Natural adventures

7228. Greville Road – Upfest 2026 (24)

Will Blood, Upfest 2026, Greville Road, Bristol, May 2026

I am quite a big fan of naïve-style street art, because it mimics the world seen through youthful eyes, but painted by an adult. It is all much more sophisticated than it might look at first glance.

This is a charming piece by Will Blood, and occupies a prestigious wall over the Hen and Chicken restaurant and bar – stalwarts of Upfest. A line-drawn Godzilla character, with googly eyes, is stomping across an urban landscape wreaking havoc. Fire and destruction, and some smiling stick people – definitely a world created in a child’s imagination. Nice piece from Will Blood.

7227. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (23)

Zebra Pozer, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026

The range of pieces at this year’s Upfest was notable from extreme high-end murals to regular Bristol graffiti writing and pretty much everything in between. This is a vibrant doodle-style piece by London-based Zebra Pozer.

The artist claims that he isn’t seeking perfection but bringing spontaneity and fun to his work, and I can completely buy in to that philosophy. Set on a pink background, the characters in this piece are crammed together and splashed with pinks, blues and yellows that breathe life into the black outline folk. Something a little different.

Marbled White

Marbled White flutters

stops, starts, stops and starts again

photography trial

by Scooj

7226. Willway Street – Upfest 2026 (22)

Stephen Quick, Upfest 2026, Willway Street, Bristol, May 2026

I have always admired Stephen Quick’s pop art stencil pieces and have met him many times over the years and told him as much. I even have one of his signed prints hanging up in our kitchen – my wife likes his work too, which I have to say is no small endorsement!

This gorgeous large piece is most likely not a stencil, but freehand with a stencil look about it. The strong female portrait is accompanied by the empowering words “rage makes me feel pretty”. The speech bubble is actually on a cut-out piece of wood and bolted to the wall, standing proud of it by a few inches. I love this piece. The style, the clarity, the message – it is all good.

7225. Stillhouse Lane – Upfest 2026 (21)

Zabou, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026

In simple terms of the artwork alone, I think that this might have been the most successful Upfest to date, although I think it has lost a lot of its pull for local people by dropping the festival element in a park with music, painting and food. I know that there are good reasons for this change, which the organisers can do little about, but it has made a profound difference to the vibe of the event. One of the pieces that made this Upfest special is this beauty by Zabou.

Zabou is no stranger to Natural Adventures, although I just don’t get to see as much of her work as I’d like to. Her photorealistic work is famous, and in this piece a young boy, painted in greyscale, is holding up a colourful lamp with small, busy spheres dancing about it. The light of the lamp is touching the boys face and clothes in a beautiful way. A fabulous study in light and shade and colour. Bravo!

Pyramidal Orchid

Forgotten scrubland

hides pyramidal orchids

between motorways

by Scooj

Yesterday I discovered the unlikeliest patch of orchids sandwiched 30 meters from two major motorways. Untroubled by interference, these beautiful pyramidal orchids were thriving. A truly wonderful and unexpected find.

Patch of Pyramidal Orchids, Lawrence Weston, Bristol, June 2026

7224. East Street

This stunning shutter piece by Hazard was another that I found during Upfest when wandering around south of the river. Sundays in East Street is a good time to visit, as the shutters are down, revealing all sorts of hidden gems like this one.

Hazard, who used to live and paint in Bristol, is now living in Leeds (I think) but returns quite often for commissions and, I guess, to catch up with friends. She painted a beauty at this year’s Upfest (to come) but I can’t find out much about this shutter piece. The portrait piece looks like it has been here for maybe a year as there are some splatter marks along the bottom of the piece, and there is a rather unhelpful tag ‘Aura’ which fortunately doesn’t damage the piece too much.

An elegant portrait piece from Hazard.

7223. Dean Lane skate park (928)

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026

This collaboration in Dean Lane from Dibz and Fade is as near to graffiti writing perfection as you are likely to see anywhere (in my view). The wildstyle lettering spells out DIBZ on the left and FADE on the right.

There is a superb metallic effect going on here, a little like the one I was explaining a few days ago by Hire, a stone’s throw away from this wall. The letters look like they are made of shiny chrome metal and reflecting the ground and sky – clever work. The writing is set on a purple splash with magnificent shadows, and the deep 3D drop shadow on the letters adds tons of perspective. Great collaboration perfectly executed.

Common Globetail

Hoverfly alights

if only for a moment

never stop too long

by Scooj

7222. Cumberland Basin

Tizer, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

I haven’t seen a piece by London graffiti writer Tizer for a very long time, so it was great to come across this one on the long wall recently. The piece was painted as part of a paint jam that included ARSA, Minto and RBN One amongst others.

The combination piece features his TIZER letters bookended by a pair of characters, one liking rather sweet and the other ghoulish and sinister. Tizer’s style isn’t crisp and clean, but rather more detailed and brush-strokey if you know what I mean. A very nice surprise from the occasional visitor.

	scooj on 7224. East Street
	scooj on Pyramidal Orchid
	scooj on 7222. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 7226. Willway Street – U…
	scooj on Thursday Doors – 18 June…

	scooj on 7224. East Street
	scooj on Pyramidal Orchid
	scooj on 7222. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 7226. Willway Street – U…
	scooj on Thursday Doors – 18 June…

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