7831. M32 roundabout J3 (785)

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

Although it is as inevitable as night following day, I am thoroughly bored by graffiti wars. It is such adolescent posturing that is one of the worst aspects of the graffiti and street art scene, especially for those who appreciate the work of artists, whoever they are. It would seem that some artists like to feel they are tough, or perhaps they have delicate egos, and tagging another artist’s work appears to be the only way they can assert themselves or express their anger. A pity.

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

Zinso has been hitting the walls of Bristol pretty hard for the last 18 months or so, and in my view getting better and better along the way. This green piece of cartoonish writing with a great drop shadow and yellow decorative bars is a fine example of Zinso’s tight work. What a shame that someone has felt the urge to write JENGA through the middle of it. The quality of Zinso’s work, however, shines through.

7830. River Avon (125)

Avem808, River Avon, Bristol, July 2026
Avem808, River Avon, Bristol, July 2026

Avem808 appears to have been having a lot of fun this summer, transitioning his work from writing dominated to character dominated. I think that he enjoys the creativity and charm of his characters as much as the technical aspect of his writing.

Avem808, River Avon, Bristol, July 2026
Avem808, River Avon, Bristol, July 2026

The writing is heavily disguised, and I have to assume that it spells out AVEM. It is the bookend characters that leap out, almost literally, especially the one on the left. These crazy imaginings are quite unlike anything I have seen in Bristol before and are becoming as a bit of a trademark of the artist.

Avem808, River Avon, Bristol, July 2026
Avem808, River Avon, Bristol, July 2026

When I look at the character on the right I see a sandglass, and the sand character slipping from top to bottom through the squeezed middle. I cannot help feeling that Avem808 seems rather liberated, from what I don’t know, but this marked change in his work is very welcome and I look forward to seeing it develop further.

7829. Lodge Causeway

Sepr, Lodge Causeway, Bristol, July 2026
Sepr, Lodge Causeway, Bristol, July 2026

This is a magnificent piece by Sepr which I was lucky enough to find quite by accident recently during a trip to scout out three hoardings in Fishponds. I had been aware of the piece for a while, but simply didn’t know where it was.

Sepr, Lodge Causeway, Bristol, July 2026
Sepr, Lodge Causeway, Bristol, July 2026

It is annoying that many of the best walls and spots are adjacent to car parks, and because of that parts of the pieces painted are obscured by vehicles. It is a known known, but nonetheless irritating. You have to get really lucky to find such murals with a clean view. This piece is unsurprisingly on the side of the Greyhound pub.

Sepr, Lodge Causeway, Bristol, July 2026
Sepr, Lodge Causeway, Bristol, July 2026

Sepr has stuck well to the brief , featuring a greyhound racing round a dog track, with some creatures gambling at a table on his back. Added to the charming scene are random animals – a hedgehog and mole, some rabbits in a tortoise car and more rabbits in a bird-shaped aeroplane. So much going on and plenty of good humour – a classic Sepr piece.

7828. Brunel Way (365)

Butch, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026
Butch, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026

This may be the most dynamic and sophisticated piece that I have seen by Butch to date, painted as part of a PLB paint jam underneath Brunel way. The first notable thing about the piece is that it is full of colour, and he has combined his letters with an animated character on the left.

Butch, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026
Butch, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026

Butch nearly always overlaps his letters so that the letter to the left sits over the letter to the right. This layout distinguishes his work from other writers. Each of the letters is decorated independently, although the ‘U’, ‘C’ and half of the ‘H’ share a grey and white colour scheme. The character is a running pencil, with a big mouth. What he is running from I have no idea. All in all an entertaining combination piece.

7827. M32 roundabout J3 (784)

Patch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2026
Patch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2026

I really enjoy it when ‘new’ artists come on to the scene, and this is the third piece that I have found this summer by Patch. There is something about the simplicity and form of Patch’s pieces that I really like, and they remind me a little of TES’ letters that have remained reasonably consistent over many years (although he has been much more experimental lately).

Patch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2026
Patch, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2026

This straightforward piece with solid fills uses cartoon letters of varying sizes to create the word Patch. Just in case, the artist signs the piece as well for good measure. I look forward to seeing more of these mega-tag stamp pieces popping up around the city.

 

 

7826. M32 roundabout J3 (783)

Tera, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Tera, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

This wonderful piece by Tera was all that remained from a paint jam by the time I got to it. Even though the full extent of the piece is somewhat reduced, I felt it was worth posting in any case, because Tera is one of the most creative artists in this demonic/horror genre around.

