Category: 7.5. Upfest 2022

4625. Upfest 2022 (40)

The very first time I saw Zabou’s work was at an Upfest festival a few years ago. After that I saw more of her work on a couple of trips to London and have become a big fan. Her photorealistic portraits are among the best in the world, and it is a privilege when she comes to visit the west of England, in particular Bristol and Cheltenham.

Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

All I know about this magnificent portrait piece is that it is called stuck, and given that I was a little bit behind the curve, I never saw her painting it, but only as the final completed work, which meant I couldn’t even ask her about it.

Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I love the way that the face is slightly compressed and contorted in the places where it comes in contact with the hole in the wall. I also love the overall trompe l’oeil effect of the painted brick wall.

Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This is a magnificent piece that adds weight to the international status of Upfest and helps to draw visitors and inward investment to the city. We have come a long way since Banksy and his contemporaries. A truly stunning piece from Zabou.

4624. Upfest 2022 (39)

Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It is always great to see Decay painting in Bristol, too much of a rarity these days, and even better when he teams up with Mudra. Although their styles are totally different, they have managed to work well together on this hoarding to divide the space up and allow their pieces to ‘talk to each other.

Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

To the left are some fine initials, DK, bound together by the irrepressible ‘Chuck’, who is very much missed in the city. To the right, Mudra has spelled out his name with an eclectic mix of letter styles, reminiscent of SkyHigh’s approach to writing. The black background brings out the best in both pieces on this collaborative board. Nice one.

4623. Upfest 2022 (38)

Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

On meeting Saor recently at the Cheltenham Paint Fesitval recently, he said that he would prefer me to refer to him as Saor in my blog posts rather than by his previous name. I said that I would do it, even if it gives me a bit of a headache in terms of tagging and cataloguing things. So Saor it is.

Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This Upfest piece is an absolute beauty. Crisp and clean and with a wonderful colour colour palette. the form of Saor’s letters remind me a little of Epok’s writing style, which is praise indeed. The letters spell out the name SAOR. It was very sweet, watching Saor’s little assistant helping out.

Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The monster face seems to be back now, having been left out of a few recent pieces, and you can see that Saor hadn’t quite finished off the wispy circular cloud (a halo?) when I took these WIP shots. Saor is definitely an artist who continues to up his game with each new piece.

4622. Upfest 2022 (37)

Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I have a feeling that this might be the third piece painted by Jelly in Bristol, and this time she has brought a friend, apparan, with her. The double portrait, sited just off North Street, is a welcome burst of colour on what is an otherwise rather dull stretch of street.

Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The two portraits, although quite similar in style, have their own distinctive elements, such as the long eyelashes that Jelly likes to paint. It is really interesting to see the skin tones contrasting and the hair colours too. Portraits of women by women – this is great to see. A fine contribution to Upfest 2022, and we would welcome these two back anytime.

4621. Upfest 2022 (36)

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Two Inkie posts in a row… It happens you know from time to time, sometimes by design and other times quite by accident. This was an accident, but nothing to stress about, there are no rules on Natural Adventures, and if there were I wouldn’t stick to them anyway.

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I watched Inkie as he was painting this stunner, and was reminded of the incredible pace he works at. I watched him paint the lower left hand quadrant for a couple of minutes, walked the dog up the road for five minutes, came back and he had virtually finished the segment, awesome to witness.

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Somehow Upfest wouldn’t feel like Upfest without a landmark Inkie piece, and the area plays host to several of his pieces still, from years gone by. Inkie – Bristol – ASK (After Schook Klub) – Vikki. Says it all. A true beauty.

4595. Upfest 2022 (35)

I am a huge admirer of Johnman’s incredible pieces, and although I have only seen a handful of them, each one is an absolute cracker. I particularly like this piece, because accidentally or deliberately, the scene blends into the real blue sky behind it, giving a slightly surreal feel to the whole thing.

