A short while after Upfest, this wonderful piece appeared at Dean Park. Sky High is a writer whose work spells out ‘Sky High’ using different styles and colours for each of the letters set on a contrasting and interesting backdrop. This work is typical and really wonderful.
Sky High, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016
His colour selections and lettering are exceptional. The piece didn’t last very long at all. This particular wall sometimes only lasts a day before being painted over. During Upfest it was painted twice in one day. More of Sky High’s work to come in my next post.
Tucked away on the left hand side of the Tropicana as you enter, is this wonderful stencil of the Weird Girl (Cynthia) from the Tim Burton film Frankenweenie. It is a beautiful piece by the talented German artist PZY.
PZY, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
Her work bears many similarities to the work of JPS, and perhaps it should come as no surprise that they are partners. Quite a lot of stencils by both of them are to be found at the Tropicana.
PZY, Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, August 2016
I really love this piece. It has such character, weirdness and a tiny bit of menace. You can find more of her fabulous work on her Facebook page which is worth a look.
This wonderful piece appeared a few days after Upfest had ended, and I guess Feoflip decided to stick around and improve some bare walls. I really love this piece, the soft pastel colours give the piece the look of an illustration. The character looks like it has just walked off the pages of a children’s picture book. I would love to read that story.
Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip was unknown to me before Upfest, but I have now seen several of his pieces all over Bristol, and will be sharing them over the coming weeks. He is fast becoming one of my favourite artists. I love the combination of organic and mechanical, it works very well, as with his piece at Ashton Gate School.
Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016
The more observant reader may also notice the Gregos mask just to the left of this piece which I wrote about last year.
Just once in a while you see a wall and just go ‘wow’. This was one of those walls. Deamze, Voyder and Soker have collaborated before and seem to really go to town when they do. My only regret posting this is that these pictures really don’t do the wall justice, the pinks are absolutely amazing.
Deamze, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
Deamze has a brilliant theme going on with a cartoon character rounding off his moniker. A quick Google search informs me it is from Dexter’s Laboratory – not a cartoon I am familiar with…it’s my age.
Deamze, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
Deamze, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
Voyder is in the middle, as usual, and sprays his signature with those beautiful curving letters. I wonder if their positioning is like the ‘Ant and Dec’ thing where one always has to stand on one side, and the other on the other.
Voyder, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
Joining the work of Voyder and Soker is a ‘tweetie pie’, I’m not sure which of them sprayed it, but it spans the two pieces well.
Soker, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
Soker rounds off the triptych with great wildstyle writing that we are used to seeing from such a master. These three pieces together are genuinely breathtaking. Let’s hope these three get together again soon.
Soker, Voyder and Deamze, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
Without question, one of the highlights of this year’s Upfest was this magnificent mural by the fabulous Louis Masai. His works are nearly always highlight threats to the environment or endangered species and on that ticket alone he ranks highly in my own personal favourite artists.
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
His recent murals have featured animals painted with a patchwork quilt kind of effect, and in this case the rhinoceros is being stitched together by a honey bee and a bumble bee.
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
It is difficult not to be impressed with this work, and not surprisingly Louis Masai’s status in the street art world has grown in the last year or two.
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Definitely, definitely in my top five pieces from this year’s festival. It is a pity that it is slightly off the beaten track as many visitors to Upfest will have missed it. The piece is on the Redpoint Bristol Climbing Centre on Winterstoke Road.
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
It would be great if he could return next year, although I’m not sure he could better this one.
Seeing Bristol street artists’ work at Upfest just felt right. In amongst all the exotic invitees to the festival were the artists that put Bristol on the map in the first place. If there wasn’t a street art scene here in the first place then there would be no festival.
Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This cheeky piece by Kid Crayon is yet another great work by one of my favourite Bristol street artists. I read, I think on KC’s Instagram feed, that he was not happy with the piece and that the sun had played havoc with his spray cans. Havoc or not, KC never fails to please, with his bright colours and Picassoesque ‘blue’ figures. Keep them coming!
C3 is a street artist I admire very much. The distinctive cut out pasteups C3 produces were very much in evidence at Upfest along the hotly contested spots of North Street. There wasn’t a biography of C3 in the Upfest programme, so I am not certain that the works were entirely official, which in my mind makes them all the better.
C3, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The work of C3 will often feature, as in this wheatpaste, a backdrop of newspaper, typically with an image of a woman in black ink and red hair. Instantly recognisable and each telling a story of love or heartbreak. Since seeing C3’s work in Bristol, I have photographed a whole lot more in Shoreditch, which I will share soon. Worth a quick squint at C3’s website too.
I know I have said it before and I will say it again. One of the real pleasures at Upfest 2016 was the huge number of wheatpastes that appeared overnight between the Saturday and the Sunday of the festival.
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This was my first introduction to the crazy world of Face the Strange, a wheatpaster who creates characters with heads substituted for any manner of everyday objects. His pieces are witty and rather stylish – I like them. This works on several levels and the reproduction of naff flying ducks is very funny.
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Face the Strange has a Facebook page, which is well worth a look. Since this first discovey, I have since found more of his work in Bristol from Upfest, and loads in Shoreditch and Camden Town. More to come from this prolific artist.
One of the best things about my personal journey into the world of graffiti art and street art has been the discovery and continuing observation of Tom Miller. Tom is a fine artist who has turned his hand, like many others, to the street and with stunning results.
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This work was produced for Upfest, and I managed to catch him just as he was signing the piece. Some great shots, but my intrusion came at the expense of a film maker who has been following Tom for a couple of years…I got in the way a bit…oops.
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
All was ok though as we have a mutual interest in Tom,’s work, and my accidental ‘photobomb’ was forgiven.
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom’s work is centered around his construct of ‘imaginite’ which is, I think, the idea of capturing the mind’s thoughts in art. A fabulous concept, and one that draws heavily on the Surrealist movement. I just love his work and this is a beauty.
There are some pieces that you just fall in love with. It is difficult to explain why, it just happens. This is one such piece, and I have been waiting a little while to post it because I wasn’t too sure who the artist was. It is by Acid Collapse, and one of my favourite pieces of the year.
Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016
I can find out very little about Acid (Juanito) Collapse other than that he is probably from Colombia, that he has a Facebook Page and that he visited Bristol Earlier this year. The rest is a mystery.
Acid Collapse, Wilder Street, Bristol, June 2016
This piece seems to cross seamlessly from graffiti art to street art and back again. Amazing colour palette, stunning writing and the face is just the best. It would be grate to see him return some time.
Natural adventures 