7.7 Upfest 2026 – Natural adventures

7729.Greville Smyth Park – Upfest 2026 (25)

Willl Cross, Upfest 2026, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2026

I fell in love with Willl Cross’ work a few years ago when he first painted at Upfest 2022. I have seen several of his works since then and each one is a beauty. His classical style, probably best suited to canvas, takes contemporary scenes and makes them appear as if they were painted in the 19th century. Very clever and very beautiful.

This piece looks like it is portraying a festival of some kind, with two blindfold women dancing around a fire, while others look on. It all feels a bit pagan if you ask me, but I rather like that. I must ask Willl Cross all about if if I get lucky enough to meet him again.

7728. 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.

7727. 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.

7726. 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.

7725. 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!

7713. Exeter Road – Upfest 2026 (20)

Ajax Piper, Upfest 2026, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2026

This is one of my favourite pieces from this year’s Upfest. There is something about the classical style with a contemporary twist that really appeals to me, and the artwork in soft colours is perfectly executed. This could hang with pride in any gallery in the land.

Ajax Piper is an artist I have only come across once before, and that was at the Cheltenham paint festival in 2023. The two ladies are relaxing in a woodland setting with toadstools at their feet. The piece is arresting as one of the ladies is looking straight out at the viewer, and the other glancing downwards. Another element of interest is the abstract nature of the trees, particularly the one on the right. A superb piece by Ajax Piper for Upfest. Bravo!

Ajax Piper, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

7712. North Street Standard – Upfest 2026 (19)

Merny, Upfest 2026, North Street Standard, Bristol, May 2026

I am pleased that a great many artists at this year’s Upfest are local artists that managed to secure some important walls, and this piece by Merny on the wall outside the Bristol Standard is a good example of one of these.

Merny has a fairly provocative sense of humour that comes across in his work, and sometimes/often he is political too. In this piece, he picks up on a right wing slogan “stop the boats”, part of the illegal immigration cant, and applies it to the wealthy elites and their luxury yachts and, presumably, their tax avoidance/evasion. A clever twist, painted in his naïve art style. Cracking piece.

7711. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (18)

Cheba, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026

Cheba has been painting his cosmic pieces as long as I have been blogging, and probably considerably longer than that. This one at the back of Aldi, is a beauty and quite one of his best in my opinion.

Undaunted by a window and a couple of air vents, Chiba has created an incredible cosmic scene which lets our imaginations run wild. It is the reflection in the window that abruptly brings us back down to earth. An incredibly beautiful piece from Chiba.

7710. Stillhouse Lane – Upfest 2026 (17)

Snub 23, Upfest 26, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026

Having just found out about this magnificent wall through Upfest, I have heard that the building is due to be demolished at some point. I don’t know whether that is true or not, but what a pity if it is, because it is a perfect wall for large high-end murals, and would lend itself very well to collaborative productions and paint jams.

This is a magnificent piece by Snub 23, who is no stranger to Upfest, and has painted in Bristol a number of times. The picture above shows the artist rounding off the character basics, but there is still so much work to do on the detailing and finishing, which you can see from looking at the final work.

The two robot characters dressed in human clothes appear to be blasting one another with sound waves coming from their “speaker” heads. Beautifully worked action piece, with plenty of movement, and some brilliant fabric folds and creases. A fine Upfest piece.

7709. Greville Smith Park – Upfest 2026 (16)

DFC1848, Upfest 2026, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2026

It was good to catch up with DFC1848 at this year’s Upfest, and before he painted this fun character piece, we had a long chat while admiring Jimmer Wilmot’s skilful alphabetti spaghetti piece.

With so much practice over the years, DFC1848 has built up a portfolio of animal characters which he is constantly adding to. When he first started, he would paint the same two characters pretty much all of the time, a bear and a spray can with wings. Now his menagerie swells and is bursting at the seams, with the addition of this rather unhinged elephant. Great work, beautifully executed.

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