Writer – Page 43 – Natural adventures

6789. Dean Lane skate park (811)

If, like me, you are interested in numbers, today’s post contains a rising sequence of numbers – 6789. In our base ten counting system, this is the last time this true sequence will be possible, because 78910 doesn’t work, and also even if it did I’d have to be writing posts for the next 100 years or more. Actually, I am wrong, so ignore that. The next number that will work is 12345, which I might reach if I carry on for 10 more years. Enough with the numbers already.

I am always delighted when Bean returns to Bristol and lets us know that he is alive and well. I hope that when he is finished for the summer with his studies, he will get busy on our streets.

I believe Bean to be one of the great talents emerging from the Bristol scene. His character pieces are growing in sophistication and here he has combined a joyful youth with the letters BEAN, which are reversed out on his T-shirt. There is a message ‘positivity and all that jazz’ which is either speaking to the viewer or to himself or, perhaps, both. I take energy and hope from this piece.

6788. M32 roundabout J3 (662)

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

Biers was one of the first graffiti writers I met in Bristol, and back then he used to write the letters BIERS. He has undergone a few reinventions since then and currently writes WD40. I noticed yesterday that he has dropped off Instagram and hope that this is a temporary thing, and wonder if it signals another name change (probably not).

This is a nicely painted squat piece on the roundabout. Lately he has been painting fewer combination pieces incorporating characters, and concentrating on his letters, which in my view is a pity, because I rather liked his character interventions. This piece is on-point, clean and crisp… unpretentious and speaks of the joy of being a graffiti writer.

6787. Greenbank (153)

Pura Decadencia, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2025

Painted alongside a piece I featured recently by Desi, this super writing by Pura Decadencia took me several attempts to photograph on account of the wrong light conditions each time I visited. This third attempt was, as you can see, was on an unusually welcome overcast day.

Pura has been teaming up with Desi on a couple of occasions now, and they seem to be bringing out the best in each other. Pura’s letters are clear, regular and quite large, providing plenty of scope for playing about with fills. She has nicely blended three pink tones and added in some reversed spots to jazz things up a little. The atmospheric background is in a style I am seeing more frequently on the streets at the moment, a particular favourite technique used by Sub, for example. No vampire teeth this time, but a fine example of Pura Decadencia’s work.

6786. Dean Lane skate park (810)

Cornico and Daz Cat, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025

The curved wall at Dean Lane has played host to so many fabulous pieces (and some not so fabulous). This collaboration from Conrico and Daz Cat is a wonderful piece, full of creativity and colour, with the two distinct styles coming together in great harmony.

The left hand side of the wall belongs to Conrico, who has written his name in one of his familiar landscapes, with a distant monster that might be Godzilla emerging from the stylised choppy sea. To the right, Daz Cat has painted a sage-like old fish/axolotl type character watches on as if he might have the answer to an unknown question. Is that an orange platypus in his packet? Lots of stories in this brilliant collaboration.

6785. River Avon (81)

Omie, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025

I don’t visit this spot as often as some of the others, as it is a little further to drive for me and more difficult to squeeze into a lunchtime break. The upshot is that when I do go, there are usually a few new pieces for me to enjoy.

Omie is an artist who only came onto my radar about 18 months ago, and he has been turning out a wonderful variety of pieces in that time. He is a creative artist who changes his style completely with each new piece. The more I look at this one, the more I like it.

His chunky block letters in two shades of green and with a deep drop shadow are decorated with what I can only describe as what looks like drizzles of chocolate sauce or marmite (take your pick) running through the midline. A really clever idea and beautifully executed. The letters are set on a contrasting background of pink and orange bubbles, which provide contrast and help the piece stand out on the busy wall. Great stuff.

6784. Cumberland Basin

Face 1st, Zake and Soap, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025

It was great to see this PWA collaboration recently, something that is a little less frequent these days now that Face 1st has moved away from Bristol, but true to his word, he does still come back now and again to decorate our streets. Here he is joined by Zake and Soap.

