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.
On a fairly regular basis a mixture of visiting and resident artists come to Bristol for a paint jam, which tend to include artists like ARSA, Corupt, RBN One, Solar etc, and very occasionally they are joined by Rusty (who in a previous post I referred to as Rusta).
Rusty, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026
I absolutely love the look of this anti-style graffiti writing. There is something really organic about it, and I like the sketchy quality of the black lines and fills. The impression this piece gives is one of freedom and spontaneity. The touches of orange add that little bit of extra class. A lovely piece of writing from Rusty.
Aspire, Upfest 2024, Mascot Road, Bristol, May 2026
It is not possible for me to capture every Upfest piece that is painted, especially so because Upfest is in addition to the everyday street and graffiti art that is painted on the streets of Bristol every day. Inevitably, I come across some of the ‘missed’ pieces from time to time, and I found this beauty recently painted by Aspire for Upfest 2024.
Aspire, Upfest 2024, Mascot Road, Bristol, May 2026
Originally from Bristol, Aspire now calls London his home, so it is always wonderful to have him back to leave his magnificent bird pieces. On this huge wall, a peacock takes up most of the space, but is accompanied by a kingfisher, a great tit and a blue tit.
Aspire, Upfest 2024, Mascot Road, Bristol, May 2026
Aspire’s detailed work and accurate representations of birds is awe-inspiring, and he has come such a long way from his early bird pieces that used to brighten up the streets of Bristol. His trademark pixelation patches mean that there is no need for a signature on this piece. You can see his development by checking out this updated gallery of his work.
During my rather long walks during Upfest I was lucky enough to find a few pieces that I hadn’t been aware of before, including this stencil piece by Stewy in East Street. Stewy’s work falls into two broad categories – wildlife stencils or portrait stencils of well known people.
Stewy, East Street, Bristol, May 2026
This piece, squeezed in between a phone box and shopfront, features Martin Parr, an English documentary photographer and photojournalist who died in December last year. His major projects were rural communities (1975–1982), The Last Resort (1983–1985), The Cost of Living (1987–1989), Small World (1987–1994) and Common Sense (1995–1999). Stewy has a knack for producing these modest stencils of remarkable people in informal poses. Great piece, great placement.
Leonard Lane is a narrow passageway that runs along the line of the old city wall in Bristol. It is a dark and dank place, but a good spot for graffiti right in the centre of town. If you don’t know about it, you won’t find it. It is one of my favourite spots, and John D’oh rather likes it there too.
John D’oh, Leonard Lane, Bristol, May 2026
This rather gloomy stencil incorporates words he has used alongside other images. This one with an old lady holding a sand glass is rather poignant, and reminds us to live life to the full. Watch out for more on this theme from John D’oh – to come.
Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026Sub, Peel Street Green, Bristol, December 2025Sub, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025Sub and Bloem, Frome Side, Bristol, December 2025Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2025Sub, Monarch’s Way, Bristol, October 2025Sub, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2025Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2025Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2025Sub, River Avon, Bristol, February 2025Sub, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, January 2025Sub, Frome Side, Bristol, January 2024Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2024Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2024Sub, Peel Street Green, Bristol, October 2024Sub and Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024Sub, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024Sub and Bloem, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024Sub, Peel Street Green, Bristol, February 2024Sub, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2024
When Upfest comes around, I tend to do a lot more exploring around south Bristol than usual, often trying to find outlying Upfest pieces. The upshot is I not only make contemporary Upfest discoveries, but also find a host of other pieces in streets that I rarely visit. This beauty by Farrah was one such lucky find.
Farrah, Kensal Road, Bristol, May 2026
This wonderful piece was painted by Farrah celebrating World Earth Day (22 April 2026), so I actually found it quite soon after it was painted, and it was looking wonderfully fresh. Using her special paint brush technique, she has painted the Earth with rainbow colours (not in the correct sequence, but very beautiful) drifting off into space. Cleverly, the eyes are drawn to a solitary bee in the middle of the piece, which becomes a physical and symbolic focal point. Brilliant work from Farrah, who is very present in the Windmill Hill area of the City.
Silent Hobo and Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
Silent Hobo and Logoe have been painting together for a few years, and are obviously paint buddies. The first of their collaborations that I photographed was way back in April 2017, but I imagine they had been painting together for some time before that. This is a wonderful, colourful combination collaboration.
Silent Hobo and Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
The character by Silent Hobo, looks like he is standing in the face of a force 9 gale with his cap blown off, his hair pushed backwards and his hands in front of his face. I am guessing that this force is coming off Logoe’s bright writing.
Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026
This beautiful script writing by Logoe was painted on a recent visit that was a precursor to the pair painting for Upfest (to come). Perhaps this was a practice session, although these two don’t really need much practice to be fair. The script letters spell Logoe and are decorated with vertical pink and bronze stripes. The piece is set on a white patterned cloud with purple borders. Altogether this is a high-impact collaboration.
Conrico, Noise and Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2026
This is a wonderful collaboration painted by Conrico, Noise and Stivs, who were participating in the World Wall Stylers challenge (Chapter 26) on reggae legends. Although these were painted in April, they were still looking pretty fresh in May.
Conrico, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2026
First up is a lovely portrait piece by Conrico of Pablo Gad, a lyricist of ‘when I was a yout’ by Ed Solo. I grabbed that information off Conrico’s Instagram thread, without which I wouldn’t have known any of this. The red, gold and green are well represented, and the portrait presented in Conrico’s distinctive brush stroke style.
Noise, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2026
The middle section is a lovely bit of chunky graffiti writing from Noise that also carried the red gold and green colours that stand out beautifully against the black background.
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2026
The collaboration is rounded off with an outstanding portrait of Lila Iké by Stivs. His portrait work is hitting new levels at the moment, which makes for very enjoyable viewing. Stivs is a little more subtle with his incorporation of the red, gold and green colours, incorporation them as part of the border surrounding the portrait.
Natural adventures 