Natural adventures

7775. Stapleton Road

Avem808, Stapleton Road, Bristol, June 2026

One of the highlights of the year so far has been observing How Avem808 has been developing his work, and transitioning his character drawings and digital representations into his street work, creating elaborate combination and complex pieces.

In this busy piece, his characters have pretty much superseded his letters, and in fact I’m not sure that I can find any. Mouths seem to feature pretty strongly in these characters who are introduced alongside some kind of mechanical and process-type piping. There is plenty going on here, but I can’t be too sure what it all means. Colourful and creative.

7774. Brunel Way (361)

Creamylines, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2026

Creamylines has been working on an array of community art projects in recent months which has taken up a fair amount of his time, and, as a result he hasn’t been painting walls all that frequently. This piece under Brunel Way has bucked that recent trend.

This time his column landscape has more of a nighttime feel to it, even though there is a large sun at the top of the piece. Perhaps it is sunset. Water, fields and an urban scene all contribute to this overall English landscape, and in such a small area of wall too. He certainly crams it all in. Another winning piece from Creamylines.

7773. Cumberland Basin

Taboo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

This is a brilliant piece of anti-style graffiti writing from Taboo, which demonstrates clearly how interconnected and varied the art world is. The piece is a touching tribute to David Hockney, whose own unconventional style won over the public’s imagination and whose legacy will forever influence artists worldwide.

Taboo’s unconventional green letters sit on a pink background, but it is the scene inside the second ‘O’ that steals the show. There is a little pastiche of a swimming pool and diving-board, a theme so familiar in many of Hockney’s paintings. Such a lovely idea and tribute to pay. Bravo!

Cheba

A gallery of outstanding cosmic pieces by Bristol’s magnificent Cheba.

Instagram: @cheba_bristol

All photographs by Scooj

Cheba, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026

Cheba, Lime Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Cheba, Queen's Road, Bristol, August 2023 — Cheba, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023

Cheba, North Street, Bristol, February 2023

Cheba, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Cheba and Ghaleb Hawila, Jamaica Street, Bristol, August 2018

Inkie and Cheba, Park Street, Bristol, July 2018

Cheba, Jamaica Street, Bristol, June 2018

Cheba, St Michael's Hill, Bristol, February 2018 — Cheba, St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, February 2018

Cheba, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2018

Cheba, Wilder Street, Bristol, April 2017

Cheba, Jamaica Street, Bristol, April 2016

China Girl Tile and Cheba, Jamaica Street, Bristol, September 2016

Cheba, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2016

Cheba, Haymarket Walk, Bristol, February 2016

Cardigan Bay

The hottest of days

gentle sea breezes drift in

and glorious views

by Scooj

7772. Sparke Evans Park (156)

Phome, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2026

The writing style in this magnificently colourful piece somehow feels quite familiar, but I haven’t come across the artist before, or at least, the letters PHOME.

The fire and water theme is cleverly reflected in the letter fills, and the letters themselves are nicely structured. Some purple bubbles surround the piece that is set on a pink buff. All in all a very nice piece of graffiti writing, but who is Phome?

7771. Exeter Road – Upfest 2026 (40)

Rafamon, Upfest 2026, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2026

There are some murals that appear at Upfest that simply brighten your day. They have that uplifting vibe, without being overtly spectacular or knowingly understated. They are just sunny and vibrant and good for the soul. This delightful mural by Rafamon is one of those pieces.

You can see simply by the design and content of the piece that it has a South American look to it, so it is no surprise to learn that Rafamon is from Brazil. Set on a deep blue ‘sky’ the piece features a hummingbird created in a stylised composition of colourful feathers and flowers. A festival piece with a fiesta appearance. Lovely work.

7770. Tobacco Factory – Upfest 2026 (39)

Artez, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2026

My favourite piece from Upfest 2024 was an outstanding composition by Artez, and this year the Serbian artist has again excelled himself with this incredible study on the large premium wall of the Tobacco Factory.

Artez, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2026

In this piece, two people, a man and a woman are presented in a gentle acrobatic pose. Although the body positions look quite unnatural in that you’d rarely see people together like this, there is a calmness and tenderness that emanates from it. Artez, whose real name is Andrej Žikić, uses brushes to paint his murals, rather than spray cans.

There is no question about it that this piece was one of the highlights of Upfest 2026. It would be nice if they could remove the parking spaces in front of the piece, but I don’t suppose that you can have everything that you want.

One of the things I enjoy most about this wall, is that you can catch glimpses of it from further away, which creates a whole different experience and context for the viewer. The image below is Artez’ piece from 2024. What a brilliant artist.

Artez, West Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

7769. North Street – Upfest 2026 (38)

Softtwix, Upfest 2026, North Street, Bristol, May 2026

Upfest 2026, Europe’s largest street art festival (so they say), has introduced, once again, such a variety of artists, talent and style to the streets of Bristol, and we are truly fortunate to be surrounded by these magnificent pieces. In Bedminster it can sometimes feel like living in the middle of a giant art gallery. The organisers, Steve and Emma have done an amazing job this year. All that was missing was a live event in a park, but I understand there were good reasons why that couldn’t happen this year.

In the middle section of North Street is this remarkable greyscale portrait piece by Softtwix, a French visual artist and photographer-plastician known for her striking black-and-white paste-ups, collages, and urban street art. This striking piece is a paste-up – pretty much a poster – that is full of detail and intrigue. The portrait is cleverly framed with a brick archway, giving the 2d piece so much depth.

7768. East Street – Upfest 2026 (37)

Philth and n4T4, Upfest 2026, East Street, Bristol, May 2026

I first saw these two, Philth and N4T4, painting alongside each other, but not collaborating at Upfest 2016. Each of them was painting a portrait in their distinct styles. Since then, N4t4 appears to have stuck with his beautiful portrait pieces, and Philth has transitioned towards elaborate and stunning floral patterns.

This is a wonderful spot, above Hunters (an estate agent I think) which can be seen from quite a distance away, so you have plenty of time to enjoy it as you approach. This is one of those collaborations where the whole piece presents as one, with the portrait by N4T4 and the flower ‘print’ by Philth.

There is something rather dreamy about this piece, perhaps it is the predominant purple tone. Beautifully sited, framed and executed. Did you even notice the windows? More Upfest mmagic from the pair.

	Laura Newhampshire on 7773. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on Cheba
	beth on Cardigan Bay
	Sheknowsallblog on 7773. Cumberland Basin
	beth on Cheba

	Laura Newhampshire on 7773. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on Cheba
	beth on Cardigan Bay
	Sheknowsallblog on 7773. Cumberland Basin
	beth on Cheba

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