7672. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (7)

The Art of Sok, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The Art of Sok, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026

What a wonderful bonus for Upfest 202 to have The Art of Sok come over from Wales to paint this absolute gem on Greenway Bush Lane. His comic-book cartoon style is utterly captivating and feels very contemporary in a kind of retro way.

The Art of Sok, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The Art of Sok, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026

The BS3 referred to on the cap is the postal district where Upfest is held, encompassing Bedminster, Southville, Bower Ashton and Windmill Hill. The two characters, captured in shades of pink are pictured standing in front of silhouetted buildings and a nighttime sky. It feels like there is a story here, leaving the viewer wanting to know more. A wonderful Upfest piece.

7657. Stillhouse Lane – Upfest 2026 (3)

Sepr, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Sepr, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026

The organisers of Upfest have been keeping busy since the last Upfest in 2024, and incorporated a host of new walls to show off local, national and international talent for this year’s festival. This wall is tucked away just south of the east end of East Street, and is in an area I’m not sure that I have ever been to before. The wall is on the side of a light industrial unit called Willway Yard, with plenty of space for multiple artists. One of the first to complete his allocated space is Bristol artist Sean Sepr.

Sepr, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Sepr, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026

Sepr has an extraordinary talent for telling elaborate stories in his cartoon-style pieces. Everything is laid out with clarity and humour, and then it is up to the viewer to piece it all together into some kind of narrative. My reading of the situation is that a cyclist has had a bit of an accident, running into some wet concrete perhaps and rather than helping him, a collection of animals are taking advantage of the unfortunate protagonist and generally being unhelpful. I love the way the fox is stealing his shoes and socks. Creative and imaginative.

7645. Dean Lane skate park (921)

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

Over the last year or so, Cheo seems to have upped his game (if that is at all possible), certainly in the frequency of his wall decorations. Cheo is a very talented artist who has been part of the ‘establishment’ in Bristol, but never lost his contemporary edge, and appears to be equally happy with his commercial work and his ‘graffiti’ art.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

This piece in Dean Lane is in a narrow section and quite difficult to photograph – where would I be without a wide angle facility on my phone? The character in the piece, wearing a LIDL T-shirt has been spraying (one assumes) a CHEO throw up in green and blue. He is holding a spray can out of which a rather surreal scene unfolds… a pink blob character, complete with a plunger stuck to his head and smoking a cigar. What!? Great work from a master craftsman.

7638. Dean Lane skate park (919)

Dibz, Cheo and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Dibz, Cheo and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

What pure joy to come across this outstanding production piece by Dibz, Cheo and Soker. For anyone older than me, the piece is inspired by the long-running children’s cartoon Spongebob Squarepants.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

To the left Dibz had filled his outstanding wildstyle writing with the colours of Spongebob’s friend Patrick, the starfish, really cleverly done and as you would expect from Dibz, tight as a nut.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

In the middle, Cheo has painted a brilliant rendition of Squidward Tentacles, with a little sea snail on his back. Naturally the character is up to no good with some spray cans, and Cheo has included his signature bee, as you’d expect.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

To the right-hand side of the triptych is another remarkable piece of wildstyle writing from Soker, which has been filled with the colours of the star of the show himself, Spongebob. I love the attention to detail with the inclusion of his little red tie.

In addition to the three main characters, the three artists have added so much detail to the background, creating a masterpiece, which fans of the cartoon would relish. Utterly brilliant and next-level.

7624. River Avon (116)

Seam, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026
Seam, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026

I took these photographs on one of those rare occasions that my wife joined me on a ‘street art’ dog walk. She doesn’t share my enthusiasm for paint chucked at walls, but to be fair, not many people do. On the upside I did manage to introduce my wife to a new route for her road runs, for which she was most grateful.

Seam, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026
Seam, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026

These letters from Seam spell out his name with a series of characters in monochrome colour. There is a lot to like about this line up of cartoon-style characters, which although quite crudely drawn, have something about them. I love this take on combination graffiti writing.

