.
Unpacked parachutes
ready for seed dispersal
awaiting a gust
.
by Scooj
Goat’s Beard
Author: scooj
I am Stephen. I live in Bristol, UK. I decided to shorten my profile...to this: Wildlife, haiku, travel, streetart, psychogeography and my family. Not necessarily in that order.
7744. Willway Street – Upfest 2026 (28)
Cuicasolo (Elaine Carr) is a Bristol artist who I have known about for a very long time, but don’t believe I have ever met. She doesn’t paint all that often, or in many spots, but her work is rather iconic and tends to stick around for a long time.
This is a fabulous structural/architectural piece, typical of her work, confusing the eye with depth created through the use of different shades, tricking the eye into seeing something utterly three-dimensional. Simple and very effective and beautifully painted. The technique uses the same kind of shading techniques we see in anamorphic graffiti writing.
7743. North Street – Upfest 2026 (27)
Luke Smile has been to Bristol a few times over the years, mainly for Upfest, and this year he painted this beauty in North Street in his fantastic deep and hollow 3D block letter style.
This piece took Luke Smile a fair while to paint, I guess with something so geometrically focussed, there is no room for error. The letters spelling MANIFESTATION are beautifully presented in a tidy, untidy manner, if you get my drift. The colours are magnificent and the shadows too. A fascinating piece, with such depth that draws you in to take a while to enjoy it.
7742. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (26)
What a rare treat, not only to find a new piece by DNT for Upfest, but to be able to catch up with him and have a chat while he was painting this piece alongside Zake and DJ Perks.
Compared to when I first started this blog, ten plus years ago, DNT has slowed down his pace of work considerably, and spent some of the period abroad. I got the feeling that he really enjoyed painting this piece and getting back into the groove, and it was great to see that.
The piece returns to a space theme which he has always enjoyed, with a humanoid robot character and an alien robot, and in between them some curious space flowers, one with a large eye. There is a great story going on here, and it looks like a frame taken from a longer comic book kind of thing, leaving the viewer wondering what as going on and what will happen next. I hope DNT uses Upfest as a springboard to painting more often on the streets of Bristol, we have missed him.
7741. Cumberland Basin
Werm is going through something of a purple patch lately, and I am really enjoying his ‘next level’ pieces. As his style develops and evolves he is growing in confidence and technical ability. I think that he is also discovering that sometimes less is more, and that clarity of presentation pretty much trumps all else.
In this piece of graffiti writing, Werm has written his name into a kind of symmetrical diamond shape, partially framed on a light blue rectangle. The red colour stands out nicely on the turquoise background. A neat and tidy piece that shows off Werm’s talent well.
Rewarded
.
On an orchid hunt
doubtful wife and dog in tow
patience rewarded
.
by Scooj
7740. Dean Lane skate park (930)
Upfest brings with it all sorts of additional benefits, including what I like to call ‘extras’ where artists who have been invited to paint official Upfest walls, also leave behind a piece or two on Unofficial walls.
Here, Nol from the Netherlands and Mul from London? Or Newcastle? Have combined their talents to decorate the curved wall in Dean Lane skate park. The cheeky sticker on the left is by Nol, and the running heart by Mul. These two have collaborated before in Bristol, possibly during s previous Upfest festival.
7739. East Street
Another revelation while wandering about in East Street during Upfest 2026, was this lovely shutter piece by Inkie. Being a Sunday, the shutter was down on the front of this National Health Service pharmacy.
Some lovely words ‘Love NHS Community’ written in superb chunky Inkie style, sit on top of a subtlely patterned background. This is a lovely commission, offering community art in a shared community space. Bravo Bedminster NHS and Inkie.
7738. Cumberland Basin
Mind 49, as I mentioned in a recent post of his work, has moved into a new groove, in which he is presenting portraits, where only the eyes and nose are visible, while the rest of the face is obscured behind a cover of colour/patterns/designs, as if wearing a balaclava.
There is a clever and deliberate juxtaposition between the photorealism of the exposed parts of the face, and the rather childish and scruffy elements around it. The daisies seem to be a particular favourite theme for Mind 49 at the moment, and here he has included a couple of small captions: “Cut and run” and “Sometimes don’t do it”.
I may be way off the mark here, but I can’t help feeling that this presentation style demonstrates a touch of modesty or even a lack of confidence. Mind 49 is more than capable of painting excellent portraits, but it feels like this ‘self-harming’ of his work is masking something else, almost coming across as imposter syndrome. It is, having said all of this, very unusual, challenging and creates a great talking point.
7737. M32 roundabout J2 (29)
Time for another jaunt back to John D’oh’s personal outdoor gallery underneath the M32. This time he presents us with a catchphrase or ‘wisdom’ that he has used before, but with a different accompanying scene.
The stencil piece shows a young boy with a backpack, kneeling down in front of a cat with a dead rat hanging from its mouth. A scene not unfamiliar to anyone who knows or has owned cats. The caption says “Enjoy life, it has an expiration date”. In terms of the artwork, although it is a single-colour stencil, I love the intricate patterning of the cat fur, and the creases in the boy’s trousers. A nicely worked and presented piece.
