Xab Xab, Dean Street, Upfest 2026, Bristol May 2026
This greyscale piece by Xab Xab, an artist from Urrugne in the Basque Region of France, is in two halves. The portraits or studies feature parts of a face each of which displays a level of anguish.
Xab Xab, Dean Street, Upfest 2026, Bristol May 2026
On the left side of this piece is a portrait of the lower portion of a face. Hands are clasping the cheeks and the face portrays pain or worry, with the open mouth being highly expressive. Whatever is going on here, it doesn’t appear to be too good.
Xab Xab, Dean Street, Upfest 2026, Bristol May 2026
To the right, a pair of eyes, which may or may not be related to the portrait on thee left, look out from the wall with one welling up with a teardrop. Again all does not appear to be well with our subject. Taken as a whole, this is a powerful demonstration of human emotions which can be read even by only seeing parts of a face and not a whole. Lovely work from Xab Xab.
This is an extraordinary dreamlike piece that is utterly captivating and perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Upfest. The piece is on a wall that is new to Upfest this year, at the back of Aldi, to be precise. Each segment of the wall offers artists a large canvass, and it has been one of the real highlights of this year’s festival. This piece by Vane MG is simply stunning.
Vane MG, Upfest 2026, Bristol, May 2026
Vane MG, a Colombian artist and designer based in London has created this figurative work in pinks, reds and blues that really catch the eye. A girl, wearing a helmet of some kind with a visor that distorts her face, is set against a blue sky and flowers and petals, that blend in with the subject. I’m not sure what Vane MG has in mind with the decorations on the helmet, but she has created two beautiful hearts and some encrusted gems. I think that thinking too hard about what it all means would be a mistake, and to enjoy it for its sumptuous colours and design would be my advice. A superb Upfest piece.
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Another Bristol artist to grace the Upfest stage this year is Minto, who somehow managed to get away with painting two pieces rather close together. Sometimes artists pull out at the last minute, and opportunists make the most of the blank space.
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
This first simple white on black piece shows what is possible, using only one colour with some great outlines and a bit of shading. I can’t imagine that it would have taken Minto more than a few minute to create this cartoon doodle, and it is very much an extra piece thrown into the mix.
Minto, Upfest 2026, Greenway Bush Lane, Bristol, May 2026
His other piece only a few yards away is also a bit of a quick one, but more along the lines of what we see frequently in Bristol. The letters spell Minto, and the pig character has been nicely incorporated alongside them. If I am honest, I don’t think Minto put too much effort into these pieces, and probably turned up more for the crack than the artistry, because he has been smashing it with much more sophisticated and well-finished pieces than this recently.
Shade One and Rusk, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
Upfest 2026 was arguably the best so far in terms of the number of artists attending and breadth of talent from Bristol, the UK and from overseas. It really was a feast for the eyes, and it was gratifying too for local artists to be able to show off their work to a ‘home’ audience. Two Bristol-based artists, Shade One and Rusk collaborated under the name Stone Crowz, which they have done previously at street art festivals, to create this stunning piece.
Shade One, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
To the left, Shade One painted one of his glorious portrait pieces that have a crossover between comic-book and photorealistic styles. So beautiful to look at. Shade One is an artist who likes to take his time with his work, and This piece took him a couple of days at least to complete. He also painted a smaller portrait as part of the central section of the collaboration.
Shade One and Rusk, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The central panel is full of Japanese iconography. Lanterns, a Japanese flag and warrior character are all presented in the most incredible detail. I just don’t k now how they managed to paint the dragons on the lanterns – fine work indeed. I think that the bold writing is likely by Rusk, who is a highly accomplished graffiti writer and has done a superb job with these blocky metallic letters.
Rusk, Upfest 2026, Stillhouse Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The Godzilla-type character stepping through a ‘Hokusai’ sea is by Rusk and shows off his skills as a character artist as well as a writer. I love the bamboo frame to the monster piece. Overall the elements of the collaboration come together in a very pleasing way. Brilliant work from the Bristol duo.
Unknown artist, Upfest 2026, North Street, Bristol, May 2026
Regular readers of Natural Adventures will know that I don’t much like posting pieces by unknown artists, because a part of what I do is introduce the artist and their work. I feel this even more when it comes to Upfest, because there is so much noise and material, not least from the Upfest team, that it seems almost impossible not to know who every participating artist is. In this instance, however, I have drawn a complete blank, but I felt the piece was too good to be left out.
Unknown artist, Upfest 2026, North Street, Bristol, May 2026
The words ‘Free your soul’ are beautifully presented in a geometric block, with all the shading inch perfect. The lines couldn’t be crisper, and I watched the artist paint for a while, and the operation was painfully slow and methodical. Many hours over more than 2 days was put into this relatively small piece – time well spent in my view. The result is a work of dedication and perfection. I will strive to find out the artist’s name, and when I do will update this post.
My Dog Sighs, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026
In the area where Broadmead meets Cabot Circus (two adjacent shopping centres in Bristol) is a little lane which Upfest curated for some spectacular pieces as a precursor to Upfest 2026. How brilliant to brighten up this area, reinforcing Bristol’s reputation as a global hub for street art. This outstanding piece is by Portsmouth’s superstar My Dog Sighs, and was the first of three he has painted in the city this year.
My Dog Sighs, Quakers Art Lane, Bristol, June 2026
This piece blends a trademark eye by My Dog Sighs with a musical theme with plenty of speaker cones dotted about the piece, and a music staff containing some notes and notation. The whole piece is decorated with attractive colourful splats, providing an interesting backdrop for his themes. There appear to be people celebrating in the reflection in the eye, and I am sure there is a backstory relating to them. A wonderful piece for shoppers and visitors alike to enjoy.
Rafamon, Upfest 2026, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2026
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.
Rafamon, Upfest 2026, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2026
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.
Artez, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2026
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.
Artez, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2026
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.
Artez, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2026
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.
Artez, Upfest 2026, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2026
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.
Softtwix, Upfest 2026, North Street, Bristol, May 2026
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.
Softtwix, Upfest 2026, North Street, Bristol, May 2026
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.
Philth and n4T4, Upfest 2026, East Street, Bristol, May 2026
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.
Philth and n4T4, Upfest 2026, East Street, Bristol, May 2026
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.
Philth and n4T4, Upfest 2026, East Street, Bristol, May 2026
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.
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