7785. Brunel Way (362)

 

Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026
Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026

There are no two ways about it, Sepr has to be one of the greatest creators of graffiti characters around. It is not only his perfect execution that draws the eye, but his creative concepts that make his work so compelling… his ability to tell stories through his artwork. Stories that the viewer can make up, depending on how they interpret what they are looking at.

Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026
Sepr, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026

In this piece, we have a three-toed sloth dressed in a smart suit, holding a briefcase with the letters ASK embossed on it, and holding a mobile telephone with the word ‘Yoooooo!’ in a speech bubble. For me this is a throwback to the late 1980s/early 90s where such work executives paraded around as if they were the most important people ever. We all knew they were jumped-up self-important twits, many of whom ended up running the country in one form or another. Generally speaking sloths in a suit.

7755. Dean Lane skate park (931)

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026

This outstanding scene was painted by Cheo as part of a recent first anniversary tribute paint jam to the departed Bristol graffiti writer Tickz (Dave Tanner). And what a magnificent piece to paint in his honour.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026

Cheo tells the most incredible stories in his outstanding cartoon pieces, and here I think we have a representation of Tickz as a spray can leaning up against a tree stump. Some lilies, lilies symbolize the restored innocence of the soul and the resurrection of the dead, are poking out on the far side of the tree root. A beautifully painted and poignant piece.

7753. Stapleton Road

Avem808, Stapleton Road, Bristol, June 2026
Avem808, Stapleton Road, Bristol, June 2026

Avem808 only really came under my radar about a year ago, and since then his work has transformed somewhat and at an incredible pace. I think that he has a bit of time on his hands at the moment, which is why he is able to get out and paint quite frequently.

Avem808, Stapleton Road, Bristol, June 2026
Avem808, Stapleton Road, Bristol, June 2026

His intricate writing has given way a little to the creation of busy and detailed combination pieces, crawling with characters. Here, his letters in red and pink, which I assume spell out AVEM, are joined by a fez-wearing camel, and a raft of other crazy characters. There is a lot going on in this piece and an awful lot to look at, it is almost overwhelming, but worth dwelling on it for a while to see all the little stories unfold in front of you.

I am Ian

A gallery of superb character street art by Bristol artist I am Ian.

Instagram: @iam.ian.m

All photographs by Scooj

I am Ian, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2026
I am Ian, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2026
I am Ian, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025
I am Ian, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025
I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
I am Ian, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
I am Ian, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
I am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
I am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023
I Am Ian, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
I Am Ian, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020
I am Ian and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
I am Ian and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
I Am Ian, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
I Am Ian, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020
Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

7709. Greville Smith Park – Upfest 2026 (16)

DFC1848, Upfest 2026, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2026
DFC1848, Upfest 2026, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2026

It was good to catch up with DFC1848 at this year’s Upfest, and before he painted this fun character piece, we had a long chat while admiring Jimmer Wilmot’s skilful alphabetti spaghetti piece.

DFC1848, Upfest 2026, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2026
DFC1848, Upfest 2026, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2026

With so much practice over the years, DFC1848 has built up a portfolio of animal characters which he is constantly adding to. When he first started, he would paint the same two characters pretty much all of the time, a bear and a spray can with wings. Now his menagerie swells and is bursting at the seams, with the addition of this rather unhinged elephant. Great work, beautifully executed.

7672. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (7)

The Art of Sok, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The Art of Sok, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026

What a wonderful bonus for Upfest 202 to have The Art of Sok come over from Wales to paint this absolute gem on Greenway Bush Lane. His comic-book cartoon style is utterly captivating and feels very contemporary in a kind of retro way.

The Art of Sok, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The Art of Sok, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026

The BS3 referred to on the cap is the postal district where Upfest is held, encompassing Bedminster, Southville, Bower Ashton and Windmill Hill. The two characters, captured in shades of pink are pictured standing in front of silhouetted buildings and a nighttime sky. It feels like there is a story here, leaving the viewer wanting to know more. A wonderful Upfest piece.

7657. Stillhouse Lane – Upfest 2026 (3)

Sepr, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Sepr, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026

The organisers of Upfest have been keeping busy since the last Upfest in 2024, and incorporated a host of new walls to show off local, national and international talent for this year’s festival. This wall is tucked away just south of the east end of East Street, and is in an area I’m not sure that I have ever been to before. The wall is on the side of a light industrial unit called Willway Yard, with plenty of space for multiple artists. One of the first to complete his allocated space is Bristol artist Sean Sepr.

Sepr, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Sepr, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026

Sepr has an extraordinary talent for telling elaborate stories in his cartoon-style pieces. Everything is laid out with clarity and humour, and then it is up to the viewer to piece it all together into some kind of narrative. My reading of the situation is that a cyclist has had a bit of an accident, running into some wet concrete perhaps and rather than helping him, a collection of animals are taking advantage of the unfortunate protagonist and generally being unhelpful. I love the way the fox is stealing his shoes and socks. Creative and imaginative.

7645. Dean Lane skate park (921)

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

Over the last year or so, Cheo seems to have upped his game (if that is at all possible), certainly in the frequency of his wall decorations. Cheo is a very talented artist who has been part of the ‘establishment’ in Bristol, but never lost his contemporary edge, and appears to be equally happy with his commercial work and his ‘graffiti’ art.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

This piece in Dean Lane is in a narrow section and quite difficult to photograph – where would I be without a wide angle facility on my phone? The character in the piece, wearing a LIDL T-shirt has been spraying (one assumes) a CHEO throw up in green and blue. He is holding a spray can out of which a rather surreal scene unfolds… a pink blob character, complete with a plunger stuck to his head and smoking a cigar. What!? Great work from a master craftsman.

7638. Dean Lane skate park (919)

Dibz, Cheo and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Dibz, Cheo and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

What pure joy to come across this outstanding production piece by Dibz, Cheo and Soker. For anyone older than me, the piece is inspired by the long-running children’s cartoon Spongebob Squarepants.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

To the left Dibz had filled his outstanding wildstyle writing with the colours of Spongebob’s friend Patrick, the starfish, really cleverly done and as you would expect from Dibz, tight as a nut.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

In the middle, Cheo has painted a brilliant rendition of Squidward Tentacles, with a little sea snail on his back. Naturally the character is up to no good with some spray cans, and Cheo has included his signature bee, as you’d expect.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

To the right-hand side of the triptych is another remarkable piece of wildstyle writing from Soker, which has been filled with the colours of the star of the show himself, Spongebob. I love the attention to detail with the inclusion of his little red tie.

In addition to the three main characters, the three artists have added so much detail to the background, creating a masterpiece, which fans of the cartoon would relish. Utterly brilliant and next-level.

7624. River Avon (116)

Seam, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026
Seam, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026

I took these photographs on one of those rare occasions that my wife joined me on a ‘street art’ dog walk. She doesn’t share my enthusiasm for paint chucked at walls, but to be fair, not many people do. On the upside I did manage to introduce my wife to a new route for her road runs, for which she was most grateful.

Seam, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026
Seam, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026

These letters from Seam spell out his name with a series of characters in monochrome colour. There is a lot to like about this line up of cartoon-style characters, which although quite crudely drawn, have something about them. I love this take on combination graffiti writing.