Dog-dug muddy holes
pepper-pot punctuations
a garden ruined.
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.
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
1903. St Werburghs tunnel (55)
What a wonderfully clever piece this is from Fiva, who has used his trademark block letters to spell out his name but has repeated the word in a different font through the letters in a way that gives the whole thing a 3D look. This piece uses techniques that are used by Pref ID who is a master of this kind of visual wordplay.
As is often the case with Fiva’s work, he leaves us a character as additional interest in the piece. I really like his work and only wish he did more but realise that he, like many other street artists, is likely to have a real job and maybe family and can only get out to play when time and circumstance permit.
1902.M32 Spot (36)
This Deamze burner photobombed a recent post of a Silent Hobo column, but in my view deserves a post all of its own. This writing is one of the forms that Deamze uses in his work. It is much simpler than his wildstyle work, but still has a clean and sharp look to it.
The colours and drift of shading work really nicely and the whole thing stands out and looks so fresh. You could give a hundred artists a can and a wall and ask them to recreate this, but none would be as good. At the top of his game.
Bristol to Exeter
.
I’m cutting it fine
trains are unreliable
meeting jeopardised.
.
by Scooj
Natural adventures 