with heart and soul. The colours fit into that ‘fruit salad’ palette (a popular sweet of my childhood, and partner to Black Jacks) and make for an upbeat and joyful piece. There is lots of detail, and it is one of those pieces that deserves a long viewing time.

7320. M32 roundabout J3 (728)

Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2025

Sub’s improvement over the last couple of years is marked, and his persistence admirable. He paints regularly and in lots of different spots, constantly refining his technique and turning out some distinctive pieces.

In this piece, his blended fill is really well done, transitioning seamlessly from grey to turquoise. He has also managed to achieve a fascinating cloudy pink line running through his letters, a great effect. I think that these letters have slightly softer edges than some of his previous pieces, and it is a good look. Clean, tidy with interesting ideas… what’s not to like?

7319. Brunel Way (341)

Haka, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2025

Hurrah! I have waited a long while for Haka to continue his series of Children’s picture book pieces, and here, underneath the busy Brunel Way flyover, is a superb piece from the Janet and Allen Ahlberg book series ‘Funnybones’. This is not the first Funnybones piece that Haka has painted, and I genuinely hope it isn’t the last.

What I like about these pieces by Haka is the way he remains loyal to the original artwork while having just a hint of his own style in there. The ‘forever’ shout-out to CK1 and to Jesse and Remy negates the need for a signature, but he has signed the piece nonetheless. Great work from Haka.

Haka, Spark Evans Park, Bristol, February 2022

Haka, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, July 2022

7318. Stokes Croft

Vandalist, Stokes Croft, Bristol, November 2025

I have made a few trips into the office recently, which has both benefits and disbenefits. It is great to have some face to face meetings with ‘real people’ and good to catch up with old friends, which is always nice. The walk in, however, takes 40 minutes, effectively adding 1 hour 20 minutes of unproductive time to my day. On the upside, it is not entirely unproductive, as I get to see if there is any new art along the way. On one such walk, I found this stunning shutter and shopfront piece by Vane in Stokes Croft. It took me a little bit of detective work and luck to find out that it was Vane (Vandalist) who had created this wonder.

I was looking for an explanation of the portrait piece and found it on Vane’s Instagram feed. His words are as follows:

I was asked to paint this memorial portrait on Stokes Croft, Bristol – of the late, great Gerald Valentine Phillips.
Gerry was a pillar in the local community. Despite his history as an addict he spent 25 years clean, helping people through their own recoveries and founded a number of care based charities in Bristol including Emerge and Cherry Orchard Care

The backstory to this piece makes it all the more poignant. Painting portraits on shutters cannot be easy, and this is a technical feat as well as a visual joy. It is lovely to see how community figures can be remembered in this public way. Well done Vane.

7317. River Avon (102)

Asre, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025

Since his return to painting in Bristol, Asre has focused on his writing, but it is his cheeky character pieces that first caught the eye a few years ago, and this is a fine example of one of those. I am a little sad that he chose to paint over a long-standing Haka piece, but that is the nature of street/graffiti art, constant churn and renewal.

The character is nicely framed and fits the space perfectly. Asre’s stylised cartoon characters are easily distinguishable thanks to the crosses in the eyes and the zigzag line in the mouth delineating the teeth. I am guessing that this was painted as a bit of an ‘extra’ while painting some writing nearby. Nice one.

7316. St Werburghs tunnel (546)

Feek, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025

Feek rarely paints our streets these days, so seeing this piece in the tunnel for Minto’s birthday was a particular joy. His zany cartoon style lends itself so well to the street scene, offering mini stories and curiosities for those lucky enough to see his work.

In this humorous character piece, a rather fed-up brain is taking leave of the skull it belongs to, declaring ‘that’s it, I’m off’ while the hapless skull utters the word ‘wuh?’. An amusing story perfectly portrayed with clarity and detail. This is a lovely piece by Feek and a reminder of what we are missing.

7315. M32 roundabout J3 (727)

Serm, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2025

Serm is a Bristol graffiti writer whose work I don’t get to see all that often, and I think he is probably on the lower end of the productivity scale. His quality, however, shines through, and it is always great to see his pieces when they do appear.

This is a fine red and white piece (colours close to my heart) spelling out SERM, which has a few small hints at Halloween, the biggest of which is the ‘happy Halloween’ message bottom left, and a scattering of bats and bloody drips. His 3D drop shadow is customarily deep, and it looks like he was running low on grey-white paint, an occupational hazard for graffiti/street artists. Another fine piece to add to his gallery.

7314. Frome Side (62)

Sketch, Frome Side, Bristol, September 2025

During a little flick through my September folder, I like to go back from time to time to see if I have left pieces worth posting behind, I found this interesting piece by Sketch. The unusual portrait was on the opposite side of the river, so these pictures are slightly zoomed in and not of the best quality.

I haven’t seen any work by Sketch outside this spot, and I think he is very much in his ‘discovery’ phase. The portrait of a man, wearing big yellow spectacles, is all rather fluid, and slightly in the cubist style. Smoke is flowing out of the character’s nostrils and swirling around his face… perhaps he is vaping. There is loads to like about this piece, including its originality. I am curious to seeing where Sketch’s art takes us next.

7313. St Werburghs tunnel (545)

Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025

Minto’s birthday paint jam in the tunnel is the gift that keeps on giving, and I continue the series with this beauty from Rusk, who has had a little burst of activity this Autumn. The combination piece includes a Frankenstein’s monster character in keeping with the Halloween theme for the paint jam.

Rusk has presented his letters beautifully spelling out MINTO with the monster in place of the ‘i’. The neat and tidy letters with a drop shadow disappearing into the centre is set on a spooky background, which was common to a few pieces in the tunnel. I am loving this Rusk phase, as he doesn’t paint as often as he used to.

7312. River Avon (101)

Mr Riks, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025

It is curious how I associate different artists with specific settings or spots. I say this, because I really didn’t expect to see a Mr Riks piece down here alongside the River Avon. This spot tends to be quite experimental, and a lot of emerging artists use it to practice their letters, forms and techniques. To find an established artist like Mr Riks painting here is, to my mind at least, quite unusual.

The letter form that Mr Riks writes with is so distinctive; smooth rounded edges, letters compressed without any see through gaps and a superb solid border are all things I would expect to see. This is a fabulous chrome piece with nice shout-outs to his mates, Ryder and Kush.

	paulh121 on 7343. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 7360. St Werburghs tunnel…
	scooj on 7360. St Werburghs tunnel…
	scooj on Sentencing
	scooj on 7358. M32 Spot (211)

	scooj on 7367. Greenbank (176)
	scooj on 7360. St Werburghs tunnel…
	scooj on 14 years
	scooj on 7360. St Werburghs tunnel…
	scooj on 14 years

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: