Awkward and Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
I’m not sure I have seen Benjimagnetic and Awkward collaborate since last year, but here they are in fine fettle, on the side wall of the swimming pool, tucked behind a bushy fence, well out of sight of most passers by.
Awkward and Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The letters in this collaborative piece are by Benjimagnetic, and I can’t for the life of me read them. He normally writes 3 letters, so this is quite different. The cheeky, creepy red and yellow characters are by Awkward and augment the letters really well. A nicely integrated collaboration from the pair.
I have had a very challenging day. Super-busy at work. Laptop overheating and running extremely slowly, I’m overheating and running extremely slowly, and I have had to squeeze this post into a compressed lunch break. At least this post features a top combination collaboration by Veks and Bandito.
Veks, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Veks has painted a classic b-boy character wearing the uniform of hoodie and baseball cap, and clutching a spray can. Beautifully presented is a timeless retro style. Perfect.
Bandito, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
I haven’t seen anything by Bandito for years, so it was a very pleasant surprise indeed to see this piece in a tickz memorial wall paint jam. His slim letters are so characteristic of his work. The letters spell TICKZ and filled with horizontal colour bands that are beautifully blended. The slim yellow border finishes it of nicely.
Zebra Pozer, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The range of pieces at this year’s Upfest was notable from extreme high-end murals to regular Bristol graffiti writing and pretty much everything in between. This is a vibrant doodle-style piece by London-based Zebra Pozer.
Zebra Pozer, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The artist claims that he isn’t seeking perfection but bringing spontaneity and fun to his work, and I can completely buy in to that philosophy. Set on a pink background, the characters in this piece are crammed together and splashed with pinks, blues and yellows that breathe life into the black outline folk. Something a little different.
I haven’t seen a piece by London graffiti writer Tizer for a very long time, so it was great to come across this one on the long wall recently. The piece was painted as part of a paint jam that included ARSA, Minto and RBN One amongst others.
Tizer, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
The combination piece features his TIZER letters bookended by a pair of characters, one liking rather sweet and the other ghoulish and sinister. Tizer’s style isn’t crisp and clean, but rather more detailed and brush-strokey if you know what I mean. A very nice surprise from the occasional visitor.
This is a very tidy piece by Kid Crayon on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. The combination of letters and characters works really well, and the whole thing feels like an integrated cartoon-style burner.
Kid Crayon, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
The large blocky letters are not uniform in distribution and size, but do stick to a font style. The character in the centre of the piece is holding a balloon fish – don’t ask me why, he just is. Another example of Kid Crayon’s creative and humorous work. Brilliant.
This is an infrequently painted fence which was in need of a bit of a tidy up, and Avem808 has duly obliged. The combination piece features some lovely intricate lettering spelling AVEM with a very deep drop shadow offering a strong three dimensional aspect. Very much two-dimensional is the well-known cartoon character – the Pink Panther.
Avem808, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
Avem8078 is on a bit of a roll. Last year I had only seen one or two pieces by him, now he seems to be turning out pieces on a regular basis and massively expanding his repertoire. One or two of the most recent ones have moved entirely away from writing and focussing on some of his characters – definitely watch this space for an artist who is growing in confidence and status.
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
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.
Zake and Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
I would describe this collaboration by Zake and Hire as unusual, for two key reasons. Zake has painted a character, rather than one of his face caricatures, and Hire, who tends to be a graffiti writer, with the occasional rabbit thrown in, has painted a character, which, without the signature and a conversation with Zake as he was tidying up, I would never have guessed was painted by him.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
These two seem to have paired up quite a lot of late, especially since the PWA crew has become a little diluted, with both Face 1st and Chill leaving town. Zake has painted a humanoid robot, looking a little sinister, set on an urban landscape. Is this a dystopian future piece?
Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
Hire, meanwhile, has painted a comic-book style villain (or that is how I see it). The thick-set character with large, brilliantly crafted hands, is holding an old CRT television. Given that I don’t see many characters by Hire, I think this is superb, and hope to see more such pieces in the future. A fine and surprising collaboration.
Bloem is an absolute delight and always happy to have a chat while she is painting. I managed to catch her as she was finishing off this wonderful piece in the evening sun. It was painted alongside Lupa and Desi as part of a mini-paint jam.
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
The combination piece is quite sublime, with a stunning leopard spot fill and Betty Boop cartoon character. You can see from the image above how important the small details and highlights that are added at the end of a piece can turn it from a good work to an outstanding one. For example the white border tidies up all the edges and the starburst on the earring creates a focal point.
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
There are a few artists in Bristol whose work has a strong and positive impact on my sense of wellbeing, and Bloem is definitely one of them.
Silent Hobo and Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
Silent Hobo and Logoe have been painting together for a few years, and are obviously paint buddies. The first of their collaborations that I photographed was way back in April 2017, but I imagine they had been painting together for some time before that. This is a wonderful, colourful combination collaboration.
Silent Hobo and Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
The character by Silent Hobo, looks like he is standing in the face of a force 9 gale with his cap blown off, his hair pushed backwards and his hands in front of his face. I am guessing that this force is coming off Logoe’s bright writing.
Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
This beautiful script writing by Logoe was painted on a recent visit that was a precursor to the pair painting for Upfest (to come). Perhaps this was a practice session, although these two don’t really need much practice to be fair. The script letters spell Logoe and are decorated with vertical pink and bronze stripes. The piece is set on a white patterned cloud with purple borders. Altogether this is a high-impact collaboration.
Natural adventures 