Johnman, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Johnman, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Johnman has a gift for producing intrigue and drama in his work, and here we have a girl in a wheat field under a deep blue sky with a dove of peace. The colours suggest that this is a representation of the Ukranian flag and that it is a piece depicting the war with the Dictator Putin’s Russia. A stunning, mysterious and compassionate piece from this outstanding artist.

4594. Upfest 2022 (34)

I guess it is a host’s prerogative, in this case Upfest, to be able to include lots of local artists to join in the fun of the festival, and it felt like, this year more than any other, that Bristol-based artists made up a significant proportion of all the artists in attendance. This is a brilliant thing, because it introduces all the visitors to the festival to the vast pool of talent we have in the city.

Zake, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zake, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Any regular reader of Natural Adventures will be no stranger to the work of Zake, and here we see him at work painting the body of one of his characteristic cartoon-style faces. I like work in progress (WIP) photographs, because they give you a real sense of how the finished article was created, and how the finishing touches can transform a piece.

Zake, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zake, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

As always, it is the mastery of light and shade that makes Zake’s work so special, and he has managed to apply these principles not only to the character’s face but also to his clothes. A fine festival piece from Zake.

4593. Upfest 2022 (33)

I think I was being rather thick when I looked at this piece, and it took me quite a while to unpick what was going on. It is funny how you can look at something but not really see it, which is something I pride myself on being able to do ordinarily, but in this instance I failed.

Usedpencil, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Used Pencil, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The clever piece is by Used Pencil and is of course a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth, although not an entirely flattering one. Upfest was held this year just before the extended bank holiday during which the nation celebrated the Queen’s platinum jubilee – I didn’t celebrate, because I was in Porto with my daughter.

This portrait is a bit like a fully painted doodle and it is very nicely executed too. Used Pencil is another artist I have never come across before and his Upfest biography reads:

I am Used Pencil, the ‘Secret Walls’ winning, mural making, illicit illustrator with walls covered and exhibitions curated in HK, Lisbon, LDN, Manchester and Iceland, to name just a few. Always starting with a pencil and paper, I like to make marks on all surfaces using fine line creative wizardry.

Nice contemporary work.

4592. Upfest 2022 (32)

I think it is fair to say that some of the Upfest pieces are much more memorable than others. Some you really want to photograph and some others you forget that you even saw them until you review your pictures. This is definitely one of those memorable ones.

Mister Samo, Upfest 22, Bristol, Bristol, May 2022
Mister Samo, Upfest 22, Bristol, Bristol, May 2022

The bright piece is by Mister Samo, who I have not encountered before but who has a really interesting biography in the Upfest programme as follows:

Samo is a Portsmouth based trans artist, public speaker, and activist who focuses on intersectional gender identity and community. Highlights include painting at World Pride 2019, producing I EXIST (a trans bodies art book), founding an LGBTQ+ safe space scheme, and having his works collected by people across the world.

Mister Samo, Upfest 22, Bristol, Bristol, May 2022
Mister Samo, Upfest 22, Bristol, Bristol, May 2022

There is something very appealing about the piece and without doubt it demands to be looked at. The stylised yellow figure set on the blue and pink background stands out a mile, but as well as the bold colours, the finer details are what make the piece rather special, such as the hand and the beautifully drafted flowers. A very nice piece from Mister Samo.

4591. Upfest 2022 (31)

This was the first completed piece from Upfest 2022 that I saw this year and was the piece that alerted me to the fact that many artists were already out and about in Bedminster painting static walls as a precursor to the main event in Greville Smyth Park at the end of May.

Squirl, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Squirl, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The large mural is by Squirl, who has painted a few times in Bristol, mostly at Upfest, but also in collaboration with SPZero76 as part of the Gums and Tongue crew. This is a beautifully designed landscape scene in a highly stylised and colourful form. A stunner, and as fortune would have it, the roadworks in front of it made it easier to photograph as there are usually cars permanently parked in front of this wall. Great piece from Squirl.