I like it when artists switch things up from time to time, and just every once in a while Daz Cat treats us to another animal, and so here we have a dog for a change and the piece is signed Daz Dog. In the piece, the dog is in 3/4 profile which is not the usual aspect that Daz Cat paints, so this piece is different in lots of ways.
Daz Cat, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2021
I like these photographs because they show how graffiti art emerges in some of the trickiest of spots and that the environment is often rather untidy and shabby. How horrible and drab some of these places would look without the street art to brighten them up.
There is always something joyous about the work of Antikki, good karma perhaps, and this piece definitely has the feel-good factor about it. The poise of the two figures and the relationship between them is full of kindness and hope. Another feature of her work is the connection with nature, which comes across with the plants weaving in and out of the figures.
Antikki, Purdown Battery, Bristol, July 2021
Antikki appears to like painting these concrete slabs up at Purdown, but the risk up there is that it is easy pickings for taggers who also seem to like this spot, at least the tags on this one haven’t affected it too much. I always get fired up by the optimism and goodness in Antikki’s work. Hoping for more before too long.
Compared to some of the flamboyant pieces painted at this year’s Upfest 75 walls in 75 days event, this one from Caryn Koh is delicately understated, and the wall set back from the main drag of North Street. The low-key nature of the mural should not, however, detract from its quality and the story it tells.
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Dr Caryn Koh, to give her full title, has painted this mural of two of her cousins and the story of the artwork in her own words is as follows:
The mural situated at Exeter Road, Bristol, is about the relationship between siblings; how we unknowingly grow apart and have our separate paths on life’s journey but there is that unbreakable bond that binds us together.
The piece is an absolute beauty and comes across more as a fine art piece than a street mural. Really impressive.
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Caryn Koh is from Malaysia, although I don’t know whether she came over to Bristol specially for Upfest or whether she is in the UK in any case. Either way, it is fabulous to see her work on this scale in our city. Another outstanding piece from Upfest 2021.
Bandito is another artist who is ridiculously underrepresented in Natural Adventures. I have quite a few unpublished pictures of his work going back years, but he just hasn’t made it into the blog as often as he should, or as I thought. I hope to put this right over coming months, if ever the relentless production of new pieces ever slows.
Bandito, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021
This piece on the left hand side of the curved wall at Dean Lane is fairly typical of his writing style. Nothing too flashy, but the name Bandito always stands out from the background. His work is often quite long and slim compared to other writers, probably because of the number of letters he has. Nice to see.
There are goods and there are greats, and Rowdy is a Bristol great. His style might look a little bit ragged and untidy at times, but his ideas and contribution to Bristol modern culture has been incalculable, largely due to his unique crocodiles.
Rowdy, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
This wonderful example was painted during the Funday Sunday event a few weeks back alongside many other Bristol greats. The trademark crocodile patrols the murky waters while a bad flits by in the moonlight. It doesn’t happen often, so finding a Rowdy piece is always exciting.
I came across this fabulous collaboration between Andy Council and Acer One quite by accident while they were painting it. I was actually seeking out another Upfest 75×75 piece on West Street and drove through this road on a bit of a cut- through. Andy Council was chatting with some people, but I did manage to meet Acer One for the first time, and of course, he was a great guy happy to stop for a while and talk about his work and a host of other things.
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
The whole piece is difficult to photograph, because the wall is long and there is car parking along the whole length. All the elements are interwoven with both artist’s work. The blue-green creatures are by Andy Council and the block geometric writing by Acer One.
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
The writing spells out ‘CHALLENGE CORRUPTION’ which is becoming something of an anthem in out country at the moment. This conservative administration is, more than any before it, pushing rather sinister boundaries, most of which appear to be about securing power, rather than serving the people… sound familiar? Their latest wheeze is to drive through legislation to make it easier to jail journalists who write exposés criticising government and who won’t disclose their leak sources. Oh dear.
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
I was able to study Acer One’s technique close up, and it is blindingly obvious really. He uses a trapezoid board, about a metre long and about 15 cm wide, with a handle in the middle, to act as a mask and measure for his letters, helping create the uniformity and sharp, straight lines of his writing. Finding out how he paints his letters has at last put to rest my curiosity.
Andy Council and Acer One, South Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Andy Councils creature, stitched together in several places, is wrapped around the lettering and is made up of separate blocks which look like they could be connected to each other, a little bit like a child’s toy like LEGO. The colours are imperial and the entire collaboration is rather grand. These two have been smashing it this year and it is lovely that they have been rewarded with this long wall for Upfest 2021.
One of Bristol’s most prolific writers of recent years has recently moved out of the city, and don’t we know it. There was a time when hardly a week would go by without a new piece from Decay, but now they are something of a rarity. This one was painted alongside LRS crew fellow Eman a little while ago.
Decay, M32 cycle path, Bristol, June 2021
Decay seems to reinvent his basic design every year or so, and this is his 2021 look with the letters D and K and a more prominent ‘Chuck’ character in the middle. There are some lovely design features in this writing, and I love the neon pink triangle on the K. I hope that as things return a little bit to a new normal, Decay will be able to come in to Bristol a little bit more often, his work is missed.
Many of this year’s Upfest pieces have been on large, premium walls, often over-painting previous masterpieces, but not all. There are a few standard sized boards at the Tobacco Factory car park that are the perfect size for graffiti writers. One such writer is Candie Bandita from London who specialises in script and lettering, particularly on shutters, and whose name is derived from a Commodore 64 game called Candy Bandit… not one I remember, but I was an Amstrad user addicted to Elite.
Candie Bandita, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021
The piece is a very special piece of writing in perfect colour matches with a superb metallic look to it achieved with clever use of white fills and shiny white stars. Setting it off perfectly is the neon pink Bandita glowing across the base of the piece. This is really accomplished graffiti writing and a privilege to see in Bristol. Shame that the Tobacco Factory café have elected to place a table right in front of the wall… keeping it real I suppose.
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