There can be only
one…defeat all the others…
Highlander remains.
.
by Scooj
.
Inspired by the brilliant film and soundtrack number.
Tag: Bristol
407. Upfest 2016 (40)
One of the most striking pieces at Upfest this year was this incredible portrait by Title. There is something about this work that simply draws you in to take a closer look.
Title, emerged from the hip hop and graffiti writing culture in Birmingham in the eighties before moving onto canvass work in the ’90s and studying computer graphics and digital art.
Thankfully, he has returned to the streets with enthusiasm and appears to be enjoying himself returning to his first passion. It is difficult not to be intrigued by this piece. The face seems to be that of a young man…there was a #Alfie on the image on his website, maybe it was him.
An aside – a great many pictures by street artists seem to feature spray cans – the tools of the trade – note to self…write a special on spray cans.
406. Upfest 2016 (39)
I posted about this collaborating pair only a few days ago when I wasn’t sure who the artists were. Now I know who they are, I feel that I can write about them with a little more confidence. The work, which was one of the many in South Street Park, was a subtle collaboration between Serge KB and Simian Switch, surrounded by highly colourful and eye-catching pieces.
I loved the artwork in this, in particular Serge KB’s ‘deer’ which was extremely similar to the one he sprayed at the M32. Perhaps he was practicing for the festival? Simian Switches ‘octopus’ grappling with spray cans brings an element of humour to the piece too.
Both artists left ‘extras’ in the area which I will post about when I get through a little more of my ridiculous backlog of photographs. Street artists stop for nobody.
Patience
Encouragement works;
homework stalling, keep showing
enthusiasm.
by Scooj
405. Upfest 2016 (38)
During Upfest 2016 there was agreat deal of activity in Luckwell Road. The hoardings, which the seem to have been there forever, were getting a makeover with a series of portraits, the southern-most of which was this beautiful work by Philth.
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I was lucky enough to see Philth at work on both the Saturday and the Sunday and to photograph the completed piece on the Monday.
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Philip Blake, is a graphic designer and illustrator who favours painting ‘hot chicks’, using spray paints or paste ups. I recall a lovely work by him from last year’s Upfest that I will post about some time. That location now has a beautiful Caro Pepe work in its place.
I love these two tone works with splashes of colour – Karl Read produced the same effect although with completely different techniques. Really great work.
Urban sunset
The lowering sun
renders the urban landscape
insignificant.
by Scooj
404. Upfest 2016 (37)
Well there’s a story to tell here. For such a long time I thought this Bristol-based street artist was called Fois, after all, most of his pieces contained the word, and many of the Bristol writers use their names, or corruptions of them and paint under those names…Deamze, Sled One, Epok, Soker, Inkie, and so on. Well not this artist.
The last time I featured him on this blog, I had established that he was actually called Kleiner Shames, Jimmy Kleiner Shames. Once again it was Instagram that came to my rescue. Then it gets a whole lot better. Kleiner Shames recently cleared out his studio because he is moving to London (booo!) and was offering some studio paintings for sale. I ended up buying two from him – he is an exceptional talent and I love his work. He is such a decent bloke, he even offered to deliver the pictures in person.
The piece he did for Upfest contains everything you would expect; architectural features, diagonal lines, hands, pastel colours and a wonderful retro feel. I wish him well with his move to London and hope he’ll be back in Bristol to brighten up our walls. We’ll miss him…Fois forever.
403. Upfest 2016 (36)
Tucked away on the Ashton Gate School playground wall is this subtle and intriguing piece by Feoflip. There is such wonderful detail surrounding the crow, with little figures climbing onto the top half, which has the appearance of a ship. A wonderfully imaginative piece and one that merits prolonged scrutiny.
Feoflip’s biography in the Upfest programme reads:
‘Feoflip means spray paint, latex, chalk,…on a wall, strange characters, bio-mechanical animals, botany, robotics and endless metamorphosis that recycle and pervert logic and reasoning’.
That pretty much sums it up! Great stuff.
Great to see that Feoflip also left a few extras lurking in Bristol during his visit to the city – more on these later.
Interloper
There’s a pooch in my
meeting; its contributions
are greater than mine.
by Scooj
400. The Bearpit (25)
It is fitting that my 400th post on street art should feature Aspire. It is difficult to tire of his incredible graffiti pictures of birds. This fine bird in the incongruous setting of The Bearpit is an American Goldfinch and can still be found at the end of the Southern tunnel.
Aspire really needs to get out to New York and paint for the Audubon Mural Project, he even paints American birds! I’m not sure how artists get an invitation to paint for the project, but it must be time for Aspire? In the meantime, we’ll just enjoy his work here in Bristol.
Natural adventures 