Tag: Bristol

1168. Upfest 2017 (107)

There were so many great pieces on the long wall at Ashton Gate, a new venue for Upfest this year, and I have barely started to cover them yet – several of them were whole crew collaborations and I’m not sure how to post them. However this is a wonderful piece from artist Leo Boyd.

Leo Boyd, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Leo Boyd, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Leo Boyd is a Belfast-based screen printer and artist who is branching out into screen printing on walls, which this fine piece demonstrates beautifully. His biography on his website is very funny, tells you little about the artist other than his sense of humour and what is important to him. Worth a read.

Leo Boyd, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Leo Boyd, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

There is some really interesting stuff going on in this piece, but I am not sure what the story is. My take on it is an environmental one, but I don’t think that is necessarily the artist’s intention. I think it is more about the relationship between mankind and technology. Make of it what you will – it is in my view, a striking work.

1167. Upfest 2017 (106)

There can be few better ways to honour a fellow street artist than to paint an enormous portrait of them, and this is precisely what Ian Phenna did at Upfest 2017. The portrait is of the magnificent Nol, who was himself painting during the festival.

Ian Phenna, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Ian Phenna, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I do not know about Ian Phenna or his work, although his Upfest Biography says that he is a mixed media portrait and figurative artist originally from Liverpool. He has a dramatic approach to portraiture, often with hidden themes…

Ian Phenna, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Ian Phenna, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I really like this piece, and especially like the additional homage to Nol…the inclusion, albeit in greyscale, of one of his little monsters in the bottom right of the portrait. There are stencilled numbers all around the piece, something that Nick Walker likes to do too, but I don’t know the significance of them.

Ian Phenna, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Ian Phenna, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I think the whole thing is called ‘BrizNol’ which I rather like. This is a thoroughly enjoyable piece and one of my favourites from the festival.

Busker

 

Haunting sounds.

Accordion plays

minor tones,

singing soft

with melancholic stanzas;

I hold back the tears.

 

by Scooj

Not holding my breath

 

Parts of the country

prepare for a wintry storm;

not expected here.

 

by Scooj

Island

 

Creativity

marooned, shipwrecked in my head

no means of escape.

 

by Scooj

 

1163. Moon Street (38)

Perhaps not so subtle in this instance. Here we have another deliciously clean piece of writing from Subtle on the long hoarding in Moon Street. The orange and dark pink sit really well on the grey background. As mentioned recently, it seems that Subtle has become more active of late and I am seeing his work appearing on Instagram more often too.

Subtle, Moon Street, Bristol, November 2017
Subtle, Moon Street, Bristol, November 2017

I like the way the shading on his lettering is fashioned in such a way that there is a vanishing point somewhere behind and below the piece.Other less accomplished writers do much simpler shading to their pieces, as if a light were being cast from one direction. I’m not sure if that makes sence, but I think I know what I mean.

1162. M32 roundabout J3 (54)

This is a supremely beautiful work by Epok from a recent paint jam down at the M32 roundabout. I like everything about this piece, the proportions of the letters, the angles and curves, but most of all I think the colour selection is sublime, and I love the tinges of red in the middle of the piece.

Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017
Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017

I have never met Epok, nor seen him spraying, but would surely like to see him at work. There is something different about his wildstyle pieces that really catches the eye. I think that one of the main things is that his writing doesn’t adhere to our writing conventions of letters having an equal height and proportion. His letters fit into his design, which often tapers at one end or the other.

Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017
Epok, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017

I love this piece. Outstanding.

1161. Ashley Road (14)

Ok, so this is an interesting piece in Ashley road that appeared recently. It is, I think, by the Bristol artist Fiver, who also goes by the name Fiva and Henry Barnes who I posted about back in March this year. It is a bright and cheerful piece and would appear to be a celebration, welcoming ‘Eira’ into the world. Maybe his own child? I don’t know. I hope this isn’t just a one-off because I like the style of his work here.

Fiva, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2017
Fiva, Ashley Road, Bristol, November 2017

As well as turning to street art from time to time Henry Barnes is also a tireless campaigner for the National Autistic Society and their too much information campaign, which is a thoroughly brilliant thing.

1160. M32 roundabout J3 (53)

It has been some time since I last saw anything by Ments, so it was fantastic to come across this fine piece recently that was sprayed as part of an ASK paint jam. The wall was given a great backwash of grey-green, and several excellent works produced.

Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017
Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017

Ments has a wonderful organic style to his wildstyle writing, which spells out MENTS…although I struggle to see all those letters. The colour selections are fabulous and work so very well against the backdrop.

Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017
Ments, M32 roundabout, Bristol, November 2017

This is an outstanding piece and welcome return from Ments.

1159. Brunel Way bridge (2)

This is a nice witty piece from Feek as part of the Halloween ASK collaboration at this spot. The ASK crew have been very busy recently. This piece has a real comic book feel to it and is by one of the artists whose work I don’t see too often – the last piece was on one of the ramps at Dean Lane skate park.

Feek, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2017
Feek, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2017

Feek has painted a ghoulish Miss Millies (a poor man’s KFC, if there is such a thing) waitress serving up body parts, with a speech bubble saying ‘youur piece sssucks‘ a reference not only to the food pieces being served up, but also a playful jibe at his crew mates and the pieces they are working on.

Feek, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2017
Feek, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2017

I have just noticed another thing about Feek’s work that I have never noticed before, but it would appear that he nearly always includes a speech bubble as if he wants to give his characters a voice. I’d really like to see more of his work on Bristol’s streets.