Character – Page 4 – Natural adventures

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.

7707. Cumberland Basin

Zake and Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

I would describe this collaboration by Zake and Hire as unusual, for two key reasons. Zake has painted a character, rather than one of his face caricatures, and Hire, who tends to be a graffiti writer, with the occasional rabbit thrown in, has painted a character, which, without the signature and a conversation with Zake as he was tidying up, I would never have guessed was painted by him.

Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

These two seem to have paired up quite a lot of late, especially since the PWA crew has become a little diluted, with both Face 1st and Chill leaving town. Zake has painted a humanoid robot, looking a little sinister, set on an urban landscape. Is this a dystopian future piece?

Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

Hire, meanwhile, has painted a comic-book style villain (or that is how I see it). The thick-set character with large, brilliantly crafted hands, is holding an old CRT television. Given that I don’t see many characters by Hire, I think this is superb, and hope to see more such pieces in the future. A fine and surprising collaboration.

7702. M32 roundabout J3 (776)

Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026

Bloem is an absolute delight and always happy to have a chat while she is painting. I managed to catch her as she was finishing off this wonderful piece in the evening sun. It was painted alongside Lupa and Desi as part of a mini-paint jam.

The combination piece is quite sublime, with a stunning leopard spot fill and Betty Boop cartoon character. You can see from the image above how important the small details and highlights that are added at the end of a piece can turn it from a good work to an outstanding one. For example the white border tidies up all the edges and the starburst on the earring creates a focal point.

There are a few artists in Bristol whose work has a strong and positive impact on my sense of wellbeing, and Bloem is definitely one of them.

7695. M32 roundabout J3 (775)

Silent Hobo and Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026

Silent Hobo and Logoe have been painting together for a few years, and are obviously paint buddies. The first of their collaborations that I photographed was way back in April 2017, but I imagine they had been painting together for some time before that. This is a wonderful, colourful combination collaboration.

Silent Hobo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026 — Silent Hobo and Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026

The character by Silent Hobo, looks like he is standing in the face of a force 9 gale with his cap blown off, his hair pushed backwards and his hands in front of his face. I am guessing that this force is coming off Logoe’s bright writing.

Logoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026

This beautiful script writing by Logoe was painted on a recent visit that was a precursor to the pair painting for Upfest (to come). Perhaps this was a practice session, although these two don’t really need much practice to be fair. The script letters spell Logoe and are decorated with vertical pink and bronze stripes. The piece is set on a white patterned cloud with purple borders. Altogether this is a high-impact collaboration.

7691. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (14)

Octofly Art, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026

Octofly Art has visited Bristol a few times for Upfest over the years and her work has improved significantly over that time. She comes from Italy, from Valle Camonica in the North of the country, and graduated from the “Santa Giulia” Academy of Fine Arts in Brescia in 2014.

Her cartoon style is endearing and witty with a positive vibe and uplifting outlook. This caricature piece on the new wall at the back of Aldi, shows a sardine tucked up in its tin, with a pillow. The tin is tagged with Bristol to recognise the host city of Upfest. A fun piece, perfectly presented for this space. Below are a couple of her previous appearances at upfest:

Octofly Art, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

7684. Cumberland Basin

Tera and Kid Crayon, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

You don’t often get to see winter-themed pieces in the spring, but if anyone was going to challenge the viewer in this way, it was likely to be Tera and Kid Crayon. I can imagine them being rather pleased with themselves when they came up with the theme for this collaboration. Their contrasting styles really come across in these pieces.

Tera, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

Tera tends to have quite an edgy take with his street art work, favouring demonic representations, which he has followed through with this icy combination piece. The cool letters (which I can’t read) are accompanied by a sinister skeleton snowman character holding a spray can in his right hand. The suggestion being that he has just written the letters.

Kid Crayon, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2026

On the other hand, Kid Crayon’s take is much more cuddly, with a fun polar bear drinking a slushy next to his CRAYON letters looking like ice cubes or an iceberg – altogether a softer look. What a superb collaboration from the pair.

7680. River Avon (121)

Mr Sce and Buser, River Avon, Bristol, May 2026

Mr Sce and Buser have collaborated before in Bristol, in pretty much this exact spot, from recollection. This time they were part of a wider paint jam which had something of a jungle theme, which has carried through into these pieces beautifully.

This blue and gold macaw, by Mr Sce is a beauty. Parrots of all types are a favourite of street artists, and when I have run out of new material to share I can do special posts featuring parrots or dogs or cats or specific cartoon characters – food for thought. Mr Sce has captured the attitude of this macaw really well, and done a great job.

Buser paints in Bristol a littler more often than Mr Sce, but still isn’t quite what I’d call a regular. This is a tidy piece of writing full of colour and surrounded by a variety of tropical plants and flowers. Very nice work indeed from the pait.

7677. Greenbank (122)

Avem808 has knocked it out of the park with this outstanding combination piece on the long hoarding at Greenbank. The two distinct components, characters and writing interact in an entertaining way.

The two goofy characters appear to be intrigued by the writing and have sent their extendable arms to investigate. Avem808’s Instagram feed is peppered with many examples of these characters drawn up in a digital format, but this is the first time I have seen them on a wall. The writing is highly complex in form, but based around the letters AVEM, which you can just about make out. An amazing unsigned piece with enough clues to make out the artist.

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.

7671. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (6)

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

Nol is a favourite artist at Upfest and is well known for his friendly characters that have been gracing the streets of South Bristol for several years. The Dutch artist usually leaves behind a few ‘extras’ as well when he visits for the festival, and he has not disappointed on this occasion.

This piece is on a new wall, painted for the first time at Upfest 2026, which is on the rear side of the Aldi supermarket. It is brilliant when the local businesses embrace the festival and make walls available.

Nol’s cheeky characters are always superbly presented, crisp and clean, with great solid fills and bold black outlines. These three appear as if they are giant stickers slapped one on top of the other. I love the way he has incorporated the air vent and made it look like the metal ‘cover’ is peeling off the wall. Wonderful stuff from Nol.

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