Woah, hold on there…this is a spectacular stencil by Marvin (or Marlon). Let alone that it is a crazy picture of a dog outside a kennel (Ron’s house) smoking a cigar, it is also a magnificent example of incredibly detailed and intricate stencil work.
Marvin, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Marvin (or Marlon) has not crossed my radar before, and I know little about him. The Upfest programme notes say that he has been cutting stencils and spraying for about four years or so, and that he enjoys the fine detail of his stencils which can take up to 60 hours to produce. This is a really great piece.
At upfest many of the artists get paired up on neighbouring boards, and because of the portrait nature of these it is much easier for me to post about them as a pair. These two pieces are by Lea Gudrich and Dan Pritchard.
Lea Gudrich, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Lea Gudrich is German-based artist living in Cologne. This piece was hashtagged with ‘childhood memories’ on her instagram account so I guess there is a story there. Most of the work she produces features wildlife largely in black and white with some incorporation of bright colours. Beautiful illustrations mostly.
Dan Pritchard, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Dan Pritchard, by contrast is an illustrator with a rather more brash and colourful style. Based in Bristol, his Upfest profile says his work is inspired by humour found in the British way of life, the hum drum of the 9-5 commute and the films and television of the 80s and 90s. I guess this one is drawn directly from ‘Ghostbusters’.
Post 1111 – this would have David Shepherd hopping in his grave (an oblique reference to one of England’s finest cricket umpires). This small wheatpaste is a collaboration between d7606 and PDX artist Voxx Romana, Phoebe New York, and Twiglet boy, although I am baffled how such a small piece can be a collaboration between four artists. Maybe I have misunderstood D7606’s Instagram description of this piece.
D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
So we have Albert Einstein wearing a colander on his head and a fine pair of spectacles with the face of somebody reflected in the lenses. I have no idea what this is all about, and I’m not too sure I want to know, but I do know that I like this eye-catching paste up.
A truly awe-inspiring collaboration from Upfest this year was by the magnificent My Dog Sighs and Snub23. There is so much to like about this piece, starting with the wall itself, which played host to this fabulous piece by Sokar Uno in 2016.
My Dog Sighs and Snub23, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The eye and the water drops which provide the focus for the piece is by My Dog Sighs, and there is a whole story going on in the reflected figure in the eye itself. I am a big fan of his work, and it just seems to be getting better and better.
My Dog Sighs and Snub23, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Snub23 has been to Upfest for the last three years now, and his geometric patterns are becoming more of a feature of his work. You may recall he created similar patterns on the side of the bus at Upfest 2016.
My Dog Sighs and Snub23, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
This is an absolutely outstanding collaboration and one that will go down as a highlight of this year’s festival for many visitors, including myself.
On the hoardings in South Street Park, not far from the Miss Wah and Korp collaboration, was this exceptional piece by Hazard. I am not all that familiar with Hazard’s work, but she has been recognised by The Guardian as one of the top five female street artists in the UK, and you can see why.
Hazard, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Her pieces are often feature a female portrait with ornate hair ornamentation, and this is a really superb example of her work. It is interesting to see that she completed the portrait first and then went on to decorate the hair with scarves and feathers. The horns add another strange element to the whole thing.
Hazard, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I didn’t get a chance to meet her, but with any luck she will be back in Bristol before too long. I have a feeling, from reading her biography on her website, that she might live somewhere in the West of England, but that is just a hunch.
Collaborations are always fun to observe. Some take the form of two artists creating a seamless piece in the style of the pair, for example Nomad Clan, while others produce work incorporating their own styles that complement each other. This piece is a great example of the latter. What makes it more appealing is that both of the artists clearly got on and really seemed to enjoy working together.
Miss Wah and Korp, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The bunny figure in the centre of the piece is by Miss Wah, and the three worm-like creatures either side are by Korp. I would like to think that the two characters sandwiched in between are by both artists, but they have more of a Miss Wah feel to them.
Miss Wah and Korp, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The colours work very well together across the whole piece, and overall it has an upbeat feel to it. I’m not sure that they have collaborated since, but I’m sure they would both be up for it if the opportunity presented itself again.
This is a small piece by an artist I have not come across before. Sigil is a Norwich-based paste up artist who appears to have a very strong story to tell about the environment, an observation made by looking at his/her Instagram feed. This would seem to be confirmed by reading the biography notes from this year’s festival which includes the following:
‘By using the visual language of animals & plants, combined with themes of ideography, science and faith, SIGIL connects with the public directly within the urban environment, encouraging attitudes of environmental stewardship.’
Sigil, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I like artists that promote environmental issues through their art, such as Louis Masai and ATM, as this is partly what I do at work…connecting people with the environment through communication. So I have an immediate soft spot for this piece, which highlights the perils facing the vaquita, a small porpoise and currently the most endangered cetacean in the world.
The artwork looks a little bit rushed, which it might have been, due to the rain, but it is a nice piece. I would like to see more of Sigil’s work, particularly paste ups.
This is an interesting piece from Dice 67 at Upfest this year, where we see the artist continuing to experiment with his freehand spraying, having spent most of his street art career to date stencilling.
Dice67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
To my shame, I have to confess that I walked past Dice 67 while he was spraying this piece, but didn’t recognise him or the style of painting. I even took a couple of pictures, but didn’t make the connection. It was only later, when I met Dice 67 and his family in the Steam Crane, that I realised I had goofed.
Dice67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I went back to South Street Park later during the festival and found the completed piece, but at that point it hadn’t been signed. I later found Andy (Dice 67) again and advised that he ought to sign it, as other people like me might be expecting to see a stencil. In the feature picture, you will notice that the piece was signed in the end.
Dice67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The work itself is a self-portrait, and I wonder how much the pretend ears were influenced by his children. I really like it that Dice 67 is making this big step in the art he creates, and I am looking forward to seeing more of it in the future.
Dice67, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
It is also worth mentioning that Dice 67 organised the highly successful Cheltenham Paint Festival in September, which I was unable to visit, but some of the pictures I have seen on Instagram were utterly awesome.
No RAW wall would be complete without a T-Rex charging at it from one side or other. This lovely ‘herd’ of dinosaurs by T-Rex was on the far right hand side of this six-artist wall and rounded it off really nicely.
T-Rex, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
T-Rex is a classy artist and seems to have waltzed into spraying these creatures straight from home, in fine clothes and bag over her shoulder. A no fuss approach to street art that is rarely seen. No mess, no overalls and in this picture I can’t even see any spare spray cans…maybe she borrowed them from Ryder. What a way to end this sequence of posts on the RAW wall at Upfest – a real highlight of the festival.
The fifth RAW piece on this Upfest wall is by Ryder, whose work is just going from strength to strength at the moment. His use of colours in this piece is exceptional, and the wildstyle writing is everything I have come to expect from him.
Ryder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
There is so much going on in this piece, and the different letter styles combined with different colour schemes is somewhat reminiscent of the work of Sky High. I cannot emphasise enough how much I am enjoying the work of Ryder, I’m just surprised at how long it took me to properly register his stuff.
Ryder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Ryder was sandwiched between Jaksta and his trusty painting buddy T-Rex…a good place to be.
Natural adventures 