7145. Brunel Way (332)

RA, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
RA, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

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
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.

7101. Brunel Way (329)

RA, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
RA, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

This is a gorgeous column piece under Brunel Way, from visiting artist RA. Several wonderful pieces were deposited by the artist, all in the same area, and each of which really appeal to me. Anything to do with nature, and in particular insects, is going to grab my attention.

RA, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
RA, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

In this strip, RA has used a stencil of an insect and overlaid it three times on a tall rectangle of lime green, which works perfectly for the dimensions of a column. The detail within each of the insects has been hand painted, probably using a Posca pen for the finer detail. The pink and green colours draw attention to the piece on a grey background. Very effective and quite different.

7095. Brunel Way (328)

Nice One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Nice One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

I get the feeling that Nice One likes to use the streets as a bit of a test bed for some of his ideas, something that I have noticed quite a few artists like to do. In this case, Nice One has sketched out some ideas on columns and utility boxes at Curbside, underneath Brunel Way. This skull sketch is probably the pick of the bunch.

Nice One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Nice One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

Much of Nice One’s work looks to me like he has had a training in art, and he creates some wonderful scenes with the minimum of fuss, like this boat surrounded by gulls. The yellow streaks hint at a dusk or nighttime as if lights on the boat are reflected on the water.

Nice One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Nice One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

The third piece in this small collection is less easy to interpret. Maybe it is a beach landscape with some rocks and a hut and a calm sea that seamlessly meets the sky. Even though it is unclear, there is something serene about the sketch. Nice One is an enigmatic artist who enriches the street art scene in Bristol with his unusual take.

7089. Brunel Way (327)

Creamylines, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Creamylines, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

There is something about Creamylines’ work that simply seems to tick all my boxes, and I always get a little endorphin rush when I find one of his pieces, especially as they are rather infrequent. His ‘stained-glass window’ style is unlike anything else in Bristol.

Creamylines, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Creamylines, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

The column landscape piece contains all the things you’d expect to find in one of Creamylines’ works. A landscape of hills peppered with figures, faces and eyes, topped with breaking clouds and silhouettes of birds on a rising/setting sun. What is interesting is that the artwork is quite crude, but the outcome sophisticated. This is a wonderful and uplifting piece from Creamylines.

7084. Brunel Way (326)

Squarms, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Squarms, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

Visiting artists are very welcome in Bristol and inject excitement and variation into what is already a vibrant community. Squarms visited in July and left a few skeletons about the place for us to find and admire.

Squarms, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
Squarms, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025

These skeletons are on the recently buffed columns at the southern end of the Brunel Way Spot, known as Daveside by skaters (Correction, this little area is called Curb Side, a few meters away and across the road from Daveside). These sketched designs of dancing skeletons are most endearing, and capture a sense of energy and fun. The design formula works really well with the black and white bones set on a pink drop shadow. These characters stand out nicely of the grey buff (thank you, Bristol City Council!). More to come from Squarms.

7052. M32 Spot (205)

Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025
Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025

I wish I had photographed this piece before it got tagged up at the base, because it is another truly classy column piece by Silent Hobo underneath the M32. I have noticed that many of Silent Hobo’s recent pieces have a rather melancholic tone, and I wonder if he is expressing himself through his art and the stories it tells.

Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025
Silent Hobo, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025

In this piece, a young man is looking rather sad, and has a wooden stake piercing his heart. I would interpret this as being heartbroken, but perhaps I am reading too much into it. What I can say is that Silent Hobo’s portrayal of Bristol youth and their preoccupations and joys is unparalleled.

7023. M32 Spot (202)

Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025
Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025

It was easy to spot that this bright and colourful piece on a support column under the M32 was by Lis. Less easy was to interpret what is going on here so I turned to Instagram to see how the artist described the piece in her own words. The answer “Bright and tempting tree trunk portal” painted during a Bristol Mural Collective paint jam.

Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025
Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025

The woodland theme is something that Lis clearly enjoys, along with nature too, and she has painted a couple of hallmark toadstools in the tree trunk. There is a lot of detail in the piece, and I love the depth and perspective on the signpost arrow. some woodland flowers finish the piece off beautifully. It is always a genuine pleasure to hunt down or stumble across artworks by Lis.

6806. M32 Spot (200)

Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025
Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025

One of the great pleasures over the last eight or so months has been watching the development of Lis (formerly Le Imposter Design), from an occasional line-drawing artist to a full-on and busy spray can street artist. Her transition has been swift, but he has held onto some of her original techniques and augments some of her pieces with pens for the finer detail.

Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025
Lis, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2025

This is an unusual study piece on a column in the M32 Spot. There was a tagger a few years ago who used to paint coffee pots like this all over the city, but this is the first one I have seen since then. The piece has a naive art style about it, and is fun to look at, and I wonder if it had a dual function of being a bit of a practice for borders, lines and shading. So much more to come from an artist who is in overdrive.

6733. High Street Rochester

Hannah Adamaszek, High Street, Rochester, January 2025
Hannah Adamaszek, High Street, Rochester, January 2025

In January, I happened to find myself in Rochester, a lovely city that I have never been to before, where I was running a workshop. As is my wont when I am ‘on tour’, I got up early and strolled around town for an hour or so exploring. I was not expecting to find artwork from Hannah Adamaszek, but there it was, on a roadside sign – unmistakably Hannah.

Hannah Adamaszek, High Street, Rochester, January 2025
Hannah Adamaszek, High Street, Rochester, January 2025

Not only has Hannah Adamaszek painted the road sign for Seven Chakras Yoga Studio, but she has done a great job with decorating the columns of the small shopping arcade area, with some lovely Swiss cheese plant leaves, the trusted favourite of street artists everywhere.

Hannah Adamaszek, High Street, Rochester, January 2025
Hannah Adamaszek, High Street, Rochester, January 2025

I can only say that this was a super surprise and bonus on my Rochester Adventure, and confirmation that my street art radar is fully active and in good working order.

6692. M32 roundabout J2 (8)

Chill, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, January 2025
Chill, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, January 2025

It is always a little sad when street/graffiti artists move away from Bristol, but some consolation that new artists are emerging or moving to the city, generally at a faster rate, growing the incredible pool of talent. PWA (Pirate Wall Art) took a double hit at the end of 2024, with both Face 1st and Chill leaving town and leaving behind a significant void. Face 1st, it should be registered, has returned several times to paint, just as he said he would. This piece by Chill, however, I think was painted before he left, which made it all the sweeter to find.

Chill, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, January 2025
Chill, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, January 2025

Chill has managed to squeeze one of his stylish cartoon characters onto a column with great skill and without making it look too distorted or contrived. I will miss his urban street-wise people with their caps and ear discs. If you miss them too, here is an updated gallery of his outstanding work.