Month: June 2023

5325. M32 roundabout J3 (484)

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

It wasn’t there for very long, but it was fun while it lasted. Biers (otherwise known as @Jimothy_Slip) created this magnificent Popeye and Olive Oyl WD40 piece on the M32 roundabout a week or two back, and it simply made me smile.

Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2023

It has been a while since I last saw one of Biers’ writing/character combination pieces, and so this one was a real treat. There might be many people who see this who won’t get the reference, because I don’t think that Popeye is a thing these days, which is a bit of a shame. I love the crushed spinach tin with a spinach NFS popping out of it, and Olive Oyl peering out of the 0 – I guess Biers missed a trick here, because he could have had Olive at a porthole. Great fun stuff.

5324. Greenbank (84)

Werm, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023
Werm, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023

I have been making a little bit more space in Natural Adventures to accommodate the prolific writings of Werm, I am also rather enjoying his recent stylistic direction of travel in which he writes rather small WERM letters at the centre of the piece with embellishment extending out in all directions.

Werm, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023
Werm, Greenbank, Bristol, June 2023

This is a nice piece painted in darker tones and in keeping with the background decoration supplied courtesy of Conrico. The starry sky is picked up with the accent stars on the letters, and the whole thing feels calm and portrays night time so well. Another great piece in something of a purple patch from Werm.

Sleepless

.

Six AM wake up

a full working day ahead

midnight sleep – repeat

.

by Scooj

5323. St Werburghs tunnel (370)

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

I have missed several recent Stivs pieces (wrong place, wrong time), so it was good to find and photograph this one . The artist has returned to his calligraffiti, having spent some weeks painting portrait pieces, although this one is a little more stylised and mainstream than his typical calligraffiti style.

Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023
Stivs, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2023

The strange orange and green colour combination  works surprisingly well, but why wouldn’t it? I guess they are colours often seen together in nature. Instead of writing STIVS, he is playing with us and has written STYVZ. This is a nice quick one from Stivs.

5322. Upfest 2022 (80)

David Puck, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
David Puck, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This is the last in a batch of ten pieces that I have posted from Upfest 22, in my rather tardy efforts to cover the festival as thoroughly as I am able. That it is taking me so long is a symptom of the uptick in activity on the Bristol streets over the last two years or so. Keeping up is challenging.

David Puck, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
David Puck, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This brilliantly painted piece by David Puck of two men kissing, would have been seen as controversial and challenging a decade or so ago, but thankfully it is part of  a more normal and mainstream narrative these days. There is still more to do, but when I think back to attitudes when I was growing up we have come a long way.

David Puck, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
David Puck, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

There is a real skill in the artwork here, where there is actually a lot of white space, with just a subtle hint of shading, but enough to provide texture and depth to the men’s faces. I believe that David Puck has now left Bristol for the time being, but his artwork has had a positive impact on the city over the last year or two.

5321. Upfest 2022 (79)

Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I don’t think that I would have predicted that Smak and Elvs would have teamed up to paint an  Upfest collaboration, and yet that is exactly what they did. What I really like about the piece is that it is an integrated collaboration, with elements from each artist woven into the whole.

Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I had a little chat with Elvs, just as he was finishing packing up, and rather irritatingly (for him) I pointed out a little mistake, which he then felt obliged to correct. It was only a small thing, but once seen, it couldn’t be unseen. In the picture above, the mistake is that the yellow body of the character didn’t quite align behind the blue triangle. The image below shows Elvs making the necessary alteration.

Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The whole piece is brilliantly painted, with some fine blue and pink letters (the perfect colour combo) by Smak and a dog/cat character playing around behind the writing. This is a fun piece that really captured the atmosphere and vibe of the festival.

5320. Upfest 2022 (78)

Rob Wheeler, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Rob Wheeler, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I have only once before seen the work of Rob Wheeler, I think, and that is on one of the commissioned columns under the railway on Stapleton Road, and his style is so distinctive, drawing on the William Morris style of large floral decorations, almost looking like a sumptuous 1970s wallpaper design.

Rob Wheeler, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Rob Wheeler, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The design is tight, the lines sharp and fills solid, and from a technical point of view this piece is near perfect. This floral treat was a highlight of the festival, although to be fair, there were so many highlights.

5319. Upfest 2022 (77)

Zubieta, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zubieta, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Upfest is an opportunity for artists to showcase their work to a huge number of visitors, local and from further afield, and with so many pieces on view, it is difficult to make an impression, but Bristol artist Zubieta seems to have hit the spot with this vibrant piece.

Zubieta, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zubieta, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

A young woman lies in a flowery meadow, looking at her melting cell phone. The flowers seem to be pleased to see that the phone is wasting away, and the woman can turn her attention to nature. Live in the moment and take in your surroundings is the subliminal message that I get from this bright and colourful piece.

5318. Upfest 2022 (76)

Eyesaw, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022
Eyesaw, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022

This was one of a couple of pieces that Eyesaw painted for Upfest in 2022. His distinctive style plays on the concept of 3D art that should be viewed through blue and red cardboard glasses so that the character pops out from the ‘canvas’. I have to say that I don’t know whether his art actually works as I don’t have any specs, but it looks like it might do.

Eyesaw, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022
Eyesaw, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022

The character, painted on a plain background (it looks like the pre-buffed board) resembles Taz, the Tasmanian devil, a cartoon character devised by Looney Tunes. Other aspects of Eyesaw’s work include the introduction of video glitches and flying pixels, to create busy and animated artwork. This is a fun piece Eyesaw.

5317. Upfest 2022 (75)

Giulio Rosk, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022
Giulio Rosk, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022

As with any street art festival, there will always be a ‘wow factor’ and one of the artists who brought this to Upfest was Giulio Rosk with this magnificent writing and portrait combination piece just off North Street.

Giulio Rosk, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022
Giulio Rosk, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022

What is great about festivals is that there is a good chance that you will get to meet and chat with thee artists, when they have a little downtime. I managed to grab a few minutes with the artist and his agent/friend, and discovered that as soon as Giulio Rosk finished this piece they were jetting off to Italy for another festival, so we were lucky to have them here in Bristol.

Giulio Rosk, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022
Giulio Rosk, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022

The piece is a clever one where the subject – I think it is a self-portrait – is penning the name ROSK as if on a pane of glass. The photorealistic artwork is exceptional and the whole thing, one of the highlights of Upfest. Unlike the temporary boards, this piece is still there for all to see, and is likely to remain until Upfest 2024 next year.