Writer – Page 54 – Natural adventures

6744. St Werburghs tunnel (475)

Tao Create and Big Hev, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2025

Of interest, but not really of much importance, is the gender split of street artists and graffiti writers in Bristol which I would say is around the 60:40 Men to women, but it is noticeable that a higher proportion of women are painting now than were ten years ago, when I first started this blog. This is a fabulous collaboration from Tao Create and Big Hev, who have painted together before, and I assume are friends.

To the left is a portrait piece by Tao Create, who underwent something of a transformation in her style over the last year or so, taking her to a new and much higher level. I can’t find any information about whom this is a portrait of, but it is stunning nonetheless, with superb depth and texture in the greyscale shades. Big Hev’s words ‘I’ve been ghosted by a ghostboy’ are equally mysterious. The piece appears to be a tribute to GB perhaps? This is a striking collaboration, which sadly has been overpainted, but was a delight while it was there.

6742. L Dub (64)

There are a few ‘sure things’ in the Bristol street art world, and one of them is that you will always find pieces by DJ Perks in the Lawrence Weston spot. This is partly due to some legacy pieces that just never seem to get painted over, but also because he paints there frequently enough for me to find new pieces each time I visit.

I would consider DJ Perks to be a natural, when it comes to graffiti writing. He is so incredibly modest, but his work is technically excellent, and always nicely presented. Here he has painted the letters ABC (Art Beat Crew) with blended blue fills, and a nice pink ‘ribbon’ running horizontally through the piece. The scarlet background dusted onto the wall offsets the piece perfectly.

6741. M32 Cycle path (283)

Piewaste, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, January 2025

Very occasionally we are lucky enough to find pieces by Piewaste. His work tends to blend in with its surroundings, and it can be quite easy to pass on by without noticing it – unless you are like me, and wired to sniff out such pieces wherever they might be.

Piewaste has written three thin-edged letters (WSE) interspersed with two pink-filled letters (AT) to spell out WASTE, but all elements of this writing kind of disappear unless you are concentrating. The three green-bordered letters are filled with an incredible scene, as if you are looking through letter-shaped windows. This is a brilliant piece that is so modestly presented. This is why I like to keep my eyes open and really study what is around me.

6740. Sparke Evans Park (123)

Mr Two Gram and Desi, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

Wherever you find a piece by Desi, you are likely to find a Mr Two Gram piece nearby. Like many partners (Ryder and T-Rex, Bloem and Sub), they paint alongside one another all over town, leaving their ‘household’ stamp.

Mr Two Gram, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

I haven’t posted many pieces by Mr Two Gram, but have dozens in my archives, so I need to do a little better at posting them. His writing is distinctive, and depending on the size of the wall carries variants of his name. I suggested to him once that he might like to try character pieces, and although receptive to the idea, I haven’t seen anything in that direction.

Desi, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

This pairing was of course one part of a larger collaboration celebrating Desi and Even’s birthday and carried a theme of Studio Ghibli – a Japanese animation studio, hence the cartoon cat. Desi, who often writes VEIL, has painted a combination piece, which is quite unusual and something that would be great to see more of. Reflecting back to when I first started seeing Desi’s work, there has been a constant improvement, and this piece is truly one of her best, with tidy, clean letters and fabulously presented fills.

6739. Dean Lane skate park (807)

Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025

I caught up with Fade a couple of days ago, and he observed that I hadn’t posted much of his and Dibz’ work lately, He was right, but fortunately this collaboration was already in my pipeline, and is a timely reminder of their fantastic work. I would add that they have had a generally quiet start to the year, but are picking up the pace a bit now.

Unlike most of their collaborations, the three elements are a little bit fragmented. The writing from Dibz and Fade is distinct and there is no general colour theme, and the tank is a little bit out of context. Fade has gone for some beautifully finished letters, in the corners of which are a bunch of explosions. The writing is set on a nighttime cloudy sky.

That brings me on to the tank, which I assume is a joint effort. I don’t quite know what the tank represents, but I guess you could take your pick – Gaza, Ukraine or even a metaphor for Trump’s wreckless and aggressive international policies. Maybe it is just a nice picture of a tank.

Dibz’ outstanding writing has a camouflage thing going on, but it is subtlely applied, and contrasts beautifully with the orange (but it looks like copper) 3D drop shadow. This wall has been a great place for Dibz and Fade to showcase their work, and recently, they have painted it again (keeping the tank intact) – to come soon.

6738. Unity Street

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’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

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

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

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.

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 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.

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

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 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

	cjsmissionaryministe… on Morning motivation
	hitandrun1964 on Sea Spurge (Euphorbia par…
	paulh121 on Sea Spurge (Euphorbia par…
	M. on 7606. M32 roundabout J2 (…
	hitandrun1964 on 7599. St Werburghs tunnel…

	cjsmissionaryministe… on Morning motivation
	hitandrun1964 on Sea Spurge (Euphorbia par…
	paulh121 on Sea Spurge (Euphorbia par…
	M. on 7606. M32 roundabout J2 (…
	hitandrun1964 on 7599. St Werburghs tunnel…

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