.
From the corner of
my eye, I spied a spider
dangling from my hair.
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by Scooj
Tag: Bristol
940. Upfest 2017 (14)
This was one of my favourite pieces of the South Street Park site at Upfest 2017. The picture of a Pirate is beautifully illustrated and has all the nostalgic feel of a children’s picture book. I would willingly pick up and read a book with pictures such as this. It tells its own story, for example, the writing on the pirate’s knuckles spells ‘FREE’…
The work is by Rame13 an Italian artist born in Pisa. She has been painting from an early age, but has only been producing street art since 2016, so a relative newcomer. Her Facebook page confirms what I already know…that I love her style, and the kind of work she produces, it is well worth a quick look.
Looking at the work in progress, it is interesting to see how she works in blocks, rather than in layers, like spray artists tend to do. Indeed it is refreshing to see street artists working without spray cans – there were a few at Upfest this year.
I think it would be easy for me to become a big fan – I hope she returns next year. Lovely work.
939. Upfest 2017 (13)
You can be pretty sure that when Goin takes to the street, the work he produces will have an edge and political aspect. His piece for Upfest was no exception this year. He has created a large monochrome stencil of a traditional working-class paperboy holding up a newspaper with the words ‘Bullshit’s Tories’.
I believe that Goin is French and this might give us a clue to the slightly curious wording. It is obviously an anti-Tory slogan, but doesn’t quite read right. It matters not one jot though, because it is pretty overt either way, and the piece is really powerful.
I like Goin’s work a lot, but was very slack last year, and missed out on his main Upfest piece. It was slightly off the main drag, and by the time I went to photograph it, it had gone. Not this year.
Screen shot
Bright white stripes disrupt
flat screen technology; sun
peeping through the blinds.
by Scooj
938. Upfest 2017 (12)
I love the whole idea of our beautiful wildlife being a little bit subversive, and nobody creates this edginess between cute and dangerous better than Chinagirl Tile. Her last two visits to Bristol for Upfest have seen her decorate the streets, not only in Bedminster but also in Stokes Croft with her anarchic ceramic creatures.
This is a rather charming little squirrel claiming to have stolen Banksy. It is nicely located on a wall surrounded with greenery. It rather blends in and will be missed by many passers by. You have to keep your eyes open.
I have several other Chinagirl pieces to post about from this year’s festival.
937. Upfest 2017 (11)
This was a wonderful and carefree piece beautifully painted by the cheerful and smiling Arladiss, an artist I believe to be from Norway. I noticed that this wasn’t the only piece she worked on during Upfest, although I’m not sure it was planned that way. It seems that the weather may have deterred one or two of the artists and that in South Street Park, where Arladiss was painting, there were a few vacant boards.
You can see from her Facebook pages that most of her work features children enjoying and being a part of the local environment. Indeed, her Upfest profile says that ‘she wants children in a neighbourhood to see the importance of their existence, and show them that they are a vital and beautiful part of the community’.
Her enthusiasm for her work was infectious, and it was fun watching her paint. The combination of the child striking a child-like pose and the birds swirling around her, give a tremendous sense of innocence and freedom.
I think I am a fan.
936. Raleigh Road, Vector (14)
There is rarely a Voyder piece that I look at and think…that’s not much good. In fact I can think only of one, and I am not going to share which one here. This is another stunning piece from a little while before Upfest 2017, when Boogie was in town, whose piece can be seen just to the right of this picture (to follow).
This time Voyder has gone for a copper coloured design which carries a really nice 3D quality about it emphasised by the white shading and stars. Appearing to lie behind the writing is a rainbow, interestingly in reverse order from convention, which would normally start with red on the left.
I have several more Voyder pieces in my files – I just need more time to get them all out.
935. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (26)
Anyone that reads my posts regularly will know that over the last couple of years or so I have been closely following the progress of Tom Miller. A young art student who I believe has recently graduated from UWE in Bristol. He recently held a successful exhibition entitled ‘Paracosm’ at the It’s All 2 Much gallery in Stokes Croft.
I was driving home not long ago and spotted Tom at work on one of the arches, so I pulled over, and chatted with him while he was taking a break and eating his lunch. He is genuinely such a nice guy and utterly modest about his work. It is great in Bristol that we have quite a few fine artists who cross over into street art, widening the spectrum of what we are fortunate enough to see.
I am not sure if this piece has a name, but it is characteristically effervescent with ideas and thoughts merging with the human body…where physical meets metaphysical in art form.
Nothing demonstrates this meeting of worlds better than a close up of the character’s ‘head’. Needless to say I am a huge admirer of his work, and look forward to his next piece. It is to his credit and the respect in which he is held, that this piece has remained untagged and in pristine condition for at least a fortnight…a rarity in these parts.
934. M32 roundabout (43)
Kid Crayon is a busy man at the moment, and seems to really be enjoying his work and his collaborations. This piece was sprayed the day after his rain-interrupted exertions at Upfest 2017. A little bit of decent weather and he creates this fantastic blue face.
I really like this piece, and two things stand out for me. The first is the crazy eyes – like ping pong balls and an interesting take on the iris. The second is the signature, that looks rather different from ones I have seen before…perhaps he is experimenting with it.
This is a fun, creative piece that, for me at least, shows Kid Crayon’s enthusiasm for his art. Love it.
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.
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).
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.
Natural adventures 