I am flustered and under pressure this morning. I am unbearably busy at work, and my team are on annual leave, so I am doing my normal work and standing in for two others. This might be brief…
Werm, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2022
Werm (formerly known as Eman) continues to paint at an extraordinary rate, and my posts of his work do not fairly represent the volume of pieces he produces. He has almost entirely abandoned his character pieces these days and has been concentrating on his writing which has improved over time and become more sophisticated. This piece has some lovely fill transformations and patterns and the 3D shadow and purple border help to lift the piece. The stars do their job well finishing the piece off very nicely indeed.
You might have noticed that in recent weeks I have started to write three posts a day when I can, and have been posting collaborations and sometimes multiple pieces by the same artist. This is due to the very real situation that there is simply too much art being produced in Bristol at the moment, that I can’t get even close to keeping up with it all. This is a good problem to have, rather like a football manager with team selection dilemmas, but it also means that so much great art may sit in the archives, possibly forever.
Full Time Ghoul and 3F fino, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2022
Although this post features three artists, the paintwork suggests that one is a stand-alone piece and thee others two were painted as a collaboration. The stand-alone piece is by FTG (Full Time Ghoul) on the left, is one of many of these fantastic ‘knot’ heads that are scattered all over Bristol and horribly under-represented in Natural Adventures. I may sort out a collection of his work from multiple sites. On the right is the left-hand side of a collaborative paint by 3F fino, the other side being by Werm.
3F fino is an incredibly productive member of the LRS crew, many of whom, to be fair, seem to paint their socks off. I don’t know how they all afford the paint. In this piece, 3F fino continues the theme of a character with a head scarf, with some nice folds in the material.
Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2022
To the right-hand side is some graffiti writing from Werm (formerly Eman for those who remember). Werm has been concentrating on his writing over the last few months and has been working on two or three concepts that he practices again and again, striving for perfection. If I am honest, I miss his characters, and hope he makes time to treat us to one or two before too long.
I am assuming that the colour selection used in this piece by Werm on the footpath/cycle path alongside the River Avon is in honour and support of Ukraine in its struggles against the Russian dictator Putin. This is one half of a collaborative wall with 3F fino, which I will post in due course.
Werm, River Avon, Bristol, March 2022
Since favouring these block letters, several months ago, Werm has been churning them out with regularity and I have struggled to post them all – perhaps I need to a) retire and spend more time doing this or b) post several at a time (something I might do more often with all artists) or 3) get over it and ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ as my son might say.
The improvement I have seen since I first met Werm, then painting as Eman, has been speedy and dramatic. He is a quick learner and practices over and over again, which obviously pays off.
One of our most productive graffiti writers/artists in Bristol is Werm, formerly known as Eman, and he appears to have been concentrating on his writing in recent months, rather than his characters. This is another of his block letter writing pieces on the cycle path. He is so productive, that many of his pieces don’t get posted on Natural Adventures… I’ll have to find a way to remedy that.
Werm, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2022
The writing spells WERM and was painted as part of an extensive LRS (Last Radical Souls) crew collaborative paint jam a couple of weeks ago. The block letters are clear, with a couple of nice horizontal colour fill transitions. The decorations are nicely done, especially the stars through the middle of the piece. Werm is a talented artist, but I’d like to see him develop his character as well as his writing.
Well, it turns out that I was rather lucky with these photographs on two counts. Firstly, I was lucky to catch up with Werm and Stika who were painting this wall as part of an LRS collaboration, 3F fino had also been painting but had gone home by the time I arrived. Secondly, I understand the collaboration only lasted about a day before being painted over… the law of the jungle.
Werm, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2022
Once again, Werm is working hard on his block letters, andI think he has smashed it with this piece. The rich blue colours are blended perfectly, but it is the stars running horizontally through the letters that steal the show for me, adding interest and a touch of class. The cloudy background is one that was shared by all three pieces in the collaboration. Some fine work from Werm (Eman).
It is fair to say that some members of the LRS crew have been extremely busy of late, in particular Werm and 3F fino who collaborated on this fine wall in Devon Road. The entire garage wall is taken up with their work, and it all holds together rather nicely.
3F fino and Werm, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2022
3F fino’s character looks like he has climbed the wall and is busy spraying it, a fun theme used by a lot of street artists. His characters tend to have quite a cartoony style about them and this one looks like he might have jumped off the pages of The Beano or Dandy. The block writing from Werm is beautifully designed and executed, and he seems to have settled down with this style for a little while now. I wonder how long it will be before he switches things up again. This is a nicely worked wall, and what better way to decorate a back alley canvass?
Since changing his moniker from Eman to Werm, Werm has been getting busier and busier and is constantly developing his writing styles and his characters. One thing for sure is that he is a fast learner and adds weight to the saying ‘practice makes perfect’… he practices a lot.
3F fino and Werm (Eman), Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2021
This writing and character combo, by LRS crew members 3F fino and Werm, is under Brunel Way in, where the light conditions are always a massive challenge for taking photographs. The character is by 3F fino and I think is a bear or something from Star Wars or something. The writing by Werm uses his currently favoured heavy block letters, spelling WERM, which can be seen in multiple spots around the city. In recent years, the LRS crew have certainly made themselves highly visible in the city.
On the fabulous curved wall at Dean Lane skate park is this nice LRS collaboration featuring Veee and Werm (formerly known as Eman). The centrepiece is the main attraction here, or at least it is the most eye catching and is by Veee.
Veee, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Veee, from Weston-super-Mare is painting ever more frequently in Bristol, and his trademark characters, of which there are a couple, are appearing across the city. This ‘lion’ character, with symbols for eyes, is rather fun and compelling and impossible not to like.
Werm (Eman), Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Werm’s contribution to the collaboration is this quick LRS crew throw up, adopting the block letters that he has been enjoying of late. Two things I don’t understand about Werm… how on Earth does he afford all the paint and how does he have so much time to paint. I don’t expect answers and I don’t really care too much, the key is that he keeps going and keeps improving.
I happened to meet Eman (Werm) yesterday down by the river, under Brunel Way, and mentioned to him that I had lined this piece up to publish today. We spent a while discussing his array of styles, but he said he has moved away from this spiky, complex writing to something a bit more blocky.
Eman, River Avon, Bristol, October 2021
I am always full of admiration for writers who produce such complex work, it seems utterly baffling how they go about it, but I guess that is where the hours and hours of practice come in. The main body of writing spells out WERM, which is the name Eman is now painting under, and to the right are the letters LRS, which is the crew Eman belongs to. All very nicely executed and a great addition to his incredibly varied portfolio.
Natural adventures 