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In the grey city
under heavy Autumn skies
anonymity.
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by Scooj
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
Regrets
I said things I did
not mean to say and I said
things I did not mean.
by Scooj
486. Upfest 2016 (60)
You just have to love a picture of a chimpanzee in a space suit, and if you don’t, then leave this post immediately. Interestingly this is not the first such simian astronaut I have written about, Zase and Dekor sprayed one some time ago near Eastville.
The artist of this chimp is Achim Szabo, a German artist who works out of Stuttgart. A look at his website shows you the incredible range of styles he adopts, and of course he isn’t restricted to walls, he can work in watercolours, design and digital as well. It seems that so many street artists have this broad set of skills. I wonder which branch of their work they enjoy the most.
In this piece, I particularly like the rough style that has been used to create it, almost a sketch, and it is topped off by the yellow banana. Lovely work.
19,240
So many lives lost
on the first day of the Somme
we will not forget.
by Scooj
485. Upfest 2016 (59)
Somehow this seems to be the perfect wheatpaste pairing. The fabulous D7606 bottles that can be found in so many places and the enchanting one-off pieces that 23 Magpies leaves for explorers to find.
484. Upfest 2016 (58)
It was impossible not to notice this bright and arresting piece by Kier (Chiara Frei) at Upfest this year. The three panels spelled out the phrase ‘Be the one you want to be‘ showing three green and purple portraits with interchangeable face parts.
From her website, Chiara describes herself as a graphic designer who loves her job and is happy to learn new things. Beyond that she prefers not to say too much about herself.
Her choice of colours and subject for Upfest meant that her piece really caught the eye. I went back to it two or three times, just to take another look. There was something about it.
Victoria Line
A sea of hair sways
in unison with the train
as it rocks and jolts.
by Scooj
Natural adventures 