Author: scooj

I am Stephen. I live in Bristol, UK. I decided to shorten my profile...to this: Wildlife, haiku, travel, streetart, psychogeography and my family. Not necessarily in that order.

491. Upfest 2016 (65)

This is one of the most beautiful and sensitive pieces that I saw at Upfest this year. The artist, Sokar Uno has created something really touching and outstanding. This is without doubt one of my favourite pieces from this year’s festival.

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Sokar Uno is a young German artist who has been painting and illustrating since he was twelve. Clearly he is very talented.

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

There is a wonderful explanation of the approach he takes to his art on his excellent website which is really worth a visit.

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I am thoroughly taken with his ‘classical’ style and would really love to see more of his work. I fear I might have to travel to Berlin to see it though. It is a real privilege to see him at work in Bristol.

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It’s coming

 

Summer’s memories

locked away and discarded;

face up to Winter.

 

by Scooj

490. Upfest 2016 (64)

This is one of the slightly more bonkers pieces from Upfest this year. Surreal and vivid, it absolutely makes me smile every time I look at it. Unfortunately I never got to see the finished work, but I was pleased to get some pictures of the artist at work.

Jimmy Duggan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jimmy Duggan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jimmy Duggan is from the Isle of Man, and is the only Manx artist I have come across so far. He has an interesting Facebook page for his art work, which gives you a real feel for his expressive and creative work. I would dearly like to see more of his stuff in Bristol, but I think it unlikely. Maybe next Upfest?

Jimmy Duggan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jimmy Duggan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Super moon

.

The persistent moon

of Westminster’s clock face mocks

urban cloud cover. 

.

by Scooj

489. Upfest 2016 (63)

Mr Draws is a busy Bristol street artist who specialises in spraying colourful impressionist mountain ranges. His style is simple and at times appears to be naive, but it is far from that, and some of his pieces demonstrate his sophistication.

Mr Draws, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Mr Draws, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Mr Draws has been spraying a lot since Upfest in July, but I haven’t been out as much as I would like recently and so have missed lots of his work. I know he is not everyone’s cup of tea, but like so many of the Bristol street artists his work has grown on me. I also like it that in amongst all the international ‘big name’ artists invited to Upfest, there are dozens of local artists upholding the Bristol graffiti tradition. Good work. 

Invisible

.

In the grey city

under heavy Autumn skies

anonymity. 

.

by Scooj

488. Upfest 2016 (62)

For years, I have been marveling at the incredible 3D pavement works created by street artists and shared through digital media. I used to enjoy these, even before I was interested in street art…they are absorbing and technically brilliant.

 

Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Until this year, I had never seen a 3D street piece in the flesh, so it was a genuine thrill to see Leon Keer’s work dominating the Tobacco Factory car park.

Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Leon Keer was born in Utrecht, the Netherlands in 1970, which makes him almost as old as me, which is cool. He is described as a pop-surrealist artist and is known for his canvasses and his 3D street art.

Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Leon Keer has a brilliant website, which I strongly recommend you take a look at. It features not only his 3D art, but also some of his paintings, which I find rather compelling.

Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The amazing thing about the 3D art is that it only works from a specific viewpoint. Observed from anywhere else and it looks quite bizarre, as you can see from some of these pictures. This was another highlight from the festival, and something quite different.

Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Leon Keer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Decay

 

In Autumn woodlands

there is a force gathering

plotting destruction.

 

by Scooj

487. Upfest 2016 (61)

I knew nothing of the Thomas Brothers before Upfest where I saw this dazzling piece. The British brothers work together and bring in elements of 80s childhood experiences into their work, such as cartoons and Japanese toys, and create their contemporary works using these influences.

The Thomas Brothers, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The Thomas Brothers, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Looking at this piece, I can really feel the 80s screaming out at me. The style they use, they call collaborative layering, and there is more explanation of this on their website. I would describe the whole effect as 80s pop art for the 10s. Hmmmm.

The Thomas Brothers, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The Thomas Brothers, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I will be keeping a sharp eye out for these two in future, as I like their work and it ticks a lot of my own ‘looking back’ boxes.