6135. Dean Lane skate park (724)

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

Well, well, well, this outstanding dragon character piece came a little bit out of the blue. It is by Cheo, one of the godfathers of Bristol street art, whose frequency of painting has declined a little in recent years, but whose work is always to be celebrated.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

In this game, if you snooze you lose, and I arrived a littler too late to photograph the piece before it had been dogged. The blue cock and balls (one of the most ancient forms of graffiti), probably sprayed by kids, slightly ruins the flow of the piece, but takes nothing away from the enormous talent of Cheo. Every little detail is perfectly worked, such as the folds in the clothing, the dragon’s face, and the crispness of the flame sprite. The signature bee rounds the scene off nicely. So good to see, albeit a little late.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024

I went back to Dean Lane a few days later and the blue tags had been removed, although another one appeared to the right of the piece.

Minto

A gallery of illustrated graffiti writing from the brilliant Bristol-based artist Minto

Instagram: @instaminto

All photographs by Scooj

Minto, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026
Minto, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026
Minto, M32 roundabout, July 2026
Minto, M32 roundabout, July 2026
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2026
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2026
Minto, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2026
Minto, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2026
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026
Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2026
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
Minto and Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2025
Minto and Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2025
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2025
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2025
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2025
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2025
Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2025
Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2025

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025

 

Hypo and Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2025
Hypo and Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2025

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

 

Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025
Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

 

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2024
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2024

 

Minto, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2024
Minto, Greenbank, Bristol, July 2024

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

 

Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2024
Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2024

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

 

Minto, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2024
Minto, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2024

 

Minto, Cumberlan Basin, Bristol, April 2024
Minto, Cumberlan Basin, Bristol, April 2024

 

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2024
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2024

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023

 

Minto, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Minto, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

 

Minto, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Minto, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

 

Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2022
Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2022

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

 

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

 

Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2019
Minto, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2019

 

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020
Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020

 

Cheo and Minto, the Lakota, Moon Street, Bristol
Cheo and Minto, the Lakota, Moon Street, Bristol

 

Minto, the Lakota, Moon Street, Bristol
Minto, the Lakota, Moon Street, Bristol

 

6121. Frome Side (36)

DFC1848, Frome Side, Bristol, June 2024
DFC1848, Frome Side, Bristol, June 2024

The day after the wedding party before… Actually I was a designated driver last night and am feeling good, apart from suffering with a sore throat from competing with some rather loud music. I feel my age on these occasions. I am pressed for time this morning, so a couple of quick posts for you.

DFC1848, Frome Side, Bristol, June 2024
DFC1848, Frome Side, Bristol, June 2024

DFC1848 paid one of his occasional visits to Bristol in May, and left a few of his hallmark character pieces behind, including this cutie under the M32. As ever it is always great to see his characters, which he has been developing over the last few years. I fully expect to see him painting at the Cheltenham Paint Festival next month.

6113. Sparke Evans Park (98)

Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2024
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2024

Stivs has utterly smashed it with this outstanding writing/character combination piece, which was painted alongside a Kosc piece (featured a few days ago) on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park. Stivs is an artist of many talents, and although he in well known predominantly for his calligraffiti, he isn’t half bad at painting characters, as this piece demonstrates.

Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2024
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2024

Although he is a bit of a ‘potty-mouth’, this piece reads ‘FUK PIG’, he dresses the letters up so beautifully, that it kind of creates a profanity filter of sorts. The cartoon-style character, probably lifted from a film or cartoon series, is beautifully presented and makes you wonder why he doesn’t paint characters more often. Together with the Kosc piece, this is one half of a very fine collaboration.

Kosc, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2024
Kosc, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2024

6110. M32 roundabout J3 (582)

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

I am taking a little break from Upfest now to concentrate on the street and graffiti art that happens every single day in Bristol, the lifeblood of the urban art culture in the City. One of the stalwarts of this culture is Biers (a name I use because this is what he used to write when I first encountered him – he goes by several other names these days, including Jimothy Slip).

