On the lovely curved wall of Dean Lane skate park, this bright and cheery piece by Mr Draws was sprayed on 20 April to mark the 420 campaign. Regulars will know that I have long enjoyed the work of Mr Draws, and although his freestyle is not to everyone’s taste, it works for me.
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Mr Draws is going through one of his incredibly productive phases at the moment and I simply can’t keep up…there is too much in Bristol to cover in two posts per day, let alone all my other material from New York, Barcelona and London. I’ll do my best to keep it all coming.
Three cheers for the toucan – in what is probably the closest graffiti spot to my work. Imagine how delighted I was to see this recent adition of one of Touc’s beautiful birds. A simple idea, but nicely done and eminently collectable.
Touc, Lower Lamb Street, Bristol, April 2018
Somehow, bringing an exotic bird like a toucan into the urban environment achieves more than simply a splash of colour, it brings with it the magic of rainforests and of hope. It certainly worked for Guiness.
I have been aware of the work of this Bristol artist for some while now, but didn’t know much else about him. Well a little stroke of luck…a delay to my usual bus…encouraged me to walk home after work and I decided to take a slightly different route. As I dropped down the steps from Park Street into Frogmore Street I saw this beautiful display of foil butterflies pressed into the road tarmac.
Duncan McKellar, Frogmore Street, Bristol, April 2018
The gentleman in the pictute is actually the artist, Duncan McKellar, who likes to bring a smile to the citizens of Bristol with his unusual artistic displays that appear from time to time. I guess one might describe him as an installation artist, but what he does brilliantly is bring to life many of the things we fail to see around us, such as statues and trees and puts them front and centre of our consciousness with his art.
Duncan McKellar, Frogmore Street, Bristol, April 2018
I particularly like this foil piece because it is an unusual experimental technique which Duncan was trialling. We stopped for a lengthy chat, and I will certainly be following his artistic adventures with great interest. More from Duncan to come soon.
Rounding off this batch of Upfest 2017 posts is this wonderful collaboration in a comic-strip style from artists Size Two and Laura Schindler. I think it is a rather special piece that was a little bit tucked away on the periphery of South Street park.
Size Two and Laura Schindler, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I am not fmiliar with either artist, but believe that both of them are form Austria and now live and work in Berlin.
Size Two and Laura Schindler, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The collaboration works so well for me, there is a good story going on, a fight against crime by a human and a robot – detective partners? The main characters are set on a washed out urban background of some dystopian future. I simply love it.
What an extraordinary piece by Title at the Ashton Gate site. The character to those of you not familiar with Marvel comics is Thanos, who I believe makes an appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – a film I haven’t seen yet, but will do when the DVD arrives.
Title, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The detail in the face and expression bring this ‘photorealistic’ piece to life. Title, from Birmingham is a full time artist, taking commissions around the country. He enjoys festivals, which he can focus on while trying to balance a busy work schedule and family life.
Title, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Would be good to see him again at Upfest, but I don’t see his name down for 2018, so mnaybe another time.
I think the prize for the busiest artists of Upfest 2017 goes to Pahnl who were not only the featured Festival artists for the year, but who also painted two walls with their intricate stencil work.
Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Actually, it was some days after the festival that they finally managed to finish this wall, but it was worth the wait. Their style of work has the look and feel of corporate identy and logos, with ‘toilet door man’ setting about various tasks and activities.
Pahnl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The partnership certainly produced something out of the ordinary with their work, unlike anything else at the festival. there is more about this duo from Birmingham on their fine website.
Natural adventures 