I love finding pieces by artists that I haven’t registered before, and this piece from Zinso is one of a few that I have photographed recently. Although Zinso is new to Bristol, I would suggest that they are not new to painting walls, as this is a tidy and accomplished piece of graffiti writing
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
The slightly cartoonish letters are bordered with a confident black outline and filled with a vibrant green with orange marginal decorations. A couple of pink symbols thrown in rounds off this tight, unfussy piece of writing set on a splash of blue. Bravo.
I recently found out, from Paul H (thank you), that Mage, who has recently emerged on the Bristol scene, is none other than Raid, who has appeared on the pages of Natural Adventures many times, including a gallery of his work. Commensurate with his name change, I will now refer to him as Mage from this point forward.
Mage, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
This is a nice piece of writing on an iconic wall that has hosted hundreds of pieces and layers of paint which chip off from time to time, as you can see from the base of the wall. The letters are nicely arranged with a fill that reads across the whole piece, with yellow spirals spanning the letters. A nice piece and a puzzle solved.
This piece by Zake is something a little different, a variation on a theme from the artist. It is rare to see Zake paint anything approximating to letters, but here we are with an unusual combination piece.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Two letters and two faces, making up the vowels, are nicely designed and set on a grey background with watery bubbles. For once, I will forgive the use of brown paint, because it is subtle and in keeping with the ‘slatey’, earthy, feel of the whole composition. It is always a pleasure to see artists try something new.
I feel like I ought to have posted far more pieces by Neddy Ned Neddy than I actually have, and I can’t really be too sure why that is. Anyhow, this is a superb piece painted in his unique style as part of the very well-attended birthday paint jam for Wispa.
Neddy Ned Neddy, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2025
Rather confusingly, Neddy Ned Neddy writes WISKA, which is coincidental to it being a celebration for Wispa, some of the other artists involved in the paint jam have altered their letters to read Wispa, but not the most obvious candidate, and I think he probably missed a trick here. This is a wonderfully worked piece with a sumptuous blended fill, looking like a kind of swirly marbling. A distinctive and really cool piece of graffiti writing.
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.
Natural adventures 