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.
There is no doubt about it, Kid Krishna has been smashing it recently, and indeed for quite a while now, and his recent spell has seen him turn out some outstanding work, including this intriguing piece in Stokes Croft. It is great to see Kid Krishna and others returning to this area (thanks to some new hoardings), which ten years ago was at the centre of the Bristol graffiti/street art scene.
Kid Krishna, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025
This portrait/writing combination is quite extraordinary, and takes Kid Krishna’s work to another level. There is a sharpness and realistic feel to the piece that expands on his more abstract work more commonly seen. What this piece also demonstrates is his capacity to create some really high-end artwork. The portrait of a tattooed woman on the left, gazing heavenwards, is exceptional and shows off Kid Krishna’s ability to paint fie detail, depth and texture. To the right, the writing has a transparent quality and looks to be fragmenting or melting – the whole piece plays with us in this juxtaposition of character and letters. Brilliant!
Drake, Stucley Place, Camden Town, London, April 2025
Wandering around without a set route is quite the best way to find street art in my experience. Following a map or guide only takes you to specific places, and it is by turning down a back street, or catching a glimpse of something in your peripheral vision and going to investigate it that makes exploring places so much fun. I see too many people navigating their way around the place with their head down looking a little screen and Google Maps or some other way finder and missing all the incredible people, architecture, events or nature that surrounds us. That’s enough sanctimonious nonsense. I found this superb Drake piece while wandering about aimlessly with my head and eyes up.
Drake, Stucley Place, Camden Town, London, April 2025
This is an outstanding greyscale portrait piece by Drake, an artist whose work I have seen in Bristol, but that I don’t know much about him. The piece has a commercial element to it in so much as it is promoting Nemesis, a tattoo parlour – perhaps a friend of Drake’s. Certainly a superb piece.
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 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.
Opposite the entrance road into Temple Meads station there is a little road that leads to Chatterton Square, which isn’t really a square at all, but a road running behind the Holiday Inn Express. There are some walls and a long hoarding that surrounds a plot of land where a disused petrol station languishes, providing a central spot for street art and graffiti.
Sepr, Chatterton Square, Bristol, October 2024
This section of hoarding is adjacent to one of the buildings of the petrol station and together with RichT, Sepr did a great job of decorating it. This piece is a series of little sketches and I think it might be a ‘sampler’ for his tattoo work, because each of these little designs would make a wonderful tattoo. I particularly like the penguin charming the snake and the clockwork mouse. This is an unusual and striking piece from Sepr.
More from the hoarding on Redcliffe Way, and this time from Peggy, and once again, these panels have been painted to support the Bristol Tattoo Convention. Peggy, like so many others, is a tattooist who has transferred her remarkable talents to decorating walls in Bristol, there is such a great crossover between the two disciplines.
Peggy, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
Peggy’s floral pieces bring something rather different and her distinctive style is perfect for small walls and spaces that she can fill with ease. The centre of this flower is beautifully painted with a yin yang symbol. It is easy to see how this design could transfer to a tattoo.
Peggy, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
Not content with one piece on this hoarding, Peggy decorated a second section with a larger arrangement of flowers and greenery, this time including one of her eyes in the centre of the flower. I think she may have missed a trick here, because that utility box is in serious need of a makeover, and she might have included it into the piece. Perhaps that was a risk she wasn’t prepared to take, which is fair enough.
These small pieces by Sepr have been lurking on the hoarding on Redcliffe Way for quite a while and have been on my ‘hit list’ for ever, I am glad at last to have photographed them before they have degraded too much or been tagged. I have a feeling that they might have been painted to promote the Bristol Tattoo Convention.
Sepr, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
Both of these small pieces resemble samples or examples that tattooists offer their clients. King Cooper refers to an artist called James Cooper, who ran his business Dapper Signs, a sign writing company in Bristol, and who tragically died in 2023 aged 42. He was hugely respected by the urban art community.
Sepr, Redcliffe Way, Bristol, October 2024
Sepr’s second piece on this hoarding is a rather lovely character piece featuring a heart and an apple? With an arrow running through it. A conflation of William Tell and Cupid perhaps. Such simple yet expressive pieces, and both so obviously designed by a tattooist.
We live in a crazy world. On the one hand there is everything to be excited about, all the beautiful things that our planet has to offer – nature, culture, science, poetry, art, landscape, architecture, sport, friendship and so on, the list is almost endless, and yet, on the other hand I feel stifled by all the horrors that surround us, from wars to disease to the rise of authoritarianism, the grip of advertising, selfishness, profit and greed, that list too is almost endless. My small gesture of kindness to myself is to keep writing this blog, all elements of it, as an antidote to the evil and to bring a little focus on the good things that I am grateful for.
Laic217 among many, many others brings me pleasure and happiness, both on discovering his work and then on recording and writing about it. This is a particularly good one from him on the cycle path between Sparke Evans Park and Temple Meads station.
Laic217, River Avon, Bristol, October 2023
The character, wearing a wooly hat and smoking, has a dark and sinister appearance, cleverly created by the absence of any white in the eyes, which is unsettling. The brilliantly painted skull tattoo adds a little threat and menace. No need to sign this one as it is pure Laic217 at his best, and although his choice of subject might not suit everyone, his mastery of technique is a sight to see.
I was caught very much in two minds about posting this beautiful little unsigned piece in Devon Road. Firstly, I have no idea who the artist is, which is always a little bit of a challenge for me and secondly, there are rain drops on the lens, obscuring the bottom of the picture. Ordinarily these two factors would dictate that this piece would remain in the archives, but I really like it, so I used my own veto (which I think I am allowed to do) to publish it.
Unknown, Devon Road, Bristol, January 2023
The motif is a strong one, and at a guess I would say was influenced by the tattoo world. There is a story of heartache here, burning love constrained by thorns. I love it. The piece is beautifully executed, with fabulous shading and highlights, and there is something rather simple about the design, the balance is just right, and it is not trying to do too much. Now all I need is to find the artist who painted it.
Because of its association with graffiti and street art, Bristol is a bit of a magnet for visiting artists and what fortune that Kane Rose paid a visit while painting alongside the No Frills crew a few weeks back. I don’t know the artist, but know that he is a tattoo artists who also paints walls, like so many of our own Bristol artists.
Kane Rose, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021
When I first saw this I wondered whether it might have been by SkyHigh, because there is a definite similarity of styles. I have to confess that I had to wait until I saw the piece appear on Instagram before I could be sure of the artist. The block letters, each with a different colour and style, on first inspection appears to spell USA, but I have a feeling it actually says UPSTART. A lovely piece.
Natural adventures 