Paul Don Smith, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
This is the last of three pieces by Paul Don Smith, that I found at this spot just outside Surbiton Station. I am guessing that the artist favours this spot, perhaps because he is local, or maybe the wall panels favour his square presentation.
Paul Don Smith, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Each of his pieces have features popular culture icons, and this one celebrates the hit TV series from South Korea ‘Squid Game’. Paul Don Smith combines his stencils with general spray paint, that softens any hard edges, in a sort of collage presentation. Very nice work, and I’ll be looking out for his stuff the next time I go to any London street art hotspots.
Paul Don Smith, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
This is another piece from the surprise wall at Surbiton Station, this time one of three pieces by the artist Paul Don Smith. I know nothing about the artist, but from what I see, it looks like he likes to paint scenes in a collage style from television shows or films.
Paul Don Smith, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026
Paul Don Smith has chosen to feature Edward Scissorhands in this square piece, creating scenes and images from the film, including a nicely trimmed hedge and plenty of pairs of scissors. The artwork is a fusion of stencils and paintwork. It is difficult to know how much is brush work and how much is spray paint, but the overall effect seems to work and is quite unique. More to come from Paul Don Smith.
I am a little bit short on time for today’s posts, so this is going to be a quick one. I think that this might be the last piece in a delightful display of stencils painted by RA on a visit to Bristol, probably in July, on the columns under Brunel Way.
RA, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2025
This incredible spider piece might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it has style and impact through its design and powerful red and black colour selection. It would be great to welcome RA back to Bristol sometime.
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.
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
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.
I must’ve walked past this little beauty by Lis several time before I noticed it. It is heavily disguised, sitting on a larger piece, and easy to miss (obviously). I felt rather clever when I spotted it, but later realised, when looking at her Instagram feed, that it had been there for weeks.
Lis, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2025
The heart with a sword running through it and a snake is a stunning motif, and looks like a tattoo sample. The fine work is a combination of spray paint and she used it as an opportunity to try out some small stencils. This is so typical of Lis, expanding her portfolio and improving her technique and skills.
Since developers moved into the area around Moon Street, I don’t visit all that often, and driving around there is a bit of a nightmare, so I generally only visit when I am on foot. I had a lovely surprise on my last visit, finding this stencil piece by Cartoonneros.
Cartoonneros, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2025
I don’t know if the piece is new or old, but the artist does seem to visit Bristol sporadically – maybe he has friends here. Furthermore, I don’t know who the character portrayed in the stencil is, but it has all the hallmarks of a Cartoonneros piece. The black lines of the stencil are sprayed over a patchwork of orange and yellow paint, creating the unique look that the artist has perfected. A reward for keeping my eyes open.
Part of my work involves a bit of travel around the country supporting the establishment of new National Nature Reserves. I took a trip last month to Godalming in Surrey, where I was running a partnership workshop. Naturally I took the opportunity to wander round town in the evening and early in the morning to photograph the architecture, and doors in particular. I was not expecting to find any street art (it is not that kind of place), but my in-build radar and trained eye brought me to this piece by Hendog, lurking behind some bins. I think it might be the only piece of street art in town.
Hendog, High Street, Godalming, March 2025
Hendog is a stencil artist, who seems to paint around the south-east area of England, from what I could make out, and I haven’t come across before, although I think he might have a piece in Bristol which I will need to hunt down.
There are hints or references to Banksy’s famous ‘mild, mild west’ piece as he features an urban teddy bear up to a bit of mischief with a traffic cone on his head and a beer bottle in each hand. The stencil work has plenty of depth, aided by the clever shadow work. I have no idea what the locals think of it, but it has been there for a while, so I imagine they might be quite fond of it. A pleasurable and unexpected find.
Cartoonneros, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
Argentinian artist Cartoonneros has made a few appearances on these pages over the years, and it is always fun to find his diminutive stencil pieces. I think that I might have a bunch of unpublished pictures of his work from trips to London a few years ago too, which I ought to dig out of my archive.
Cartoonneros, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
This piece features a black stencil portrait of Lionel Messi (I think), augmented with an underlayer of rainbow colours. This is decent, simple and impactful work that instantly catches the eye. It is the only recent piece I have found by the artist, but I will be keeping my eyes open, because I find it hard to believe that he would visit Bristol and only drop one piece during his visit. I don’t quite yet have enough pieces to make a gallery, but when I do…
Unknown Artist, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Sometimes I have no idea who painted a particular piece but like to post it, because it is simply too good not to post. This is an unusual stencil and writing combination piece that I am assuming is by a single artist, but it is quite possible that this is the work of two people.
Unknown Artist, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
Of course, the point of the piece is to write a one-liner gag, which I have to admit I haven’t heard before, and it made me laugh when I saw it. There are a lot of words in this piece of writing and each of the letters has a 3D shadow, so I would say it is the work of an accomplished writer. The writing is accompanied by a stencil of a woman holding a spray can, implying that she sprayed the writing.
Unknown Artist, Braggs Lane, Bristol, December 2024
I have seen better single-layer stencils, but there is a charm about this one, and the whole combination, that I have slightly fallen for. My guess is that this wall was painted some time ago… I say that, because I rarely visit this area. A bit of fun for Tuesday morning.
