Month: July 2016

312. North Street Upfest shop

Upfest have chosen Gemma Compton as their promotional ‘face’ of upfest 2016, and what a very fine choice indeed. Her work is used on their twitter account profile and on the main website homepage. On an altogether larger scale, she painted the outside of the Upfest shop on North Street. The work was completed on about 11 June, and really brightens up the shopfront.

Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, June 2016

All of the work she has done for Upfest 2016 uses these wonderful ‘Spode’ colours and contain her signature motifs of birds, butterflies and flowers. It says in her Upfest artist profile that her inspirations have come from an upbringing in the Cotswold’s and her love of nature.

Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, June 2016

I love all the work she has done for the Upfest ‘brand’ this year, and am really looking forward to seeing her working at this year’s festival.

311. Brunswick Square hoardings (3)

The piece I posted by 45RPM recently of the anteater seemed to be very popular, so I am posting another of his works, this time from the magnificent Brunswick Square hoardings. This piece features the RPM lettering and a rather angry looking bulldog squeezing his way into the picture.

45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016
45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016

I have to say that I think 45RPM’s work is quite an acquired taste, or maybe that is just me, but every new piece of his that I see, the more I seem to enjoy them, and now, going back through my files, I am finding more of them and liking them better on this ‘second viewing’ than on the first. There is more to come on and from this fine street artist.

45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016
45RPM, Brunswick Square, Bristol, March 2016

Bag lady

 

All I have is here

my worldly goods and my home;

lonely and alone.

 

by Scooj

310, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (2)

Behind the Tobacco Factory there is a car park, and on the wall of each of the stalls there is a piece of art by a different street artist. I am not sure if this is just an Upfest thing, but I have a feeling that they do change from time to time, and not just during the festival.

Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016

These pieces are a challenge to photograph, because, being a car park, there are usually cars parked in front of them and that was the case with this beautiful, calming piece by Hannah Adamaszek. Hannah appeared on my radar back in June, and I have to say I really like her work. It balances out all the other work that I see and is refreshingly different. It is all part of the spectrum of art that Bristol has to offer.

Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016

I am really fond of this piece, which is weird, because I wouldn’t naturally like this kind of thing, but seeing it up close there is just something about it that attracts me. More please Hannah.

 

Hotel room

 

Small kettle and cups

perfunctory offerings

neat, tidy, soulless.

 

by Scooj

309. Albert Park Place (3)

This is a rather cheerful and witty work that has been sitting in my ‘pending folder’ for rather a long time now. It has been there because I have no idea who painted it. It looks to me like the work of someone who doesn’t paint often, and while nicely executed, it has a certain naivety to it.

Unknown artist, Albert Park Place, Bristol, March 2016
Unknown artist, Albert Park Place, Bristol, March 2016

I don’t think I have seen any other work by this artist, but I could easily be wrong…it happens quite a lot in my posts. The cat has the fine privilege of overlooking my favourite Sepr piece of the year so far.

Sit back and enjoy the pun and celebrate the fact that anyone can be a street artist.

Independence Day

 

Over the years I’ve

been institutionalised;

new job starts today.

 

by Scooj

308. Upper York Street

This is a wonderful work by Epok, and it sits next to a lovely piece by Deamze that I featured recently. Like all of his works, this has beautifully clean edges and the letters EPOK are on a slant in a geometric style.

Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016
Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016

Particularly notable about this piece is the green and blue effect over the top of the lettering. Epok’s work is always a pleasure to look at and admire. Distinctive, clean and memorable.

Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016
Epok, Upper York Street, Bristol, June 2016

Icarus

 

As he hurtled to

the ground nobody waited;

ambition unseen.

 

by Scooj

 

307, North Street hoarding (4)

John D’oh is a political stencil artist, and he has been oh so very busy recently. This recent piece, in a little alcove on North Street, really chimes with me. It is a promotional piece for the upcoming Upfest event and in fact there are two of the stencils side by side in this location. Technically, this piece is excellent.

John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, June 2016

The best bit about this piece is that it features a guy called Jeff, who sells ‘The Big Issue’, a magazine I have referred to previously in my posts. He is my local seller, and I like to buy my copies from him. He can usually be found in Stokes Croft, in North Bristol, but this stencil is in North Street (rather confusingly) in South Bristol.

John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, June 2016

There was a nice feature in the Bristol Post (I cannot find a link) about the stencil and how pleased Jeff was to be the subject of it. I’ll have to talk to Jeff about it next time I see him. Great work, with a great subject promoting a great event.