933. Wilder Street (17)

I absolutely love doing this, for so many reasons, but it is particularly gratifying that on the same day I write a post about an Upfest artist new to me I find a street piece by the same artist. It is like having two Christmases at once.  This is what happened with this beautiful piece by Aintzane Crucet.

Aintzane Crucet, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017
Aintzane Crucet, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017

It can be found on the Where the Wall curated wall in Wilder Street and was sprayed in the immediate aftermath of Upfest. It would seem that Deamze helped out with the spot, as he has a piece just to the right (to follow).

Aintzane Crucet, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017
Aintzane Crucet, Wilder Street, Bristol, August 2017

I could seriously fall in love with this illustrator’s work. It is very different from much of the stuff we see in Bristol, and has a welcoming, soft appearance together with a complex story. A fox tail attached to what looks like a duck-billed platypus, a keyhole on the girl’s forehead and a teapot. What is going on? Happy days.

Holiday snooze

.

With haste I succumb

to the draw of Morpheus

for a thousand winks.

.

by Scooj

932. Upfest 2017 (10)

As someone who is interested in street art in Bristol, I really ought to know an awful lot more about Diff than I do. It is all part of learning about the very rich and diverse culture of the Bristol street/graffiti art scene.

Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2015
Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2015

This is a fabulous bold and humorous piece, conflating the statues from Easter Island with the haircuts of Sideshow Bob and Sideshow Mel from the Simpsons cartoon series. It is a simple theme with some really nice clear lines and shading – really great work.

Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2015
Diff, Upfest, Bristol, July 2015

You can find out more about Diff from this 212 Productions website profile.

931. Upfest 2017 (9)

Well it is no surprise that my path should cross with the work of Face the Strange at Upfest. What perhaps was a surprise was witnessing him pasting this piece up, and serendipitously on many levels, putting a face to the name.

Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I really should have asked him, what on earth is going on in his head…a man in a suit with a pineapple face and pineapple skin. Is it all just bonkers, funny and off-the-wall or is there some deeper hidden meaning. I expect it is a combination of both. Instead we talked about other wheatpasters and Upfest and the weather.

930. Upfest 2017 (8)

Tucked away in a shady corner of North Street Green was this beautiful piece by Aintzane Crucet, a Spanish Illustrator who was born in Motril (Granada) and now lives in Malaga. There is a fairytale quality to this work which would sit comfortably in any children’s library.

Aintzane Crucet, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Aintzane Crucet, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Other than the Upfest programme notes, there is very little information about this young artist who I would guess is at the beginning of her career. I’m pleased she made the journey to Bristol.

Aintzane Crucet, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Aintzane Crucet, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

929. Upfest 2017 (7)

This is a beautifully worked piece from Bristol-based Bill Giles, an illustrator and designer who occasionally takes to the walls. He specialises in creating grotesque monsters whose flesh melts away and his design work is finely detailed. This monster seems to reflect much more the uplifting atmosphere of Upfest with its bright colours and sunglasses, an altogether fun piece.

Bill Giles, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Bill Giles, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Bill Giles is part of an artist collective called ‘Cretin‘ based in Bristol that specialises in designs and illustrations of monsters. Membership of Cretin includes SPZero76, Paul Roberts (Monsters), Loch Ness and Dom Williams – there’s a lot of talent there.

Easy foraging

.

Squirrel at the door,

squats like a doe-eyed puppy

begging for some nuts.

.

by Scooj

Showers

 

August continues

where July left off, frontal

weather stream remains.

 

by Scooj

928. Upfest 2017 (6)

This year, because of the showery conditions at Upfest, it paid to get work started early. Copyright had completed this wonderful shutter piece on North Street before the festival officially started on Saturday and was spared the difficulty of working in the rain (on this piece at least).

Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The piece really stands out in what is a rather drab shop front, and the pink strip lifts the portrait out and smacks you in the face (figuratively speaking of course).

Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Upfest is one of the only times that you can get to see a majority of the shutter pieces on North Street, especially on the Sunday, because most of the non-food retailers shut for the weekend. I really like this one from Copyright – it would make a great album cover.

927. Bedminster

Some pieces are difficult to photograph. It might be a narrow lane, an awkward height, in front of a parking bay, in a tunnel or as in this instance a tree casting speckled light and shade rendering my photographic efforts utterly useless. I had to visit this spot four times before I could get a half decent picture of it.

Andy Council, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Andy Council, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

It took an overcast moment and diversion on my way to Upfest to get this dinosaur by Andy Council. It was worth waiting for, to see the architectural detail that comes together to create this triceratops (I think). It is always good to see the Bristol suspension bridge incorporated into a work. Yet another note to self on this matter – must do a special post of street art that incorporates the bridge.