7886. M32 roundabout J3 (790)

Minto, M32 roundabout, July 2026
Minto, M32 roundabout, July 2026

Minto has had a great summer, creating some truly memorable pieces around Bristol, and of such a high quality too. His distinctive style has been carried through all of them and this is no exception.

Minto, M32 roundabout, July 2026
Minto, M32 roundabout, July 2026

The heavily disguised letters, spelling, of course, MINTO, are beautifully embellished with swirls, patterns, lines and colour, but all seemingly beautifully balanced and interconnected. Midway through, there is the inclusion of a small character, wearing a helmet with goggles and smoking a cigarette. Such mini-characters often organically emerge fom Minto’s work, augmenting the busy mix. Another very nice piece from the artist.

7873. Purdown (104)

The Cat Came Back, Purdown, Bristol, August 2026
The Cat Came Back, Purdown, Bristol, August 2026

One of the genuine pleasures of cataloguing street art over a long period of time is that you get to witness the comings and goings of certain artists as their lives take twists and turns. The Cat Came Back is a great example of an artist who made an appearance a few years ago and then all but disappeared until a month or so ago with a significant and welcome return.

The Cat Came Back, Purdown, Bristol, August 2026
The Cat Came Back, Purdown, Bristol, August 2026

The Cat Comes Back has come back rejuvinated and with great ambition. This is a clean piece and quite a statement, in so much as it is difficult to ignore. The cat fits the square concrete slab perfectly, and has all the attributes of a great cartoon character piece. Looking forward to more cats on our streets.

7869. Brunel Way (367)

Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026
Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026

After a slow start in the spring, Dibz and Fade have run off an impressive catalogue of collaborations this summer of which this one on the side of the newish skate ramp at Dave Side is a great example.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026

The hot colours used in the writing are perhaps designed to conjour up the warm Mexican environment to link up with the Speedy Gonzales character Slowpoke Rodriguez. I imagine both artists had a hand in painting the character which is a brilliantly faithful representation. Some great flat lettering from Fade on the left, which is mirrored on the right by Dibz.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026

I have exhausted superlatives desribing Dibz’ and Fade’s work this year, and perhaps it is just better for me to let their wildstyle writing do the talking for me. And still they keep turning out more and more pieces – I struggle to keep up.

 

Zinso

A gallery of characters and sharp graffiti writing from Bristol artist Zinso

Instagram: @zinso.1

All photographs by Scooj

Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2026
Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2026
Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2026
Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2026
Zinso, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026
Zinso, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026
Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Zinso, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Zinso, St Werburghs, Bristol, February, 2026
Zinso, St Werburghs, Bristol, February, 2026
Zinso, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2025
Zinso, Peel Street Green, Bristol, November 2025
Zinso, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025
Zinso, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025
Zinso, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025
Zinso, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025
Zinso, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025
Zinso, River Avon, Bristol, November 2025
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2025
Zinso, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2025
Zinso, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2025
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2025
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2025
Zinso, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Zinso, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Zinso, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Zinso, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2025
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2025
Zinso, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Zinso, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Zinso, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2025
Zinso, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2025
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Zinso, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Zinso, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, January 2020
Zinso, Brunel Way bridge, Bristol, January 2020
Zinso, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2019
Zinso, M32 Spot, Bristol, November 2019

7867. Elton Street (31)

Esme Lower, Elton Street, Bristol, August 2026
Esme Lower, Elton Street, Bristol, August 2026

Straight off the back of her hugely successful stint as the featured artist/designer for this year’s Upfest, Esme Lower (Melo) continues to go from strength to strength. Her rise has been relatively meteoric and richly deserved. Her unique cartoon character style is popular and she is learning and developing all the while.

Esme Lower, Elton Street, Bristol, August 2026
Esme Lower, Elton Street, Bristol, August 2026

This symmetrical piece on framed board on the wall of Lost Horizons has an amusing twist running through it. A green cable/stalk runs through from left ear, with an electrical plug, to the right with a flower (resembling a fan?). Meanwhile the two characters appear to be having something of a face-off. A striking piece with strong colours – perfect for this particular spot.

7864. M32 Cycle path (320)

The Cat Came Back, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026
The Cat Came Back, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026

What a fantastic way to announce your return, especially when your street name is ‘The Cat Came Back’. This is quite the best piece I have seen by the artist and I believe one that might herald a golden era for them. The last The Cat Came Back piece I photographed was way back in June 2022, and activity has been slow/absent since then.

The Cat Came Back, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026
The Cat Came Back, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, August 2026

I love this cheeky piece. A decapitated head of a cat, with a distinctive single eye and long poink tongue sits on a blue bubble cloud. A piece in the true tradition of gory cartoon style, and perfectly executed and framed on a white background. A character piece like this is always very welcome and adds to the variety of street art we see in the city. Watch this space for more from The Cat Came Back.

7840. Goodneston Road (7)

Daz Cat, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026
Daz Cat, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026

Daz Cat has had a comparatively quiet year this year, and I am hoping that this is for good reasons like work coming in for him. Although I am posting this piece now, you can see from the state of it that it is pretty old, with quite a lot of flaking throughout the piece.

Daz Cat, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026
Daz Cat, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026

The piece features three characters, a blue human-like figure sandwiched between two cats. Daz Cat has conjured up a range of emotional expressions, one for each of the characters. Great use of colours, tone and touch has brought about a fine triple portrait piece from Daz Cat. I’ll be looking out for more, but my expectations of finding anything currently are quite low.

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.

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.