As with many of the pieces from the Aston Gate site at Upfest, I never got a picture of this completed work by London-based artist Woskerski.
Woskerski, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I have seen and posted a piece of his from Leake Street tunnel in London about a year or so ago but have not seen any more of his work since, so it was great to see this photorealistic piece at Upfest.
Woskerski, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Adjacent to the face wearing the 3D specs Woskerski has added some wildstyle writing, which demonstrates the versatility of this artist, who also paints under the name Methyl. Just a pity I didn’t get a final shot.
It was impossible to ignore this extraordinary face by Rast ot Upfest 2017. Situated on the long hoardings at Ashton Gate, the bright colours and striking face drew you in.
Rast, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Originally from Spain, Rast has been living in Bristol in 2014. I must say that I have not come across his work before, but surely would lioke to see more of it in the various locations around Bristol that I vsist.
One of my favourite streets and one of my favourite artists – the perfect match. This is a lovely piece by Face F1st, who is probably one of Bristol’s most consistently prolific artists on the street at the moment.
Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2018
This is a large work, with all his characteristic swirls and figure of eights worked into a pattern and the letters FACE book-ending the face in the middle. Sadly this fine work lasted less than a week.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.
Natural adventures 