A recent piece from Cheo on a wall that you need to go looking for. This is the second pairing of Cheo and Soker pieces that I have found here, but I expect they have been spraying here for years.
Some really lovely wildstyle writing and a fun character too. Cheo and his king bee just keep on pleasing. The image below is the last piece he had up here which was photographed in March 2017.
Well, I have clocked up my first 50 Upfest 2017 pieces, and we are only in September – maybe I’ll get everything posted before next year’s festival, although I doubt it – there is just so much street/graffiti art happening in Bristol at the moment.
This was the brilliant official Upfest piece by Caro Pepe and Age Age, which was in the covered section of the Tobacco Factory car park, which given the weather over the three days was probably something of a blessing.
These two artists have collaborated many times, and really seem to enjoy working together. At last year’s festival they had adjacent spots and created separate works, however it seems that since then they have worked together much more.
Working in soft mauves and browns, the two artists have combined the distinctive portraits of Caro Pepe with the elements of function and machinery that Age Age specialises in. The blend works well and I can see why they like to combine their styles. I am not sure, but I think the final version below was tampered with over the eye. It is possible that this was part of the original work, but Caro Pepe’s ‘blind’ eyes don’t usually have a patch like this.
As well as this wonderful piece, the pair worked on another wall and a shutter during their short stay in Bristol, which is a real bonus. Both of these to follow.
Mazzi C is an artist whose plain speaking and informative Upfest biography profile tells us that she is inspired by natural organic forms and Oriental art. Mazzie C, from Cornwall (my favourite place) goes on to say that she finds the juxtoposition of natural themes and street art using sprays and inks interesting. Her work is driven by dialetics of nature and urban culture. Well mine too – welcome to Natural Adventures.
This small work is subtle and engaging (I want to use the word charming, but it always sounds so patronising). There are several things going on here – the beautiful bird set amongst triangles and stencilled flower patterns, the swirling folds are also really well crafted, almost as if the whole thing is made of cloth. Now I just need to see some of this work on walls!
One of the truly outstanding and memorable pieces of Upfest 2017 was this extraordinary image of an infant holding a spray can. The artist, Mon Devane, comes from the city of Ourense in Galicia, Spain.
Taking a look at his website, you can see that he has a strong and recognisable style, using a monochrome style on vibrant backgrounds. There is nothing subtle about his pieces, they are bold statements, and beautifully crafted.
I do like it when street artists incorporate a spray can into their art, like the old masters including a paint pallette – the tools of their trade. I think that this might have been one of the most popular pieces from the Ashton Gate wall (although there were so many great pieces there), simply because of its instant impact.
Life can be funny sometimes, and every now and again we are surprised.
Last year I wrote a post about a lovely piece by Beep Monkey at the Ashton Gate School site, and until the Summer, I had heard nothing more about the artist. Then, during a casual chat at work with one of my colleagues (of several years) we meandered onto the subject of street art. She was not aware that I blogged about street art in Bristol and I most certainly didn’t know that her husband was Beep Monkey. Curious how we navigate our way through life, and then occasionally have these serendipitous moments.
So armed with new insight into Beep Monkey, I was able to seek out his piece in North Street Green and understand a little bit about what inspired it. I believe that his daughters might have given him a rather big steer for this piece – a prancing pink unicorn being the central character.
Of course, there is a slightly subversive element to this piece, again, I think a steer from children, which is that the unicorn is indeed farting a rainbow – but of course, didn’t you know that that is what pink unicorn farts look like?
The Unicorn might have been the ‘commissioned’ element, but I am rather more attracted to the yellow character riding on its back and which was in last year’s piece. Is this the Beep Monkey? Fine stuff once again, and who knows, if he is here for Upfest 2018, I might just get even more insight.
At Upfest, I am always rather fond of these small square boards that give artists the opportunity to showcase their work. I am guessing that they might also be able to sell these small pieces, but I am not sure. This witty piece is by Mr Bear, who produced this lovely Baloo work at last year’s festival.
There are quite a few fun things going on here, although I really don’t know what the word ‘bacon’ is doing in the ‘Hello my name is’ badge. This is a really goos multi-layered stencil from that nice Mr Bear. Would be great to see him return again next time.
My daughter has a chameleon, which eats live locusts. Every now and then, when I have forgotten to order them I have to traipse over to the other side of Bristol to get some, and this journey takes me through St George where I spotted this shutter piece. This is in my view rather special, because it is by the highly talented Braga Last1.
Braga Last1 is a Belgian artist who has been over to Bristol for Upfest for the last two years, and I have a feeling he did this commission in 2016. There is so much to like about this piece. First off, the artist himself, secondly it depicts a cartoon version of Darth Vader and thirdly it is beautifully sprayed. I like it a lot. Belgium seems to be having a bit of a street art golden period at the moment, with other artists such as Mehsos, Bisser and Dzia all stunning audiences with their work. Of course Belgium has a very rich culture of art going back centuries, and maybe this heritage inspires them. More from Braga Last1 soon.
Situated on top of the Besley Hill estate agent’s premises and commanding a grand view from East Street over to the Steam Crane is this colourful and detailed piece by Loch Ness. Having seen Loch Ness at work on more than one occasion, I know that he takes his time and really concentrates hard on every detail of his work.
This particular piece features a whole bunch of monsters perched on top of a row of houses enjoying themselves playing and fishing. There is a nice little touch on the right hand side, where you can see two hot air balloons, something for which Bristol is famous – indeed Cameron balloons is directly behind this shop.
Loch Ness fills his pieces with colour and energy and there is always a lot going on. This is a fine and entertaining piece which brightens up this end of the high street.
I know very little about the artist of this bold and interesting piece on the roundabout over the M32, other than that they might be called Biers. It is at times like this that I realise just how little I know about the Bristol street art scene, even though I like to think I know quite a lot.
I decided to post the piece anyway, albeit several months after I saw it, because It stands out from the crowd and is actually rather witty. Each time I look at it, it makes me smile. The whole piece is beautifully worked, and the lettering design and execution is outstanding. Ultimately who couldn’t love graffiti art with the caption ‘night of the living bread’?
I took these pictures a while ago, but have always had the intention of posting them. First though I had to do a bit of homework. The piece appeared in The Bearpit back in January 2017, and was not by any of the artists I am familiar with.
The work itself is on the face of it quite simple, featuring a key, a knife, a feather and some twigs. Once you step back, you will notice the whole thing spells out LOVE…there is a lot of thought and symbolism in this and it is a much more complex piece than one might think on first inspection.
The colours of the piece , whether accidental or deliberate, are significant because the red white and green are the colours of the Italian flag and the artist Riky Boy comes from Milan. I am guessing he was passing through Bristol and left us a present, because I haven’t seen any of his work here since.
Looking at his Instagram account, it would seem that the ‘key’ motif is one he uses a lot, and would appear to have some deeper significance for the artist. I find this work and other pieces I have seen online rather intriguing. Riky Boy’s style is quite unique and raw, but there is a great deal of emotion and intellegence behind his work. A really satisfying find.
Natural adventures 