I would say that 2025 has been the year when Posh upgraded from being a bit-part player to a fully fledged star of the Bristol street art scene. His occasional little characters have developed into a diverse range of larger combination pieces that show off his unquestionable talent.
Posh, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025
In this piece Posh has combined his mischievous toffee-nosed imps with some unusual writing, which I can’t read, both in his sketchy style. The writing is full of colour and movement and quite unlike any other graffiti writing I have seen before. His characters continue to amuse, and I particularly like the fellow riding the bicycle. This piece is clear evidence of Posh’s growth and development.
RA, if that is indeed his/her name, came to Bristol and left behind four or five beautiful insect stencil pieces, which are right up my street combining my love of nature with my interest in street art.
RA, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
I am not quite sure if this particular beast is a beetle (I can’t see any wing covers) or something like an ant. It certainly has the right components; six legs, a head, abdomen and thorax and what I imagine to be a compound eye, of an insect. The colours RA has used to decorate the insect are striking and help the piece to stand out on the grey-buffed column. Lovely work.
I like character artists who create new ideas and scenes, and DFC 1848 has been spending much of the summer introducing us to a raft of fun cartoon animals to enjoy. This humorous piece demonstrates his willingness to look at new things and constantly evolve.
DFC 1848, L Dub, Bristol, July 2025
Two dogs need to ‘water’ the fire hydrant. One is freely relieving himself, while the other crosses his legs, waiting for his turn. As a dog owner, this piece appeals to me, although my dog never seems to cross his legs, he’ll just pee on twenty different tufts or objects every time we go on a walk – even if he’s run out, he’ll still squeeze out another drop. Some nice DFC letters and DFC on the hydrant leave us in no doubt about the artist.
Although Kid Krishna is going through one of his slower periods at the moment, it provides me with a little space to catch up on his work. This is a cracking piece on one of the less pleasant walls to paint, but, because of that, turnover tends to be quite slow. The ‘flowerbed’ is used as a public toilet, and there is a nasty piece of razor wire that has been deposited some years ago and never dealt with.
Kid Krishna, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2025
It is difficult to make out the letters CRIE in this piece, but I have to take it on trust that they are there. The pink letters appear to be breaking their way through a purple cloud, and then there is a little character, an eye with limbs and wings adding further interest to the dynamic piece. I was there yesterday and it is still intact.
Posh has without doubt flourished this summer, turning his occasional small doodles into lively vibrant pieces filled with his mischievous top-hatted, monocled characters, these painted at L Dub, a spot that Posh seems to rather enjoy.
Posh, L Dub, Bristol, July 2025
I love Posh’s style that has a sketchbook quality to it, with a lot of action crammed in and plenty to occupy the viewer as you uncover layer after layer of story. There is some highly decorated writing that underpins the whole piece, but I am not too sure what is spells out. I could easily see these little rascals forming the central thread of illustrated children’s picture books. Great work.
I would think that even though he only visits Bristol about once a week, Scrapyardspec must be one of the most prolific artists in town. This is a welcome pair of goofy characters on the pathway that leads to the Purdown anti-aircraft battery, painted on a container that seems a little out of place.
Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, July 2025
The two characters are very much of the archetypal variety, although he includes shoulders here, building on the central face of the characters. Another change is that he is starting to shorten his signature to Scrapy rather than the full Scrapyardspec. I have easily enough pieces to start a gallery, but he might just have to wait his turn.
This wall has hosted some utterly outstanding pieces over the years, and this combination collaboration from Dibz and Cheo is right up there with the very best of them. The first thing to notice about this wonderful piece is just how neatly it has been executed and how well it stands out on the black background.
Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025
The comic character, painted by Cheo is holding up a small board on which Dibz has written his name – it is a brilliantly clever way to present a character and graffiti writing together in a contextual storytelling scenario. There are so many details in the collaboration to enjoy, such as the signature bee, the laminate wooden board peeling and drips from the letters, and my favourite bit, the plaster on the character’s nose. Pure genius from Dibz and Cheo.
Hemper, Dun Sum and Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025
What a wonderful collaboration from Hemper, Dun Sum and Hypo, one that slipped a little under the radar and didn’t perhaps receive quite the fanfare it merited. Three rather different pieces, each making an individual visual impact.
Hemper, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025
To the left is one of Hemper’s shortened ‘HEMS’ pieces, where the overlapping letters are compressed laterally. This is a pattern he has been following for the last month or so, perhaps marking a quieter phase after his expansive work earlier in the summer. As ever, the piece, which has some lovely fill patterns and expert white highlights, is oozing with class.
Dun Sum, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025
It is impossible not to be drawn to the cat character by Dun Sum. Although I have (and love) a dog, I have always been a cat person at heart. I have to say that there is something that creeps me out a little bit about this cat, perhaps it is the smile or maybe the eyes, but the overall effect bis a little intimidating, but isn’t that cats all over? It is really nicely painted and a great focal point for the graffiti writing either side of it.
Hypo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025
To the right is another fine piece from Hypo – I say another, because he has been turning out so many great works with alarming regularity this summer. The aquamarine colours used for the fills of this piece have a tranquility about them, and with all the bubbles and spots has a distinctly aquatic feel. As I said before, three distinct individual styles coming together in this great collaboration.
Noise and Posh, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, August 2025
This was a bit of a find, and is a collaboration between Posh and Noise, not a pairing that I would necessarily have expected, but welcome nonetheless. Tucked away in a tunnel that is infrequently painted, but has recently come alive, this is a collaboration that won’t get as much exposure as it certainly deserves.
Noise and Posh, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, August 2025
Noise has painted some of his chunky letters with superbly worked horizontal fills and a rather nice midline in pink, which helps to add depth and interest. The ‘O’ of NOISE has been commandeered by Posh and brings together two very different styles.
Posh, Boiling Wells Lane, Bristol, August 2025
Posh has upped his game this year significantly and either works on his own, or in collaborations or augments other artist’s work, demonstrating his versatility. He has framed his little yellow posh characters within the boundary of the ‘O’, and created quite a scene, which seems to include a skateboarding kangaroo? A really unusual and fun collaboration.
After quite a long fallow period, Awkward has popped up once again, spurred on by Benjimagnetic, it would appear. His character pieces are so distinct and have a slightly sinister quality to them, with crazy big eyes, a skeletal nose and zigzag line mouth.
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025
The blue-faced character looks like he is wearing a Cheech Wizard hat, the character created by underground comic artist Vaughn Bode, and firm favourite with graffiti artists. The speech bubble contains the word Awkward and performs the role of signature for the piece, as if a signature is needed for Awkward’s work. A lovely piece.
Natural adventures 