Tera, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Tera, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

The piece features a skeleton (of course) connected up to several pink and blue tubes and a visor with the word TERA emblazoned across the front – all in keeping with a robot/dystopian/horror theme, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but certainly is impactful. Could it be that Tera is taking on the mantle left behind by Laic217?

7825. Dean Lane skate park (935)

Dibz, Fade and Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2026
Dibz, Fade and Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2026

The Wacky Races cartoon series is deeply embedded in some of my happiest memories. As children, my two best friends and I would watch it every week together, adopting our favourite characters – being the youngest, I got third choice and was Professor Patent Pending, which I was actually quite happy with. Our own fortunes were dictated by those of our chosen characters, and winning the race was joyful and bestowed bragging rights until the next episode.

Dibz, Fade and Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2026
Dibz, Fade and Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2026

This is a wonderful combination of writing from Fade and Dibz and the character piece by Rusk. The wildstyle writing is top class, with each piece hanging perfectly in the blue sky. The writing is accompanied by the words “Dibz Dastardly & Fadely”, a direct reference to the characters in Rusk’s character piece.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2026
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2026

Rusk has done a great job with Dastardly and Mutley in their flying machine, and has conflated Wacky Races with Stop the Pigeon, which was a spin-off series from Wacky Races. I love this collaboration, a real trip down memory lane – probably 55 years or more ago. Thank you.

7824. M32 roundabout J2 (31)

John D'oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, May 2026
John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, May 2026

John D’oh has given me an unforgettable spring and summer with his extraordinary outdoor gallery on the concrete columns supporting the M32 above. Dozens of his stencils decorate the area with humorous and poignant material and then the council come along and buff them which allows him to refresh his gallery with new work. The circle of graffiti life.

John D'oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, May 2026
John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, May 2026

This black and white piece with a clever touch of colour carries a powerful message and observation, with the words:

Poverty is not just the lack of money; for a child, it is a lack of security, opportunity and the simple freedom just to be a child.

A quote widely attributed to UNICEF, and perfectly illustrated with a child clutching a teddy bear. The piece is a moving one and right up there with some of John Dohs’ best commentary pieces.

7823. South Street – Upfest 2026 (45)

Xenz, Upfest 2026, South Street, Bristol, May 2026
Xenz, Upfest 2026, South Street, Bristol, May 2026

Xenz has absolutely smashed it with this atmospheric neoclassical vista on South Street. The piece is an absolute treat for anyone strolling along North Street and a real head-turner. The wall is a special one and Xenz has more than done it justice.

Xenz, Upfest 2026, South Street, Bristol, May 2026
Xenz, Upfest 2026, South Street, Bristol, May 2026

It is interesting to see the changes that Xenz made to his largely complete piece when I passed by while he was painting, such as the lily pads and rocks in the water, and some white flowers on the creepers to the left. As you can imagine from the amount of intricate detail in his work, this piece took more than a couple of days to complete.

Xenz, Upfest 2026, South Street, Bristol, May 2026
Xenz, Upfest 2026, South Street, Bristol, May 2026

Xenz’ fantasy work allows the mind to drift into another world where calmness and peace are at the heart of everything. This is definitely a personal favourite from this year’s festival.

7822. Gathorne Road – Upfest 2026 (44)

Inkie, Upfest 2026, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2026
Inkie, Upfest 2026, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2026

One of the ‘sure things’ about Upfest is that Inkie will give the Parsons Bakery a refresh, and offer another bakery related pun, this has become a tradition now and something to look forward to on the Upfest calendar.

Inkie, Upfest 2026, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2026
Inkie, Upfest 2026, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2026

This year Inkie has gone to town with his ‘Bready or not, here I crumb’, which is a groan of a pun, but actually rather good. The writing is outstanding in his bold style, and it is possible many seeing it won’t actually get as far as reading it, being seduced by the grand nature of the lettering.

Inkie, Upfest 2026, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2026
Inkie, Upfest 2026, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2026

Inkie completes the piece with one of his trademark stylised portraits. No need for a signature here. Inkie is synonymous with Bristol street art, and after Banksy, is probably the best known graffiti export from the city, alongside Nick Walker, perhaps. Brilliant to see this refresh and enjoy the humour of the piece.

Inkie, Upfest 2024, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2024
Inkie, Upfest 2024, Gathorne Road, Bristol, May 2024
Inkie, Gathorne Road, Bristol, July 2019
Inkie, Gathorne Road, Bristol, July 2019
Inkie, Gathorne Road, Bristol, June 2016
Inkie, Gathorne Road, Bristol, June 2016