.
Nonchalant creature
skulks slowly across the tracks;
feigned indifference.
.
by Scooj
Tag: Fox
1444. West Street (1)
A week or two ago I went in search of an Upfest piece from last year that I still hadn’t yet found. I found it, which is good, and I will post it very soon…worth the waiting for I can assure you. On the way, I stumbled into this rather lovely small piece from Andy Council neatly tucked into the corner of a building. It is as if the space was always meant to have a piece of art there.
This piece goes back to 2014, but it is still looking fresh. It appears to be a Bristol fox, and how fitting to have an urban fox composed of houses and buildings. Unusually Andy Council has not incorporated the Clifton suspension bridge, but has managed to include one of the large tobacco warehouses, I think it might be the Create Centre. On a sunny day, this was a real bonus find in an area I rarely visit.
1368. Upfest 2017 (147)
I am not sure that Annatomix sprayed a wall or board at last year’s festival, and if she did, I didn’t see it. However, she did leave a couple of nice paste ups for us to enjoy.
This super wheatpaste features a fox and rabbit created in the unique ‘paper-fold’ style that Annatomix likes to use in her painting too.
This is one of the things I love about Upfest…all the ‘unofficial’ offerings from great artists.
1088. M32 Spot (11)
It’s ok to not be ok is the message at the bottom left hand side of this superb piece by Sepr. I don’t think it is his message, but I like it that he has left it there. I haven’t seen much about this piece on Instagram, but maybe I’m just not looking in the right places.
Sepr has injected a lot of humour into this fox and hound duo making music together on a guitar and banjo. The whole piece has a feel of southern states of America, out on the porch kind of thing. These guys seem to be enjoying themselves, and the bottle of spirits rounds off the piece beautifully.
Sepr’s technique is instantly recognisable, and I love his two-tone pieces set on a coloured background. Sepr is a bit of a polymath, his street art is complemented by his tattooing and his bands Olanza and Fuk for which he is the drummer. Music certainly crosses over with his art, and many of his pieces I have written about on this blog feature characters with musical instruments.
Sepr always leaves me wanting more.
959. Upfest 2017 (25)
Bristol really does love its foxes, so to see one appear as part of Upfest is always very welcome. This beautiful piece is by Bex Glover, a contemporary artist and illustrator who runs a freelance illustration and graphic design practice in Bristol.
From a viewers perspective, there are so many things to look at in this work. Glover’s illustration skills are clear to see and the abstract backdrop brings the fox into sharp focus. A nice touch in the haunches of the fox hints at a yin yang symbol. The fox looks wily, just as it should and ready to move off at the slightest disturbance.
This is a calming piece with superb colour selection which may have gone unnoticed by many visitors as it is just off the main road and set back just a little. Last year this spot was occupied by a wonderful stencil by DinDin.
785. Stokes Croft, No.111
This is another piece that has been waiting and waiting in my archive and which I can at last write about, having recently found out who the artist is. The artist has been something of a mystery, and I have posted two of his pieces here before, the sinister cat and scary clown. It is of course Dose, AKA Kin Dose, AKA Nick Harvey.
I found out who he was by accident. I saw a poster advertising an art exhibition in the main street close to where I live, and there was the sinister cat on the poster, so I took a closer look. There was more information that helped me to track down Kin Dose on Instagram. Once on his feed, I looked through his work, and there was this piece…mystery solved.
Kin Dose is clearly extremely talented and versatile. I’ve not yet been to his exhibition (at the time of writing) but hope to get there before it closes.
697. The Bearpit (53)
Ah! what joy to see one of the Bristol favourites back in his home town. Mau Mau is an established artist who features a crafty and irreverent fox in most of his works. I haven’t seen much new stuff in Bristol, so it was great to see this a week or so ago. A skateboarding fox with a bit of attitude.
The last work I saw from Mau Mau was in Camden Town in London during the summer (yet to be posted), and I felt that he really ought to be doing more in Bristol. Well here it is, and it is beautifully done too. It is hard not to like a fox, isn’t it?
589. Upfest 2016 (83)
I like 23 Magpie’s work so much that I recently bought a small piece that she was selling through Instagram. It is waiting for a frame, along with several other things that need frames…I really do need to earn a little more money.
As well as her official work, 23 Magpies left a treasure trail of paste ups all around North Street, some of which I have posted on this blog, and others that I have yet to post. I think I may have got them all, but I can’t be sure. This is a fox painted with a design onto sheet music, something that she does quite a lot. It is always a pleasure finding one of these.
553. Hawley Mews, Camden Town (2)
This is a wonderful collaboration that I saw in Hawley Mews, Camden Town during last summer. There is a great post about the piece from the London calling blog, which perhaps more articulately describes the works than I might be able to do.
The girl and cheetah are by Alice Pasquini, an Italian artist from Rome, who has worked in many great cities all over the world. Her work, which often features portraits and uses light pastel shades, reminds me a lot of Hannah Adamasek’s work. There is a serenity and calmness in this piece.
The desert foxes by Himbad and Marina Zumi add a little humour to the collaboration. There is not a lot of information about Himbad, although lots of his work is posted on various websites. It would appear that he is based in London. His fox looks rather mischievous, which is pretty much in keeping with the other faces he sprays on the streets of London.
Marina Zumi presents us with an altogether softer and kinder looking desert fox. Marina Zumi lives and works in Sao Paolo and is perhaps more used to working large walls. She paints fairy tail animals, often at dusk or nightfall when the magic comes. You can read more about her work here.
It was a real pleasure to see this collaboration. Just one of the rewards for wandering around without any plan or map…psychogeography at its best.
389. Upfest 2016 (33)
I never made it to Upfest 2015, which might be a blessing, as I would probably still be writing posts about it now if I had. I was struck though by how many ‘treats’ were hidden in the North Street area after the event.
It was in searching carefully for these ‘treats’ that I started to find some lovely paste ups by 23Magpies, such as this chameleon. Her work is heavily focused on wildlife and the environment, and her feature piece for Upfest was this lovely fox and design.
I am a big fan of 23Magpies’ work and will be writing about some of the treats she left behind after this year’s festival. On this particular piece, you’ve got to love the detail of the bee on the rim, which the fox appears to be watching. Great stuff.
Natural adventures 