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

This is a very neat and tidy WD40/character combination piece, although I have had trouble identifying the character peering out of the ‘0’. The fills in the letters are nicely worked and the thick white drop shadow lifts the letters nicely above the lime green background. A nice piece from Biers.

6102. Cumberland Basin

Sait Bare, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, May 2024
Sait Bare, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, May 2024

Rather annoyingly, I keep missing pieces by Sait Bare, either finding them prior to completion or that they have been overpainted, so it was a relief to find this one finished and intact. This letter/character combination piece is painted in a metallic gold colour, that is strong, and the background decor reflects the general messiness of the wall.

Sait Bare, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, May 2024
Sait Bare, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, May 2024

The letters spell SAIT with the character taking the pace of the letter ‘i’, and there is a deep red and black striped drop shadow. The character is painted in a carton style, with the eyes and mouth standing out in white against the gold. There is a lot to like about this piece and I look forward to finding more from Sait Bare.

6096. Dean Lane skate park (722)

Chill and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Chill and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

You don’t often see the PWA crew paint this particular wall in Dean Lane, I guess because there are usually three or more of them painting together, but this time it is only Chill and Zake, so there is room here for both of them. The two portraits, in very different styles, are interacting really well together and integrated using a common background.

Chill and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Chill and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

Chill’s portrait is both colourful and full of fine detail, and has that accuracy that is common in artists who are also tattooists. He is also responsible for the wonderful silhouette plants and signature song bird. Zake’s portrait, is a little softer and full of depth, with a slightly odd scene of fish and water flying out of the character’s mouth. While I am not too sure what is going on, it makes for entertaining viewing. The pairing is great to see, and this is certainly a memorable collaboration from them. I’m not too sure it lasted very long though, which is a pity.

6067. Dean Lane skate park (720)

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024

There is something rather unique and weirdly charming about Awkward’s character pieces. There really is nothing like it out there in Bristol or anywhere else I have been. Not only are the characters unique in style, but his use of strong primary colours grabs the attention and draws the eye.

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024

In this piece two characters are exchanging thoughts, one with a speech bubble saying ‘Awkward’. underneath the conversing heads is the simple message ‘stop war’, which places the piece very much in the context of the present, with the terrible wars in Gaza and Ukraine ongoing. Although his interventions are infrequent, Awkward’s characters are always welcome.

6064. Montpelier Park

DNT, Montpelier Park, Bristol, May 2024
DNT, Montpelier Park, Bristol, May 2024

Now this is a rare thing indeed, a piece by DNT, an artist who hasn’t painted too much in Bristol over the last few years, but who at one time was one of the central artists painting in the Stokes Croft area of the city. His unusual and creative pieces have always been on the margins of the mainstream art we see so much of here.

DNT, Montpelier Park, Bristol, May 2024
DNT, Montpelier Park, Bristol, May 2024

This piece was painted alongside Klashwhensober recently, and is most welcome. The character is a bull, smoking a rather large joint, reminding me a little of the ‘Camberwell carrot’ from the outstanding film ‘Withnail and I’. There is detail and accuracy in the piece that gives away his skills and experience as an established artist. I sincerely hope that this might be a renaissance from one of my favourite artists. You can see more of his work in this gallery.

6063. Cattle Market Road (18)

Mr Crawls and Mote, Cattle Market Road, Bristol April 2024
Mr Crawls and Mote, Cattle Market Road, Bristol April 2024


The productive partnership between Mr Crawls and Mote continues without interruption. What is comforting bout their work is that both artists are continually evolving, and their influences on one another converge and then diverge, so in this collaboration, we see that slight divergence of styles.

Mr Crawls and Mote, Cattle Market Road, Bristol April 2024
Mr Crawls and Mote, Cattle Market Road, Bristol April 2024

Mr Crawls has recently been experimenting with monochrome pieces and developed more of an angular approach to his stylised bird characters, quite a shift from his early pieces. Mote, meanwhile, is creating ever more sophisticated monsters, and working hard on particular features such as the eyelids. I continue to derive so much pleasure from these two character artists.