6738. Unity Street

Bnie, Smak and Elvs, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017
Bnie, Smak and Elvs, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017

This is the third piece ‘rediscovered’ from dipping into my archive, and it is a fine collaboration from Bnie, Smak and Elvs. Once again, I am mystified by how it got left behind in the archive, but at least I am rectifying the situation by publishing it now.

Bnie, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017
Bnie, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017

Bnie’s work is always a joy. Her letters somehow work really well for graffiti writing – some combinations work much better than others. Here she has paid particular attention to some highly intricate fills, which I can only think were achieved using stencils. However they were realised, they are wonderfully technical and beautifully presented.

Smak, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017
Smak, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017

The middle piece is by Smak, whose work pretty much defines the ‘Bristol school’ of graffiti writing. Superb colours and a strong sense of flow through the piece, combining curves and straight lines skilfully. Simply an outstanding writer.

Elvs, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017
Elvs, Unity Street, Bristol, January 2017

To the right is a fine piece by Elvs, whose work is so unique and distinct. He has worked so long and hard on his letters ELVS, that I would love to see what he could do with some other letters in his style – that would probably present a serious challenge and take him a little out of his comfort zone. Brilliant work from all three graffiti writers, demonstrating what their art form is all about.

6737. M32 roundabout J3 (653)

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

I know exactly why I never posted this piece at the time I photographed it. Although I was blown away by it, I didn’t know who the artist was, and so it remained in my archive unseen. I have revisited it several times over the years, but now feel confident enough in suggesting it is by Hemper.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2016

The location, the ASK tag, and the possibility that the disguised letters may spell HEMS and the sheer quality of the piece draws me to the conclusion that it is by Hemper. Whoever the artist, it remains one of my favourite pieces of crazy graffiti writing ever. Everything about it is near perfect, from concept to execution. Those stones/bubbles must have taken an age to paint, and the black ‘web’ draped around the letters is exceptional. The work of a genius.

6735. L Dub (63)

Donz, L Dub, Bristol, February 2025
Donz, L Dub, Bristol, February 2025

Donz is an interesting graffiti writer whose combination of letter shapes and, in particular, colour selections and fill patterns is quite unique. His work is further highlighted in this piece with the incorporation of a clean contrasting background buff.

Donz, L Dub, Bristol, February 2025
Donz, L Dub, Bristol, February 2025

The letters in this piece spell DONZ, and are beautifully contained within a clean black border. I think that what sets his work apart is his approach to his fills which are not blended, but rather, they are applied in contrasting splodges and decorated with complementary little circles. All I can say is that this is a very Donz look. We also have an introduction to the Art Beat Crew (ABC), which I haven’t noticed before.

6734. Greenway Bush Lane (4)

Sub, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
Sub, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025

The great thing about a new graffiti spot, such as the long hoarding at Greenway Bush Lane, is that you can spread your wings a little and occupy as much space as you like without the awkwardness of painting over someone else’s work. Sub has ‘gone for it’ with his large SUB letters and a couple of smaller signatures, just in case you weren’t sure who he is.

Sub, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
Sub, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025

Sub continues to develop his writing, and his familiar chunky letters and deep drop shadow (in two shades) are going from strength to strength. The pink plasma strip runs nicely through the letters, which in their monolithic form are rather flat. To me, it feels like he is locked a little into his format, and to go to the next level, he might need to try something different, and then import his discoveries back into his customary style. Having said that, he seems to be very happy doing what he is doing, and that is the most important thing.

Smut

A gallery of superb clean writing from the graffiti writer Smut

All photographs by Scooj

Smut, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Smut, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Smut, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2022
Smut, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2022
Smut, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2022
Smut, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2022
Smut, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Smut, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Smut, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, March 2022
Smut, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, March 2022
Smut, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022
Smut, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2022
Smut, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Smut, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2021
Smut, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2021
Smut, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2021
Smut, Purdown Battery, Bristol, September 2021
Smut, Purdown Battery, Bristol, September 2021
Smut, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2021
Smut, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2021

6731. M32 roundabout J3 (652)

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

I came across Hemper while he was painting this beast, and I think that even he was wondering if he might have bitten off more than he could chew. It is a tribute to an old crew DMT, and quite unlike much of the work I am used to seeing by the artist, although there are hints of his style in the words within the DMT letters.

Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

These pictures also demonstrate how the light can impact on the quality of photography. In the first picture, the sun is behind a cloud, in the second, the cloud has passed, and the sun is casting shadows of the trees onto the wall, all of this changed in the space of seconds. Hemper appears to have got his mojo going early this year, and is a very busy man, creating some superb graffiti writing.

6730. St Werburghs tunnel (474)

Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

So many of the combination pieces painted in Bristol leave me wondering who the painted character might be portraying (there are often modern cultural references to cartoon productions of the 1970s to now), but every once in a while the character is one I am familiar with, and this is one of those moments. The character in this Haka piece is Percival Proudfoot Plugsley or Plug member of the Bash Street Kids from the children’s comic Beano.

Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025
Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

Indeed, this is not the first time Haka has incorporated Plug into one of his pieces and other members of the comic strip. The letters are classic Haka letters, nicely overlapping and filled with two colour shades and some yellow decorations. Some nice shout-outs too, including the ever-present tribute to CK1.

Haka, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2023
Haka, Greenbank, Bristol, January 2023

6729. Dean Lane skate park

Teykem, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025
Teykem, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025

I made a special trip down to Dean Lane to snap up some pieces by the PWA crew on the swimming pool wall, but was rather disappointed to see that they had been swiftly painted over, but as the saying goes, ‘you snooze, you lose’. There is no mercy and no rules when it comes to painting over other people’s work, but I do wish sometimes that bombers and writers in particular were a little bit more mindful about where they painted.

Teykem, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025
Teykem, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2025

I have never come across Teykem before, and don’t have much in the way of background about his work. This piece has all the elements of graffiti writing, some nice letter shapes, and stripy drop shadow, but I would need to see more to know if this was a good example of Teykem’s work or not. It is, however, always good to introduce new artists to Natural Adventures.

6728. Purdown (84)

Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, February 2025
Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, February 2025

A couple of quick ones today. It is the morning after my mother’s 90th birthday party, which was a hugely enjoyable event in Farnham Castle in Surrey, but we need to have breakfast, check out and then drive back to Bristol. As I said yesterday, Nice one has been smashing it with his combination pieces already this year, and this is another new piece up at the Purdown anti-aircraft battery.

Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, February 2025
Nice One, Purdown, Bristol, February 2025

At first, it might not look like a combination piece, but you can just spot the top half of his Times New Roman ‘N’ and the dot of the ‘i’ at the bottom of the piece. The First World War dogfight scene is just something you don’t see anywhere in Bristol and confirms Nice One as one of the most original and exciting artists around. Fabulous work.

6727. Greenway Bush Lane (3)

Nice One, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
Nice One, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025

2025 has seen Nice One upping both the frequency and quality of his game. He has painted several new pieces full of imagination and something quite refreshingly different from what we are used to seeing about the place.

Nice One, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025
Nice One, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025

This piece in the new spot, Greenway Bush Lane is in two halves. Nice One teases us with his letters, which disappear behind the second part, which is a striking picture of a tall ship sailing on a choppy sea and a headland in the distance. Classy work from a nice man.