The writing style in this magnificently colourful piece somehow feels quite familiar, but I haven’t come across the artist before, or at least, the letters PHOME.
The fire and water theme is cleverly reflected in the letter fills, and the letters themselves are nicely structured. Some purple bubbles surround the piece that is set on a pink buff. All in all a very nice piece of graffiti writing, but who is Phome?
There are some murals that appear at Upfest that simply brighten your day. They have that uplifting vibe, without being overtly spectacular or knowingly understated. They are just sunny and vibrant and good for the soul. This delightful mural by Rafamon is one of those pieces.
You can see simply by the design and content of the piece that it has a South American look to it, so it is no surprise to learn that Rafamon is from Brazil. Set on a deep blue ‘sky’ the piece features a hummingbird created in a stylised composition of colourful feathers and flowers. A festival piece with a fiesta appearance. Lovely work.
My favourite piece from Upfest 2024 was an outstanding composition by Artez, and this year the Serbian artist has again excelled himself with this incredible study on the large premium wall of the Tobacco Factory.
In this piece, two people, a man and a woman are presented in a gentle acrobatic pose. Although the body positions look quite unnatural in that you’d rarely see people together like this, there is a calmness and tenderness that emanates from it. Artez, whose real name is Andrej Žikić, uses brushes to paint his murals, rather than spray cans.
There is no question about it that this piece was one of the highlights of Upfest 2026. It would be nice if they could remove the parking spaces in front of the piece, but I don’t suppose that you can have everything that you want.
One of the things I enjoy most about this wall, is that you can catch glimpses of it from further away, which creates a whole different experience and context for the viewer. The image below is Artez’ piece from 2024. What a brilliant artist.
Upfest 2026, Europe’s largest street art festival (so they say), has introduced, once again, such a variety of artists, talent and style to the streets of Bristol, and we are truly fortunate to be surrounded by these magnificent pieces. In Bedminster it can sometimes feel like living in the middle of a giant art gallery. The organisers, Steve and Emma have done an amazing job this year. All that was missing was a live event in a park, but I understand there were good reasons why that couldn’t happen this year.
In the middle section of North Street is this remarkable greyscale portrait piece by Softtwix, a French visual artist and photographer-plastician known for her striking black-and-white paste-ups, collages, and urban street art. This striking piece is a paste-up – pretty much a poster – that is full of detail and intrigue. The portrait is cleverly framed with a brick archway, giving the 2d piece so much depth.
I first saw these two, Philth and N4T4, painting alongside each other, but not collaborating at Upfest 2016. Each of them was painting a portrait in their distinct styles. Since then, N4t4 appears to have stuck with his beautiful portrait pieces, and Philth has transitioned towards elaborate and stunning floral patterns.
This is a wonderful spot, above Hunters (an estate agent I think) which can be seen from quite a distance away, so you have plenty of time to enjoy it as you approach. This is one of those collaborations where the whole piece presents as one, with the portrait by N4T4 and the flower ‘print’ by Philth.
There is something rather dreamy about this piece, perhaps it is the predominant purple tone. Beautifully sited, framed and executed. Did you even notice the windows? More Upfest mmagic from the pair.
You really can’t get more Bristol than Jimmer Willmott, and you can’t get much more Bristol than this magnificent alphabetti spaghetti piece either. This curious and wild concept is weirdly compelling, and also quite awe-inspiring how accurately he manages to present such a familiar food in an unfamiliar way.
I guess that this is pretty close to photorealism, but based on something that doesn’t actually exist. The phrase ‘Alright me babber’ is a Bristol greeting meaning ‘hi, how are you’ sort of thing. This is a brilliant Upfest attracted a lot of attention. Witty and technically brilliant. Bravo me babber.
You can wait an awfully long time for a Ments piece, and then out of nowhere, two come along in quick succession. Following on from his superb Upfest piece, Ments has painted this gentle colourful beauty on the long wall in Cumberland Basin.
Preparation can be everything for some pieces, and the lilac wall is a perfect starting point for this abstract piece of graffiti writing. The subtle colours are arranged to create a crystalline appearance with any hard edges softened with some skilful blending. The whole piece probably says MENTS, but even if it doesn’t the overall effect is one of calm.
There is something deeply captivating about this piece by Umbrelle (Exe), which was part of the Mexican paint jam alongside the M32. It is bold and quite uncompromising and has a sprinkling of the Virgin Mary about it.
The portrait of a woman is striking, I think, because of the oranges and reds that glow on her face. There is also the ‘Clockwork Orange’ eye makeup that is so arresting. This is a bold and interesting piece by Umbrelle who is a tattooist by profession. Great job.
Having been quite quiet over the winter months, Dirtygypo has had a recent pulse of activity, painting in several of the spots around the city. This piece was painted next to one by Biers which I posted yesterday.
As ever, I struggle to read Dirtygypo’s letters – I have managed it once or twice – but in the main he outfoxes me (it is possible it reads DIRTY). Characteristic of his work is the skull-like first letter and the lightening bolts that separate letters in his writing. The whole thing hangs together nicely, and I rather like his lettering style. More to come.
I love it when new artists come on stream, and I have found a couple of pieces by Patch recently, and I am hoping for more. The obvious first impression from this piece is that it is clean, crisp, unfussy and what you see is what you get.
Sometimes less is more, and that is the case here. The big clean background and cartoony fat script letters is all you are getting here. No fancy fills or frills, and I have to say I quite like it. The challenge for Patch will be how to switch it up a little without compromising the basic premise and identity created.
Natural adventures 