7136. Greenbank (168)

Ailish, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025
Ailish, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025

This piece is another belter from the recent Bristol Mural Collective paint jam, protesting for peace in Gaza and Palestine. Ailish has painted an abstract piece filled with doodles and symbols surrounding a central phrase ‘this is inhumane’, a sentiment that we all feel but are so powerless to do anything about.

Ailish, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025
Ailish, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025

It almost feels trite talking about the artwork when the subject matter is so serious, but it is the artwork and the public nature of it that helps to convey the message and build on support for innocent Palestinians. The patterns and shapes are made up with the colours of the Palestinian flag, as is the centrepiece, creating an overall busy piece wit(a simple strong message. Great work from Ailish.

7135. Dean Lane skate park (862)

Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025
Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025

Asre is back! Back from what or where, I don’t know, but it is great to see his reappearance after an absence of three long years. This piece was tucked away behind the hedge on the swimming pool wall at Dean Lane, a wall that has had quite a high turnover of late and where there always seems to be something new to enjoy.

Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025
Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025

Unusually, this is a piece of writing from Asre, who is better known for his character faces. Everything is very neat and tidy. Some great colourful fills, clean letters, and two sharp borders, one black and one white. I very much hope that this signals more from Asre – I already have at least one other new piece to share. Welcome back!

7134. L Dub (78)

DFC 1848, L Dub, Bristol, July 2025
DFC 1848, L Dub, Bristol, July 2025

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
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.

7133. M32 Cycle path (295)

Kid Krishna, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2025
Kid Krishna, M32 cycle path, Bristol, July 2025

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
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.

7132. Greenbank (167)

Nice One, Bristol, July 2025
Nice One, Bristol, July 2025

Nice One has been producing some outstanding sketch-style portraits recently, and this is an absolute belter on the long hoarding at Greenbank. Incidentally, it looks like this hoarding might be around for a little longer, as the building work on one of the developments appears to have halted for a few months now – perhaps they ran out of money. It is a bizarre sight, almost as if time is standing still, with supplies and equipment simply left in situ and not a worker anywhere to be seen.

Nice One, Bristol, July 2025
Nice One, Bristol, July 2025

Back to the portrait piece. Nice One creates these sketches using spray cans, almost as if they are pencils on a piece of paper, scaling up his drawings in a unique and effective way. Nice One brings something thoughtful and different to the Bristol scene, which has such a wide spectrum of styles and talent. We are privileged.

7131. L Dub (77)

Posh, L Dub, Bristol, July 2025
Posh, L Dub, Bristol, July 2025

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
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.

7130. Purdown (94)

Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, July 2025
Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, July 2025

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
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.

7129. M32 roundabout J3 (702)

Lis and Elsa Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025
Lis and Elsa Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025

This wonderful piece is far and away the largest mural I have seen from Lis (Le Imposter Design) to date, and I was really lucky to find and photograph it, as it only lasted a day or two. Watching Lis develop and grow in confidence over the last year or so has been one of the great joys of doing what I do, and this piece brings together a whole bunch of ideas into a natural ensemble.

Lis and Elsa Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025
Lis and Elsa Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025

Let’s start with the writing – I think this is the first time I have seen Lis write anything, and it really isn’t a bad effort, and the letters and fills are commensurate with the mood of the whole piece (UPDATE: Lis tells me that the writing and the Octopus are by her friend and collaborator Elsa Bee). The pond scene with the dragonflies and bulrushes is unusual and uplifting, and although the octopus is a bit incongruous, he seems to be having a great time (which knowing it is by another artist now makes complete sense). A natural salsa. Lis is developing a lovely style all of her own, and I hope very much to meet her one day to tell her how good I think her work is.

7128. Dean Lane skate park (861)

Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025
Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025

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
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.

7127. Greenbank (166)

Amy McHugh, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025
Amy McHugh, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025

Another powerful combination of imagery and words from the Bristol Mural Collective paint jam that was themed on Palestine. This particular piece by Amy McHugh is visually impactful using the image of a dove of peace carrying a flower, and shedding a tear.

Amy McHugh, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025
Amy McHugh, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2025

The colours, as with most of these paint jam pieces, pick up on the colours of the Palestinian flag, which are all represented. The words “None of us are free until we’re all free – Palestine” are interesting, especially their approximation to the Jewish poet Emma Lazarus who wrote in 1883, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” It is a sentiment I believe many of us can agree with, but I fear we might be in for a long wait.

This is a strong message of support for Palestine and the people of Gaza and the West Bank by Amy McHugh.