Minto

6879. M32 roundabout J3 (675)

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025

This is an outstanding piece of graffiti writing from Minto, and is a great example of what is not there as being as important as what is there – if that makes any kind of sense. There is a lot of empty space alongside multiple illustrations and decorations throughout.

The letters spell out MINTO, and there are some regular motifs that the artist has used before, such as the character and a pair of sneakers at the base of the letter M. I’m not sure whether there is a coherent story or whether the piece is simply a collection of ideas and thoughts bundled up together. Either way, there is plenty to look at in this energetic piece.

6781. M32 roundabout J3 (661)

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2025

There was a period last year when Minto was in full flow, and barely a week passed by without a new piece from the graffiti artist, but over the winter months his activity in Bristol slowed. It was great to see this piece on the roundabout recently, and I hope that it signifies a return to more frequent pieces from him.

The piece combines graffiti writing with a wizard character reaching out, and some fabulous perspective as the hands grab out towards the letters. Although difficult to see, the word MINTO will be concealed in there somewhere, but it is all rather more cryptic than in many of his other pieces, and just for good measure he has written his name to the left. A cool piece.

6593. St Werburghs tunnel (464)

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2024

Minto went through a very rich vein of form and productivity earlier on this year, before falling off a little in the autumn, so it was super-nice to find this recent piece in the tunnel alongside Ren and Hypo, keeping things fresh in St Werburghs.

This is a classy combination piece from Minto, spelling out his name and including a capped character puffing out some smoke. Characteristic of his writing, the letters MIN form a wedge, followed by an elevated T rounded off with a large O. The irregularity of his letters tends to be something of a trademark. Very nice piece from Minto.

6252. Greenbank (130)

I have mentioned a couple of times in posts recently that Minto has been pretty busy lately, and this is another in a string of graffiti writing pieces. The writing and overall piece is a little more coherent than some of the ‘deconstructed’ pieces of late.

There is lots of colour and movement in this piece, in which the letters MINTO are picked out in pinks and oranges. The piece is a good one for a nice sunny day, for sure. I particularly like the two traces of stars on the sides of the letter ‘M’. good stuff from Minto.

6242. M32 roundabout J3 (606)

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2023

Minto has been painting a string of fabulous pieces recently, most of which are following this style of what I would describe as deconstruction. The architecture of the piece is there, with the scaffolding still left up (metaphorically speaking) and lots of parts are exposed. We are more used to seeing conventional graffiti writing with solid fills and continuity – Minto has blown this convention apart with his fragmentation approach. The overall effect is not unlike Benjimagnetic’s work.

The letters MINTO can be reasonably clearly seen, with some hint at symmetry (with the exception of the ‘T’ which breaks things up in space and colour). A couple of faces make an appearance, and there is a rather nice little shout out to Soker there too. Really great and different stuff from Minto.

6216. M32 Spot (188)

Minto and Bags, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2024

I am pretty sure that these pieces from Minto and Bags are part of a collaboration, rather than ones painted in isolation that happen to be next to one another. There is definitely some interaction from the Bags piece that overlaps onto the Minto side, but not necessarily vice versa.

Unlike most of his recent ‘deconstruction’ pieces, Minto has opted for a full size portrait, with the only writing being the ‘Minto’ on the subject’s hat. It comes across as a bit of a quick one, and may have been a dregs piece, because the fills aren’t particularly solid. Certainly this is Minto showing a slightly different side to his work, and for some reason it is a very memorable – maybe it is the green, maybe the hat… who knows?

Bags is a woefully underrepresented artist in Natural Adventures, and I think the only way I could rectify that would be to go through my archives and present several mini-galleries, just to catch up a bit. I think that Bags enjoys collaborating a lot, especially with his No Frills friends such as Biers and Slim Pickings. His letters are always recognisable and presented in roughly the same format, with the fills representing the main differences from piece to piece.

6207. M32 roundabout J3 (602)

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Just as I was beginning to think that Minto was going on a bit of a ‘slow-down’ he comes up trumps with several new pieces in a relatively short period of time. This is an interesting piece that was created during a paint jam at the roundabout. I have noticed that Minto has changed his style a little recently and appears to be undergoing a ‘period’ of deconstruction, where the elements of his work appear to be a little fragmented, as if several thoughts are going on all at once.

Concealed within the piece are the letters MINTO, with the ‘INT’ being reasonably clear, but the ‘M’ and ‘O’ are more tricky to see. For clarity, he has signed it in yellow bubble writing on the left. The colourful piece is full of eclectic decorations and a couple of characters, but for me lacks a little cohesion. The blue and grey background I would guess has some kind of meaning, but it is a little lost on me. Lot more to come from Minto soon.

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

Instagram: @instaminto

All photographs by Scooj

Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2025

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025

Hypo and Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2025

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2025

Minto, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2025

Minto, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, April 2024

Minto, Cumberlan Basin, Bristol, April 2024

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2024

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023

Minto, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2023

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

Minto, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

Minto, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2020

Cheo and Minto, the Lakota, Moon Street, Bristol

6017. M32 Cycle path (264)

Minto keeps his work ticking over nicely with a fairly regular weekly/fortnightly contribution, and each and every piece is a cracker. Minto has a distinctive style and creative streak that makes for outstanding graffiti writing – character combinations and mash-ups.

This piece, on the Cycle path behind the Black Swan, looks like a bit of a quick one and features trainers, something of a theme for the artist at the moment… that and camper vans – perhaps we can read into that a profile of his lifestyle. The letters, which spell out Minto, are nicely rounded off with a yellow and orange border. So good to have him back in Bristol.

5989. Cumberland Basin

The return of Minto to Bristol has, without doubt, been a highlight of the last six months as his unique graffiti writing style has significantly impacted on the already wide spectrum of styles on offer. Although Minto doesn’t follow a fixed formula, there is a lot that is distinctive about his work, in particular, it is often vertically quite compressed.

This dazzlingly colourful piece seems to have a trainer theme going on, with at least three trainers depicted in the MINTO lettering. There are also a couple of characters peering over the top of the letters, something that Minto builds into much of his work. This is a fine example of his work and an outstanding piece.

	scooj on 7400. St Werburghs tunnel…
	scooj on Winter afternoon
	scooj on 7400. St Werburghs tunnel…
	scooj on Sands
	scooj on 7398. Peel Street Green (…

	Loveswing on Winter afternoon
	scooj on 7400. St Werburghs tunnel…
	scooj on Winter afternoon
	scooj on 7400. St Werburghs tunnel…
	scooj on Sands

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