Florist, Upfest 2026, Merrywood Road, Bristol, May 2026
This particular spot, a bricked up window recess, has hosted some wonderful Upfest pieces over the years, and this time it is the turn of a mosaic artist from London called Florist.
Florist, Upfest 2026, Merrywood Road, Bristol, May 2026
The mosaic was installed in about five or six prepared sections and the shoes, part of the installation, were attached with adhesive to the window sill. The outcome is a beautiful scene, with a man sitting on a bench with some flowers. What is the story behind the piece? Perhaps only Florist knows. Something a little different for the festival.
Over the years the format of Upfest has evolved, in part to accommodate so many artists descending on the city, and to manage the spike in crowds that visit. The new format has spread the festival over three weekends, and a focus on new large feature walls. Each weekend, there is an opportunity for artists, many of whom are new to Upfest, to showcase their work on small 1m x 1m boards at the Tobacco Factory. I will try to include some of these in my Upfest posts, starting with these three.
Unknown artist, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2026
First up is a piece by an artist whose signature I can’t read and have tried lots of variants on Instagram and Google searches, but with no positive result. This is a fabulous illustration piece with a cartoon-style girl drawing and colouring animals, examples of which are distributed about the piece. A wonderful and fun creative idea.
Ryan Gajda, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2026
Next up is a vibrant portrait by Ryan Gajda, of a woman sitting in a cross-legged position, and the sun at her back. An interesting style, with a combination of presence and absence of detail.
Andy Downes, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2026
Finally, a busy portrait piece by Andy Downes, celebrating Upfest and Bristol, incorporated in the glasses. The artwork is superb, with the portrait composed of flashes of light and dark colour creating light and shade and consequently depth. Some pink and black lines frame the piece nicely.
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 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.
Bex Glover, Upfest 2026, Ashman Road, Bristol, May 2026
This piece by Bex Glover is a beauty and a treat, and one of two pieces she has painted for Upfest 2026. Her work is right up my street, nearly always featuring a natural history narrative, painted in her unique style, usually steeped in her light blues, but in this instance augmented with a stunning deep red archway.
Bex Glover, Upfest 2026, Ashman Road, Bristol, May 2026
The piece has at its centre a stunning fox, beautifully presented, standing on a patch of grass and peering through the archway to a watery scene with a town in the distance, perhaps a depiction of old Bristol itself. A stunning piece for Upfest from one of our own artists.
Well, this year’s Upfest has crept up on me a little. I have been very busy and not had much headspace to recognise Europe’s largest street art festival which began last weekend, and will continue until the end of May 2026. This time the festival has been spread over three weekends and is rather fragmented, with no single festival focal point, which is a pity. This approach has been implemented to spread the crowds over a longer period and avoid some of the festival shenanigans that have caused a few problems for the council in the past. It is funny how they continue to allow the Harbourside Festival to operate, and which has a terrible reputation for antisocial behaviour, but curtail the much friendlier Upfest. Some unconscious bias at work methinks.
#DFTE, Upfest 2026, Lime Road, Bristol, May 2026
My opener for this year’s festival is this wonderful musing by #DFTE, the master of the thoughtful slogan and repairer of souls. His message this year is short and sweet “Today will be a good day” and for most festival visitors that is probably about right. It is worth having a little look at this charming gallery of his thoughtful work.
Although Mr Riks doesn’t paint all that often, it is always good to see his characteristic letter shapes appearing unannounced from spot to spot. This modest grey piece at the end of the tunnel almost passed me by, because I was chatting with Corupt on the opposite side of the tunnel.
Mr Riks, St Werburghs, Bristol, April 2026
It is quite difficult to make out from these pictures whether the piece is painted in chrome or grey or a combination of the two. It looks like two grey tones to me. The letters are nicely presented, and given a little bit of a lift with the application of some yellow edging with red spots.
Bloem is one of those artists who not only works hard at her craft, but is also naturally gifted. Her work has come on so quickly over the last couple of years, and although she doesn’t paint walls all that often, each piece feels like it is a step up from the previous one.
Bloem, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
This wonderful piece depicts a hand with long finger nails gripping a train carriage formed of the letters BLOEM. A clever concept perfectly executed. That it is in greyscale makes it even more impressive as there is no colour to hide behind. An excellent and mature piece of work.
Dibz and fade have been knocking out collaborations with unstoppable pace recently, and I must confess it is stretching me just to be able to keep up with their activity.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
This is an outstanding collaboration where both artists have contributed to the final offering. The letters spell addict, and I am guessing reflects their obsession with graffiti writing. A stunning fill and cosmic background show off their talent perfectly.
Another stencil from the production line that John D’oh seems to have been preparing over the winter and which is fast filling up the column space in this area underneath the M32.
John D’oh, M32 roundabout J2, Bristol, April 2026
This one is poking a bit of fun at the authorities who have by and large completely failed to suppress the Bristol street art scene. A sleeping policeman sitting on a fold-up chair has the words “Street art isn’t illegal until they catch you”, which isn’t technically correct, but the point is made. A lighthearted piece from John D’oh.
I was very pleased to find this piece by Corupt, because the fine piece by Kid Krishna that had occupied this space had been here for a very long time and the wall definitely needed a refresh, and got one courtesy of our Hungarian friend.
Corupt, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Using his alter ego of STICK, this is a wonderfully colourful piece of graffiti writing, with the distinctive letter shapes that Corupt likes to use, such as the club shape at the base of his ‘i’. The fills are beautifully arranged both in base colours and reversed out shapes and patterns. A classy piece of writing.
Natural adventures 