I have recently met Mesk (@lazureness) a couple of times recently, and he is a lovely chatty bloke. I am sure I have seen his work before, and feel like I have posted it, but it looks like this is the first piece of his that has appeared on Natural Adventures. Furthermore, I am hoping to photograph another oner today, if it is still there and I can park nearby.
Mesk, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
I watched as Mesk started this piece off. It is a small spot, but I think he has done a brilliant job with it. Such tidy presentation is assisted by buffing out the wall first with a neutral grey. Great letters, straightforward colours (three horizontal yellows) and a nice deep red and black 3D drop shadow. What’s not to like?
Although I see a little bit of his work around the place, this is only the third piece by Kush that I have posted on Natural Adventures. His selection of ‘fruit salad’ colours gives his writing an uplifting presence. The letters KUSH are nicely designed and uniform with nicely graded fills.
Kush, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Some nice depth is achieved with his orange 3D drop shadow, but the piece is probably most notable for the message ‘Free Palestine’ which is a common theme in street art in Bristol. Kush has also filled his letters with loads of shout-outs, and a smaller message in case you didn’t get it first time, ‘stop arming Israel’. While the world disintegrates and wars dominate the headlines, these guys modestly protest and document the world around them.
This is a fine collaboration from two artists who never seem to stop, both totally dedicated to their art and sharing it with us. This is the kind of collaboration which is more about artists painting together rather than any kind of fusion between their styles, colours or design.
Conrico, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2025
On the left, Conrico presents a portrait of a woman in the foreground, who looks like she is taking a selfie in front of an island paradise – probably a Japanese island in the East China Sea. Conrico’s portraits are improving all the time and becoming more of a feature of his work. Of course, he has enough paint to add in his letters, with a feint reflection in the inviting sea.
Werm, Greenbank, Bristol, May 2025
To the right, Werm’s letters are beautifully presented, with the middle two letters a little smaller and ‘sitting on top’ of the rest of the piece. Lots of depth and intricate design work in this graffiti writing. Both artists have very different technical styles, but this collaboration works incredibly well.
Face 1st, Zake and Soak, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
I cannot think of a time when I haven’t been utterly delighted to come across a PWA collaboration, and this beauty filled me with good cheer a couple of weeks back. There is a good chance that the collaboration will; remain intact for a while, as this stretch of wall tends to have quite a slow turnover.
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
The three artists contributing to the collaboration are Face 1st, Zake and Soap. Face 1st needs no introduction and is probably the artist who has appeared most on Natural Adventures, and deservedly so. This is a classic theme for the artist, with a laughing girl’s face and big hair spelling out FACE, with some diamonds chucked in for good measure.
Zake, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
In the middle is this wonderful cartoon character piece from Zake which also fits into his archetypal style, with so much depth, the face seems like it could roll off the wall and into the pathway. Zake seems to be painting at least once a week at the moment and is smashing it.
Soap, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
The triptych is completed with a lovely piece of writing from soap, who doesn’t get out as much as he used to, but still manages to collaborate reasonably often with his PWA chums. His letters and fills are sublime and, as is usually the way with his work in recent years, has an Adventure Time influence with the incorporation of the Ice King. Superb collaboration with a shared inclusion of a colour scheme throughout.
Many artists in Bristol seem to have temporarily slowed or perhaps disappeared altogether, such as Fiver, Mudra, Kosc, Laic217, to name just a few, but hot on their heels are new artists who are emerging or establishing themselves as part of the mainstream, including Bloem, Sub, Bean, Lis and the featured artist of this post Astrea.
Astrea, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Astrea, or Astra as she signs herself these days is experimenting with both writing and characters, and has in the past played with abstract designs too. It feels like she is settling on some preferred colour combinations, in particular red and black. For an artist who is still developing her street technique, this is an accomplished piece of writing with lots of common design ideas incorporated. Interestingly, she hasn’t painted a border line, instead opting for a white outline interrupted with dots. I think borders are really tricky until you get your can control perfected. Nice to see Astrea pushing her boundaries.
Eska is an itinerant artist who lives a houseboat lifestyle and drifts from place to place. His stays in Bristol are always very welcome and accompanied by a number of stunning graffiti writing pieces, that bring something a little different to our streets.
ESKA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
This gorgeous piece is one of three high-end pieces on the hoarding around what used to be the Blue Mountain nightclub. The other pieces are by Kid Krishna and Hemper and all three are beauties. There is a lot going on in this piece, which has anamorphic writing that lifts out of the wall in a superb 3D illusion. In addition to the letters, I presume spelling ESKA, there are his tiny trademark figures, with long shadows, scattered around the ‘flat’ surfaces of the piece. There are also watery surfaces with reflections too, perhaps an oblique reference to Bristol Harbour. Eska’s work is of the highest order and I look forward to his next visit to the city.
Although this piece is a little bleached out by the strong sun, I am so pleased to have captured it at all. So many times when Kid Crayon has painted a new piece, I get down to photograph it, and it has gone. I don’t know if this is purely coincidental, or whether there is something more sinister going on. Suffice it to say that I have missed at least two pieces by him this year.
Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2025
It is fantastic to see Kid Crayon getting out more often this year, after quite a long period of low productivity – due in part to his real work being very busy. In this piece, the letters CRAYON can be seen with a little reversed out KID at the start. Each letter has an individual paint treatment, with the base colours alternating through the word. The ‘O’ is represented by a character with a blue face, donning a rather fetching Eat crew baseball cap. A floating crayon in front of the character’s mouth rounds the piece off nicely. There are so many KC trademarks in this fun and uplifting piece.
I think it is safe to say that Subtle is back, as this is the second of three recent pieces, although I have yet to locate the third. Seeing his large letters, which are anything but subtle, is like greeting an old friend, resuming the conversation where it was last cut off.
Subtle, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2025
It is a welcome thing indeed, after so many brown shades dominating so many pieces recently, to see the good old bedfellows pink and light blue featured here. Subtle’s large blue letters, with modest decorations, are augmented perfectly with pink circles and spots surrounding. Set on a black-buffed wall, this is a splendid announcement of ‘I’m back’.
There are a few graffiti writers emerging in Bristol, some that may have been around a while, whose work is straightforward and down to earth, such as Short, Maes and in this instance Mage. While they haven’t yet reached the top division of writers, their presence is an important component of the graffiti scene in the city.
Mage, Peel Street Green, Bristol, May 2025
I only really became conscious of Mage’s work in the last six months or so, and this is the first piece I have listed on Natural Adventures. This is a nice tidy chrome piece with an attractive red drop shadow set on a white wall and blue backdrop. A lovely finishing touch of blue plasma rounds the piece off nicely.
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