7865. Cumberland Basin

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

Although we have had an exceptional summer, it has at times simply been too hot and unnaturally so. The wall to wall sunshine experienced in late June, July and early August has also let to a disproportionate number of my photographs featuring disruptive shadows, about which I cabn do very little. The shadow on this lovely piece by Taboo gets to me every time I look at it.

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026
Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2026

The piece appears to be a tribute to… Taboo (There is a number 25, and I wonder if that reflects 25 years of graffiti writing). The letters are made up of the letters TABOO, creating a larger TABOO and incorporating some train carriages and the words ‘Train maximalist’. All a little bit confusing. The whole thing though is great to look at and set on a buffed background. Gotta love those drips.

 

 

7864. M32 Cycle path (320)

The Cat Came Back, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026
The Cat Came Back, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026

What a fantastic way to announce your return, especially when your street name is ‘The Cat Came Back’. This is quite the best piece I have seen by the artist and I believe one that might herald a golden era for them. The last The Cat Came Back piece I photographed was way back in June 2022, and activity has been slow/absent since then.

The Cat Came Back, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026
The Cat Came Back, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026

I love this cheeky piece. A decapitated head of a cat, with a distinctive single eye and long poink tongue sits on a blue bubble cloud. A piece in the true tradition of gory cartoon style, and perfectly executed and framed on a white background. A character piece like this is always very welcome and adds to the variety of street art we see in the city. Watch this space for more from The Cat Came Back.

7863. Peel Street Green (63)

Mesk, Peel Street Green, Bristol, August 2026
Mesk, Peel Street Green, Bristol, August 2026

Mesk is in a great rhythm, producing at least one or two pieces a month, either alone or collaborating with others. His distinctive large letters, spelling MESK, need no signature, as his style is quite distinctive.

Mesk, Peel Street Green, Bristol, August 2026
Mesk, Peel Street Green, Bristol, August 2026

The yellow appearance of the letters in this piece is a clever bit of work, because it is only the top layer of the letters that is actually yellow, the next two layers being green and olive, but which look like shaded yellow. The whole thing is set on two backgrounds… a black buffed wall and a blue frame, both of which contribute to helping the letters stand out. Some nice drips, highlight starbursts and tidy drop shadow round off the piece very neatly indeed.

7862. Elton Street (30)

Inkie, Elton Street, Bristol, August 2026
Inkie, Elton Street, Bristol, August 2026

Fantastic News… the curated framed spots on the side of Lost Horizon in Elton Street are back open for business, and some fresh pieces were painted there a couple of weeks back, including this beauty from Inkie.

Inkie, Elton Street, Bristol, August 2026
Inkie, Elton Street, Bristol, August 2026

The framed boards provide a bit of a street gallery look, but are a slightly awkward shape, particularly for writers, who have to compress their letters into a slightly confined width. Naturally, Inkie achieves this with consummate ease and presents his gorgeous letters in pink and yellow with a deep green and black drop shadow. I love the way he has filled the space up at the top with black spots on a yellow background creating a strong contrast.

7861. Brunel Way (366)

Shade One, Fade, Dibz and Sikoh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Shade One, Fade, Dibz and Sikoh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

This is a fabulous production collaboration painted back in June this year by Shade One, Fade, Dibz and Sikoh. It is a difficult wall to photograph in its entirety at the best of times, because of the light incursion creating reflections at different times of the day. These four really are the crème de la crème of their field.

Shade One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Shade One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

Starting at the left, Shade One has painted an incredible cartoon realism portrait of a futuristic woman wearing pink-tinted glasses with gold rims. I’m not quite sure what the apparatus on her head is all about, but it is imaginative and creative. The pink surround creates a grerat hard defined edge to the portrait.

Fade, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Fade, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

Next up is some graffiti writing from Fade which I think reads SMOOTER and is likely dedicated to a friend. There is little more I can write about Fade and his work that I haven’t already written many times before. Precise and perfectly presented like the adjacent piece by Dibz.

Dibz, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Dibz, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

The third piece in this production is by Dibz and mirrors the writing by Fade in terms of colours and to a point style. I cannot for the life of me decypher the letters, but that is wildstyle writing for you, it is intended to be disguised.

