Natural adventures

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.

7721. M32 roundabout J2 (28)

John D'oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, May 2026 — John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, May 2026

It was great to see that Reform were humiliated in the Makerfield by-election yesterday, although I think there were exceptional circumstances that led to the Labour victory, and that Reform remain a serious threat to the country. They are led by Nigel Farage, the driving force behind Brexit (an unimaginable disaster), and ‘man of the people’ who has just pocketed £5 million from a tech billionaire (no kick backs there?) and is part of the wealthy elite. This piece by John D’oh illustrates this nicely.

Although a small stencil, placed low down on a column, it has a powerful political message and leaves one in no doubt about John D’oh’s sentiments. I am surprised there aren’t more pieces like this about the place, and just hope that Farage pieces aren’t prophetic in any way. I remember posting a piece by Felix Braun featuring Trump and Johnson before either were President/Prime Minister, believing it could happen, but it did and what a disaster for us all it has turned out to be. Heed the warnings.

Felix Braun, Donald and Boris, Stokes Croft, Bristol, 23 May 2016

7720. Dean Lane skate park (927)

A huge spin-off benefit of Upfest is that some artists hang around the city for a few days and leave behind a few ‘extras’ in some of the spots that locals like to paint. In my view this is a great way to get better acquainted with artist’s work from outside Bristol.

One artist that left at least one ‘extra’ is Molar, based in Brighton. His name is more associated with his toothy character pieces, but it would seem that he is enjoying his writing that looks like letters taken out of newspapers and magazines and stuck to the wall independently resembling a collage. It is a very effective technique that is well carried out. Here his letters simply spell out ‘Do it’. More from Molar soon.

7719. Cumberland Basin

Kid Crayon, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

This is a very tidy piece by Kid Crayon on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. The combination of letters and characters works really well, and the whole thing feels like an integrated cartoon-style burner.

The large blocky letters are not uniform in distribution and size, but do stick to a font style. The character in the centre of the piece is holding a balloon fish – don’t ask me why, he just is. Another example of Kid Crayon’s creative and humorous work. Brilliant.

	I. J. Khanewala on Thursday Doors – 18 June…
	brightstardancing on Common Globetail
	paulh121 on 7225. Stillhouse Lane –…
	paulh121 on 7224. East Street
	paulh121 on 7718. M32 roundabout J3 (…

	I. J. Khanewala on Thursday Doors – 18 June…
	brightstardancing on Common Globetail
	paulh121 on 7225. Stillhouse Lane –…
	paulh121 on 7224. East Street
	paulh121 on 7718. M32 roundabout J3 (…

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