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.
Carl Kenz is a German artist who seems to incorporate tentacles into most of his work. In this tribute to Andy Worhol he offers a slightly different take on the Campbell’s soup tin with a new variety – tentacle soup (fresh ‘n’ alive) overflowing with movement and activity.
Carl Kenz, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
As well as his tentacle work, it appears that Carl Kenz is also rather ford of 3D art and there are several interesting pieces on his streetart.com website. I love this piece, which really leaps out at you and is full of mischief and fun.
Yet another notable omission from my Upfest 2016 posts is this extraordinary piece by Manchester’s brilliant duo, Nomad Clan. It looks a little bit like a dystopian future piece and bristles with menace and potential violence.
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This would have been the first time I saw these two painting or indeed was conscious of their work, although at the time I was not conscious of their work…if that makes sense. It is amazing to think what a successful few years they have had.
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The piece is sprayed on the fake train carriage that is rolled out at Upfest each year, which is a nice touch from the organisers. The only downside to it is that it is surrounded by fences, presumably to stop people from sitting on the ledge and getting in the way of the artists.
Nomad Clan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This is a great looking piece with loads of attitude and a bit of as story gong on in.
A rare treat indeed, getting to see John D’oh in action at Upfest 2016 finishing off his five piece stencil. How on earth can this have languished in my archive for so long? I just don’t understand it. It is great to use this trawl to share it with you now.
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The theme of the piece is getting connected, or at least that is how it comes across. John D’oh tells us in his recent book that the piece features friends of his to whom he pitched the idea of them talking into cans with the string between them spelling out his name. It seems to have worked out well.
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The way that John D’oh frames these pieces makes them look a little bit like a cheesy girl’s comic from the 1970s, like Jackie (I only know this because my sister had a subscription). Kevin Bacon I think is included because of his links to the EE advertising campaign which has been running for a few years now.
John D’oh, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Rounding things off is a sublime stencil of the wonderful Jeff Knight, my local Big Issue seller. An all round excellent Upfest piece.
When I saw this back in 2016 I was still at the early stages of learning about the street art scene in Bristol (in fact I am still learning every day) and I knew little about the RAW crew and the artists constituting it. While it is obvious that the character on the right is by Jaksta (the medallion gives this away) the writing is less obvious.
Jaksta and Ware?, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
It looks like the letters say WARE to me, but here I am showing my ignorance because I don’t know the artist at all. The writing is beautifully executed and I love the musical notes sitting on the midway line on the blue letters. A really nice piece of street art for the festival.
Going back through my pictures from Upfest 2016 I am left a little puzzled by some of the pieces that I failed to post. This work by Diff looks rather like a studio study as much as it does a piece of street art. A silhouetted woman wearing a bowler hat surrounded by pink yellow and white bubbles.
Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Although not necessarily one of Diff’s best pieces, there is an air of grace about it and some care and attention to detail has gone in to the bubbles, especially where they overlap.
The big news for 2019 is that there will be no Upfest this year, the organisers have decided to have a fallow year to regroup and hit 2020 with renewed vigour. What this means is that I might be able to catch up a little on Upfest pieces passim that still need writing up. I am starting this batch of 2016 pieces with work from, I think, Douglas Trodge.
Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I have looked all over the Interweb, but I cannot find a Douglas Trodge, so am unable to write anything further of any use here. The two cartoon portraits are rather unusual and certainly memorable… way too good to sit in my archive forever.
Douglas Trodge, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I might have to do a little more research on this piece.
Street art is a mysterious beast and manages to catch me out consistently. I don’t know how long Panskaribas has been spraying in Bristol, but having not been aware of his work only a few months ago, I now seem to come across it on a really regular basis. Either there has been a mental block or gap on my part, or Panskaribas has only recently moved to Bristol or started spraying walls.
Panskaribas, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2019
Whatever the reason for this heightened presence of Panskaribas, in my view, it is a good thing. I like his characters with faces sketched out in a cartoon doodle style. There is a simplicity to his work that is oddly sophisticated and I am looking forward to learning more.
Natural adventures 