Summer’s memories
locked away and discarded;
face up to Winter.
by Scooj
490. Upfest 2016 (64)
This is one of the slightly more bonkers pieces from Upfest this year. Surreal and vivid, it absolutely makes me smile every time I look at it. Unfortunately I never got to see the finished work, but I was pleased to get some pictures of the artist at work.
Super moon
.
The persistent moon
of Westminster’s clock face mocks
urban cloud cover.
.
by Scooj
489. Upfest 2016 (63)
Mr Draws is a busy Bristol street artist who specialises in spraying colourful impressionist mountain ranges. His style is simple and at times appears to be naive, but it is far from that, and some of his pieces demonstrate his sophistication.
Invisible
.
In the grey city
under heavy Autumn skies
anonymity.
.
by Scooj
488. Upfest 2016 (62)
For years, I have been marveling at the incredible 3D pavement works created by street artists and shared through digital media. I used to enjoy these, even before I was interested in street art…they are absorbing and technically brilliant.
Until this year, I had never seen a 3D street piece in the flesh, so it was a genuine thrill to see Leon Keer’s work dominating the Tobacco Factory car park.
Leon Keer was born in Utrecht, the Netherlands in 1970, which makes him almost as old as me, which is cool. He is described as a pop-surrealist artist and is known for his canvasses and his 3D street art.
Leon Keer has a brilliant website, which I strongly recommend you take a look at. It features not only his 3D art, but also some of his paintings, which I find rather compelling.
The amazing thing about the 3D art is that it only works from a specific viewpoint. Observed from anywhere else and it looks quite bizarre, as you can see from some of these pictures. This was another highlight from the festival, and something quite different.
Decay
In Autumn woodlands
there is a force gathering
plotting destruction.
by Scooj
487. Upfest 2016 (61)
I knew nothing of the Thomas Brothers before Upfest where I saw this dazzling piece. The British brothers work together and bring in elements of 80s childhood experiences into their work, such as cartoons and Japanese toys, and create their contemporary works using these influences.
Regrets
I said things I did
not mean to say and I said
things I did not mean.
by Scooj
486. Upfest 2016 (60)
You just have to love a picture of a chimpanzee in a space suit, and if you don’t, then leave this post immediately. Interestingly this is not the first such simian astronaut I have written about, Zase and Dekor sprayed one some time ago near Eastville.
The artist of this chimp is Achim Szabo, a German artist who works out of Stuttgart. A look at his website shows you the incredible range of styles he adopts, and of course he isn’t restricted to walls, he can work in watercolours, design and digital as well. It seems that so many street artists have this broad set of skills. I wonder which branch of their work they enjoy the most.
In this piece, I particularly like the rough style that has been used to create it, almost a sketch, and it is topped off by the yellow banana. Lovely work.
Natural adventures 