Natural adventures

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.

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.

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.

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.