Month: August 2018

1666. Upfest 2018 (17)

One of the great difficulties of writing posts from Upfest is that so many of the artists are new to me and it is difficult to comment on anything other than first impressions and a little bit about the artist. Often, as in this case, the piece is so good that my short ramblings don’t really do it any justice at all.

Akse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Akse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Akse started as a graffiti artist back in 1992 in ther suburbs of Paris. He now lives in Manchester and is known for his photorealistic portraits. This incredible portrait of Frida Kahlo is one of the most memorable of this year’s festival and mirrors the great piece from Alexander Tadlock last year. As a subject, Frida Kahlo seems to hold interest for artists and I look forward to many more portraits of her in the future.

Alexander Tadlock, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Alexander Tadlock, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Morning airport drive

 

Barcode staccato

road, sunlight cuts through the trees;

it’s home via Rome.

 

by Scooj

 

1665. Upfest 2018 (16)

I think that Stewy owns this wall. The Bristol-based stencil artist has had one of his pieces on this little wall in North Street for at least three years now. The ram is a fine successor to the Bristol Pounds £5 that was there before.

Stewy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Stewy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I am and will continue to be a keen supporter of Stewy’s work, which is a cool mix of celebrity work and wildlife stencils. This was not his only stencil at this year’s Festival, and I’ll save one of his others for a future post. Let’s hear it for this extremely intricate single-layer stencil of a ram…

1664. Upfest 2018 (15)

There were a great many fabulous paintings of eyes at this year’s Upfest, but I think that this one was probably the finest. It is by an artist called Justinks who gives little away about himself in the programme notes other than to say this:

‘I’m into movemental detailed artwork, I always put the wind element into my pieces and cold colors to show the power of nature.’

Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I was lucky enough to photograph the artist in action, probably on the Saturday, before the cold colours he speaks of were added. This is a fine work executed brilliantly. I’ll certainly be looking out for Justinks in the future.

Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Insect bites

.

Beastly legacy

of an Italian trip

helps us remember.

.

by Scooj

1663. Upfest 2018 (14)

I think this is the one, my favourite piece of Upfest 2018. The reason this works so well for me is that I have long admired this wall for all its textures and character and have photographed it before when it had no graffiti at all (I have searched through my pictures, but can’t find the ones I have taken here in the past, which is really annoying).

Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

The artist, Kowse One, is not even mentioned in the Upfest programme, and this certainly isn’t an official wall, but he did work on a fabulous collaboration with Braga Last One ( to come). I think he comes from Marseille, but beyond that I know little of him.

The piece itself is perfect in every way. The use of the rendered part of the wall and its juxtaposition with the bare brickwork, the colours used contrasting so well with the surrounding, the accomplished portrait work and the lettering on the face reflecting some of the tags nearby make this an enchanting and exciting piece. There is some real edge and brilliant improvisation. I love it, I love it.

1662. Upfest 2018 (13)

J. Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
J. Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I really could kick myself sometimes. I never actually got a final picture of this piece by J. Sharples, because I think that I had assumed that I had already got one. The best I have is the feature image of the artist still at work but nearing completion.

J. Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
J. Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

The piece is very similar in style and subject to the fabulous work that he created for Upfest 2017. This time there are two gorillas in bold pink and blue colours in a highly stylised form, and splendid they are too. Always great to see work from this artist.

Jay Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jay Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Montone

Cluster of houses

and a fortified town wall

medieval streets.

by Scooj

1661. Upfest 2018 (12)

To celebrate 10 years of Upfest (I can’t believe I have only been to three of them) D7606, a wheatpaster and I guess unofficial artist at the festival scattered ten paste up balloons, each with a famous face, high up on the main streets of Bedminster.

D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

These are the first two that I found, one with Twiggy and the other with Elizabeth Taylor. Finding each was like a prize, and the hunt was great fun. I bumped in to D7606 several times over two days and as ever, he was very happy to talk about his work and experiences.

D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I love the addition of a string to each of the balloons which was loose and able to blow around in the breeze. D7606 told me he had to paste them high up, so that they didn’t get pulled down. Several of them have gone already, but not to trophy hunters, rather, they have been pasted over with new advertisements. These balloons were a worthy addition to the 10th Upfest…hats off to D7606.

D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

1660. Upfest 2018 (11)

Sticking very well to the Simpsons theme of this year’s Upfest was this vibrant piece by Bao, a featured artist for the festival, on one of two prominent walls. I believe this is the first time this particular wall has been used at Upfest, and although a good wall, it is a devil to photograph, being a parking spot for shoppers on North Street.

Bao, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Bao, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Bao is from Hong Kong, and she has travelled the world plying her trade. Her pieces are filled from top to bottom in a cartoon style with a ton of detail and little scenes to look at. Here Bart is having some kind of dream maybe, with multiple images of him and of his environment. I love the Simpsons sofa and cat in the centre of the piece. A wonderful work.