Tag: Face

1350. Upfest 2017 (136)

Really, this is one of my favourite pieces from the whole of Upfest 2017, not only because of the quality of work, but because of the cheerful resilience of the artists in persevering with their work in spite if the inclement weather.

N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

A fine collaboration between N4T4 and Philth which really brightened up the walk between North Street and Ashton Gate.

N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

These two artists have painted together at the last three Upfests, and although not a true collaboration, their pieces complement each other perfectly.

N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I walked past these two a few times, and took my favourite picture of the festival (above) of them cheerfully painting in the rain. Such dedication.

N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The N4T4 piece on the left is a wonderful example of his portrait style, incorporating colours and shapes which combine to make the whole. A blast of exquisite colour and a stunning face.

N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
N4T4 and Philth, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Contrast this then with the grey scale portrait by Philth on the right. He is as well known for his floral designs as he is for his portraits and this piece is overflowing with flowers that lift the piece to another level.

i absolutely love this wall. Beautiful.

 

 

1329. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (34)

It has been a while but it is always worth waiting for any works by Tom Miller. Tom is a hugely talented fine artist who creates wonderful and sometimes slightly disturbing surreal pieces, often involving distorted body parts.

Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018
Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018

This piece is located in one of Miller’s favourite spots and catches the eye of passing pedestrians and motorists, more than other work here. His artwork is very different and really stands out – we are lucky to see gallery quality paintings on the street.

Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018
Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018

There is a lot of symbolism in this piece…a hand instead of a face clutching a heart from which an arm is extending clutching another heart. So many ideas and bits of detail to marvel at, and all set on a background of light shades, shapes and colours. I love this piece and admire the artist hugely.

Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018
Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018

Sadly, nothing lasts forever, and the piece only lasted about a week before it was sprayed over by what looks like a thelocknessmonster piece. I know which I’d rather have hanging up at home.

1319. Castlehaven Road, Camden Town (2)

When I first saw this piece, I thought I had found another Gregos mask, but I was wrong. It is a piece by Urban Solid, a street art duo from Italy. To see more of their work, take a read of this great blog by London Calling.

Urban Solid, Castlehaven Road, Camden Town, November 2017
Urban Solid, Castlehaven Road, Camden Town, November 2017

Unfortunately, I looks like the piece has been damaged, there is meant to be something in the mouth of the face, but it has been snapped off. I am a fan of this kind of 3D installation art that challenges the viewer with humour and sometimes political rhetoric. All part of the broad spectrum.

1292. Upfest 2017 (126)

This was an Upfest piece that seemed to divide opinion…a bit of a ‘marmite’ work, you either love it or hate it. It is an installation piece by Id-Iom which contains several 3D elements protruding from the work.

id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

While photographing the piece during its creation I noticed that the trees in the background created brilliant hairstyles for the faces…an unintended addition which I think added to the overall piece. When I pointed it out to the artists, they didn’t seem to see the funny side, and just got on with the work.

id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
id-iom, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Looking at the equipment that they brought along, there would seem to have been an immense amount of thought and preparation that went into this piece. I can’t say that it was my favourite at Upfest, but it was one of the more stimulating works that attracted more thought than most. These two are unconventional and like to push the boundaries.

1291. Bristol, various

I don’t often post work by people I don’t know and I rarely write about taggers, so this might come as a bit of a rare surprise. I have seen tags by this graffiti doodler all over Bristol, and love the simple style and expressions – I have pictures of dozens of tags.

Unknown tagger, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2018
Unknown tagger, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2018

What was special about these three tags is that they all seemed to appear in one night in different parts of the city, each on a route that I took at some time the following day. Of course the tagger might have sprayed other ones that weren’t on my usual beat, but obviously they had a busy night.

Unknown tagger, Prince Street, Bristol, December 2018
Unknown tagger, Prince Street, Bristol, December 2018

Generally I am not particularly interested in tags, other than that I can identify a few of them, but there is something more to these ones. Not so much tags as little characters. All three have since been painted over.

1281. Stokes Croft corner wall (5)

The space underneath the iconic stinkfish portrait of a girl has been occupied by a Deamze piece for a long while, up until a couple of weeks ago when this wonderful PWA collaboration appeared in this well known spot.

Face F1st and Unknown, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018
Face F1st and Unknown, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018

I like this piece a lot – there is just something about it. Face F1st has provided bookends to another artist, unknown to me, who produced the central part. This is a lovely clean piece and the colour pallette is very easy on the eye, and in stark contrast with the yellow and black above.

Unknown from PWA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018
Unknown from PWA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018

Sadly, this piece lasted less than two weeks, so I am really pleased that I captured it. I wonder if in creating this, the artists inadvertently opened up the wall for business, where before, when Deamze occupied the space, it was respectfully left alone. Rules and no rules…it is too confusing.

1260. Upfest 2017 (124)

I don’t know an awful lot about Gee street art and the Interweb and his Instagram profile are not particularly enlightening, although I do believe he has been about for some time. One thing is clear from his social media presence is that Gee street art is available for commissions and willing to travel.

Gee street art, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Gee street art, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This upfest piece itself is probably an expression that many of us can identify with. The character is nicely conveyed in a moment of fed-upness or maybe discombobulation or something not quite reaching despair. Interestingly I don’t really remember this piece very well from my walks around the festival, and only really picked it out from the thumbnails on my computer.

1256. Stokes Croft corner wall (4)

On one of the most iconic walls in Bristol, there are always things to look out for around the large yellow and black Stinkfish face of a girl. One reasonably recent addition is this incredible bust (if that is the right term). Unfortunately I don’t know who the artist is, but it is a beautiful addition to this space.

Unknown artist, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018
Unknown artist, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018

I don’t come across very many sculptures on my Bristol street art sorties, so it was a real pleasure to find this. It is perched high up, and I’m not sure that it is seen by many. You have to look up and observe.

Unknown artist, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018
Unknown artist, Stokes Croft, Bristol, January 2018

Up close you can see that it is a nicely worked piece. Any ideas about the artist would be most welcome.

1244. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (32)

I see an awful lot of Face F1st’s work dotted around the Stokes Croft area and at the M32 roundabout, but this is the first piece I have seen where he has a message for us all. And the message is quite clear – ‘no ads on free walls’. What he is referring to is the increase in street art in this area that is advertising events in the local area. I have to say I have quite a lot of sympathy with him.

Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, November 2017
Face F1st, Stokes Croft, Bristol, November 2017

The face is angry, which again is quite unusual for this artist. The rest of the piece is colourful and bright and the word Face can be made out in the writing. An artist whose work I continue to enjoy, especially when it has this bit of edge to it.

1221. City Road (6)

The truth about Face F1st is that I simply can’t keep up with him at the moment, he is being so incredibly productive. Another thing about his work is that it is largely confined to Stokes Croft and the M32 roundabout. I think I have only ever seen one piece of his in Bedminster.

Face F1st, City Road, Bristol, December 2017
Face F1st, City Road, Bristol, December 2017

In this piece we see Face F1st using some rather more upbeat colours compared with the sober tones he usually uses. I’m afraid that the focus in the feature photograph is really poor, and I might have to replace the picture when I next get a chance. I really like this piece.