7475. Surbiton Station, London

Aspire, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Aspire, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026

Another highlight of the ‘discovery’ I made at Surbiton Station, was this absolute beauty from Aspire, formerly of Bristol, and an artist whose work I have admired for many years. The piece was painted in a narrow alleyway, and difficult to photograph head on, even with a wide angle lens.

Aspire, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Aspire, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026

The outstanding piece features a pixelated rose, a thrush, a stunning conker and a bird of prey – maybe a hen harrier. There is a tenderness and love for nature that comes across so strongly in all of Aspire’s work, and he loves to be true to the birds he paints. I have to say, I absolutely love the conker – not something you see all that often in street art. A great find, albeit painted some time ago.

Aspire, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Aspire, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026

7474. Canons Wharf

Esme Lower, Monarch's Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025

Esme Lower (Melo) absolutely smashed it with this massive commission on the harbourside from September/October last year. The opportunity was facilitated by Upfest and supported by Bristol Bid and Redcliffe and Temple Bid.

Esme Lower, Monarch's Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025

The brief was to bring together elements of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, inspiring women of Bristol and local references to the harbour and businesses. So not too much of a challenge there then. Her upbeat cartoon scenes and characters lent themselves very well to the brief, and the outcome is hugely impressive, as the pictures below show. Well done Melo!

Esme Lower, Monarch's Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch's Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch's Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch's Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch's Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch's Way, Bristol, October 2025
Esme Lower, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025

7473. St Werburghs tunnel (569)

Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025

This was a piece from a little while ago by Kool Hand, celebrating his own birthday with some friends in the tunnel. For some reason, my iPhone was playing up that day, and my photographs a little blurry – some kind of auto-setting might have kicked in because of the low light levels.

Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025
Kool Hand, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025

The combination piece has the letters KOOL accompanied by a trademark orangutan head, and the whole thing is very nicely presented. Kool Hand is an artist whose work just keeps on developing gradually but consistently. A very nice birthday present to self.

7472. Surbiton Station, London

Layla's Murals, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Layla’s Murals, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026

This wall at Surbiton Station was the gift that keeps on giving. Although this piece by Layla’s Murals is several years old – it took me a while to find it on her Instagram page – it is still looking rather good, and hasn’t been tagged at all.

Layla's Murals, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Layla’s Murals, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026

The stunning portrait of the leopard stands out alongside a large and dramatic sky. Ordinarily such a large space would be filled with bits and bobs, but Layla’s Murals clearly has the confidence and belief in her composition, and it works really well.

As a slight aside, I am learning Shakespeare’s wonderful ‘seven ages of man’ monologue, because I want to, and this picture reminds me of one of the lines…

‘Then a soldier, full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard’

The ‘pard’ is a leopard, and here you can see why a soldier might be bearded like one. Great stuff.

Crazy mind

.

Dreamed of crows nesting

using timber planks to line

pilfered from a fire

.

by Scooj

I try to avoid haiku about dreams but this was just so vivid.

7471. St Werburghs tunnel (568)

Fasho, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2026
Fasho, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2026

For quite a while now, I have been photographing Fasho’s writing, but held back on posting any pieces due to the fact that I know nothing at all about the artist. It seems that until I meet them, I’ll not find out any more, so I thought I’d go ahead with this nice green piece in the tunnel.

Fasho, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2026
Fasho, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2026

Fasho has a rather unique style of writing that includes exaggerated rounded ends to all the letters, giving the writing a soft appearance. This combination piece (which I am assuming is all by Fasho, although the character might be another artist’s work) contains the letters FASHO and a gun-wielding soldier on the left. There is good definition between the green fills and patterns and the white and black borders, keeping the piece tidy. A peace icon in the position of the ‘O’ indicate where this piece is coming from. Much more from Fasho to come from my archives.

 

 

7470. M32 roundabout J3 (742)

Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2026
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2026

There was a time when Klashwhensober was the most prolific graffiti writer in Bristol, by some margin. For personal reasons that run came to a fairly abrupt end. After a quiet year or so, Klashwhensober has returned in a much more measured and regulated fashion, painting the odd piece here and there.

Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2026
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2026

This piece on the roundabout has been painted over some other work, and is perhaps less defined around the edges than it might be. The letters spell SOBER and are nicely filled with red, white and blue, with some creative fills throughout. Although it looks a little busy, there is a calmness about this piece which I hope is a reflection on the artist’s current situation.

What is that?

.

The bright yellow thing

set in a pallid blue sky

it’s been a long time

.

by Scooj

7469. Surbiton Station, London

Roo, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Roo, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026

One thing that you can be reasonably certain about is that when you find a SkyHigh piece there is likely to be a Roo piece nearby, as the couple often paint together. It looks like Roo drew the short straw and had this rather tricky little spot behind the letter box.

Roo, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Roo, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026

Roo has painted one of her trademark bees that she can probably paint in her sleep. The bee is painted with such assurance, with beautiful clean lines and strong solid fills. I rather like the way that she has painted each of the concrete slabs with a different shade of blue. Buzzzz.

7468. Dean Lane skate park (901)

Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2026
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2026

There is something rather nice when artists who are at the top of the ladder find time to get back to their roots with a bit of graffiti writing, and I don’t think there is anybody who does it better than Sled One.

Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2026
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2026

This is a lovely piece on my favourite curved wall, which has been rather neglected of late, with the letters ASK, After School Klub, the most established Bristol crew. Sled One would have almost certainly free-styled this piece and probably rather quickly, but such is his talent that it looks pretty much perfectly conceived and executed. Cracking work.