As if I didn’t have enough complimentary words for Hypo in my last post of his work, I guess I’ll be heaping on some more here, simply because his efforts at the moment are at such a high level. Hypo also seems to be at the heart of the Bristol street art scene currently, and last weekend was heavily involved in a 50th birthday celebration paint jam here in the tunnel for Minto.
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025
This piece, in wonderful flame colours, mirrors some of his other recent pieces, including the letter shapes and the decorative spheres. There is so much to like about this piece as his constant development continues.
Wilko and Boxi, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2025
Wilko (Sgt Wilko) who hails from Birmingham has recently been rather busy in Bristol pasting up his designs all over the city, particularly in the Bedminster area, in advance of an exhibition of his work at That Art Gallery at the top of Christmas Steps from 18-23 November, with fellow wheatpaster Boxi. While I have seen Wilko’s work before (the first, middle and last pieces on this shopfront in Cheltenham Road) This is the first time, I think, that I have seen anything by Boxi (second and fourth pieces).
Wilko and Boxi, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2025
Both artists appear to take some inspiration from African art, and other influences such as cubism. There is a lot more to wheatpastes than simply sticking up posters. There is the original composition, the cut-out and equally importantly the positioning of the pieces, both in terms of the location and arrangement. Wilko and Boxi have set up a nice little gallery in this instance. Their wheatpasting is not to everyone’s taste, and they have caused a bit of a stir in East Street, where some of the shop owners whose shops have been targeted are less than happy. The ‘edge’ of street art.
On his visits to Bristol, Alex Arnell has definitely made Leonard Lane his home. All the nooks and crannies in this dark, narrow lane lend themselves perfectly to his nightmarish characters.
Alex Arnell, Leonard Lane, Bristol, October 2025
At first glance, this naive style of art might be considered by some to be the sort of thing that anyone could do. This viewpoint would be a mistake though, as Alex Arnell has developed a very distinct style that he replicates through his studio and street work, and as a classically trained artist this style is anything but child’s play. This particular piece, like so much of his work, combines humour with horror, colour with darkness. It is both challenging and arresting.
The following biography is an extract from his website:
As much as I don’t like talking about my art, I feel there maybe some confusion about the breadth and chaotic nature of my practice, so here I feel it necessary to attempt to explain.
Increasingly since moving to London in 2009, influenced by the abundance of street art all around me, I have found myself making art in outdoor spaces. Alongside this, I have also continued my studio practice – usually painting and often with galleries/ indoor spaces in mind-but the boundaries blur. Audience response is also crucial to my development. I want to make art that the public will engage with/find interesting. On the street/ in outside spaces, where there are people around, there might become a performance aspect to my art making, or it might become interactive.
For a few years now, I have worked part-time in a primary school making art with children, so this has had a huge influence on my work.
As for the diversity and varied choice of subjects/handling, I want to make art that is not contrived or elitist, so I try to trust and follow my instincts with regard to ideas/media choice. Once I am involved in making, the work usually becomes process lead and my mood at the time will dictate how the artwork is resolved.
My art is usually signed ‘Alex Arnell’ or tagged ‘Sell Out’. ‘Sell Out’ is simply a tag for my outdoor work, when sometimes I might give away work for free, blu tack it to a wall or make it in a medium that can rub off (like chalk). The words ‘Sell Out’ have become synonymous with the world of Graffiti/street art (an insult thrown at artists who have used the streets as a platform to make money from their art) seemed somehow humorously appropriate.
Zinso’s return to painting walls in Bristol has been nothing short of heroic. His writing is always technically beautifully worked, with tight lines and well considered fills. He manages to present clean and crisp graffiti writing every time he ventures out.
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025
In this piece his letters ZINSO are painted with horizontal layers of colour fills, nicely blended, running from dark green to yellow. The thought that has gone into the background is as thorough as the letters themselves, and as a whole the presentation is excellent. Zinso is both productive and tidy.
I am sickened by some of the wealthy and super-rich who will stop at nothing to avoid paying taxes. What is wrong with these people? Don’t they understand where their wealth comes from? As my grandmother used to say, ‘you can’t take it with you’. Greed and selfishness are alive and thriving in an ever-divided and messed up world. Oligarchs hold influence and power to protect their wealth… to what end?
This is an absolute corker from Zake, placing one of his iconic characters into a space suit helmet, adding layers of interest and perspective to this piece on the long wall in Cumberland Basin.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025
I think that the piece was painted for a celebratory paint jam, but I forget now which one it was, there have been so many in the latter part of this year. Great work from Zake, always adding new and interesting ideas to his base characters.
A couple of really quick posts today, I forgot that I was going in to the office today and haven’t left myself much time. This is a wonderful mural from Silent Hobo on the newly opened Last Chance Saloon, which was revealed about two weeks ago.
Silent Hobo is wonderfully adept at painting these large murals and capturing so much that represents the young people of the city with stories and emotions throughout the piece. Two large walls beautifully painted.
Silent Hobo, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2025
Silent Hobo has painted city scenes and dropped clues that it is Bristol, such as the hot air balloons, but also the architecture of the buildings. The beautiful scene above the front entrance of the saloon is relevant and heart-breaking, stirring up all kinds of emotions. Brilliant work from Silent Hobo.
It is always a rather pleasant surprise to find a Donz piece in town because he tends to enjoy painting in his ‘manor’ of L Dub (Lawrence Weston), to the north of the city. Something you can predict quite safely is that anything by Donz is going to be colourful and bright.
Donz, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025
First up, the white wall works really well with his colourful design, which could get lost without it. His letters DONZ are beautifully framed within a consistent solid black border and some fine black highlights and details. The pastel colours are nicely distributed as fills throughout. All in all, a great piece from Donz.
Is it really November already? It is all happening too fast for my liking. Over the years, this wall has been dominated by wonderful pieces by 3Dom, and this is another one in a top class series. It is a real ‘statement’ wall which is rarely tagged or spoilt in any way, and most pieces that appear here tend to remain for quite a while, although unusually 3Dom’s last piece here was very short-lived.
3Dom, Peel Street Green, Bristol, September 2025
In pretty much all of 3Dom’s work, there are two notable things going on, firstly, his outstanding surreal artwork and secondly a strong story or message underpinning the piece. The skull is decorated with so many interesting features and details, such as the change of colour within the pink circle, the independently patterned eyes, and the floating lower jawbone. The messages ‘unity is power’ and ‘resistance is fertile’ (an amusing corruption of the Borg’s resistance is futile from Star Trek) speak of activism and speaking truth to power. More strength to 3Dom. A fine piece of street art.
Natural adventures 