I have seen a few pieces by Bristol artist J. West around the place and posted two or three of them on this blog in the past. He is an animator turned artist and much of his inspiration has come from a spell working at Bristol Zoo Gardens and from David Attenborough TV shows.
J. West, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I haven’t seen too much of his work, but that which I have seen appears to be bilaterally symmetrical and this Upfest piece is no different. I am sorry that I didn’t stop to talk to him because I think we probably share inspirations, but he looked pretty busy, and it is never easy chatting to people with a mask on.
J. West, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I will keep looking out for his distinct style of work, but for me, this piece I think is my favourite that I have seen so far.
Jimmer Wilmott is one of the warmest and most welcoming artists I have met. On the two occasions I have been fortunate enough to cross paths with him he has exuded enthusiasm from every pore, and his rather quirky and fun-loving personality is reflected in his pop surrealist art.
Jimmer Willmott, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
It was great to see him at work at Upfest and to witness one of his ‘canvasses’ come to life – I have seen many of them on Instagram, but none ‘in the flesh’. Seeing the layers and the brush work during its genesis and then the final painting was a privilege. The last time I saw him he had created an eyeball using spray cans at Dean Lane skate park.
Jimmer Willmott, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I think he got a bit carried away during our conversation and was inviting me to go with him to the Cheltenham street art Festival and paint with him. I had to remind him that I have no artistic talent and a total of 2 hours spraying experience. I am however tempted.
I don’t know very much about GretL, other than that she is a French artist and designer who likes to work with bold colours and ideas of camouflage. I saw this shutter piece on the first day of Upfest and could see that it was a new Upfest work, thanks to the label. Often it is difficult to date shutter pieces, because I rarely see them, due to the times I visit places where they might be.
Gretl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This is a simple and rather charming piece entitled ‘humming flower’ and here the artist has conflated the humming bird and the flower, both in the title and in the work. I think she may have done another piece during the festival and will have to look out for it. some nice work.
One of the great wheatpasters at Upfest this year was C3 with her distinctive red haired characters hand painted onto written paper. I must have paused to chat with her and D7606 several times over the course of the two days. I think she told me that she had only pasted a couple of pieces this year. I could only find these two, and both are winners in my book.
C3, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The art of wheatpasting at Upfest is a delicate balance between finding the right time to go out – the festival organisers are not too keen, because they are responsible for keeping the street furniture clear during the three days – and finding the right place that isn’t over-crowded. Some pasters simply slap their work on any available space. Others like C3 and D7606 are rather more discerning. Love these two paste ups.
Kid crayon is a favourite Bristol artist of mine and his contribution to Upfest this year was straight forward and fun. I’m not too sure what the crocodile, triangle and cake are all about, but I’m sure they have some kind of meaning. The piece also carries birthday wishes for Meg.
Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I think Kid Crayon had seen the forecast for Sunday and had managed to complete his piece by early Saturday afternoon. I managed to swing by when he was painting and chatted for a short while. It is one of the great things about Upfest that you get to see works in progress and figure out how these artists go about their work.
Each year at Upfest, there is a feature artist, and this year it was Jody. This small golden apple piece is one of a few works that Jody created at this year’s festival. In this piece, Jody has taken a simple idea and made it spectacular. The shading and light blended with the gold grey and white colours gives us an exceptional and compelling image, which contrasts so well with the black background.
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Jody must have completed this, and one or two other small pieces before the festival began, which is probably just as well, because he was still painting his main piece a few days after the end of Upfest. I am including a picture from last year, to remind you of the considerable talents of this Bristol artist.
This stunning piece from Piet Rodriguez was one of the first I saw at this year’s Upfest and it set the bar very high indeed. Some readers might recognise this site from a recent ‘Thursday doors‘ post on this blog…what a vast improvement this make-over has made.
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Piet Rodriguez is a French artist who was raised in Brussels, and a quick look at his website gives you an idea of what an accomplished artist he is. I gather from his biography in the Upfest porgramme that he only took up the spray can in 2015, which surely is a good thing for all of us.
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This was not the only piece that Piet Rodriguez did at Upfest, and I will post his smaller board from South Street park at a later date. I think I am a fan.
Daa da da da da da da da daa daa dada dada. Getting right to the heart of the matter is this brilliant Simpsons piece from Soker. He really is quite one of the best writers around and this sofa scene totally proves it.
Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
His use of the Simpson characters on the sofa, a scene so familiar to anyone who watches the show, to create his name is inspired, and taking a closer look, there is almost a Picassoesque look to Lisa and Homer in particular.
Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The whole scene is well observed, with the lampshade and the picture of a sailing boat on the wall, and is indeed a special homage to the genius of Matt Groenig.
Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I managed to catch up with Soker, which I have never managed to do before, and had a quick chat on the Friday, again on the Saturday morning and later on in the Spotted Cow. I think he had slightly overdone his merrymaking on Friday night and had to abandon painting on the Saturday, nursing a bit of a sore head.
Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I asked him why sometimes he wrote Soker and at other times Sokem. His answer seemed sensible to me…he started off with Soker (pronounced Soccer), but found the R difficult to write, so changed it to Sokem, before reverting once he found the R easier.
This has to be one of my favourites from Upfest 2018, and is really an outstanding piece.
I thought I’d kick off Upfest 2018 with one of the highlight walls of the festival which speaks volumes to me (a marine biologist by training), and really brightened things up.
One of the less celebrated, but nonetheless special, walls at Upfest is this side street, Mount Pleasant Terrace, just off North Street. Previous occupiers of this wall have been Sokar Uno (2016) and My Dog Sighs and Snub 23 (2017), so it has a great pedigree. This year the mural went big, spreading beyond the first floor and covering the entire end of row wall.
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
At first glance it might not be obvious that this is a Louis Masai piece, but a closer inspection gives away some of the tell tale signs, such as a patchwork turtle, and of course a signature!
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I was pretty spaced out at the festival, absorbing so much visual information but not really seeing things right in front of me – sensory overload if you like. I didn’t take a proper look at the wall until the scaffolding was down a couple of days later and then it hit me, this is a brilliant piece by Louis Masai.
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
There is so much to look at in this coral reef scene, but of course it comes with an environmental message, and there floating around the reef are a couple of Tesco bags, which once seen can’t be unseen.
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I love the way that he entered into the spirit of the Simpsons theme of the festival and presented us with a cartoon mutant fish with three eyes gawkily cruising across the reef. Some serious messages interspersed with a bit of fun. A great piece to start with. Hats off to Louis Masai.
Well what can I say about Nevla? Well the first thing I can say is that I met him at Upfest and had a good long chat with him…and what a decent fellow he is, just like so many of the street/graff artists in Bristol. I’ll keep my powder dry about our conversation for when I post his Upfest piece.
Nevla, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018
This is a lovely piece, that can be easily missed, on the ramp down into The Bearpit on the north side of the roundabout. The fun cartoon character is accompanied by the words ‘stay fresh’, and I think this piece certainly manages to do this. I am really enjoying witnessing the progress of this artist, who tells me he has been spraying walls for about a year now.
Natural adventures 