Urban – Page 2 – Natural adventures

7801. St Andrew’s Road (5)

Joe Lichtenstein and Larjaques, St Andrew's Road, Bristol, July 2026 — Joe Lichtenstein and Larjaques, St Andrew’s Road, Bristol, July 2026

Being curious really pays off when wandering around looking for street art, or admiring architecture and urban spaces. A few weeks ago I took a walk in the Montpelier area of Bristol, I had a little bit of time to kill while waiting for my son’s work clothes to wash in the local launderette (don’t ask – a long story), and was rewarded with this magnificent mural by Joe Lichtenstein and Larjaques.

I got lucky with the weather too, although to be honest it has been unbroken sunshine in Bristol for at least three weeks now, with the stunning blue sky matching up with that in the mural. The atmosphere conjured up by this stylised mural is one of a coastal scene being enjoyed by one (or two) observer.

I love the way the sea and sky are delineated with the silhouetted promontory. The stylised portrait reminds me a little of Morag’s work, where single lines do a lot of heavy lifting. I know little of the artists and will need to do more research. What a wonderful statement to have on the side of your house. I expect the occupants are thrilled, and the mural certainly brightens things up. Bravo!

7800. Goodneston Road (2)

Zeks, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026

Expect a torrent of pieces from the three hoardings in Fishponds that I recently discovered – there are so many great pieces there, adding to my already ridiculous backlog. This is a beauty from Zeks, who has a unique style, in which the unpainted space does a lot of his talking, although in this piece his lettering is larger than usual.

The letters spell ZEKS and although quite neat and tidy, don’t really conform to any particular regular font or size, putting his work into the category of anti-style. His colour palette of reds, pinks and purples is a good one, and the letters are augmented with a ball and stick design around the piece, looking like a molecular model. All good stuff.

7799. Brunel Way (364)

Mr Draws, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2026

Mr Draws is an artist with a conscience and once in a while his activist streak comes out, in particular when it comes to cows, their welfare and, I guess, the eating of them. One doesn’t need to be a vegan or vegetarian to support his views, especially around the custodianship of livestock.

In this stark piece, Mr Draws has painted the word ‘Humane?’ with a cow hide pattern (although with spots like that it is most likely a dairy cow), and a bleeding cut sliced through the letters. The message is loud and clear, and I applaud Mr Draws for bringing animal rights/welfare issues to our walls. Protest and activism is one of the vibrant strands of graffiti and street art and pretty much always has been.

7798. Peel Street Green (65)

210, Peel Street Green, Bristol, July 2026

I am so pleased to be able to post this piece by 210. Pleased because I have many of his pieces in my archive, but until recently didn’t know his name. Now I have to go back and dig some of his other works out, because to my eye this is fantastic. The artist can often be found painting alongside, ARSA, RBN One and Mesk. I don’t know much more about him yet, but will try to find out.

The bilaterally symmetrical piece is so easy on the eye. Although the pattern is quite complex, there is a softness and clarity to it that steers clear of being ‘too clever for its own good’ which some technical pieces can be at risk of falling into. The colour selection works exceptionally well, even if they aren’t my favourites. A really classy piece by 210. Watch this space as I attempt to unlock some more from my archives.

7797. Enfield Road (1)

Subtle, Enfield Road, Bristol, July 2026

As mentioned in my previous post, I have recently discovered a treasure chest of hoardings in the Fishponds area of Bristol, and can’t quite believe that it has taken me so long to find them. I have also managed to track down countless Subtle pieces that I have been aware of, because they are here too. This feels like an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders, as it has been bugging me that I couldn’t find them.

This is a wonderful combination piece by Subtle, with his characteristic letters intertwined with characters and scenes from Disney’s ‘Sword in the Stone’ film. The background woodland scenery is truly brilliant and is such an amazing backdrop to his letters. Several more pieces by the artist to come from this honeypot spot.

7796. Goodneston Road (1)

3Dom, Goodneston Road, Bristol, July 2026

Recently, I became aware, through Instagram chats, of a spot with very long hoardings that I have been blissfully unaware of, even though I have seen pieces posted from it, I simply didn’t know where it was, but now I do. The discovery has given me dozens of new pieces to share, most about a year old and many tributes to Ticks/Tickz.

This is another in the ‘street elf’ series of pieces by 3Dom, in which he has created a bilaterally symmetrical character. The formulaic approach is quite different from his more familiar free-form and wildly creative dreamy pieces, and restricts him to painting within certain constraints. I like this series, because it presents a sense of mystery (no signature) and another string to 3Dom’s substantial bow.

7795. River Avon (123)

We have had such glorious weather for a long time in Bristol, which is great (when it isn’t too hot) but makes life rather difficult for photographing graffiti and street art. Bright overcast days are much better, but when the sun is out, shadows are cast, which messes up camera settings, and can make a piece look quite different, especially if the wall is textured. I haven’t yet walked past this lovely piece by Conrico without shadows cast over it. Hey ho, can’t have it all.

Conrico has upped his game this year and has been turning out so many outstanding pieces in his unique style. This is a delightful portrait of a young woman wearing a red zip up jacket and with large hoop earrings. The soft cartoon style lends itself to layers of shading and texture which Conrico achieves with multiple spray can ‘strokes’ as if the can were a paint brush. Like so many of his recent pieces, there seems to be so much more going on than just a portrait.

7794. Dean Street – Upfest 2026 (40)

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.

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.

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.

7793. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (39)

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, 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.

7792. Greenway Bush Lane – Upfest 2026 (38)

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.

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.

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.

	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 30 July…
	Laura Newhampshire on Thursday Doors – 30 July…
	slfinnell on Thursday Doors – 23 July…
	beth on Thursday Doors – 30 July…
	poetisatinta on Thursday Doors – 30 July…

	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 30 July…
	Laura Newhampshire on Thursday Doors – 30 July…
	slfinnell on Thursday Doors – 23 July…
	beth on Thursday Doors – 30 July…
	poetisatinta on Thursday Doors – 30 July…

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