Zake and Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
I would describe this collaboration by Zake and Hire as unusual, for two key reasons. Zake has painted a character, rather than one of his face caricatures, and Hire, who tends to be a graffiti writer, with the occasional rabbit thrown in, has painted a character, which, without the signature and a conversation with Zake as he was tidying up, I would never have guessed was painted by him.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
These two seem to have paired up quite a lot of late, especially since the PWA crew has become a little diluted, with both Face 1st and Chill leaving town. Zake has painted a humanoid robot, looking a little sinister, set on an urban landscape. Is this a dystopian future piece?
Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
Hire, meanwhile, has painted a comic-book style villain (or that is how I see it). The thick-set character with large, brilliantly crafted hands, is holding an old CRT television. Given that I don’t see many characters by Hire, I think this is superb, and hope to see more such pieces in the future. A fine and surprising collaboration.
Stivs has been turning out some sensational portrait pieces lately, and this combination piece on the roundabout is really rather special. Perhaps the most surprising thing about it is that the letters D and S look rather amateurish alongside the portrait.
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
Although the letters look at odds in this piece, it must have been deliberate, because Stivs is capable of truly great writing, and also, the shadows are perfect, which gives away a talented hand at the helm.
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
The star of the combination is the portrait of the woman. Stivs has developed this style of near-photorealism with a touch of cartoon to perfection and this is one in a series of stunning portraits. There is some beautiful shading and great use of highlights and tones in this piece. Outstanding work by Stivs.
Just a quick one this afternoon – the day has somewhat run away from me and I have a very busy schedule. Painted as part of a paint jam, this is a bold and colourful piece by ARSA.
ARSA, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
The chunky, regular letters that give the word a bilaterally symmetrical appearance are filled with blocks of colour that follow a pattern through the piece. I wonder to myself whether the pink is a bit too much, but I guess that without it there would be a risk of it being a bit flat. ARSA is becoming a bit of a regular this year, stepping up both the quality and quantity of his graffiti writing pieces.
Logoe has been turning out some wonderful pieces lately, but this one, for sheer boldness and vibrancy has to be my favourite from this particular visit to Bristol. The overriding red colours are captivating.
Logoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2026
His script writing, filled with red and orange, is decorated with a scattering of blue and yellow oval spots, so characteristic of his style, and he has added the words ‘hanging on by a thread’, which probably means more to Logoe than it does to me. Fabulous piece of graffiti writing.
Doors 358 – Doors of Shrewsbury (part VIII) – April 2025 (and August 2025)
Quite unsurprisingly, this week I continue with doors from Shrewsbury, which I have to say has been a joy of doors. It is not every town centre that has so much to offer in terms of interesting doors, but in Shrewsbury they are absolutely everywhere. The rich history of the town is reflected in them.
This selection mostly features town house doors, some of which I think are quite amazing, the light blue ones in particular. Most were photographed in April 2025, but some on a return visit in August 2025. I hope you enjoy the selection.
Timber-framed Tudor house with studded door, Council House Court, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, August 2025Stunning entrance and doorway, Council House Court, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, August 2025Timber-framed Tudor house over gateway, Council House Court, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, August 2025Studded basement door, Council House Court, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, August 2025Double fronted shop windows either side of a gated door, Castle Gate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, April 2025Beautiful old studded door and timber door frame, Frankwell, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, April 2025Double handled panelled door and timber door frame, Frankwell, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, April 2025Wonderful light blue double door and stained glass windows, School Gardens, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, April 2025Studded light blue door, School Gardens, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, April 2025Grand red door and stained glass window above, Castle Street, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, April 2025
I think that there are about three more selections from Shrewsbury before I turn my attention to something different – I do apologise for this long series, but it was way too difficult to discard doors to favour brevity. May I wish you a happy weekend.
Until next time, see ya.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.
I’ve been waiting a long time to photograph this shutter when it is both closed and doesn’t have a car parked in front of it. On one of my recent Upfest walks I got lucky. While Inkie is a graffiti legend in Bristol, he also has to make a living, and commission pieces like this one, however big or small, help to pay the bills.
Inkie, North Street, Bristol, May 2026
Inkie has used a nice typeface for the words ‘Ashton Fruit & Veg’ which is easily identifiable as his work, but not as ‘Inkie’ as some of his pieces. Some fruit and vegetables decorate the bottom of the shutter and more Inkiesque rays and stars adorn the top. A nice jobbing piece from the artist.
Bloem is an absolute delight and always happy to have a chat while she is painting. I managed to catch her as she was finishing off this wonderful piece in the evening sun. It was painted alongside Lupa and Desi as part of a mini-paint jam.
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
The combination piece is quite sublime, with a stunning leopard spot fill and Betty Boop cartoon character. You can see from the image above how important the small details and highlights that are added at the end of a piece can turn it from a good work to an outstanding one. For example the white border tidies up all the edges and the starburst on the earring creates a focal point.
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
There are a few artists in Bristol whose work has a strong and positive impact on my sense of wellbeing, and Bloem is definitely one of them.
Roman snail (Helix potamia), Cheltenham Escarpment National Nature Reserve, Gloucestershire, June 2026
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Roman artefact
also known as escargot
grassland survivor
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by Scooj
Roman snails are a naturalised species in the UK, thought to have been introduced by the Romans for food. This is the snail that is still prepared in France as ‘escargot’. However, some of the UK’s populations were decimated by people collecting them for cuisine or selling to such an extent that in 2008, the snails were given nearly total protection under the Wildlife & Countryside Act in order to save the remaining colonies. (Taken from a rather interesting RHS article)
I have passed this doorway many times, but I don’t think that I have previously photographed this stencil by Stewy, which was painted in May 2024, I think. The stencil is a portrait of Mark Stewart, English singer and founding member of Pop Group, and described as ‘the godfather of Bristol music’.
Stewy, North Street, Bristol, May 2026
This is the second stencil I found during Upfest 2026, because I was doing a lot of wandering around and was rather ‘trigger-happy’ with my photographs. Stewy has a wonderful style and his monochrome stencils convey his subjects in an authentic and understated way. Fine stuff.
Natural adventures 