A great hold the microphone piece by one of Bristols great writers, Soker. This piece is a little unusual, because Soker usually writes ‘SOKEM’ and I think this is the first picture I have where he has written smething else.
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2017
The colours are ones he has used before and he works the gradient between the colours skilfully with a kind of bubble effect, which is repeated in the deep purple background to the piece. I am not too sure what the piece refers to, there may have been an event or something, or maybe it was just for fun.
Moon Street has an ecclectic hotchpotch of tags, throw ups, stencils, tiles, paste ups and pieces, which is probably why I like it so much. Sometimes you have to look quite hard for things and this is a good example of that. This tile by RIP is secured quite high up on a wall, and could be easily missed.
RIP, Moon Street, Bristol, September 2017
The tile is of a stencil piece of a woman’s face looking like she is from the 1920s or 1930s. Unfortunately there is a bit of light reflection on the tile, but it is a fun piece nonetheless. I think the tile went up around the time of Upfest, when RIP was in town.
Fish and chips, horse and carriage, Morecambe and Wise…these are all things that we are accustomed to seeing together and so it is with Ryder and T-Rex. This is a rather nice little collaboration in Bedminster by these two painting buddies.
Ryder and T-Rex, Bedminster, Bristol, September 2017
The radioactive R on the left is an icon that Ryder uses quite a lot, particularly when he is doing a quick throw-up. This one is a little more elaborate than some I have seen recently.
Ryder and T-Rex, Bedminster, Bristol, September 2017
The dinosaur is obviously by T-Rex, this time opting for a rather fetching lilac colour, which seems to be in vogue at the moment in Bristol. There is something familiar and comforting about a collaboration between these two.
Ryder and T-Rex, Bedminster, Bristol, September 2017
I have always liked the work of Object… and his unswerving political ideology that cuts through all of his work. In this small piece in The Bearpit his message is clear ‘Plant more, chop less…’.
Object…, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2017
I am not too sure what the figure in this work represents, it looks a little like an alien to me. However I subscribe to the overall sentiment.
Right up at the north end of Moon Street you will still find this nice writing from Whysayit. Unfirtunately, every time I pass it, which tends to be in the mornings…these days I get the bus home…it is in shadow, so these pictures don’t really bring out the full colour Whysayit has used.
Whysayit, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2017
His choice of colours is unusual, especially the lilac background. Maybe he buys his paint from the same place as Face F1st. The writing spells out YSAE, which I guess stands for ‘Why Say’. Always nice to find work by this modest graffiti artist.
Yet another really sharp piece from Deamze, using colours that he likes to use together tucked away in Bedminster. This clever piece bisects his wildstyle writing and character diagonally from top left to bottom right, the top half being monochrome pink and the bottom monochrome green.
Deamze, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
It is a striking work that demonstrated Deamze’s talents to the full. I am not sure who the cartoon character is…answers on a postcard.
These are two really beautiful pieces that I wish I’d spent more time looking at during my walk around North Street Green at Upfest. Each of them is calming and serene, and they make a fine pair. I am not sure if the co-location was by accident or by design, but it works very well.
Paintily, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The left hand side is by Paintily, a Bristol-based artist originally from Brighton. There is something about this stencil that I like a lot, and the stripes on the face of the girl finish the piece off beautifully. I have not seen any of her work before, but would love to see her take her work to the streets.
Taina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
The right hand side is by Taina, and has the feel of a children’s book illustration. Such a simple idea and so beautifully painted, there is a whole story unfolding here, and one I want to know more about. Taina is a Swiss-Finnish artist based in Zurich whose work I think I could very well fall in love with. A quick look at this website might give you an insight as to why I like her work so much. I definitely want her to return next year.
This stunning work was the official piece from Oze Arv this year, although he left behind several other pieces in Bristol before he departed. I had not seen his work before Upfest, but everything I have seen I like a lot.
Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
There is something about black and white check in street art that I really like, and here it blends beautifully with the softer abstract shapes. There is a story being told here, and the two orange circles contain elements central to this story. I like pretty much everything about this piece, and look forward to posting more from this Portuguese artist before too long.
Natural adventures 