.
Feeling deflated
been looking forward so long
got what I wanted
.
by Scooj
There are two important elements to a great wheatpaste, which are; the quality of the artwork and the location. Abbie Laura Smith has nailed it on both counts with the Swiss cheese plant cut out portrait pasted onto one of the old bollards alongside the river – an immediate impact piece for those with their eyes open.
The black and white portrait drawing, makes great use of two-tone light and dark and is superimposed onto the leaf, before being cut out. It was so much to find this piece and some of the others she has pasted up in the area, and I hope that it encourages her and others to do more of this kind of stuff.
I have mentioned before on Natural Adventures, how much visiting artists contribute to the spectrum of street and graffiti art that we see in the city, constantly adding to the diversity and culture of the scene. All visiting artists are welcome, and none more so than Mr Tanner, whose one-off unique pieces have brought some imagination and and sparkle to this wall in Cumberland Basin on several occasions.
I am not too sure where Mr Tanner is based, but he does appear to visit Bristol occasionally. The horse in this piece is a reverse silhouette on a black background, within which its skeleton appears, almost X-ray-like. There are two vertical lines of writing that accompany the piece, on the left, something in Japanese, and on the right the letters TOPIA constructed out of bones. Altogether this is an unusual and striking piece.
Lots going on this morning getting in the way of writing posts. The General Election results are in and we will have a labour Government, having seen off the Conservatives… at last. In my constituency a Green candidate won, which is great news, bringing the total of Green MPs up to 4 from 1 before – the start of something exciting perhaps. I am also not feeling too bright – I have tested negative for Covid, so it must be some other stoopid summer bug that I have.
There were so many outstanding Upfest murals this year, but this was one of the most eye-catching. Painted by Jagung, a young Malaysian artist, who loves to use colour, talking in his profile about playing with colour inversion, although I don’t see any evidence of it here.
The day I photographed this piece, it was surprisingly busy, and I had to wait a while before I could hog the space. The portrait piece is notable for the large amount of the wall taken up by the orange yellow and red figurative flames, and relatively small portrait – a clever device to create tons of movement and energy.
A close up of the face and hand of our hero shows that Jagung hasn’t shirked or dodged doing an incredible job with creating the realism of the face within the abstract frame of swirling flames. A hot mural in all senses of the word.
.
Fourteen years ago
the occupation began
voting for freedom
.
by Scooj
It looks like Fesa got lucky and managed to paint in two different spots for Upfest this year. I have already posted his Dalmatian dog at the Redpoint Climbing Centre, and this is a four (8) panelled landscape piece that is absolutely wonderful.
Once again I am reminded of Cezanne-like landscapes of a continental European type, that conjures up a feeling of warmth and vacations. The piece used the window frames really well, reversing our viewpoint, and rather than looking into the building, we are looking out towards this landscape. The gull on the windowsill adds another layer of perspective. I am very drawn to Fesa’s work, and the calmness it gives off – I do hope he returns to Bristol sometime.
If you like bright and colourful abstract designs, then this piece by Emotional Waterfall Art painted at Upfest 2024 will be right up your street. The artist is no stranger to Upfest, and she painted an enormous mural for the 75×75 event in 2021. I am not certain, because her social media accounts are vague, but I think that she is Bristol-based, or at least from the West of England.
This piece is painted on a gate in Exeter Road (one for Thursday Doors in a year or two) adding a vibrant splash of colour. There is a whole ton of positive energy coming at you from the mixture of shapes and patterns in this delightful mural. I believe, from reading her Instagram post about that this piece, that she had a really great day painting it.
Where to start with this outstanding and unbelievably cute piece by Sr. Papa Chango? An extraordinary still-life framed composition with a bowl of fruit and a decanter is enhanced with the appearance of two fluffy characters that appear to have artistic ambitions. The piece is so well painted, it almost looks like a poster that has been pasted up on this large wall.
I had not heard of Sr. Papa Chango before I saw this piece, and I believe that this might be his first trip to the UK, and definitely his first to Bristol. The Mexican artist now lives and paints out of Berlin, and is the creator of some magnificent murals like this one.
The artwork is so good and the creativity almost dreamlike and fantastical. In this piece he has managed to create a contrast between the passivity of the fruit and the activity of the adorable creatures, both of which are spilling out of the frame. This piece on the huge Redpoint Climbing Centre wall is absolutely one of the highlights of Upfest 2024.
Doors 270 – Assisi doors, Umbria, Italy, July 2023 (Part I)
At last, a return to a warmer climate and a reflection on our family holiday to Umbria last year. I had set out to spend the week beside the pool, with a glass of wine to hand admiring the views, but when you are surrounded by hilltop cities, towns and villages, it is very difficult not to venture out and explore. My head says relax, but my heart says discover, and my heart won out.
This was a day trip we took to Assisi, a place that I have visited many times before, but each time I make new discoveries, and walk different routes. It is a beautiful town and fortunately most of the visitors stick to the lower end where the Basilica of St Frances is located. There is no theme to the doors this week, although the theme of Assisi doors would appear to be enough.
Today is a very important day in British politics, as well as American history. To the Brits I say don’t forget to vote and remember your photo ID and to our cousins across the pond I wish you a joyful Independence Day.
Here are some doors:
Next time I will have some more doors from Assisi. Until then may I wish you a happy weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
by Scooj
Bex Glover is an outstanding Bristol artist, graphic designer, illustrator and muralist, whose work can be seen on commissioned walls, and in various ‘corporate’ buildings in the city, much of it intact after several years. She is also a regular guest artist at Upfest events, and this is her superb piece for this year’s festival.
This one is painted on another new wall for Upfest (at this rate the whole of Bedminster and Southville will be one continuous mural) and one that looks so much better for having a splash of paint. There are two animal characters, a crane and a fox, in this piece inspired by Aesop’s fable ‘the fox and the crane’ with a working idea of ‘putting differences aside’. A sentiment that could be adopted before, during and after our divisive General Election
The distinctive blue background with tree boughs and flowers is the perfect setting for the abstract animals. There is a calm and natural atmosphere that is created by her artwork, which is always such a joy to see. If I had money and a wall, I wouldn’t hesitate to commission work from her, it ticks all of my boxes and some. This is a glorious piece and worth the extra yards to find it.
