6654. M32 roundabout J3 (650)

Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

The Bristol City Council have continued on their mission to buff some of the popular graffiti walls, probably as a community service offer for offenders. It is a futile exercise, creating new clean backdrops for graffiti writers and street artists, let alone taggers and bombers. Sub moved in on this spot reasonably quickly, marking it out with a couple of drafts, reserving the space, before painting this large piece.

Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

Sub is working really well to improve his work, and it is certainly paying off for him. His colour selection for this piece is wicked, his 3D drop shadow effective and his plasma cloud is a nicely worked feature, but I feel that with such large flat letters he needs to experiment a little bit more with fills or decorations. This is a fine eye-catching piece, and I fully expect to see further development this year.

6653. M32 roundabout J3 (649)

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

This pair of walls at one of the tunnel entrances on the M32 roundabout has been used before in this way not so long ago by Daz Cat. This time it is the turn of Kid Krishna, and a couple of his classic CRIE pieces.

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

These distinctive roller-brushed pieces can be found all over Bristol, and on their own might not appear to be all that impressive, but as a collection, they most certainly are. The two pieces here are similar but not the same, each differing in detail. It has been a pretty busy 2024 for Kid Krishna, and I expect 2025 to be much the same.

Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Kid Krishna, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

6650. Dean Lane skate park (798)

Kush, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Kush, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

I think it would be fair to say that Kush is massively underrepresented in Natural Adventures, and although I have pictures of his work dating back years, I have only ever published two of them here, this being the second. I will try to make improvements in this area this year, because Kush’s pieces deserve to be seen more.

Kush, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Kush, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

This piece was painted on the swimming pool wall which is only accessible by climbing up onto the lower roof of the pool, and can only be photographed from distance, unless climbing is your thing (it is no longer mine). I love this combination piece. The writing is beautifully filled with red and white in a tablecloth design running through the letters. The mischievous character is a girl with boggle eyes and a beret, spraying out the letters. It is a well-conceived and executed piece and deserving of praise. I will try harder to post pieces by Kush in 2025.

6649. Cumberland Basin

Biers, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2024
Biers, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2024

For most of last year Biers kept his WD40 pieces going with some rhythm and regularity, but the combination character/writing pieces dropped off significantly. Is is almost as if he lost inspiration for his characters, which is a pity, because I believe they complement his letters nicely.

Biers, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2024
Biers, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2024

This tidy piece of writing is nicely presented and uses the red, white, black and grey combination of colours that work so well in graffiti writing, and which Decay used to good effect for many years. The No Frills crew have been well represented in 2024, and long may that continue into this new year.

6647. Peel Street Green (36)

Werm, Peel Street Green, Bristol, December 2024
Werm, Peel Street Green, Bristol, December 2024

Werm has had a very good year in 2024, and tried out several new variants of his letters, sticking with some and abandoning others. This was a particular theme that saw him through most of the year, crafting the letters WERM into a bilaterally symmetrical pattern.

Werm, Peel Street Green, Bristol, December 2024
Werm, Peel Street Green, Bristol, December 2024

This one looks like it might have suffered a little at the hands of the weather, or the background wasn’t fully applied, which is a pity, because it distracts a little from the writing itself, demonstrating why backgrounds can be so important. It’ll be interesting to see if Werm moves on from this style in 2025.

6646. Dean Lane skate park (787)

Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

What an honour for Pekoe to have a lovely birthday tribute piece from Smak back in December last year. This is a classic piece of traditional Smak graffiti writing, and reminds me of some of the first pieces I noticed by the artist, many years ago.

Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

The letters are mostly created by the outlines, and the fills resemble the background, giving them a bit of a transparent look. This piece also picks up on Smak’s current theme of including palm trees and hinting at the tropics. Great work from Smak.

6644. M32 roundabout J3 (648)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

Not much time to talk about this fun piece from Face 1st in one of the short tunnels under the M32 roundabout. So here it is.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024

6643. River Avon (74)

Solar, River Avon, Bristol, December 2024
Solar, River Avon, Bristol, December 2024

While this is far from my favourite piece by Solar, and not the easiest to photograph, even on a wide-angle setting, I have included it in the name of completeness and documentation. I think it is only honest to post work by artists, warts and all, if and when possible. All too often such pieces get deselected, but during the Christmas and winter period there is lower turnover and I can post more of what I see.

Solar, River Avon, Bristol, December 2024
Solar, River Avon, Bristol, December 2024

In this piece the letters SOLAR are stretched out, and difficult to notice when walking along the narrow pathway. Painted in subtle shades of grey with tints of duck-egg blue, the unruly letters touching on anti-style, are actually quite nicely done. I sense that this writing has been here a long while, but that I haven’t noticed it before.

6639. Coach and Horses

Smak, Coach and Horses, Bristol, December 2024
Smak, Coach and Horses, Bristol, December 2024

This is a stunning piece of graffiti writing by Smak, incorporating a landscape view, framed in a wide rectangle. It is similar to a piece that he painted on the M32 roundabout a little while ago. I have a feeling that this piece was from around the same time, but I have only recently got round to photographing and posting it.

Smak, Coach and Horses, Bristol, December 2024
Smak, Coach and Horses, Bristol, December 2024

The letters ‘SMAK’ are concealed, and I have to say I am assuming they are there rather than knowing that they are there. Within the overall design, there are fragments of a tropical paradise and plenty of palm tree references throughout. This is a truly classy piece from a very classy artist.

6638. Dean Lane skate park (795)

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

I have written this post in advance, because I am taking a break with my family to Marrakesh (apart from my son who jetted off to Thailand yesterday for a couple of months), and I will be busy today with getting ready for the flight, packing etc.

Mr Draws has been smashing it this winter, and when a lot of  ‘fair weather’ artists retreat to the comfort of their homes, Mr Draws has been stepping up to the plate and turning out some lovely, happy pieces.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

This is a large piece, covering up the whole wall, which can easily accommodate two or three pieces, and often does. Mr Draws has filled the space really well, with his bright letter fills set on a skyscape background and some stylised blades of grass running along the base of the writing. Mr Draws has quite a unique style, and I don’t think that the way he paints his pieces is all that conventional either. I really like this one.