Category: 7.3. Upfest 2018

2429. Upfest 2018 (151)

I felt it was probably time to pick up on a few more Upfest 2018 pieces starting with this beautiful Whale and Gannet work with a very strong environmental message from Adelle Gough. The text says “You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop”.

Adelle Gough, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Adelle Gough, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I like the style Adelle has used for this piece very much, and it has quite an illustrative feel to it, like it could be the cover of a children’s book on plastic waste or something like that. There is a narrative in the piece that is clear to see, with tin can plastic binding caught around the gannet’s neck.

Adelle Gough, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Adelle Gough, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Adelle likes to call Stroud her home, but appers to do quite a lot of travelling around the country. She has a fine website Green Bow Tie Works that houses a gallery of her works and there is an interesting profile/biography of the artist which outlines her love for nature and the natural world. Whale pieces always go down well with me.

2048. Upfest 2018 (150)

Iain MacArthur is an artist and illustrator based in London who only occasionally paints street art pieces, mostly focussing his efforts on designs for t-shirts and skateboards etc. (so his Upfest biography tells me).

Iain MacArthur, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Iain MacArthur, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This is a really interesting and somewhat challenging piece that shows a cut-away black and white face with a host of colourful strands bursting out like ideas or thoughts. The whole piece has a distinctive illustrative style, and the circles with the little motif inside them are particularly striking. I’d be interested in seeing more from Iain MacArthur.

2047. Upfest 2018 (149)

I love wheatpastes (in case you hadn’t noticed) and at Upfest 2018 we were blessed with a series of poignant and thought provoking stencil paste ups by About Ponny. I was particularly moved by these small scenes, each one depicting the marginalised or forgotten, the vulnerable or neglected.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This one, produced in sepia tones, shows two small children sheltering under a small basket, and has overtones of iconic images from the Vietnam or Cambodian conflicts. There is so much emotion and sadness and pity captured in this image. Really, truly this is an outstanding piece of art.

2246. Upfest 2018 (148)

Inkie is no stranger to Upfest, nor indeed to the streets of Bristol, and this piece sitting above a burner he turned out in 2017 is a festival classic, and has a strong connection with the piece he did for Upfest 2016 also featuring Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018

This piece combines the tools of the trade both for Inkie and for the draftsman and engineer, both local heros in their own field.

Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018

I think that Inkie does a great job for Upfest every year, and isn’t at all shy abut shouting out the Upfest brand at every opportunity.

Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018

From recollection, I think that Inkie didn’t quite manage to finish this wall during the festival, and I had to return some days later to get some pictures of the completed work. Well worth the wait though.

Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

2245. Upfest 2018 (147)

It seems I am drawn to the amazing work of Bex Glover, having recently shared two new pieces by her in Bristol. This was her Upfest 2018 piece and is neatly tucked away in the Hen and Chicken pub back yard and can still be viewed (having had a reprieve due to the absence of a festival this year).

Bex Glover, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018
Bex Glover, Upfest, Bristol, May 2018

Bex Glover’s elegant style is instantly recognisable and thoroughly accessible. Usually a natural/wildlife theme drawn out with simple clean lines and a colour palette that is so very easy on the eye and consistent between pieces. I am a big fan of her work and this is another example of her enormous talent.

2242. Upfest 2018 (144)

Some artists got lucky (deservedly so) at Upfest 2018, receiving more than one wall to paint, and L7M was one of them. This is the second wall that I have written about, and both of them are absolute beauties.

L7M, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
L7M, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

In both of his Upfest works he featured delicate hummingbirds so full of movement. It is interesting to see how this piece looked during the painting process and how it developed into the finished article. A truly magnificent piece on one of my favourite Upfest locations.

L7M, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
L7M, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

2241. Upfest 2018 (143)

Over the course of the three day Upfest street art festival, visitors are treated to a huge display of artistic talent, which includes a some exceptional stencils, most of which are allocated these meter square boards at the St Francis church location. This extraordinary four or five layer stencil is by midlands self-taught artist RJ77 (there is hope for me yet).

RJ77, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
RJ77, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This mysterious image is rather compelling and looking at it I want to know more. What’s the story? Is it simply a pose or is there more going on? I am a bit of a sucker for these monochromatic stencils, and I’ll have to look out for more from RJ77.

2240. Upfest 2018 (142)

One of my biggest regrets of Upfest 2018 is that there were a few outstanding pieces that I never saw in their finished state, including this perfect collaboration between Braga Last1 and Kowse.

Braga Last1 and Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Braga Last1 and Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with work in progress shots as that is all I have (first world problems huh?), but I think you get the idea of just how great this piece is even from these pictures. Braga Last1 has been a regular at Upfest and always turns out brilliant work, quite often containing a self-portrait. Kowse’s other piece at Upfest 2018 I think was probably my favourite of the whole festival, so having these two together is a dreamy collaboration.

Braga Last1 and Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Braga Last1 and Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

There are several oblique references to The Simpsons in this piece, the Homer skull, Krusty haircut and clown’s nose and a Simpsons fish… there may be more. All in all a wonderful collaboration from two extremely talented artists.

Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

2239. Upfest 2018 (141)

So it has been a while, and since there isn’t an Upfest festival this year, I am going to have to post another series of pictures from Upfest 2018 (there are still so many more waiting) starting with this utterly awesome piece by Insane51.

Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This extraordinary artist from Greece specialises in 3D street art and has created dozens of huge pieces which look fuzzy because they are double images, but when viewed through the red and blue specs stand out from the wall in good old-fashioned 3D.

Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This particular piece went up over about three or four days and was impressive enough in its halfway stage when the female portrait was complete. Insane51 then added the blue skeleton layer to the piece. The magic really happens when you view the whole thing through 3D specs one eye at a time. Rather helpfully, Insane51 did the job for us on his Instagram feed.

Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Definitely one of the finest walls at last year’s festival and a real crowd-pleaser. I got rather lucky and managed to grab a few words with him and during the course of our conversation he gave me a little goody bag of some stickers and the essential cardboard specs. It would be great to see him return again and wow us with his extraordinary talents.

 

 

2113. Upfest 2018 (140)

This is a really interesting small piece by Bristol/Bath artist Harry Grech who I understand from his Bio has a passion for using spray paint. I don’t think he does much street work, or if he does I haven’t seen any which is more the pity because this is magnificent.

Harry Grech, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Harry Grech, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

A wonderful blend of a classical subject and modern a modern style combine to create something quite special and fairly unique. I didn’t see the artist at work so am not sure what technique was used, but it looks like a stencil which might have been oversprayed with the angular sections… so difficult to tell. It would be great to see more of his work.