Tag: Face

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.

Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I love these two tone works with splashes of colour – Karl Read produced the same effect although with completely different techniques. Really great work.

355. Upfest 2016 (14)

This is an extraordinary and eye catching piece by yet another female artist at Upfest this year. I love this piece very much. The more you look at it, the more it can unsettle. The out-of-proportion eye, and absence of the other eye ‘obscured’ by hair looks a little strange. What emotions are being expressed? Other works by the artist share similar features.

Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I saw this piece in various stages of its development, and the final result is really stunning. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to speak with the artist Caro Pepe, from Argentina…she had enough trouble on the pavement with people squeezed between her and the parked car. It must have been very difficult to concentrate.

Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The previous incumbent at this address, number 74 North Street, was the wonderful N4T4 piece from last year’s festival. Two portraits, two very different styles, both excellent.

Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Caro Pepe, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I will definitely be looking out for more of Pepe’s work, although I expect to see it on the world stage rather than the local Bristol one. Thank you Upfest! There is a fine interview with Caro Pepe on the Street Art Bio website which is well worth a read.

340. Ashley Road (8)

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a real soft spot for Face F1st. I will always try to post his works as soon as I can after I have spotted them, although it is not always possible with such a huge backlog of street art.

Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, July 2016
Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, July 2016

This is a slightly unusual Face F1st piece. Sure, the soft colours are there and the FACE letters and the swirling hair, but the expression on the girl’s face is something new altogether. I’m not sure if I like it as much as the softer faces, but it is certainly striking. Good to see more work from the Face.

337. Leake Street tunnel, London (3)

Everything was unexpected when I visited Leake Street Tunnel recently, not least the large number of new pieces that had been created as part of the #do1cancer campaign. It would have been easy to overlook some of the other works that had been in the tunnel…except, I find it hard to overlook anything.

Hannah Adamaszek, Leake Street, London, July 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, Leake Street, London, July 2016

Having reached the end of the tunnel, I returned the way I came – it is funny how you see different things when you go in the opposite direction. High on the ceiling was this wonderful face by Hannah Adamaszek, who I have featured a couple of times recently.

Hannah Adamaszek, Leake Street, London, July 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, Leake Street, London, July 2016

There are two notable things about this work: the first is that it must have been very awkward to do…neck-breaking; the second is that depending on where you stand, the face takes on very different appearances. More great work from Hannah, who I am expecting to see at Upfest.

310, Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (2)

Behind the Tobacco Factory there is a car park, and on the wall of each of the stalls there is a piece of art by a different street artist. I am not sure if this is just an Upfest thing, but I have a feeling that they do change from time to time, and not just during the festival.

Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016

These pieces are a challenge to photograph, because, being a car park, there are usually cars parked in front of them and that was the case with this beautiful, calming piece by Hannah Adamaszek. Hannah appeared on my radar back in June, and I have to say I really like her work. It balances out all the other work that I see and is refreshingly different. It is all part of the spectrum of art that Bristol has to offer.

Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, the Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2016

I am really fond of this piece, which is weird, because I wouldn’t naturally like this kind of thing, but seeing it up close there is just something about it that attracts me. More please Hannah.

 

273. North Street Green (2)

This lovely wall seems to have an orderly rotation and large bags of respect. Rarely is anything here tagged, and the pieces appear to remain for several weeks before being painted over. The piece before this one was the Cheo gorilla, and it has since been replaced by a recent Mr Draws work.

Copyright and E.Lee, North Street, Bristol, May 2016
Copyright and E.Lee, North Street, Bristol, May 2016

This is a lovely collaboration by Copyright and E.Lee (who is from Chicago, and spent a little time in Bristol recently). The two figures are characteristic of Copyright’s work, so I am assuming that the frames are by E.Lee, who I think has the most distinctive signature of any street artist – a red stamped seal with the letters EL merged together.

Copyright and E.Lee, North Street, Bristol, May 2016
Copyright and E.Lee, North Street, Bristol, May 2016

I am really loving copyright’s work at the moment, both sprayed and pasted. He is gifted.

267. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (13)

On my return from a short break away from Bristol a week ago, I was welcomed home with this typically bizarre and busy piece by Tom Miller.

Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016

His works often include details of facial features, and an eye and mouth are the prominent features here. His works are visceral and organic, and you see different details each time you look at them. He talks about his style using the created word ‘imaginite’ which describes what metaphysical imagination would look like in solid form.

Tom Miller, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
Tom Miller detail, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016

His works tend to be much more in the fine art category than ‘street’ but he has been masterful in transitioning between the two. There is something about his pieces that sets the pulse racing…an overload of colour and strangely warped familiarity. Dreamlike.

260. Ashley Road (7)

I can keep this relatively short and sweet. The practice hoardings at the Stokes Croft end of Ashley Road tend to have one of the highest turnovers of graffiti art in Bristol. Because of this it is easy to miss new pieces before they are over-painted, but sometimes, if you get the timing right, you will see a beauty like this.

Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016
Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Face F1st, and this is my favourite to date. I really love the the way that PWA (Pirate Wall Art) is incorporated into the hair decoration. The  designs in the lettering are becoming more elaborate too.

Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016
Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, May 2016

It sounds patronising, and certainly isn’t meant to, but I find this piece really charming. Just beautiful.

246. Wilder Street (4)

There was one final gift for Bristolians that Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky (Clandestinos) left behind on their recent trip to Bristol…this brilliantly colourful masked face. This was another surprise for me in Wilder Street, an area which is now firmly on my routine street art patrols.

Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016

There is something of acarnival feel to this piece, and it has an unmistakably South American touch.

Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016
Clandestinos, Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2016

I still feel privileged that Clandestinos came to Bristol and left these remarkable pieces, however the story is not all good I’m afraid. The piece I wrote about by Shalak Attack in Stokes Croft has been tagged with a rather poor ‘throw up’.

Shalak Attack, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016
Shalak Attack, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016

The great piece next to it by SPZero76 and Mr Wigz has similarly been defaced. For less than a week, all five arches of the Carriageworks had clean untagged pieces in them…a first since I have been writing these posts. No longer. It is the nature of the beast I’m afraid, but disappointing nonetheless.

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SPZero76 and Mr Wigz, Stokes Croft, Bristol, May 2016

241. M32 Roundabout, Junction 3 (9)

The thing about popular places for graffiti is that unless you visit them regularly, you will miss something. I left a gap of about four weeks between visits to the M32 roundabout between St Pauls and Easton, and probably about half of the works had changed. I don’t think I am ever going to be able to keep on top of this, but I don’t mind that really, it is just fun making new discoveries each time I venture out.

Face F1st, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, May 2016
Face F1st, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, May 2016

This is a lovely piece by one of my favourite artists in Bristol – Face F1st. Regular readers will know how much I like this work, so to find this one was a real pleasure. Even better, I found another one on my way to work this morning that appeared over the weekend…posting soon.

Face F1st, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, May 2016
Face F1st, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, May 2016

I have noticed that the designs in the letters are becoming more elaborate with each piece that Face F1st is producing, but overall the concept remains the same. Great stuff.