From just a little while back, this is a wonderful example of wildstyle writing from the Bristol-based graffiti writer Soge. Like his Polish counterparts, his writing has a hint of the Gothic about it, although not quite as much as Hire. In my view there is certainly a difference in influence and derivation between the Polish and British writers – but you would expect that.
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2018
Soge’s colour palette in this piece is very easy on the eye and there is something about the overall shape and design that reminds me a little of Inkie’s work. The letters quite clearly spell out SOGE. Great work.
Wow, wow, wow. I am head over heels in love with this stunning work by Muckrock (Jules Muck). Shortly after I photographed this fabulous piece I dived into the Upfest shop and had a chat with Paul Monsters and Steve and Emma who run Upfest. I mentioned this exceptional work in Dean Lane skate park to them and although they didn’t know about this one, they had met her recently and offered her a wall to paint at the other end of North Street. She must have done this one as a bit of an extra while she was visiting.
Muckrock, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
I can honestly say it is my top five pieces for 2018 and has come as a complete surprise which makes it extra special. I believe Jules Muck began her graffiti ‘career’ in England and Europe, but lives and paints mostly in the United States, living in Venice Beach. You can find out all about her on her extensive website, well worth a gander
Muckrock, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
I love the green monotone and the mischief in the portrait is to die for. I can’t really say too much more about this piece without utterly embarrassing myself. So you, like me, will just have to sit and gaze at it…sigh…
I was moved to dig out this old wheatpaste from my archives when I saw the wonderful Upfest 10th anniversary balloons that had been pasted up all over Bedminster by D7606. It can happen a lot when you have so many unpublished photographs, and I regularly scour my files to see if there are anty gems that I may have overlooked…well this was one of them.
D7606, Frogmore Street, Bristol, September 2015
This blue balloon with the face of Elizabeth Taylor was pasted up over my absolute favourite piece of street art in Bristol and one that inspired me to write this blog, by JPS. Such a great wall and a clever place for D7606 to position his balloon. I am pleased to bring the pictures out of archive.
A gallery of murals from Bristol illustrator and artist Alex Lucas
All photographs taken by Scooj
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021Alex Lucas, Picton Street, Bristol, January 2021Alex Lucas, Picton Street, Bristol, January 2021Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2020Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2020Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, March 2020Alex Lucas, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2019Alex Lucas, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2019Alex Lucas, Easton Business Centre, Bristol, May 2019Alex Lucas, Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018Alex Lucas, Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018Alex Lucas, Ashley Road, Bristol, December 2018Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018Alex Lucas, Charlotte Street, Bristol, November 2017Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017Alex Lucas, Picton Street, Bristol, March 2016Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016Alex Lucas, Picton Mews, Bristol, September 2016Alex Lucas, St Andrew’s Road, Bristol, March 2016Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2015Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2015Alex Lucas, Park Row, Bristol, November 2015Alex Lucas, Park Row, Bristol, November 2015Alex Lucas, Park Row, Bristol, November 2015Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, September 2015Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2015Alex Lucas, Picton Street, Bristol, March 2106
I always enjoy seeing the evolution of a piece of artwork, and Upfest affords the perfect opportunity to see artists at work and follow progress from cradle to grave. Of course this does depend on being in the right place at the right times, and I got lucky with this outstanding piece by Ant Carver.
Ant Carver, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The first stage of this work was to give the wall a splash of colour and texture…the first layer. A mask was then applied to create a draft of the eyes, nose and mouth in isolation from the rest of the work, a little bit like a stencil.
Ant Carver, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Once the draft of the eyes, nose and mouth had been added, Ant Carver got to work on the detail, using greyscale for these features. The skill of the piece is in blending all these layers to create a wonderful effect of the separateness and togetherness of greyscale and colour and the strength of detail in the features and vagueness with the rest of the face…very clever work.
Ant Carver, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I managed to get a couple of slightly poor pictures of his work at Upfest 2017, so it was nice to be able to get this series of slightly better pictures this time round. A memorable and unusual piece.
There is one artist in Bristol whose work manages to attain higher levels each and every time I see it. It is of course Voyder who I have raved about many times in this blog before. At Upfest 2018 he really pulled out all the stops and painted this outstanding piece. Is there no end to his talent?
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This new wall for Upfest was in my view an unquestionable success and gave some bigger ‘permanent’ space for artists who can go big. The cars in the picture above give you a feeling for how big these pieces are.
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Voyder is probably best known for writing his name in a variety of styles, but always utterly recognisable as his work, which reminds me I must do a gallery of his work when I have a bit of spare time.
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
It is difficult to get across how good this piece is, both technically and in its clever subject material. I would take a long shot and guess that this is a self-portrait composed of three main elements: his faceless upper torso; a brown brush stroke of paint across his face; his familiar signature. This makes for at least three very different textures to the piece, each of which would be able to exist alone.
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The hands are beautifully worked and full of expression – I have not seen much of this kind of work from Voyder before although I know he has painted portraits before. The brown brush stroke is something he has been playing with for the last couple of years and appears in many of his pieces these days. I am told that the fill in the Voyder signature is a backdrop to a design screen. To cap the whole thing off nicely we have one of his trademark neon lines running through his name. A heavenly piece from this master of Bristol street art.
Natural adventures 