Paste up – Natural adventures

7283. Stokes Croft

Wilko and Boxi, Stokes Croft, Bristol, October 2025

More wheatpaste action from Wilko and Boxi, in advance of their upcoming exhibition. I have a feeling that it was Wilko who has been busy pasting these up around Bristol on behalf of both of them.

Regular readers will know that I am rather partial to wheatpastes, as they bring a completely different aspect to the spectrum of street art that we see around us. Some people don’t like them, because they become scruffy when they decay or because they get pasted up in inappropriate places, or because they are against street art more broadly. Funny how such people appear to be totally at ease with the plethora of advertising we are subjected to on the streets, as if it is somehow more legitimate and less offensive…

These are nice representatives of their artistic styles with draw on many influences.

7262. Cheltenham Road

Wilko and Boxi, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, October 2025

Wilko (Sgt Wilko) who hails from Birmingham has recently been rather busy in Bristol pasting up his designs all over the city, particularly in the Bedminster area, in advance of an exhibition of his work at That Art Gallery at the top of Christmas Steps from 18-23 November, with fellow wheatpaster Boxi. While I have seen Wilko’s work before (the first, middle and last pieces on this shopfront in Cheltenham Road) This is the first time, I think, that I have seen anything by Boxi (second and fourth pieces).

Both artists appear to take some inspiration from African art, and other influences such as cubism. There is a lot more to wheatpastes than simply sticking up posters. There is the original composition, the cut-out and equally importantly the positioning of the pieces, both in terms of the location and arrangement. Wilko and Boxi have set up a nice little gallery in this instance. Their wheatpasting is not to everyone’s taste, and they have caused a bit of a stir in East Street, where some of the shop owners whose shops have been targeted are less than happy. The ‘edge’ of street art.

Abbie Laura Smith

A gallery of wonderful paste-ups from Abbie Laura Smith, one of Bristol’s only wheatpasters. Thoughtful and full of emotion.

Instagram: @abbielaurasmith.art

All photographs by Scooj

Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, November 2024

Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2024

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2024

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2024

Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2024

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

Abbie Laura Smith, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2023

Abbie Laura Smith, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Abbie Laura Smith, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023

7011. East Street

More paste-up magic from Tian in East Street. The French artist has left a trail of pieces on each of his visits to Bristol, and it is so much fun following his footsteps trying to locate each one. On previous trips he has occupied North Bristol, but this most recent one was concentrated in the East Street area.

The wonderful work in sepia tints and blue is a cut-out from a stencil. I imagine Tian first works on the stencil, and then once completed, prints dozens of copies, which he then cuts out and takes on his travels to paste up where he can. I have never seen his work outside Bristol, but I expect a trip to France would probably sort that out.

7003. King Square Avenue

Bethcub, King Square Avenue, Bristol, June 2025

Following my last post featuring a couple of wheatpaste drawings by Bethcub recently, I had a nice Instagram message from the artist, who had read the post and told me a little bit more about these wheatpastes. Bethcub confirmed that they are one-off charcoal drawings from her life drawing class, which she fixes and pastes up straight after the class. It is always great to know a little bit more about the art on our streets.

In this sketch, the model is perching (rather awkwardly) on a stool as if in transition. Some lovely curves, and an unusual position, make this a fascinating study. Seeing things like this, make me excited about retirement and a pledge I have made to myself to start art lessons. Why wait? You might ask – not enough hours in the day, I might reply.

6983. Jamaica Street (30)

Bethcub, Jamaica Street, Bristol, June 2025

It looks like wheatpastes are having a mini-surge in popularity in Bristol, and these are a couple of little cut-out sketches in Jamaica Street by Bethcub. What I particularly like about these is that they look like original pencil sketches, which somehow gives them a high One-off value (in my eyes).

Bethcub is an artist who is known for her studies, particularly of the human body, but occasionally ventures out onto the streets to paint, and now, it seems, to leave some wheatpaste gifts for us to enjoy. I am no art critic, so I don’t really know what I am talking about, but these line sketches are so beautiful, and capture the poise of the subject perfectly.

To find these little paste ups absolutely made my day, and I was sorely tempted to try and peel one off to keep as a piece of original artwork, but that would be against everything I stand for – public art for all. I’ll be looking out for more from Bethcub in future, and have at least one other of her recent pieces to share… watch this space.

6962. Moon Street (108)

Art Tits, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2025

Although there has been an uptick in the number of Wheatpastes appearing on Natural Adventures of late, I would still assert that Bristol isn’t really a past-up city, unlike Shoreditch and Manchester northern district, for example. However, I am enjoying finding new wheatpastes, paertly because of their rarity. Wheatpastes offer something very different from spray-painted pieces, and are notable not only for their artistic content, but also their placement.

This piece by Art Tits (Lillian Shanahan), lurks in the darkest recesses of Moon Street, a spot that was once the vibrant heart of the Stokes Croft area, but has become a bit of a backwater since regeneration and gentrification began in earnest a few years ago. I know little to nothing about the artist, and the paste-up itself is a curious amalgamation of a body builder and a doll, something that I think Art Tits works on in various artistic endeavours. I like this piece, which may have been in Moon Street for some time.

6952. Stokes Croft

Mauro Goblin, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2025

I’m beginning to regret ever having said that, unlike other street art hubs in the country, Bristol is rather light on paste ups. Ever since I first made that comment, I seem to have found wheatpastes all over the place. Whether I am just seeing more because I am looking more or whether there has been an influx, I cannot say, either way, it is good news.

This is a stunning portrait piece by Mauro Goblin, an artist I believe from Valparaiso, Chile, featuring Beth Gibbons from local band Portishead. The stencil piece is sprayed on to paper which is then pasted up, hence the sharp edge around the portrait. A little bit of orange spray paint behind the piece significantly adds to the impact. What a privilege to have this piece in Bristol.

6942. Dean Lane

Really quick ones today. I have to drive up to Leeds to pick my daughter up and bring her home, with loads of her stuff. Before that, we have a recycling centre (tip) trip lined up.

By now you will know I am very fond of Tian’s wheatpastes, and this is another one from his latest visit to Bristol.

The Japanese Geisha girl is a theme he returns to often, and it is at such odds with the urban environment that surrounds it. The placement of this piece on a heavily tagged wall is near perfect.

6920. Stokes Croft

Wilko, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2025

It isn’t all that long ago that I wrote about how Bristol, although it has a super-vibrant street art scene, is less well represented on the wheatpaste side of things. Of course, when you say something like that, life has a way of proving you wrong, and I have since found a whole bunch of wheatpastes, many of them by Wilko in the Stokes Croft area.

I haven’t come across Wilko before, but I have a feeling he might be from Birmingham. He certainly made the most of his visit to Bristol, and I will try to post more of his wonderful illustrations in due course. This orange and black piece has a feel of African-influenced art and cubism (which of course are related) about it. Great to see.

	paulh121 on 7352. Cumberland Basin
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	paulh121 on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	Sheree on 7352. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on 7350. Hillgrove Street (9…
	Bill Bisgood on Thursday doors – 11 Dece…
	scooj on Thursday doors – 11 Dece…

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