Graffiti – Page 2 – Natural adventures

7692. West Street – Upfest 2026 (15)

Liam Bononi, Upfest 2026, West Street, Bristol, May 2026

Where to begin? Liam Bononi is one of my favourite artists painting in the UK at the moment, and I have been lucky enough to find several of his outstanding portrait pieces during my travels around the country over the last couple of years. This piece, on one of the established Upfest walls is a real beauty.

Liam Bononi’s photorealistic portraits are so beautifully detailed, and he has a particularly refined talent for painting hands and faces, which are full of lines, wrinkles, blemishes and the like, presenting us with identifiable characters that look like they have lived a life.

In this piece, a mushroom collector is inspecting some mushrooms before I imagine he drops them into his plastic bag. An ordinary scene transformed into something spectacular. The artwork on the plastic bag is incredible, with every fold and shadow so detailed and a clever translucence about it. This is an incredible Upfest piece by Liam Bononi.

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

7690. North Street – Upfest 2026 (13)

Mr Cenz, Upfest 2026, North Street, Bristol, May 2026

Mr Cenz is a well known British street artist based in London, whose work features portraits of women augmented with multiple layers of colour and design that are so distinctive that no signature is required on his pieces.

I love this elevated Upfest wall. Because of its aspect it can be viewed from some distance and has a great impact when walking towards it. When a spectacular piece like this one from Mr Cenz is painted there, it has a real wow-factor. Such a great artist balancing photorealism and abstract colour fusion in an outstanding way. A great Upfest piece.

7689. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (12)

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

At Upfest this year, there was a strong contingent of local artists, and some wall space made available to showcase everyday talent that I am privileged to see every time I walk out to take pictures, but that visitors to the festival might not be so exposed to. This balances out the presence of high-end murals in harmony with authentic street and graffiti art.

Ments is a Bristol artist who spans the gap between graffiti art and something more sophisticated. I spent a while chatting with Ments as he was finishing off this piece, and he explained that it was loosely based on the letters MENTS, although the ‘T’ kind of melted away. He was interested in the soft shapes and colours, presenting as an abstract form, being simultaneously both familiar and alien. A brilliant artist, and a fine Upfest piece.

7688. Willway Street – Upfest 2026 (11)

Sophie Long, Upfest 2026, Willway Street, Bristol, May 2026

I haven’t seen anything by Bristol-based artist Sophie Long for an age, but if anything can get her out painting walls, it is Upfest. Renowned for her animal portraits, Sophie Long has surpassed expectations with this outstanding piece of a mother and baby gorilla.

Colour and drips are key elements that Sophie Long likes to incorporate into her work, and there is plenty of both in this piece. Her gorillas have the expression of love and compassion, but there is also a vulnerability here that speaks of the fragility of their existence in a human dominated word. Outstanding work from Sophie Long – you can see more of her work in this updated gallery.

7687. M32 roundabout J3 (774)

RBN One, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026

Since ‘discovering’ RBN One a couple of months ago, I seem to be coming across his work with an unnerving frequency. How could this graffiti writer have been off my radar for so long? I don’t understand how this happens, but it happens.

This is a beautifully colourful piece that is not only stunning to look at, but also technically well crafted and painted too. Each letter is independent of colour or fill pattern from the next, in the main, although there is a little bit of repetition through the piece. The contrasting drop shadow is perfect, and the whole effort is set on a silhouetted cityscape. Superb stuff.

7686. Stapleton Road

Mind 49 and RUOK, Stapleton Road, Bristol, May 2026

Mind 49 has been painting quite a lot this year, but many of his pieces are in a spot that I haven’t yet located, and so I have missed them. This collaborative piece with RUOK, however is in a place I regularly visit, and I was thrilled to find it.

Mind 49 has been developing his style over the years and seems to be in a phase of presenting the eyes and obscuring the rest of his portraits, usually with some kind of headscarf. Hiding features is a key part of his work. In this piece the decoration of the headscarf is courtesy of RUOK, an artist I haven’t come across before, who has done an excellent job. The large daisy is by Mind 49, the rest by RUOK. This is an awesome collaboration, with both artists contributing equally to create a blended whole.

7685. Dean Lane skate park (925)

The strong tradition of graffiti writing in Bristol, that first emerged in the 1980s, has been upheld by a handful of dedicated and talented artists, whose numbers have swelled thanks to their persistence. At the heart of this community is Turoe, who has created this lovely piece for Hemper, another in this merry band.

The letters spelling HEMS appear as a burst of colour on the black buffed wall, made all the more eye-catching thanks to the flames licking the perimeter of the piece. This is wildstyle graffiti writing at its best, and we are blessed in Bristol that some of the best in class call the city home.

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.

7683. River Avon (122)

Neddy ned Ned, River Avon, Bristol, May 2026

Neddy ned Ned presents the final part of the jungle paint jam, that included Jest Soubriquet, Buser and Mr Sce. His distinctive letters, spelling out WISKA, have a muted tone about them, almost as if lurking in the undergrowth.

There is something quite organic about this piece that fits the jungle theme really well. The green and purple fill is quite subtle and there is some interesting patterning through the letters. A pale blue 3D drop shadow gives definition between the writing and the background. This is a well-considered and balanced piece by Neddy ned Ned.

	wrookieschu on 7699. Macscot Road – Upf…
	Sheree on Common Spotted Orchid
	M. on 7697. Leonard Lane (54)
	hitandrun1964 on 7697. Leonard Lane (54)
	hitandrun1964 on 7696. Kensal Road

	M. on 7697. Leonard Lane (54)
	hitandrun1964 on 7697. Leonard Lane (54)
	hitandrun1964 on 7696. Kensal Road
	M. on 7696. Kensal Road
	Wes Vinglun (aka) Ni… on 7696. Kensal Road

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