It feels like a very long time ago since I last saw a new Copyright mural but my goodness, it has been well worth the wait. Copyright has produced this outstanding and colourful piece for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days, and I am grateful to both artist and organisers for making this happen.
Copyright, Greville Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
This wall has had some notable occupants in the past, but I think that this one might eclipse them all. The piece would appear to be a reference to rebuilding a broken nation maybe, and doing it brick by brick. Of course it might be something else altogether.
The female portrait, in black and white, is wearing a most incredible headdress bursting with colours and designs and even a Felix with a crown. There is a lot of symbolism here and I am not sure what it all means, but the ensemble is quite an eye full with flowers, butterflies, a jewel and even a couple of ‘toilet door’ figures to the left. If all of this was not enough, Copyright has set the piece on a nicely decorated and eye-catching background. The whole mural is stunning… it would be great to see more of this more often from Copyright.
I have enjoyed the work of Mr Draws over the years and enjoy his company too so it was mighty fine to see him joining in with Eman’s birthday paint jam down in Cumberland Basin at the end of July.
Mr Draws, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Mr Draws has taken a slight departure from his customary ‘DRAWS’ letters to create this rather nice ‘My happy place’ piece. The letter style and fill are very ‘Mr Draws’ if that makes sense, particularly the pink camouflage patterned fills. A happy piece for a happy day.
On the news that Sir Ian ‘beefy’ Botham has been appointed by Andrea Loathsome as a trade envoy for Australia. This is how it works. It is not what you know, but who you have pleased along the way. Ever was it thus in politics. At least he won’t get paid for the role.
This is another piece of old-school writing from graffiti artist Sake. I don’t know how it has happened, but Sake has only really come onto my radar in the last couple of months, having met him in St Werburghs tunnel. I have a feeling that I might have photographed a number of his pieces in the past, but just haven’t published any of them. I will need to do a thorough search of my archives, but time is a real constraint for me at the moment.
Sake, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2021
In this piece, Sake spells out his name with classic lettering filled with stars and bars and a lovely 3D shadow in blue. Having spoken to the artist a couple of times, it would appear that he is a bit of a purist and doesn’t have a lot of time for ‘toys’ (new or unskilled writers). I think that he harbours great affection for the early days of graffiti writing when things were more edgy and spray paints more difficult too use. He does well to recreate these old-school pieces.
What an absolute delight to find this beautiful mural by Bex Glover which has been painted as part of Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days initiative. Set on the side of a North Street shop, Bex Glover brings her unique design style and colour combinations that spreads the wonder of British nature to our streets.
Bex Glover, North Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
This mural celebrates the hedgehog, a native mammal that has been in steep decline for some years now, just another casualty of our human carelessness and disregard for our environment. These three little characters are beautifully painted and appear to be following a yellow trail – perhaps it is their yellow brick road at the end of the rainbow.
Bex Glover, North Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
I am a huge admirer of Bex Glover’s work which always stands out from the crowd and her connection with nature certainly chimes with me. Lovely stuff.
Throughout the whole of the last year, Benjimagnetic has been consistently turning out superb BEN pieces, and this is one of the more recent one of them. I love the way that he has been developing his style and that recently he has simplified the look of his work without compromising his technical ability.
Benjimagnetic, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
This piece from the tunnel is notable for its extraordinary fills, particularly in the blue segments. This graffiti writing is clean and sharp, and the white border that lifts the letters is superbly consistent – the work of an experienced hand. It must surely be time for a Benjimagnetic gallery?
When I saw this piece for the first time, I was instantly drawn to it – there was something about the form and colours and of course the penguin. It had been painted alongside work from LRS artists Eman and 3F fino, but I didn’t know who the artist was. I got lucky a week or two later when I met the artist, Apex_aloy, during a paint jam at Cumberland Basin and was able to put a name to the piece.
Apex_aloy, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, July 2021
I believe Apex_aloy comes from a town near Bristol and visits from time to time, which is something I’ll have to look out for. I had difficulty making out the letters initially, but they spell out STIKA, and have been worked nicely to complement the colours of the penguin. The piece was painted freehand and has turned out rather well. A few more minutes working on the backwash would have taken it up a level… small details. Looking forward to seeing more from Apex_aloy.
