Tag: Graffiti

1667. Upfest 2018 (18)

Cheo is a Bristol (and beyond) street art legend, and his involvement in Upfest is always eagerly anticipated. In the last few years Cheo has been quite dominant at the festival, so this year’s rather modest participation came as a bit of a surprise, his piece however reached all the high standards you expect to see from him.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Are we supposed to guess at who is hidden under the paper bag? My immediate assumption, given the Simpsons theme of the festival is that it is the mischievious Bart, but I may be wide of the mark and there may be another story going on here.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Somehow Upfest simply wouldn’t feel like Upfest without some contribution from Cheo, and it is great to see his work on a wall that he obviously enjoys, as he has had several pieces on this wall outside the Bristol Standard, in the past. Great stuff.

1666. Upfest 2018 (17)

One of the great difficulties of writing posts from Upfest is that so many of the artists are new to me and it is difficult to comment on anything other than first impressions and a little bit about the artist. Often, as in this case, the piece is so good that my short ramblings don’t really do it any justice at all.

Akse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Akse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Akse started as a graffiti artist back in 1992 in ther suburbs of Paris. He now lives in Manchester and is known for his photorealistic portraits. This incredible portrait of Frida Kahlo is one of the most memorable of this year’s festival and mirrors the great piece from Alexander Tadlock last year. As a subject, Frida Kahlo seems to hold interest for artists and I look forward to many more portraits of her in the future.

Alexander Tadlock, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Alexander Tadlock, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1665. Upfest 2018 (16)

I think that Stewy owns this wall. The Bristol-based stencil artist has had one of his pieces on this little wall in North Street for at least three years now. The ram is a fine successor to the Bristol Pounds £5 that was there before.

Stewy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Stewy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I am and will continue to be a keen supporter of Stewy’s work, which is a cool mix of celebrity work and wildlife stencils. This was not his only stencil at this year’s Festival, and I’ll save one of his others for a future post. Let’s hear it for this extremely intricate single-layer stencil of a ram…

1664. Upfest 2018 (15)

There were a great many fabulous paintings of eyes at this year’s Upfest, but I think that this one was probably the finest. It is by an artist called Justinks who gives little away about himself in the programme notes other than to say this:

‘I’m into movemental detailed artwork, I always put the wind element into my pieces and cold colors to show the power of nature.’

Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I was lucky enough to photograph the artist in action, probably on the Saturday, before the cold colours he speaks of were added. This is a fine work executed brilliantly. I’ll certainly be looking out for Justinks in the future.

Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Justinks, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

1663. Upfest 2018 (14)

I think this is the one, my favourite piece of Upfest 2018. The reason this works so well for me is that I have long admired this wall for all its textures and character and have photographed it before when it had no graffiti at all (I have searched through my pictures, but can’t find the ones I have taken here in the past, which is really annoying).

Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

The artist, Kowse One, is not even mentioned in the Upfest programme, and this certainly isn’t an official wall, but he did work on a fabulous collaboration with Braga Last One ( to come). I think he comes from Marseille, but beyond that I know little of him.

The piece itself is perfect in every way. The use of the rendered part of the wall and its juxtaposition with the bare brickwork, the colours used contrasting so well with the surrounding, the accomplished portrait work and the lettering on the face reflecting some of the tags nearby make this an enchanting and exciting piece. There is some real edge and brilliant improvisation. I love it, I love it.

1662. Upfest 2018 (13)

J. Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
J. Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I really could kick myself sometimes. I never actually got a final picture of this piece by J. Sharples, because I think that I had assumed that I had already got one. The best I have is the feature image of the artist still at work but nearing completion.

J. Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
J. Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

The piece is very similar in style and subject to the fabulous work that he created for Upfest 2017. This time there are two gorillas in bold pink and blue colours in a highly stylised form, and splendid they are too. Always great to see work from this artist.

Jay Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jay Sharples, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1661. Upfest 2018 (12)

To celebrate 10 years of Upfest (I can’t believe I have only been to three of them) D7606, a wheatpaster and I guess unofficial artist at the festival scattered ten paste up balloons, each with a famous face, high up on the main streets of Bedminster.

D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

These are the first two that I found, one with Twiggy and the other with Elizabeth Taylor. Finding each was like a prize, and the hunt was great fun. I bumped in to D7606 several times over two days and as ever, he was very happy to talk about his work and experiences.

D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I love the addition of a string to each of the balloons which was loose and able to blow around in the breeze. D7606 told me he had to paste them high up, so that they didn’t get pulled down. Several of them have gone already, but not to trophy hunters, rather, they have been pasted over with new advertisements. These balloons were a worthy addition to the 10th Upfest…hats off to D7606.

D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
D7606, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

1660. Upfest 2018 (11)

Sticking very well to the Simpsons theme of this year’s Upfest was this vibrant piece by Bao, a featured artist for the festival, on one of two prominent walls. I believe this is the first time this particular wall has been used at Upfest, and although a good wall, it is a devil to photograph, being a parking spot for shoppers on North Street.

Bao, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Bao, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Bao is from Hong Kong, and she has travelled the world plying her trade. Her pieces are filled from top to bottom in a cartoon style with a ton of detail and little scenes to look at. Here Bart is having some kind of dream maybe, with multiple images of him and of his environment. I love the Simpsons sofa and cat in the centre of the piece. A wonderful work.

1659. Albert Park (3)

I don’t know how many iterations of this camel there have been on this particular wall, but I can think of at least four. Feek seems to be the main driving force, often accompanied by 3Dom, behind this themed wall which has incredible ‘foot fall’ or rather, driver-by viewings.

Feek, Albert Park, Bristol, July 2018
Feek, Albert Park, Bristol, July 2018

The wall is something of a landmark known to most north Bristolians as they journey towards the M32. Here the camel, speaking ‘Bristle’, is set on a background of speakers and draped in Rastafarian colours. Altogether brilliant. Below is a previous incarnation of the wall.

Feek and 3Dom, Albert Park, Bristol, May 2017
Feek and 3Dom, Albert Park, Bristol, May 2017

 

 

1658. St Werburghs tunnel (37)

Oner has made his mark is Bristol lately with his rather attarctive burners popping up all over the city. This particular one was in St Werburghs tunnel, which is fast becoming a “go to” regular spot for me because the work there seems to be on an improving trajectory.

Oner, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
Oner, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018

This burner is nice and clean and brings a bit of light into the tunnel. The black shading is nicely done, but I’m not too sure about the pink decorative squiggles.