Portrait – 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.

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.

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.

7641. M32 roundabout J3 (770)

Conrico, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

It is so good to see Conrico firing on all cylinders this year, and I am super-pleased that he has been selected to paint at this year’s Upfest, something I know he has been keen to do for some time. He certainly deserves it.

This is a bright and cheerful combination piece with a portrait alongside his Conrico letters and GYS (Graveyard Shift crew). The portrait is most beguiling, there is a lot hidden behind those large brown eyes, and I like the positioning of the subject’s hand under her chin. A wonderful piece delivered in his special style.

7610. Gloucester Road

Inkie, Gloucester Road, Bristol, April 2026

Sundays tend to be a good day for strolling around Bristol on the hunt for street art in shopping areas because that is when the shutters are down, some of which reveal stunning artwork unseen during working hours.

Not far from where I live, I found this gorgeous Inkie shutter piece. I don’t know whether it is reasonably new or whether I simply haven’t seen it because the shutter has been up when passing. Either way, it is a stunning piece of artwork typical of the artist, featuring a girl with big hair painted in his Art Nouveau style. This tells me I should get out more at weekends!

7565. St Mark’s Avenue (14)

Kosc, St Marks Avenue, Bristol, March 2026

I haven’t seen anything by Kosc for ages, so I am assuming that this is quite an old piece that I haven’t seen before, because it is quite a while since I last visited St Mark’s Avenue. I have just checked his feed on Instagram, and he painted this in August 2025.

This is a masterful combination piece with a character in green alongside four large stacked letters spelling his name. It is amazing how Kosc has been able to craft such an amazing portrait using only tones of green with black, extraordinary. I sincerely hope we don’t have to wait too long to see more from this hugely talented artist.

7494. Purdown (100)

Conrico, Purdown, Bristol, February 2026

I do love the spot up at Purdown; it serves the dual purpose being a fabulous place to walk the dog, and there can often be some surprising new street art additions on the concrete slabs at the former WWII gun emplacement. This beauty by Conrico was quite fresh, the last time I went there.

I am very much enjoying Conrico’s portrait pieces, and he is in a deep purple patch of form. This bright portrait piece shows off Conrico’s style at its best. He uses his spray can more like a brush, with short bursts used to apply layers of paint, rather than long solid fills. He is, I think, the best at this technique in Bristol, and his works look like they could easily have been painted in a studio. I love the green jacket and all the folds and shades in it. This is a masterful piece, and I like the young couple sitting above it enjoying the view over the city.

7481. Surbiton Station, London

Curiouser, Surbiton Station, London, February 2026

Although I came across this wall at Surbiton Station only a couple of weeks ago, I think that some of the pieces there have survived a long while, and in Curiouser’s Instagram, she posted this piece way back in December 2021. Although the piece has suffered a little from the weather and some light tagging, her talent and story shine through.

The portrait is stunning, with a great understanding of light, shade and depth. The picture depicts a story of aliens and spaceships. I don’t think I have seen any work by the artist before, but she would be perfect candidate for Upfest I would have thought. I’ll be looking out for her work next time I visit and spots in London.

7462. St Werburghs tunnel (567)

Neddy Ned Ned and Jest Soubriquet, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2026

It has been really hard work finding new pieces so far this year. The near constant rain has kept most artists at home. I am expecting a deluge of work once the sun returns, and my files for March and April to be overflowing. At least St Werburghs tunnel seems to offer refuge for those brave enough to venture out, like Neddy Ned Ned and Jest Soubriquet.

Neddy Ned Ned, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2026

I really wasn’t expecting this piece, so it definitely came as a pleasant surprise. The letters, spelling out WISKA are by Neddy Ned Ned, and are full of colour, with delineated horizontal stripes running through the letters in colour sequences. The drop shadow has a disappearing point in the middle of the piece, and the upper half colours are black and green and the lower half, red and green. A nicely thought out piece.

Jest Soubriquet, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2026

The portrait piece by Jest Soubriquet is really striking, especially the lips and eyes. I feel that the top half of the head needs to be higher, as the proportions don’t quite work. I like the mix of a realistic face with stylised hair, it works for me. Nice to see these two painting together.

7460. M32 Spot (215)

Conrico, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2026

Conrico has been smashing it out of the park lately, particularly with his portrait work, which can be a welcome relief from overdosing on graffiti writing. This is a wonderful column piece underneath the M32, and a perfect showcase of Conrico’s work.

In this piece, Conrico has painted a young woman sitting cross-legged with her hand held out and the letters GYS (Graveyard Shift) emblazoned on her palm. There are loads of layers and textures in her clothes, and what is quite remarkable is that the piece is entirely painted with spray cans and not a paint brush in sight. Fine red and white outlines are carefully applied to give definition and sharpness. This is simply brilliant, both in composition and execution.

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