fluffy, scruffy ball
in uncertain surroundings;
young bird forages.
by Scooj
1641. Upfest 2018 (3)
This stunning piece from Piet Rodriguez was one of the first I saw at this year’s Upfest and it set the bar very high indeed. Some readers might recognise this site from a recent ‘Thursday doors‘ post on this blog…what a vast improvement this make-over has made.
Piet Rodriguez is a French artist who was raised in Brussels, and a quick look at his website gives you an idea of what an accomplished artist he is. I gather from his biography in the Upfest porgramme that he only took up the spray can in 2015, which surely is a good thing for all of us.
This was not the only piece that Piet Rodriguez did at Upfest, and I will post his smaller board from South Street park at a later date. I think I am a fan.
1640. Upfest 2018 (2)
Daa da da da da da da da daa daa dada dada. Getting right to the heart of the matter is this brilliant Simpsons piece from Soker. He really is quite one of the best writers around and this sofa scene totally proves it.
His use of the Simpson characters on the sofa, a scene so familiar to anyone who watches the show, to create his name is inspired, and taking a closer look, there is almost a Picassoesque look to Lisa and Homer in particular.
The whole scene is well observed, with the lampshade and the picture of a sailing boat on the wall, and is indeed a special homage to the genius of Matt Groenig.
I managed to catch up with Soker, which I have never managed to do before, and had a quick chat on the Friday, again on the Saturday morning and later on in the Spotted Cow. I think he had slightly overdone his merrymaking on Friday night and had to abandon painting on the Saturday, nursing a bit of a sore head.
I asked him why sometimes he wrote Soker and at other times Sokem. His answer seemed sensible to me…he started off with Soker (pronounced Soccer), but found the R difficult to write, so changed it to Sokem, before reverting once he found the R easier.
This has to be one of my favourites from Upfest 2018, and is really an outstanding piece.
1639. Upfest 2018 (1)
I thought I’d kick off Upfest 2018 with one of the highlight walls of the festival which speaks volumes to me (a marine biologist by training), and really brightened things up.
One of the less celebrated, but nonetheless special, walls at Upfest is this side street, Mount Pleasant Terrace, just off North Street. Previous occupiers of this wall have been Sokar Uno (2016) and My Dog Sighs and Snub 23 (2017), so it has a great pedigree. This year the mural went big, spreading beyond the first floor and covering the entire end of row wall.
At first glance it might not be obvious that this is a Louis Masai piece, but a closer inspection gives away some of the tell tale signs, such as a patchwork turtle, and of course a signature!
I was pretty spaced out at the festival, absorbing so much visual information but not really seeing things right in front of me – sensory overload if you like. I didn’t take a proper look at the wall until the scaffolding was down a couple of days later and then it hit me, this is a brilliant piece by Louis Masai.
There is so much to look at in this coral reef scene, but of course it comes with an environmental message, and there floating around the reef are a couple of Tesco bags, which once seen can’t be unseen.
I love the way that he entered into the spirit of the Simpsons theme of the festival and presented us with a cartoon mutant fish with three eyes gawkily cruising across the reef. Some serious messages interspersed with a bit of fun. A great piece to start with. Hats off to Louis Masai.
Drying day
Unbothered by my
hanging, dragonfly alights
on the whiligig.
by Scooj
1638. The Bearpit (155)
Well what can I say about Nevla? Well the first thing I can say is that I met him at Upfest and had a good long chat with him…and what a decent fellow he is, just like so many of the street/graff artists in Bristol. I’ll keep my powder dry about our conversation for when I post his Upfest piece.
This is a lovely piece, that can be easily missed, on the ramp down into The Bearpit on the north side of the roundabout. The fun cartoon character is accompanied by the words ‘stay fresh’, and I think this piece certainly manages to do this. I am really enjoying witnessing the progress of this artist, who tells me he has been spraying walls for about a year now.
1637. St Werburghs tunnel (35)
It would appear that when Inuk came to visit Bristol recently he may have painted two or three pieces. This is the second that I am posting, and the first that I found. I didn’t write about it straight away because at the time of taking the picture I didn’t know the artist.
The writing is big and bold and spells out INUcK, which I guess is a variation on his name. I very much like the little character at the right hand end of the piece, who offers a little additional interest and decoration on the work.
The Cheesewring
A competition
between giants and christians;
Cheesewring legacy.
by Scooj
- extract taken from Wikipedia:
A local legend says that the Cheesewring is the result of a contest between a man and a giant. When Christianity had just been introduced to the British Islands, the giants who lived at the top of the mountains were not happy about it. The saints had invaded their land and were declaring their wells as sacred. One of the larger giants, Uther, was given the task of ridding their land of the saints. He confronted the frail Saint Tue, who proposed a rock throwing contest. If Uther won, the saints would leave Cornwall. If Saint Tue won, then the giants would convert to Christianity.
Uther took his turn first and easily threw a small rock to the top of nearby Stowe’s Hill. Tue prayed for assistance, and picking up a huge slab found it was very light. One after the other, they threw their rocks, stacking them up in perfect piles. When the score was twelve stones each, Uther threw a thirteenth stone, but it rolled down the hill. Tue picked up this fallen stone, and as he lifted it, an angel appeared to carry it to the top of the pile of rocks. Seeing this, Uther conceded, and most of the giants decided to follow Christianity after that.
1636. M32 Roundabout J3 (90)
This is the second of two recent pieces by the marvelous Tasha Bee. Regulars will know that I admire her work a great deal, and this piece is no exception to that. One of the things I love about her art is that I rarely go looking for it, tending to find it instead when I am out on one of my little expeditions.
In this one, which is just outside the roundabout on the St Pauls side, there are two serene figures in purple and blue facing each other. Consistent with her work, both have closed eyes and a calmness about them. I rather like the ear decorations, one is a yin yang symbol and the other a peace symbol. A lovely find.
1635. New Stadium Road (5)
This spot is always impossible to photograph – I think the only solution is to come down at dusk and use a flash, and if I am honest I’m not sure I am fanatical enough to do that. The piece is, of course, by Deamze and shows off his angular puzzle-like wildstyle writing really well.
As is often the case, I am not at all sure who the character is, and think it might possibly be a figment of his fertile imagination. It feels strange, but of all the most productive Bristol artists painting at the moment, I still have yet to meet Deamze – our paths just haven’t crossed. I have a feeling he likes to keep himself to himself. Yet another consistently good piece.
Natural adventures 