.
Wearing boxer shorts
back-to-front is a sure sign
of getting older.
.
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.
1909. Upfest 2018 (105)
Regular readers of Natural Adventures may recall posts about the ephemeral work of Annika Pixie who is a Bristol artist and regular at Upfest. Annika is a vibrant and colourful member of the local art community, who appears to spend her winters in Thailand teaching before returning to her adopted city.
This portrait carries all the hallmarks of an Annika Pixie piece. The face is partly obscured by a thin veil as if peering through a net curtain and there is a sadness in the girl’s expression. on her chest are some little ballet dancer stencils…I wonder what the story is here. It is always great to see Annika’s work although I was disappointed to have missed talking to her this year.
1908. Upfest 2018 (104)
The Hen and Chicken on North Street has a lot of wall space and is one of the focal points of Upfest. This particular wall has had some beauties on it in the past and this monochrome piece by 8Mail is no exception. Although this artist has been to Upfest for the last six years, I’m not sure I recall his work and can’t find any in my archives, but I do think I’ll have to go and take a better look.
Usually working in charcoals, this urban artist likes to capture chaotic and fleeting moments. There was just such a moment while he was painting the piece, when he tried to use the chair in the picture to stand. All I need to say is that the artist is a tall young man, and the chair was not designed for standing on.
This is a fine simple piece, that despite its simplicity contains real interest. I found it captivating.
Urban trenches
Dog-dug muddy holes
pepper-pot punctuations
a garden ruined.
by Scooj
1907. Upfest 2018 (103)
This is the third of D7606’s 10 celebratory balloons that he pasted up around the Upfest site to celebrate the 10 years that the festival has been running.
In this one, which completely upstages the Tesco poster on which it is pasted, we are presented with an image of Frida Kahlo – a popular figure for street artists.
I have more of these balloons, but am not quite sure if I collected all ten of them – we’ll have to wait and see when I get to the end of my Upfest 2018 posts.
1906. Upfest 2018 (102)
One of the things to look forward to each year at Upfest is the collaborations from Caro Pepe and AgeAge. There is a chemistry when these two come together, not only in their styles, but in their personalities. It is obvious that they really enjoy working together and this is reflected in the fusion of their work.
Caro Pepe paints the faces, usually female and usually with one eye obscured in some way. AgeAge creates the robotic machinery that intertwines with the character. This pairing painted this wall last year too, so it could be considered their wall I think. I’m hoping that they will be returning next year.
Christmas cards
Infuriating
time-thief, although utterly
worth it in the end.
by Scooj
1905. Upfest 2018 (101)
During the Upfest 2018 weekend, I really struggled with who was painting this piece. The difficulty was that it was on a new wall that didn’t really offer close access and the artist was perched high up on scaffolding. It turns out that the piece is by Bristol’s magnificent Jody.
Jody is meticulous with his work and certainly never rushes. For this reason, many visitors to Upfest never actually get to see his finished pieces, until they return some time later. It was days before he finished this one, but wow, it was well worth the wait.
This is a cleverly worked portrait of a woman behind a golden cat mask and it truly outstanding. Like so many of his works it seems to have gravitas…I can’t really express what I mean by that other than that there is a seriousness about the work. Beautiful piece beautifully executed.
1904. St Werburghs tunnel (56)
I am really pleased to see that Face 1st and Soap have teamed up again, it feels like a while since they last collaborated, to produce this beautiful piece. The two distinct halves are joined by the hair of Face 1st’s girl.
I love the concept of Face 1st’s character sketching out an idea in her black book, there is a lovely story unfolding and it brings a whole extra layer to the piece. This really is something special.
The Soap half of the collaboration is yet another great example of just how good his writing is with the blue and lilac elements almost resembling stained glass windows. I always feel these two artists are so modest with their work, and it is a pity that something like this is lurking in the darkness of St Werburghs tunnel…it deserves more prominence.
Performance
Once upon a show
watching children dance and sing
brings tears to my eyes.
by Scooj
Natural adventures 