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, East Street, Bristol, May 2026
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.
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.
Mind 49, Norfolk Place, Bristol, May 2026
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.
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, North Street, Bristol, May 2026
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.
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.
Inkie, Gloucester Road, Bristol, April 2026
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!
Whenever you see a street art Thursday Doors post from me, it indicates that I am very busy and have little time to prepare new pictures to post. These street art doors have already been posted here on Natural Adventures in August and September 2024, but not in the context of Thursday Doors.
The reason I am so busy I will be able to reveal next time, but I have a huge focus on Thursday for an event that should make the headlines in the UK media – we’ll have to wait and see.
This post was hastily pulled together on Tuesday evening before settling down to an appointment with the TV and a rather important football match.
I hope you enjoy these doors, and things should get back to normal next time.
Bloem, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Esme Lower, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Krome, Dalton Square, Bristol, August 2024
Billy, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Merny, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Mind 49, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August, 2024
Taqi Spateen, Upfest 2024, North Street, Bristol, May 2024
Philth and N4T4, High Street Leicester, July 2024
Erviti and Caro Maggs, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, August 2024
Vane, Jamaica Street, Bristol, July 2024
Tymon de Laat, North Street, Bristol, September 2024
Hardy, Upfest 2024, Greville Smyth Park, Bristol, May 2024
Have a great weekend all.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.
Umbral and Dai Luk, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
With the turnover of pieces being rather slow this year, I have a quick opportunity to rifle through my archive, and this is a delightful piece by Umbral and Dai Luk painted at a Bristol Mural Collective paint jam in Lucky Lane last September.
Umbral and Dai Luk, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
The slightly fierce looking stylised calico cat is notable for its long curly tail. The piece is set on a blue background with a blue pattern running behind and in front of the cat. This is what I would term a true collaboration, where both artists have combined their skills to create the single piece. The calico cat is spinning its luck, but isn’t what I’d call a calico cat – but I am splitting hairs. Great shutter collaboration.
I have made a few trips into the office recently, which has both benefits and disbenefits. It is great to have some face to face meetings with ‘real people’ and good to catch up with old friends, which is always nice. The walk in, however, takes 40 minutes, effectively adding 1 hour 20 minutes of unproductive time to my day. On the upside, it is not entirely unproductive, as I get to see if there is any new art along the way. On one such walk, I found this stunning shutter and shopfront piece by Vane in Stokes Croft. It took me a little bit of detective work and luck to find out that it was Vane (Vandalist) who had created this wonder.
Vandalist, Stokes Croft, Bristol, November 2025
I was looking for an explanation of the portrait piece and found it on Vane’s Instagram feed. His words are as follows:
I was asked to paint this memorial portrait on Stokes Croft, Bristol – of the late, great Gerald Valentine Phillips. Gerry was a pillar in the local community. Despite his history as an addict he spent 25 years clean, helping people through their own recoveries and founded a number of care based charities in Bristol including Emerge and Cherry Orchard Care
The backstory to this piece makes it all the more poignant. Painting portraits on shutters cannot be easy, and this is a technical feat as well as a visual joy. It is lovely to see how community figures can be remembered in this public way. Well done Vane.
The Lucky Lane Bristol Mural Collective paint jam last month, is a gift that keeps on giving. Although I missed the pieces being painted because I was out of the country, I have been able to enjoy them completely and utterly. This is a wonderful shutter piece by Yoliws.
Yoliws, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
I love Yoliws’ characters that have a sense of freedom and joy about them, and the colours she selects have an upbeat feel. Unfortunately, I think that the shutter is working against Yoliws in this instance, and perhaps some stronger colours might have brought out a bit more contrast. There is a lovely message here for all who care to look at it… ‘Feelin’ lucky to have met you’. Fabulous stuff.
Although I came across this garage shutter piece by Daz Cat when I went to photograph pieces from the Bristol Mural Collective paint jam in Lucky Lane, I have a feeling that it may have been painted some time earlier, but I am not really sure. Well, there you have it… I just checked his Instagram account, and it was indeed painted at the paint jam.
Daz Cat, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
The unusual piece features a blue-faced cat-girl clutching a gold medal, having come first in the rat race. I expect that the smartly dressed appearance is a reference to that, and the rats relate to a more literal interpretation of the phrase. A fun piece from Daz Cat on a tricky surface.
One of the great things about the paint jam in Lucky Lane, organised by the Bristol Mural Collective, is that it has introduced me to several talented artists whose work I have never seen before. Paper Walls (Hannah) is a sign designer/painter based in Bristol, whose work has a wonderful sense of nostalgia about it, and is of the highest quality.
Paper Walls, Lucky Lane, Bristol, September 2025
This Japanese Maneki-neko lucky cat (or beckoning cat) was one of two painted in the lane, during the paint jam, aligning with the luck theme. It is beautifully painted on the challenging surface of a shutter. I love the INDEPENDENTS sign to the top right, but that is what she does, I guess. A wonderful piece and I hope the first of many to be painted with the Collective.
Natural adventures 