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Unseen green on green
delicate flowering spike
overlooked orchid
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by Scooj
Common Twayblade
Tag: UK
7705. Cumberland Basin
Just a quick one this afternoon – the day has somewhat run away from me and I have a very busy schedule. Painted as part of a paint jam, this is a bold and colourful piece by ARSA.
The chunky, regular letters that give the word a bilaterally symmetrical appearance are filled with blocks of colour that follow a pattern through the piece. I wonder to myself whether the pink is a bit too much, but I guess that without it there would be a risk of it being a bit flat. ARSA is becoming a bit of a regular this year, stepping up both the quality and quantity of his graffiti writing pieces.
7704. St Werburghs tunnel (583)
Logoe has been turning out some wonderful pieces lately, but this one, for sheer boldness and vibrancy has to be my favourite from this particular visit to Bristol. The overriding red colours are captivating.
His script writing, filled with red and orange, is decorated with a scattering of blue and yellow oval spots, so characteristic of his style, and he has added the words ‘hanging on by a thread’, which probably means more to Logoe than it does to me. Fabulous piece of graffiti writing.
7703. North Street
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 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.
7702. M32 roundabout J3 (776)
Bloem is an absolute delight and always happy to have a chat while she is painting. I managed to catch her as she was finishing off this wonderful piece in the evening sun. It was painted alongside Lupa and Desi as part of a mini-paint jam.
The combination piece is quite sublime, with a stunning leopard spot fill and Betty Boop cartoon character. You can see from the image above how important the small details and highlights that are added at the end of a piece can turn it from a good work to an outstanding one. For example the white border tidies up all the edges and the starburst on the earring creates a focal point.
There are a few artists in Bristol whose work has a strong and positive impact on my sense of wellbeing, and Bloem is definitely one of them.
7701. North Street
I have passed this doorway many times, but I don’t think that I have previously photographed this stencil by Stewy, which was painted in May 2024, I think. The stencil is a portrait of Mark Stewart, English singer and founding member of Pop Group, and described as ‘the godfather of Bristol music’.
This is the second stencil I found during Upfest 2026, because I was doing a lot of wandering around and was rather ‘trigger-happy’ with my photographs. Stewy has a wonderful style and his monochrome stencils convey his subjects in an authentic and understated way. Fine stuff.
7700. Cumberland Basin
On a fairly regular basis a mixture of visiting and resident artists come to Bristol for a paint jam, which tend to include artists like ARSA, Corupt, RBN One, Solar etc, and very occasionally they are joined by Rusty (who in a previous post I referred to as Rusta).
I absolutely love the look of this anti-style graffiti writing. There is something really organic about it, and I like the sketchy quality of the black lines and fills. The impression this piece gives is one of freedom and spontaneity. The touches of orange add that little bit of extra class. A lovely piece of writing from Rusty.
7699. Macscot Road – Upfest 2024 (61)
It is not possible for me to capture every Upfest piece that is painted, especially so because Upfest is in addition to the everyday street and graffiti art that is painted on the streets of Bristol every day. Inevitably, I come across some of the ‘missed’ pieces from time to time, and I found this beauty recently painted by Aspire for Upfest 2024.
Originally from Bristol, Aspire now calls London his home, so it is always wonderful to have him back to leave his magnificent bird pieces. On this huge wall, a peacock takes up most of the space, but is accompanied by a kingfisher, a great tit and a blue tit.
Aspire’s detailed work and accurate representations of birds is awe-inspiring, and he has come such a long way from his early bird pieces that used to brighten up the streets of Bristol. His trademark pixelation patches mean that there is no need for a signature on this piece. You can see his development by checking out this updated gallery of his work.
Common Spotted Orchid
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On Leckhampton Hill
at home in limestone grassland
delicate orchid
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by Scooj
7698. East Street
During my rather long walks during Upfest I was lucky enough to find a few pieces that I hadn’t been aware of before, including this stencil piece by Stewy in East Street. Stewy’s work falls into two broad categories – wildlife stencils or portrait stencils of well known people.
This piece, squeezed in between a phone box and shopfront, features Martin Parr, an English documentary photographer and photojournalist who died in December last year. His major projects were rural communities (1975–1982), The Last Resort (1983–1985), The Cost of Living (1987–1989), Small World (1987–1994) and Common Sense (1995–1999). Stewy has a knack for producing these modest stencils of remarkable people in informal poses. Great piece, great placement.