Face 1st, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025

Face 1st has been experimenting with his letters recently, and perhaps it is a way of refining his technique and growing himself as an artist. There is a symmetry to the letters which spell out Face First, painted in a deep gold colour which contrasts with the pink background and sets the colour theme for the whole collaboration.

Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025

The centrepiece is a character face painted by Zake, with all the depth we are used to seeing in his work created by the use of light and shade. Zake has cleverly picked up on the gold colour and used it as the bottom-lit element, highlighting his character’s features.

Soap, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2025

Rounding off the triptych is a piece of writing from Soap, who also appears to be trying something a little different. His letters look like a halfway house towards calligraffiti, with some order and form to the letters in terms of shape and size, and some interesting details creeping in. A truly wonderful PWA collaboration from three beating hearts of the Bristol street/graffiti art scene.

6782. Stapleton Road

Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, February 2025

Nice One has been my favourite discovery of 2024. His unique brand of combination pieces incorporating his beautiful font writing and colourful sketches of characters or scenes has been both refreshing and intriguing in equal measure. I genuinely look forward to finding his work and have that satisfied glow when it happens.

This piece was painted over another of his, in fact, you can just see the remnants of the word NICE below it, and it is a very respectful way of keeping things fresh. The letters are a little bolder than in some of his pieces and remain impactful. His bear is painted as if it were a sketch in a sketchbook, this style of spray-painting is in stark contrast to the solid fill, black border approach that we see so much of. The bear looks pretty fearsome, and looks better and better the further away you stand from the piece. Lovely work from Nice One.

Nice One, Stapleton Road, Bristol, January 2025

6781. M32 roundabout J3 (661)

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

There was a period last year when Minto was in full flow, and barely a week passed by without a new piece from the graffiti artist, but over the winter months his activity in Bristol slowed. It was great to see this piece on the roundabout recently, and I hope that it signifies a return to more frequent pieces from him.

The piece combines graffiti writing with a wizard character reaching out, and some fabulous perspective as the hands grab out towards the letters. Although difficult to see, the word MINTO will be concealed in there somewhere, but it is all rather more cryptic than in many of his other pieces, and just for good measure he has written his name to the left. A cool piece.

6780. Greenbank (152)

It took me three attempts to photograph this wonderful piece of writing by Desi, the first two were ruined with the shadows of trees cast across it, rendering the pictures useless. I should know better, this spot should only be visited on an overcast day, a bit like Sparke Evans Park, if you are after decent pictures.

Desi is a constant and talented member of the RBF crew whose work has been steadily improving over the years. Recently she has stepped up a level, and this VEIL piece is beautifully painted, and decorated with a couple of flowers, cheering up a dull day. The letters are well presented, and the fills nicely worked to run through all the letters in a coherent way. There is a nice shout-out to Mr Two Gram too in this fine piece.

6778. M32 roundabout J3 (660)

Nigel, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

I was lucky enough to be admiring this piece when, by chance, Stivs ambled by. He wasn’t painting, but had come along to look at a few new pieces that had recently been painted. As it turns out, he used to paint with this artist, Nigel, when he lived in the Reading area, or at least I think that is what he said.

Looking at Nigel’s Instagram, it looks like that he is a bit of a bomber, with a penchant for quick ones, so this piece is perhaps one of his more considered ‘high end’ pieces of graffiti writing. Loads of colour and movement set on a contrasting orange background, bring a little bit of M4 corridor joy to the roundabout.

	paulh121 on 7494. Purdown (100)
	skat on London bound
	M. on 7494. Purdown (100)
	hitandrun1964 on Donz
	beth on 7494. Purdown (100)

	paulh121 on 7494. Purdown (100)
	skat on London bound
	M. on 7494. Purdown (100)
	hitandrun1964 on Donz
	beth on 7494. Purdown (100)

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