I am happy to include a piece by Nips before we see the year out, as her work has been a highlight for me in 2024. Her letters have a strong identity, and an assuredness about them, being a vehicle for her brilliant and dynamic fills.
As ever, her colour selection for this piece of graffiti writing shows her highly developed skills in crafting something that works well and looks beautiful. I am very much looking forward to a repeat in 2025.
For the second day in a row, it gives me great pleasure to post a piece by Omie. I first came across Omie in January this year, and his regular interventions through the year has established him as a key player in contemporary Bristol graffiti writing.
No two pieces by Omie are alike, and his creativity is running on full throttle, which is a refreshing approach to graffiti writing. Sometimes it can even be difficult to assign a particular style to Omie, and if he didn’t paint the same letters, his work could be quite difficult to identify. In this pinky/purple piece it looks like the letters OMIE are being created in some kind of machine, with tons of plasma bolts running through the letters. Something a little Dr Frankenstein about it all. A lovely piece to share on Boxing Day.
Happy Christmas. Lots to do today, so another short entry. I was fortunate enough to meet Omie for the first time a couple of days ago, and as with nearly all the artists I meet, he is a nice person, who made time for a chat. I was pleased that he knew about Natural Adventures and appeared to appreciate my write ups of his work. It was a genuine pleasure to meet him, because I really like his original take on each and every piece he paints.
This is a wonderful piece of writing from Omie, in celebration of Pekoe’s birthday – what a fine tribute. The colours are compelling and the blended fills work nicely particularly with the addition of spots, although the orange paint is a little thin… thin paints can be a pain in the butt. Some black highlights add interest to the letters which are beautifully presented. The Darraigh referred to in the bottom right hand corner is the recent storm that swept across England in Early December.
To use Sworm’s own words, this was a bit of an odd one. I know this, because I happened to meet him while he was painting in St Werburghs tunnel yesterday alongside Omie. This piece was painted with Klashwhensober on the pathway between Sparke Evans Park and Temple Meads Station… a nice walk if you have the time to do it.
On first inspection this piece looks like a quick throw up, but the swirly pattern in the letters is a deliberate fill rather than what could look like thin paint over a patterned background. The pink border and drop shadow is an essential ingredient in helping the letters to stand out on the black background. Although not his best piece, this is a rather nice work from Sworm.
Not long ago, I met Lee Roy, whilst walking our respective dogs, and he informed me that he was hanging up his spray cans for a while, which was disappointing to hear, because I like his work and the way he expresses himself through it. However, this piece might signify a return for the anti-style(ish) writer.
During his ‘lay-off’, he hasn’t lost his touch in the slightest, indeed, this is a rather sharp piece, beautifully presented and with an array of his favourite fill patterns and shapes. The purples and greys work well against the blight blue background, and this is a very fine ‘come back’ piece. Hoping this is more than a splash in the pan.
Werm has an amazing capacity to concentrate on a particular style of lettering, focussing on that style for a period of time, and then trying something new and moving on, it feels like restlessness settles in after a few months and new challenges await. This is a wonderful piece that is new to me, and differs from his bilateral symmetry work that has been his hallmark for the last four months or so.
Werm paints on this stretch of wall a lot, and many of his older pieces are on display here, it is a bit of a Werm gallery. The colours in this piece work incredibly well together, and the shape and form of the letters with some interlocking between them is a new and exciting aspect. I look forward to seeing whether this is a new phase of design that Werm will be adopting, or whether it is a one-off.
It is always, always a great pleasure to welcome Wispa to Bristol, and finding her pieces (almost always an unannounced surprise) is such sweet joy. This recent piece was painted to celebrate Pekoe’s birthday, hence the shout out top left.
Wispa’s work is always immaculately turned out, and the clever fills in this piece read across from letter to letter. Simply a wonderful piece.
Seriously quick one today – I have loads of Christmas preparations (housework) still to do, and very little time to do it in. This is a nice mega-tag type of piece by an artist I don’t know much about, called Blam, who I believe might live in Bristol, and who paints occasional pieces.
This spot is one I really like, and Blam has managed to fill the space well with this ultra-green combination piece.
This stunning collaboration from Vane and Bnie was painted a little while ago during a paint jam organised to wish Mena a swift recovery from her accident in Thailand. The character on the left is by Vane and the writing, spelling MENAS is by Bnie.
The colour selection in this collaboration is really quite something, with the purples, pinks and mint green working exceptionally well together. I don’t get to see much artwork by Vane, and Bnie hasn’t painted too much this year, so this collaboration was bonus and a bit of a treat. I hope all the good vibes created during this paint jam have helped Mena on her journey to recovery.
It would be a bit of an understatement to say that I really like this piece. I don’t know what it is about it, perhaps it is the unique fills for each of the constituent parts of the letters NESK, or perhaps the freshness of an artist I am not familiar with. Probably a combination of the two.
The artist is Bazamataz (thank you, Paul H), and the colourful piece stands out brilliantly on the grey backwash and above the autumn-brown leaves. It all comes together so well and stands out a mile. The 3D drop shadow might be a little lost, and could have been a bit more prominent, but it is a small matter really. Wonderful work.
Natural adventures 