North Street – Natural adventures

7712. North Street Standard – Upfest 2026 (19)

Merny, Upfest 2026, North Street Standard, Bristol, May 2026

I am pleased that a great many artists at this year’s Upfest are local artists that managed to secure some important walls, and this piece by Merny on the wall outside the Bristol Standard is a good example of one of these.

Merny has a fairly provocative sense of humour that comes across in his work, and sometimes/often he is political too. In this piece, he picks up on a right wing slogan “stop the boats”, part of the illegal immigration cant, and applies it to the wealthy elites and their luxury yachts and, presumably, their tax avoidance/evasion. A clever twist, painted in his naïve art style. Cracking piece.

7703. North Street

I’ve been waiting a long time to photograph this shutter when it is both closed and doesn’t have a car parked in front of it. On one of my recent Upfest walks I got lucky. While Inkie is a graffiti legend in Bristol, he also has to make a living, and commission pieces like this one, however big or small, help to pay the bills.

Inkie has used a nice typeface for the words ‘Ashton Fruit & Veg’ which is easily identifiable as his work, but not as ‘Inkie’ as some of his pieces. Some fruit and vegetables decorate the bottom of the shutter and more Inkiesque rays and stars adorn the top. A nice jobbing piece from the artist.

7701. North Street

I have passed this doorway many times, but I don’t think that I have previously photographed this stencil by Stewy, which was painted in May 2024, I think. The stencil is a portrait of Mark Stewart, English singer and founding member of Pop Group, and described as ‘the godfather of Bristol music’.

This is the second stencil I found during Upfest 2026, because I was doing a lot of wandering around and was rather ‘trigger-happy’ with my photographs. Stewy has a wonderful style and his monochrome stencils convey his subjects in an authentic and understated way. Fine stuff.

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.

7622. North Street

Dave Bain, North Street, Bristol, April 2024

Dave Bain is a muralist whose work I have photographed in both Bristol and London. I think he is an artist who errs towards commissions, and I don’t think I can recall any ‘street work’ on illegal walls from him in my time recording street art and graffiti in Bristol. I guess that for some that earn a living from their work, crossing the line can be high risk.

This is a loverly piece sitting above the entrance of the Flour House cafe on North Street – which their Instagram profile states was voted the best cafe in Bristol in 2022. The mural is a contented and comforting scene in which a lady seems to be immersing herself in the atmosphere and ambience of the place. The words ‘who cares wins’ is a nice twist on the better known slogan ‘who dares wins’. An all round wholesome piece.

6607. North Street

Kid Krishna, North Street, Bristol, November 2024

When I say that this piece is in North Street, I wouldn’t want to send people off to Bedminster unintentionally. This is the North Street that is part of the A38 that branches off the Bear Pit roundabout. The piece by Kid Krishna is on the hoarding outside what used to be the Blue Mountain.

The combination piece contains the usual cryptic writing from Kid Krishna, spelling CRIE, and the character aspect is in the form of a partial skull. I think that there is some special part of Kid Krishna’s brain that is able to visualise and create these pieces, which are really quite different from much of the other stuff on the streets of Bristol. Often his characters are partial or hinted at, rather than being overt full-on, which makes it all the more intriguing.

6422. Upfest 2024 (54)

Tymon de Laat, North Street, Bristol, September 2024

Although this is one of the more awkward walls to photograph, it often hosts some of the best Upfest pieces. This year it was the turn of Tymon de Laat and he has done the spot proud with this incredible portrait piece of a Mexican man, called ‘Moon over Matalán’. It is simply beautiful.

What is good about Upfest is that you will often get a chance to see the artists at work, and sometimes stop for a chat. Unfortunately the artist was busy up a scissor platform when I was passing by and I never got a chance to say hello.

This year I managed to get up onto the roof of the building adjacent to the wall and took some super shots of the piece as it is meant to be seen, but which most people don’t get to see. The old man has paint on his face, which is a trademark feature of Tymon de Laat’s work. There is so much character in the man’s face, and his hat captures the atmosphere of a hot Mexico.

Surrounding the portrait is a garland of dried corn and chillies, rounding the piece off nicely and without which the piece might feel a bit stark. This was clearly one of my highlights from this year’s festival. Bravo!

6295. Upfest 2024 (50)

Taqi Spateen, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, June 2024

I think that this might be one of my favourite pieces from Upfest 2024. I have always been a big fan of trompe l’oeil work and love pieces that make use of, and incorporate, the space they are painted in. This pair of murals by Palestinian artist Taqi Spateen delivers in spadefuls on both counts.

Taqi Spateen, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to stop and chat with the artist when he was painting this piece, as I would have liked to have complimented him directly on creating such a charming scene in this little corner at the end of North Street.

The girl on the left-hand archway is stretching on her tiptoes to reach an unreasonably high door knocker, with a door lock above it, totally out of reach. The girl’s beautiful clothes are wonderfully painted, with all the folds and textures so well observed. The shadows cast by the wall and by the girl add to the illusion of depth.

The boy on the right has something of a stiffer challenge, attempting to scale his door on a rope, so that he can reach the four locks, using the bunch of keys hanging off his backpack. That we can’t see either of the children’s faces adds to the mystery.

The murals would appear to be some kind of metaphor about inaccessibility and hopelessness, but also about a determination in the face of adversity. My guess would be that the war in Gaza is very much behind the piece, although I might be reading too much into it. Whatever it is about, they are a truly magnificent pair of murals, worth a trip to Bedminster alone.

6291. Upfest 2024 (46)

Hannah Adamaszek, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

One of the first pieces I saw being painted at Upfest this year was this wonderful, relaxing piece by Hannah Adamaszek. As is usually the case, she was accompanied by her friend and artist Stephen Quick, who was making use of his height to help out with some of the harder-to-reach parts of the mural.

Hannah Adamaszek manages to create a great sense of calm and wellbeing in her pieces, which usually feature people in relaxed poses or situations. She has done an outstanding job of capturing the movement and colours of the water in which the subject is swimming.

I think I have seen one of her pieces in Leake Street tunnel, otherwise I have only seen her Upfest and Tobacco Factory pieces, but they are enough to satisfy my appetite for her work. Great mural.

6278. North Street

This wall on the side of the Veeez shop is becoming something of an advertising hoarding for the shop’s wares and events, and offers an opportunity for artists to paint a legal wall. It comes at the cost of painting an advert, and regular readers will know that that doesn’t sit all that comfortably with me.

I am a hypocrite if nothing else, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this advertisement by Cheo, mainly because it is by Cheo. Everything about Cheo’s work is pretty close to perfection. His compositions are always on point, and his artwork execution exceptional. He is at the very top of his game, and seems to be painting a little more often lately.

	scooj on 7224. East Street
	scooj on Pyramidal Orchid
	scooj on 7222. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 7226. Willway Street – U…
	scooj on Thursday Doors – 18 June…

	scooj on 7224. East Street
	scooj on Pyramidal Orchid
	scooj on 7222. Cumberland Basin
	scooj on 7226. Willway Street – U…
	scooj on Thursday Doors – 18 June…

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