4883. Upfest 2022 (58)

Emily Joy Rich, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Emily Joy Rich, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Emily Joy Rich is a regular participant at Upfest and her sign writing street art amply demonstrates the breadth of talent on display at the event. I always feel like I have seen more of her art than I actually have, perhaps it is because her pieces are so strong and memorable and remain in the memory for a long while.

Emily Joy Rich, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Emily Joy Rich, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This beautiful piece could be adopted as a mantra for our time. For me, I keep on dreaming for an Arsenal triumph in the Premiership, or for a Government free of Tories forever. I love the way Emily Joy Rich has combined the on-point word DREAMING on a backdrop of the words ‘keep on’, written in a drippy handwritten style. This is a classy piece from a classy artist.

4437. Elton Street (7)

I would say that Emily Joy Rich is a fabulous designer and sign writing artist, and although she isn’t a regular painter of ‘non-legal’ walls, she does create som wonderful works on legal walls, blending ‘corporate’ art with street art.

Emily Joy Rich, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022
Emily Joy Rich, Elton Street, Bristol, April 2022

In this piece in the Elton Street gallery, Emily Joy Rich has created some gorgeous script writing, so clean and crisp, on a moody cloud background. As is often the case with wordy street art, I am left with an ear worm that I simply can’t shake off and will be with me for the rest of the day. Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap! Is one of those tunes with a strong beat that stays with you. This is a fine piece from Emily Joy Rich.

2582. Upfest 2018 (173)

Emily Joy Rich is a Bristol-based graphic designer and lettering artist. For anyone interested in letters and typeface art, I strongly recommend a quick squiz at her Instagram feed @emilyjoyrich – you will be in for a treat.

Emily Joy Rich, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Emily Joy Rich, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This Upfest 2018 piece is a good example of her typeface skills and she has combined them with an uplifting design and some cloudy kind of things. All that was really needed to set this piece off perfectly was a nice sunny day, but these were in short supply during the 2018 festival.