Second time lucky, I forgot to save this post first time.
Mr Draws has been enjoying playing around with his letters lately and here he has deviated from his customary DRAWS to write KUNST, which means ‘art’ in German. From memory This isn’t the first time he has written the word, and indeed he has had a connection with Germany in the past when he had been planning to work there a while back.
Mr Draws, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2026
This is a calm and upbeat piece of writing at the farm end of St Werburghs tunnel, presented in Mr Draws’ gentle style. The outstanding colour selections for both the fills and the background make this a piece that is very easy on the eye. Great stuff once again from Mr Draws.
I haven’t visited this spot for over two years, because access to it via a footbridge has been closed while the council have been making repairs to it. The bridge opened up about a month ago, much to the relief of walkers and cyclists alike. This piece, by Omie is also probably more than two years old, and I can say that with a little confidence in that he hasn’t painted much in that time, and the condition of the piece looks a little tired.
Omie, The Paintworks, Bristol, July 2026
The tidy piece is one of those where simplicity adds to the overall presentation which is clean and unfussy. The letters spelling OMIE are filled with two shades of blue and a lighter shade of grey, divided by a horizontal separator that resembles an urban silhouetted landscape, but isn’t. The letters have a deep drop shadow and are set on a contrasting yellow background. It is so good to see something by Omie, even if it is an old one.
The distinctive style of Donz is disrupted slightly by incorporating the letters TICKZ instead of DONZ. I often wonder how difficult this is to do for writers who pretty much always use the same letters, it must present as some kind of challenge. Thankfully Donz has risen to the challenge in this instance.
Donz, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026
Although I have arrived late to this spot (over a year late in fact), it would appear that little has changed in that time, with much of the length of the hoarding hosting tribute pieces to Tickz, a Bristol-based graffiti artist who died back in May 2025. The fills in these letters use typical Donz colours and contrasts and incorporates some tidy little designs. A bold black outline completes the piece nicely.
This wall has been in need of a tidy up for quite a while, and Dirtygypo has risen to the challenge with this delightfully colourful piece. Once again, I struggle to read his writing, but I think I can read a couple of Ss, or it might say something as simple as ‘stop’.
Dirtygypo, River Avon, Bristol, July 2026
Each letter has been assigned a different colour and the whole thing starts off with his trademark skull, which is beautifully finished. This fine piece joined a couple of others that have been painted by the artist in this spot recently. Nicely done.
Zeks, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026
Expect a torrent of pieces from the three hoardings in Fishponds that I recently discovered – there are so many great pieces there, adding to my already ridiculous backlog. This is a beauty from Zeks, who has a unique style, in which the unpainted space does a lot of his talking, although in this piece his lettering is larger than usual.
Zeks, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026
The letters spell ZEKS and although quite neat and tidy, don’t really conform to any particular regular font or size, putting his work into the category of anti-style. His colour palette of reds, pinks and purples is a good one, and the letters are augmented with a ball and stick design around the piece, looking like a molecular model. All good stuff.
Mr Draws is an artist with a conscience and once in a while his activist streak comes out, in particular when it comes to cows, their welfare and, I guess, the eating of them. One doesn’t need to be a vegan or vegetarian to support his views, especially around the custodianship of livestock.
Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026
In this stark piece, Mr Draws has painted the word ‘Humane?’ with a cow hide pattern (although with spots like that it is most likely a dairy cow), and a bleeding cut sliced through the letters. The message is loud and clear, and I applaud Mr Draws for bringing animal rights/welfare issues to our walls. Protest and activism is one of the vibrant strands of graffiti and street art and pretty much always has been.
I am so pleased to be able to post this piece by 210. Pleased because I have many of his pieces in my archive, but until recently didn’t know his name. Now I have to go back and dig some of his other works out, because to my eye this is fantastic. The artist can often be found painting alongside, ARSA, RBN One and Mesk. I don’t know much more about him yet, but will try to find out.
210, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2026
The bilaterally symmetrical piece is so easy on the eye. Although the pattern is quite complex, there is a softness and clarity to it that steers clear of being ‘too clever for its own good’ which some technical pieces can be at risk of falling into. The colour selection works exceptionally well, even if they aren’t my favourites. A really classy piece by 210. Watch this space as I attempt to unlock some more from my archives.
As mentioned in my previous post, I have recently discovered a treasure chest of hoardings in the Fishponds area of Bristol, and can’t quite believe that it has taken me so long to find them. I have also managed to track down countless Subtle pieces that I have been aware of, because they are here too. This feels like an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders, as it has been bugging me that I couldn’t find them.
Subtle, Enfield Road, Bristol, July 2026
This is a wonderful combination piece by Subtle, with his characteristic letters intertwined with characters and scenes from Disney’s ‘Sword in the Stone’ film. The background woodland scenery is truly brilliant and is such an amazing backdrop to his letters. Several more pieces by the artist to come from this honeypot spot.
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Another Bristol artist to grace the Upfest stage this year is Minto, who somehow managed to get away with painting two pieces rather close together. Sometimes artists pull out at the last minute, and opportunists make the most of the blank space.
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
This first simple white on black piece shows what is possible, using only one colour with some great outlines and a bit of shading. I can’t imagine that it would have taken Minto more than a few minute to create this cartoon doodle, and it is very much an extra piece thrown into the mix.
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
His other piece only a few yards away is also a bit of a quick one, but more along the lines of what we see frequently in Bristol. The letters spell Minto, and the pig character has been nicely incorporated alongside them. If I am honest, I don’t think Minto put too much effort into these pieces, and probably turned up more for the crack than the artistry, because he has been smashing it with much more sophisticated and well-finished pieces than this recently.
Shade One and Rusk, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Upfest 2026 was arguably the best so far in terms of the number of artists attending and breadth of talent from Bristol, the UK and from overseas. It really was a feast for the eyes, and it was gratifying too for local artists to be able to show off their work to a ‘home’ audience. Two Bristol-based artists, Shade One and Rusk collaborated under the name Stone Crowz, which they have done previously at street art festivals, to create this stunning piece.
Shade One, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
To the left, Shade One painted one of his glorious portrait pieces that have a crossover between comic-book and photorealistic styles. So beautiful to look at. Shade One is an artist who likes to take his time with his work, and This piece took him a couple of days at least to complete. He also painted a smaller portrait as part of the central section of the collaboration.
Shade One and Rusk, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The central panel is full of Japanese iconography. Lanterns, a Japanese flag and warrior character are all presented in the most incredible detail. I just don’t k now how they managed to paint the dragons on the lanterns – fine work indeed. I think that the bold writing is likely by Rusk, who is a highly accomplished graffiti writer and has done a superb job with these blocky metallic letters.
Rusk, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The Godzilla-type character stepping through a ‘Hokusai’ sea is by Rusk and shows off his skills as a character artist as well as a writer. I love the bamboo frame to the monster piece. Overall the elements of the collaboration come together in a very pleasing way. Brilliant work from the Bristol duo.
