It’s an old cliché
and today I lived the dream
cab driver for kids.
by Scooj
Month: October 2018
1791. Upfest 2018 (67)
Probably not seen by many visitors to Upfest because of its location, this magnificent piece by Dan Kitchener was sited on yet another of this year’s new walls. It has to be said that the Upfest organisers, led by Steve and Emma have done an incredible job with finding new locations for artists to paint.
Although I had a map of where all the artists would be, I kind of stumbled upon Dan Kitchener at work. There were very few other visitors watching on, unlike some of the more central venues.
I went back to the site a week or two after Upfest to be sure that the scaffolding was down and only then could really appreciate the magnitude of this piece. I love Dan Kitchener’s work, and although the style is familiar, it is the little details in his pieces that I find so compelling.
The night sky alight with neon signs in a Tokyoesque city and rain falling on the road and pavements that reflect the signs so beautifully. The whole thing is heaving with atmosphere, bustle, dampness and nighttime.
For me though, my favourite bits are the individual characters under their umbrellas, and Dan Kitchener usually positions one of these closer to the foreground to provide a focal point for the scene. An absolute masterpiece.
1790. Upfest 2018 (66)
Often humorous and always tinged with a bit of edge, John D’oh’s stencils can be found on walls all around Bristol (and Cheltenham) and of course at Upfest. This year’s ‘official’ piece was a double-header, the first part of which was a witty corruption of the Infinite Monkey Theory.
The second board is another pithy pop at Brexit, featuring Noel Edmond’s Deal or no Deal as its headline. I absolutely love these topical political stencils, and look forward to his injects about the place.
Coincidentally, his new book arrived yesterday and I can’t recommend highly it enough, it is one of the best graffiti/street art books that I have read in a while, intelligently written and full of photographs and commentary on his own work. Brilliant.
Toadstools
In death we find life
nothing ever goes to waste;
a new beginning.
by Scooj
1789. Upfest 2018 (65)
What a wonderful clean and colourful piece by Bristol-based Zase. There is rather a nice little story going on in this piece, and I love the sketch on the floor of the 3D writing of the artist’s name that appears on the right hand side of the piece.
Zase has been painting solo for a little bit as his collaborator Dekor returned to his homeland for a while. It looks like this is by both of them, or at least it is signed by both on the bottom left-hand side of the piece, so maybe Dekor is back on the scene again. There is a serenity and maybe sadness about the piece, which is certainly one of my favourites of the festival. Oh yeah, and if you wanted evidence of the rain we had, the picture above is a little on the watery side…grrrrr.
1788. Upfest 2018 (64)
A rather saucy work from Dirtystreetart raised a few eyebrows, including mine, at Upfest this year. It complemented the pieces to the left (Guts) and to the right (Decay) by adopting the name badge as its central theme. A lot of artists do this and I have a whole load of ‘Hello my name is…’ photographs in my archive.
I do rather like this although I am a little puzzled by the overall message of the piece. I think that Dirtystreetart is from Cheltenham and has collaborated in the past with his friend Decay. It is also possible that SF Crew (Super Fresh) is this same pairing.
1787. Upfest 2018 (63)
My oh my this is a very fancy stencil indeed by the incredible RTC from Cheltenham. You would have been hiding under a rock not to know that the subject of this piece is film director Tim Burton surrounded by some of his creations – besides which, just in case we didn’t know, attributes a quote to Burton at the bottom of the piece. “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality“.
I cannot imagine just how long it must take to prepare this multi-layered stencil, which has such amazing fine detail, but it is all utterly worth it. I can only gaze on in disbelief. Bravo! champion of the art of stencilling.
I had a go at spotting all the films in the piece…
Batman – Mars Attacks – Edward Scissorhands – The Nightmare Before Christmas – Sleepy Hollow – Alice in Wonderland – Beetlejuice.
1786. Upfest 2018 (62)
I might have mentioned before that there were a lot of shutter pieces at this year’s Upfest and this mysterious piece is by French artist Kaldea Nakajima. I don’t know too much about her or her work, but have found her creative website that hosts some of her work.
I rather like this female portrait with octopus-like tentacles for hair, and a wonderful halo signifying what I’m not quite sure. The lips are very Japanese, and I wonder if there is some influence there, judging from her surname. Altiogether an unusual and calming piece.
Thursday doors
Door 50
Montone, Umbria, Italy.
Only one door for you this week, but it really is a pretty special door. Sited at the base of the ‘prigione e torre dell’orologio’ (prison and clock tower) at the north end of Piazza Fortebraccio in Montone, this rather small ancient door opens into a prison cell.
I am not sure how old the door is, but the tower dates back to the 14th Century.
More doors next wek I hope.
by Scooj
More fabulous doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0
John D’oh
A collection of fantastic stencil art by Bristol street artist John D’oh
Published on 17 October to celebrate the publication of his new book “Street Art and Graffiti” – Buy it here
All photographs taken by Scooj
Natural adventures 