7571. M32 roundabout J2 (16)

John D'oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2026
John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2026

Another column piece from the John D’oh gallery of stencils underneath the M32. The artist has certainly made himself at home here, and I note from his Instagram account that he has been busy down there again recently.

John D'oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2026
John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, March 2026

This simple piece features a rather stereotyped curvaceous woman holding a book and tilting her glasses. The caption says ‘love is like street art, sometimes it doesn’t last long’, which I guess can be true, there is also an additional view that might take the position ‘love is like street art, sometimes it lasts forever’. Yet more to come from this rich seam of  John D’oh gold.

The Art of Sok

A gallery of incredible character pieces painted in a cartoon style by South Wales-based The Art of Sok.

Instagram: @theartofsok

Big Cartel: https://theartofsok.bigcartel.com

All photographs by Scooj

The Art of Sok, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
The Art of Sok, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025

The Art of Sok, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025
The Art of Sok, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025

The Art of Sok, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025
The Art of Sok, M32 Spot, Bristol, June 2025

The Art of Sok, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024
The Art of Sok, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2024

The Art of Sok, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
The Art of Sok, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

The Art of Sok, Ashton Road, Bristol, July 2024
The Art of Sok, Ashton Road, Bristol, July 2024

The Art of Sok, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2024
The Art of Sok, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2024

The Art of Sok, Purdown, Bristol, July 2024
The Art of Sok, Purdown, Bristol, July 2024

The Art of Sok and Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
The Art of Sok and Smak, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024

The Art of Sok, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024
The Art of Sok, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024

Rusk and Theartofsok, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023
Rusk and Theartofsok, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2023

Theartofsok, M32 Spot, Bristol, Ocober 2023
Theartofsok, M32 Spot, Bristol, Ocober 2023

Smak and The Art of Sok, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, Cheltenham, July 2022
Smak and The Art of Sok, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, Cheltenham, July 2022

The Art of Sok, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, Cheltenham, July 2022
The Art of Sok, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, Cheltenham, July 2022

 

7450. St Werburghs tunnel (565)

Zake and Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2026
Zake and Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2026

A super quick post today, written last night because I’ll be running a workshop all day today. What a brilliant thing to see PWA faithfuls Zake and Face 1st meeting in Bristol together and creating this collaboration, especially as both have moved away from the city.

Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2026
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2026

Chill doing what Chill does with some superb colours. Although, had I looked a little more closely I would have seen that it is a piece by Zake in the style of Chill. So cool.

Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2026
Face 1st, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2026

Face 1st with one of his classic laughing girls with big hair spelling out his name. A superb and quite unexpected collaboration.

7316. St Werburghs tunnel (546)

Feek, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
Feek, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025

Feek rarely paints our streets these days, so seeing this piece in the tunnel for Minto’s birthday was a particular joy. His zany cartoon style lends itself so well to the street scene, offering mini stories and curiosities for those lucky enough to see his work.

Feek, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025
Feek, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2025

In this humorous character piece, a rather fed-up brain is taking leave of the skull it belongs to, declaring ‘that’s it, I’m off’ while the hapless skull utters the word ‘wuh?’. An amusing story perfectly portrayed with clarity and detail. This is a lovely piece by Feek and a reminder of what we are missing.

7306. Cumberland Basin

The Art of Sok, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025
The Art of Sok, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025

Last year I managed to catch up with The Art of Sok several times, and it seems that the artist crossed the border several times to paint in Bristol. This year his visits have been less frequent, but he has definitely left his mark, not least with this stunner for Dibz’ birthday.

The Art of Sok, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025
The Art of Sok, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025

I wasn’t expecting too many Halloween pieces this year, but as it turned out, there were quite a few. (Note to self – do a Halloween gallery). The Art of Sok has created the perfect pumpkin character painted in his outstanding cartoon style. Everything is superbly balanced and the fills and borders immaculate. This is cartoon character street art at its very best. Bravo!