There are a lot of contenders for surging artist of the year in Bristol, and what I mean by that is artists who have been about a while, but taken huge steps forward in 2025. Candidates would include, Zinso, Asre, Creamylines and of course, Posh.
Posh, 32 Spot, Bristol, December 2025
In the latter half of the year, Posh appears to have been concentrating on his graffiti writing. His style is difficult to pin down, but I would describe it as ‘busy abstract scribble’. It is obvious that there are some letters here, but far less obvious what those letters might be. Posh likes to work with darkish colours, and has used this blue/green combination a few times recently. This is a nice piece, tucked away in a corner of the M32 spot.
Mr Klue can confuse me from time to time; his abstract pieces all have such a strong ‘brand’ feel to them, and he loves to paint the same spots in St Werburghs tunnel, that I can sometimes forget whether I have photographed or written about particular pieces. I could have sworn that I had photographed this piece some time ago, but it appears not.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2025
I spoke to somebody in the tunnel a little while back, and they were most complimentary about Mr Klue’s work, and especially about the tone and lightness of touch of his paint. I agreed, and then pointed out that you could make out the letters KLUE if you looked carefully. He thanked me and went on his way. There is indeed a lightness of touch in this piece and a couple of decent scrolls to boot. Always good work from Mr Klue.
There are some street artists who simply don’t appear to want to be followed, or at least that is how it seems, and it might be for a number of legitimate reasons. The first time I managed to pin down a name for this artist, he called himself j9449j on Instagram, followed by @Dr3amc0re94 and @all_4_n0thing, and now I can’t find him at all. My protocol for attributing artwork to artists who constantly change their names is to go with the first name I used for them, other examples include Slim Pickings (TES) and Biers (WD40).
J9449j, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025
The design of this piece and the colour palette are exquisite, with the chrome and bronze working perfectly with the black, white and turquoise. The abstract design carries, as always, a reflection of natural elements, such as leaves and grass, a feature of j9449j’s work. An attractive piece that is easy on the eye.
I am really enjoying the art of Sketch. His modern pieces appear to draw so much inspiration from twentieth century styles, incorporating bright colours and abstract shapes and ideas. In this piece, Sketch seems to be experimenting on a rather busy concrete column under the M32.
Sketch, Frome Side, Bristol, September 2025
The abstract shape seems to resemble a human form, but not quite, and it has been embellished with four nicely presented spheres and four purple ‘drips’. There is a simplicity of form that conjures up lots of ideas in the mind of the viewer. I am looking forward to Sketch breaking out of this safe space under the M32 and venturing to some of the more public spots… hoping it happens.
This is a wonderful geometric piece by Cuicasolo, AKA Elaine Carr, who I first came across in January 2016 and her BRISTOL piece in Dean Lane. Although she doesn’t paint all that often, she has a strong presence in Bristol through her creative interests and energy.
Cuicasolo, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
I love her 3D pieces that have so much depth to them, and this one looks like a kind of puzzle that could join up and interlock. There are some great strong colours used in this piece, although I think that the black surfaces on the doors should be red, to maintain consistency – perhaps she ran out of red paint? It would be great to see more from Cuicasolo, for sure.
Aha! how absolutely blooming brilliant to come across this outstanding piece from Ments, an artist whose abstract work I have long admired, but who rarely seems to paint these days. This piece was painted alongside Sled One, both of whom were pioneers in ‘colonising’ this particular wall – now a firm favourite with local and visiting artists.
Ments, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2025
There is a fluidity to Ments’ work, which comes across in this piece. Everything is carefully thought out, the colours and shapes, and even the scatter of blue shards bursting from left to right. A very classy piece that highlights how much Ments’ absence is felt.
It is a genuine joy to find Slakarts’ work, and this one up at Purdown is a real beauty. There was a time when Slakarts was painting very regularly, but I am guessing that the real world has caught up with him, and he tends to paint only a handful of times a year.
Slakarts, Purdown, Bristol, July 2025
This is a wonderful hybrid piece, taking his stylised cartoon character and turning it into an abstract cornucopia of colour, shapes and fill designs. The piece perfectly fits the concrete slab and somehow captures the mood of an English summer’s day. More please.
The emphasis of this post will walk through how augmentation works. In street art circles, augmentation (adding to an existing piece) is relatively rare and can be considered as a little insulting to the original artist, or lacking in creativity. On the other hand, it can be seen as flattering and complementary to the original work. Here is a wonderful example of a piece by Mr Klue that has been augmented by Posh.
Mr Klue, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2025
This rather nice purple ‘KLUE’ abstract writing has been hanging around at the entrance to the tunnel for quite a while, which doesn’t really come as much of a surprise as he kind of ‘owns’ this spot, by occupation at least. The purple is beautifully picked out with white and yellow highlights that create wonderful depth to the piece. Now all is just fine and dandy, and then along comes Posh!
Mr Klue and Posh, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2025
Quite a while after this piece was painted by Mr Klue, Posh came along and added into it three posh characters, in yellow, picking out some of the colour in the original piece. These ‘toffs’ have a strong political message, one that picked up a lot of coverage at the Glastonbury Festival, ‘Death 2 the IDF’. Once again, street art acts as a wonderful commentary on contemporary issues, and has an important role to play in free speech and expression. This is a great example of how augmentation can work really well, and Mr Klue thought it was rather funny.
It has been enjoyable to watch as Astrea becomes more bold with her artwork and the spots she is choosing to post. She seems to be settling on a style that is all her own and quite Gothic in its appearance.
Astrea, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025
Using the colours red, black and white, which contrast superbly (a combination much used by Decay in his early days), she has created an attractive abstract design. Tucked away on the edge of a long hoarding, I would expect this piece to be around for a while. Great progression.
There is something very comforting about wandering around a place that I don’t know very well, and stumbling across the familiar artist, in this case, not just familiar, but Bristol’s fabulous Mr Penfold.
Mr Penfold, Wharf Street, Leeds, May 2025
Mr Penfold has had a great deal of success with his commissions, and being invited to decorate this large building in the heart of Leeds must have been a real feather in his cap. It is interesting that alongside his colourful designs there is a lot of ‘white space’ which acts as a perfect counterbalance to his shapes and patterns. The building could risk looking too busy if all of it was ‘pimped’ a la Monsieur Penfold.
Mr Penfold, Wharf Street, Leeds, May 2025
I felt very much at home in my ancestral city, in the company of artwork from a Bristol artist, and the sun was shining. What’s not to like about such an occasion?
Natural adventures 