Portrait – Page 2 – Natural adventures

7726. Willway Street – Upfest 2026 (22)

Stephen Quick, Upfest 2026, Willway Street, Bristol, May 2026

I have always admired Stephen Quick’s pop art stencil pieces and have met him many times over the years and told him as much. I even have one of his signed prints hanging up in our kitchen – my wife likes his work too, which I have to say is no small endorsement!

This gorgeous large piece is most likely not a stencil, but freehand with a stencil look about it. The strong female portrait is accompanied by the empowering words “rage makes me feel pretty”. The speech bubble is actually on a cut-out piece of wood and bolted to the wall, standing proud of it by a few inches. I love this piece. The style, the clarity, the message – it is all good.

7725. Stillhouse Lane – Upfest 2026 (21)

Zabou, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026

In simple terms of the artwork alone, I think that this might have been the most successful Upfest to date, although I think it has lost a lot of its pull for local people by dropping the festival element in a park with music, painting and food. I know that there are good reasons for this change, which the organisers can do little about, but it has made a profound difference to the vibe of the event. One of the pieces that made this Upfest special is this beauty by Zabou.

Zabou is no stranger to Natural Adventures, although I just don’t get to see as much of her work as I’d like to. Her photorealistic work is famous, and in this piece a young boy, painted in greyscale, is holding up a colourful lamp with small, busy spheres dancing about it. The light of the lamp is touching the boys face and clothes in a beautiful way. A fabulous study in light and shade and colour. Bravo!

7724. East Street

This stunning shutter piece by Hazard was another that I found during Upfest when wandering around south of the river. Sundays in East Street is a good time to visit, as the shutters are down, revealing all sorts of hidden gems like this one.

Hazard, who used to live and paint in Bristol, is now living in Leeds (I think) but returns quite often for commissions and, I guess, to catch up with friends. She painted a beauty at this year’s Upfest (to come) but I can’t find out much about this shutter piece. The portrait piece looks like it has been here for maybe a year as there are some splatter marks along the bottom of the piece, and there is a rather unhelpful tag ‘Aura’ which fortunately doesn’t damage the piece too much.

An elegant portrait piece from Hazard.

7716. Norfolk Place

Mind 49, Norfolk Place, Bristol, May 2026

There is a tiny little passageway coming off East Street that links up to Norfolk Place where this shutter piece by Mind 49 can be found. I like to explore this little alley way, because just occasionally it leads to some special art.

The light conditions when I took this photograph were a little challenging, and the picture really doesn’t do justice to the piece itself, I think I’ll have to return on an overcast day, to avoid the large and small shadows. Mind 49 has settled on this theme of a head covered with patterns and illustrations, as if on a piece of cloth, with only the subject’s eyes and nose poking through, reminiscent of a food delivery rider with a balaclava hood. There is a contrast between the detailed features and the child-like deliberately crude daisies and flowers. Nice shutter piece.

7713. Exeter Road – Upfest 2026 (20)

Ajax Piper, Upfest 2026, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2026

This is one of my favourite pieces from this year’s Upfest. There is something about the classical style with a contemporary twist that really appeals to me, and the artwork in soft colours is perfectly executed. This could hang with pride in any gallery in the land.

Ajax Piper is an artist I have only come across once before, and that was at the Cheltenham paint festival in 2023. The two ladies are relaxing in a woodland setting with toadstools at their feet. The piece is arresting as one of the ladies is looking straight out at the viewer, and the other glancing downwards. Another element of interest is the abstract nature of the trees, particularly the one on the right. A superb piece by Ajax Piper for Upfest. Bravo!

Ajax Piper, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

7706. M32 roundabout J3 (777)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, May 2026

Stivs has been turning out some sensational portrait pieces lately, and this combination piece on the roundabout is really rather special. Perhaps the most surprising thing about it is that the letters D and S look rather amateurish alongside the portrait.

Although the letters look at odds in this piece, it must have been deliberate, because Stivs is capable of truly great writing, and also, the shadows are perfect, which gives away a talented hand at the helm.

The star of the combination is the portrait of the woman. Stivs has developed this style of near-photorealism with a touch of cartoon to perfection and this is one in a series of stunning portraits. There is some beautiful shading and great use of highlights and tones in this piece. Outstanding work by Stivs.

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.

	hitandrun1964 on 7791. Stillhouse Lane –…
	hitandrun1964 on 7793. Greenway Bush Lane…
	scooj on 7790. North Street – Upf…
	beth on Field Scabious
	Laura Newhampshire on 7790. North Street – Upf…

	hitandrun1964 on 7791. Stillhouse Lane –…
	hitandrun1964 on 7793. Greenway Bush Lane…
	scooj on 7790. North Street – Upf…
	beth on Field Scabious
	Laura Newhampshire on 7790. North Street – Upf…

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