Cartoon – Natural adventures

7819. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (41)

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

Wow, how can work like this be created using spray cans? The richness and depth of colours and the brilliant use of shades to create a three-dimensional scene is incredible. The artist Zmaja is a Canadian-Serbian muralist and illustrator known for her cartoon-ish 3D animals, community-focused street art.

In this tea party scene, a fox and a rabbit are sharing a brew and a cookie and are accompanied by a couple of little yellow birds assisting with the sugar. A wonderful scene and story unfolds, but I can’t help feeling that there might be a sinister motive in the back of the fox’s mind, which once thought about, can’t be unthought. A superb Upfest piece.

7813. Quaker’s Art Lane (2)

Esme Lower, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026

Esme Lower’s stock is sky high at the moment, having been Upfest’s featured artist this year, with her artwork adorning all the marketing materials, posters, maps etc. She has simply had the best breakthrough year and now sits at the top table of street artists in Bristol, which is high status indeed.

This stunning mural was painted by Esme Lower as part of a Pre-Upfest commission organised by Upfest to promote the Festival, and to stamp Bristol’s identity an a street art city in this shopping area between Cabot’s Circus and Broadmead. The largely symmetrical mural sits above one of the many Costa Cafés, and adds a vibrant and joyful atmosphere to this otherwise dull alley. Her colourful cartoon style shines through and tells a story of people and flowers. I love the two guys sitting at the table, setting the context of the piece off perfectly. Upwards and onwards for Esme Lower.

7812. Cumberland Basin

Sled One, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2026

This is an amazing cartoon portrait piece that not only shows off Sled One’s technical skills, but also reveals his extraordinary imagination and creativity. The piece is set on a pink background and the grass in front of the wall is still green, which dates this piece to before July.

The blue-faced man in a green jacket with beautiful folds, is having a lightbulb moment. But this lightbulb moment is more literal than usual, with his scalp tilted upwards revealing a characterful lightbulb where his brain should be. There is so much detail in the piece, and those sunglasses simply have to be admired. Surreal creativity at its best.

7809. Goodneston Road (4)

Cheo, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026

If one was to describe a typical piece of artwork by Cheo, this character work on the long hoarding in Fishponds would probably tick all the boxes… the archetype if you like. The character, a man wearing a cap and ski mask on his head and large gold chain round his neck is posing with two spray cans, one in each hand.

Cheo’s cartoon style is most endearing, especially when it includes the ever-present signature bee, in this instance lurking on the peak of the character’s cap. There is a nonchalant confidence in Cheo’s work, which is always presented to perfection. Solid fills are solid, folds in clothes well-thought-out, exaggerated features on his characters amusing and the composition, usually telling a story beautifully considered. Here is Cheo in a nutshell.

7785. Brunel Way (362)

There are no two ways about it, Sepr has to be one of the greatest creators of graffiti characters around. It is not only his perfect execution that draws the eye, but his creative concepts that make his work so compelling… his ability to tell stories through his artwork. Stories that the viewer can make up, depending on how they interpret what they are looking at.

In this piece, we have a three-toed sloth dressed in a smart suit, holding a briefcase with the letters ASK embossed on it, and holding a mobile telephone with the word ‘Yoooooo!’ in a speech bubble. For me this is a throwback to the late 1980s/early 90s where such work executives paraded around as if they were the most important people ever. We all knew they were jumped-up self-important twits, many of whom ended up running the country in one form or another. Generally speaking sloths in a suit.

7755. Dean Lane skate park (931)

This outstanding scene was painted by Cheo as part of a recent first anniversary tribute paint jam to the departed Bristol graffiti writer Tickz (Dave Tanner). And what a magnificent piece to paint in his honour.

Cheo tells the most incredible stories in his outstanding cartoon pieces, and here I think we have a representation of Tickz as a spray can leaning up against a tree stump. Some lilies, lilies symbolize the restored innocence of the soul and the resurrection of the dead, are poking out on the far side of the tree root. A beautifully painted and poignant piece.

7753. Stapleton Road

Avem808, Stapleton Road, Bristol, June 2026

Avem808 only really came under my radar about a year ago, and since then his work has transformed somewhat and at an incredible pace. I think that he has a bit of time on his hands at the moment, which is why he is able to get out and paint quite frequently.

His intricate writing has given way a little to the creation of busy and detailed combination pieces, crawling with characters. Here, his letters in red and pink, which I assume spell out AVEM, are joined by a fez-wearing camel, and a raft of other crazy characters. There is a lot going on in this piece and an awful lot to look at, it is almost overwhelming, but worth dwelling on it for a while to see all the little stories unfold in front of you.

I am Ian

A gallery of superb character street art by Bristol artist I am Ian.

Instagram: @iam.ian.m

All photographs by Scooj

I am Ian, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, June 2026

I am Ian, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025

I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2024

Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2024

I am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

I Am Ian, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2023

I Am Ian, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020

Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, M32 Spot, Bristol, October 2020

I am Ian and Kid Crayon, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020

I Am Ian, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

Kid Crayon and I Am Ian, St Werburghs, Bristol, January 2020

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.

7672. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (7)

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 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.

	hitandrun1964 on Thursday Doors – 13 Augu…
	hitandrun1964 on 7839. Picton Street
	Laura Newhampshire on 7839. Picton Street
	scooj on Sojourn
	scooj on Sojourn

	hitandrun1964 on Thursday Doors – 13 Augu…
	hitandrun1964 on 7839. Picton Street
	Laura Newhampshire on 7839. Picton Street
	scooj on Sojourn
	scooj on Sojourn

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