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.
Stivs has utterly smashed it with this outstanding writing/character combination piece, which was painted alongside a Kosc piece (featured a few days ago) on the long wall at Sparke Evans Park. Stivs is an artist of many talents, and although he in well known predominantly for his calligraffiti, he isn’t half bad at painting characters, as this piece demonstrates.
Stivs, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, May 2024
Although he is a bit of a ‘potty-mouth’, this piece reads ‘FUK PIG’, he dresses the letters up so beautifully, that it kind of creates a profanity filter of sorts. The cartoon-style character, probably lifted from a film or cartoon series, is beautifully presented and makes you wonder why he doesn’t paint characters more often. Together with the Kosc piece, this is one half of a very fine collaboration.
Sea bindweed, Calystegia soldanella, West Wittering, West Sussex, June 2024
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Prettiest cousin
of the scourge of gardeners
pink and white trumpets
.
by Scooj
30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge
There are some spots in Bristol where the turnover tends to be slow that I don’t visit all that often, and Devon Road is one of these. I was pleased, however, on a recent visit to find this joyful mural by Zubieta, which looking at her Instagram feed looks like it was painted in early June, so I did indeed strike lucky.
Zubieta, Devon Road, Bristol, June 2024
Zubieta’s citrus fruit themed piece is not only beautiful to look at, but was actually painted over a couple of throw ups which had messed this wall up a bit, and I guess the owners may have asked for or commissioned the mural. You can see a short video of the painting of the piece on Zubieta’s Instagram. A really lovely mural.
Unfortunately, I missed Soker when he was painting this unexpected piece in Dean Lane, because he had disappeared for a break, and I couldn’t hang around too long. This was extra unlucky (so near and yet so far) because he doesn’t paint all that often these days.
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
As I would expect, the writing from Soker is outstanding, with some quite thin script-like letters spelling out his name. What transforms a good piece into a great piece is the attention to small details, such as the yellow and orange tips to the letters. A beautiful drop shadow lifts the letters away from the luscious pink background, and the whole piece is an exemplar of great graffiti writing. Soker remains one of the very best in Bristol.
I am taking a little break from Upfest now to concentrate on the street and graffiti art that happens every single day in Bristol, the lifeblood of the urban art culture in the City. One of the stalwarts of this culture is Biers (a name I use because this is what he used to write when I first encountered him – he goes by several other names these days, including Jimothy Slip).
Biers, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
This is a very neat and tidy WD40/character combination piece, although I have had trouble identifying the character peering out of the ‘0’. The fills in the letters are nicely worked and the thick white drop shadow lifts the letters nicely above the lime green background. A nice piece from Biers.
Common cardinal beetle, Pyrochroa serraticornis, Redland Green, Bristol, June 2024
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Bright red-orange flash
in peripheral vision
stalls afternoon stroll
.
by Scooj
30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge
Kid Crayon, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
This combination character and graffiti writing piece by Bristol’s Kid Crayon was something of a rarity at Upfest this year. It seems fitting that Kid Crayon was selected to paint this wall, because for me, he kind of represents the ‘Bristol school’ of street art, and although the styles of Bristol are enormously varied, somehow KC encapsulates them in his art.
Kid Crayon, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
The piece is a tribute to Jack Black, who KC obviously admires, and he openly states “This is not the greatest Montana burner in the world, no, this is just a tribute!”. This statement shows Kid Crayon’s modesty, because this is an accomplished piece, perfectly presented for an Upfest audience. It would have been nice to see a bit more graffiti writing at this year’s festival – maybe next time. More of Kid Crayon’s work in this gallery.
Angie Jerez, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
With the sheer number and quality of large murals at this year’s Upfest, it was easy to become complacent, and I nearly missed this wonderful piece, by Angie Jerez, above Kask, which when you stroll on the ‘wrong’ side of the road in North Street, is quite easy to do, which I why I always walk up one side and back the other side.
Angie Jerez, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
This mural, featuring two birds and plant seed heads, way above the clouds has been beautifully designed around the stacked windows above the wine bar. The limited number of colours draws attention to the fine detail of the design itself, and the stylised birds are glorious. I don’t know anything about Angie Jerez other than what appears in her Upfest Biography, and that she is originally from Bogotá in Colombia, but now lives in Atlanta. What a brilliant thing that she came to Bristol to paint at Upfest.
Lionel David, Parson Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
I think that it is fair to say that at Upfest 2024 we have seen the painting of more large scale ‘marquee’ murals than ever before, some replacing previous artwork and others appearing on new walls. The team at Upfest have done a remarkable job on negotiating with property owners, and presumably the council too, to free up so many new and wonderful spaces.
Lionel David, Parson Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
This outstanding portrait piece is by Lionel David and was painted on a new wall, a little walk away from the main centre of Upfest activity, and as a result may not have been seen by as many visitors as some of the other pieces on the main drag. Lionel David has not only painted a beauty, but he has been clever too by incorporating the wall that runs alongside the house, and as a result the piece needs to be viewed from a particular spot in the adjacent plot, which the artist has marked out on the ground. Not only did he paint the low wall, but on the main wall he has painted the girl’s body and arm in full, so there is some repetition.
Lionel David, Parson Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
There is no doubting Lionel David’s incredible skills, and it is clear to see that he has been schooled in art. Lionel David has a great website, but it is in German, so I have used Google Translate to give you his biography, as follows:
Lionel David is a visual artist from Switzerland who discovered his love for painting in 2017. He specializes in spray can murals.
Studying fine arts at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences from 2019 to 2022 broadened Lionel David’s horizons and emphasized the importance of context in his work. His style combines photorealism with graphic elements and is often inspired by nature.
The artist is currently concentrating on portrait painting and experimenting with compositions to further explore artistic boundaries. With dedication and innovation, he succeeds in inspiring people with his lively and gentle works.
Further to this incredible portrait piece, which he finished earlier than expected, Lionel David had time to paint an ‘extra’ in Dean Lane, which although unfinished looked amazing. Dibz and Fade were in the process of contacting the artist to see if he would mind if they ‘augmented’ the portrait piece, but before they could send their message, another artist had started painting over it, so this ‘extra’ lasted less than 24 hours.
Lionel David, Dean Lane , Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Lionel David, Dean Lane , Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Lionel David, Dean Lane , Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
Natural adventures 