Sikoh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026
Sikoh, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

Moving on finally to Sikoh, one of the most talented artists around, in my view. He has overlaid his piece on top of Dibz’ writing, bringing it forward and lifting it from the wall. The colours match Shade One’s bringing about a symmetry to the whole collaboration. Here a tortured skull, part human part machine appears to be yelling out, whether in pain or rage  it is difficult to know. So full of movement expression and perfectlky painted. What a collaboration!

Dryad’s Saddle

Dryad's Saddle (Cerioporus squamosus), Kings Weston, Bristol, August 2026
Dryad’s Saddle (Cerioporus squamosus), Kings Weston, Bristol, August 2026

.

Parched vegetation

makes way for fungal brackets

woodland survivor

.

by Scooj

7860. M32 roundabout J3 (788)

Mage, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2026
Mage, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2026

If I posted all the Mage pieces I find, thern I woulkd struggle to make space for much else. I accept that this is a bit of an exaggeration, but I do have a lot of his pieces that haven’t made it out of the archives…yet. I think that I would categorise Mage as a bit of a classy bomber. He likes to just show up and over-paint existing work, and rarely, if ever, buffs the wall first, leaving behind the remnants of the piece before it, which in this instance was by Bloem.

Mage, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2026
Mage, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2026

I really like this piece, which is nicely thought out and crisply painted. The deep red letter fill is broken up with brighter red plasma lines and decorated with some characterful yellow circles. The contrasting turquoise drop shadow has some nice block decorations. The only thing I am a little unsure about is the black decorations around the perimeter which I think add nothing to the piece. More to come, always.

7859. Greenbank (190)

Taboo, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2026
Taboo, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2026

Whenever I find a Taboo piece I always know to expect the unexpected. His anti-style approach means that conventions and regularity are thrown out of the window and you have to invest in his work and trust the process. If you submit to his style, rather than try to fight against it, it all becomes so much more enjoyable – which could be said for graffiti writing more generally.

Taboo, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2026
Taboo, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2026

These single colour cartoonish letters with a deep drop shadow in the same colour are accompanied by a little crocodile character at the right hand side. Some little white accent spots and crocodile teeth lift the piece with subtlety and skill. The piece is accompanied with the words ‘make it snappy’ a phrase that rounds off the joke that begins ‘give me a crocodile sandwich…’. A fine but of fun from Taboo.

7858. Quakers Art Lane

Hazard, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026
Hazard, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026

Around a month or so before Upfest, the organisers of the festiival curated a wall in the heart of the shopping district of Bristol, which played host to a number of well-known artists and provided a bit of a teaser for the main festival, as well as brightening up this little corner of an otherwise dull and grey space.

Hazard, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026
Hazard, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026

The timing of this mini-event roughly coincided with the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough, and this portrait piece of our national treasure by Hazard, while not particularly flattering captures the age and intensity of the great man. I cannot think of anyone living who has done more to raise the wonder of nature and bring it into our homes, but also quietly and diplomatically raise some of the more challenging issues of our time such as biodiversity loss, climate change and most contraversially spiralling global population.

Hazard, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026
Hazard, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026

Hazard, who has close associations with Bristol having lived here for a number of years, is much loved in the city. This piece showcases her ability to capture images, Sir David and the owl in this case, and bring them to life with a lively colour palette, and breaking up that which we know and are accustomed to with geometric shapes and interventions. This is a brilliant piece by Hazard, depicting a personal hero. Bravo!

7857. M32 roundabout J3 (787)

Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2026
Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2026

This beautiful piece of graffiti writing by Zinso didn’t last very long t all, I don’t know why it was painted over so quickly, but I am pleased I got a shot of it before it disappeared. It is remarkable how quickly, since his return to writing to walls in Bristol, Zinso has become a part of the furniture.

Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2026
Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2026

His writing is always beautifully finished, but also he manages to generate creative fills that demonstrate a very accomplished hand. Here his cartoon style letters are filled with light purple spots on a lilac base. Very pretty to look at and fulfilling.