This is one I have held on to for a long time, and I did so because it is a really great piece. I hadn’t published it because the artist, Shab, has only recently come onto my radar. Of course, I am now finding his work everywhere…that seems to be the way of things.
Shab, North Street, Bristol, September 2015
This piece was from Upfest 2015, and managed to remain for quite some time. There are still some remnants of it there today, just. I really love this piece and the way Shab captures the figures. There is a touch of what looks like an African influence going on. A firm favourite.
Face F1st seems to have upped his game recently, producing pieces all over the city, and continuing to develop his style. Together with Laic217, he seems to be ‘in the groove’ at the moment.
Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2017
This piece is on a famous wall with pieces from several Bristol artists on it including a piece by Mr Sleven (the three-eyed characters). I really like this piece by Face F1st, it feels like more time and effort has gone into its production and the face is simple and also wonderfully expressive.
Face F1st, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2017
I have more pieces by Face F1st in my pending folders, but I think this is the best so far.
Some of the artists who painted at Upfest are a little elusive. This piece is by Rupertty, and there is very little I can find out about him…there wasn’t even a programme entry for him. He does have an Instagram account, but there is little there to go on other than some rather nice wildstyle pieces.
Rupertty, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I guess some people keep a lower profile than others. I felt that this was a rather low-profile piece and that it feels unfinished, although I think this is it. I think this piece really shows off the diversity of styles that Upfest has to offer. Something for everyone.
Another large wall, this time a little out of the way on Dean Lane. This is one of the most awkward walls to photograph, let alone spray, but Inkie has done a commanding job of this one.
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The large piece is on the side of the South Bank Club and features a trademark Inkie portrait. The whole thing is a Bristol as Bristol can be, with a rather nice reference to the Clifton Suspension Bridge on the left hand side.
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I think the character at the top of the piece is a fairly effeminate looking Isambard Kindom Brunel.
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The character at the bottom of the piece might be a self portrait, but I am not sure really. The whole thing is really impressive, and I was fortunate enough to catch up with Inkie while he was just finishing off the job. Inkie and Bristol are utterly interlinked, and we are lucky to have him around.
Inkie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The observant will notice an Angus piece just to the bottom left of the picture.
This is one of the premium walls at Upfest, and last year was the proud home of this magnificent Martin Ron piece. This year it was the turn of one of the Godfathers of Bristol graffiti/street art – Cheo.
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, August 2016
Sticking to the brief, or theme of Upfest 2016 Cheo’s piece features Mr Graff, an addition to the Roger Hargreaves community of Mr Men and Little Miss’.
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, August 2016
My honest opinion on this piece is that I don’t think it was the right piece for this wall. This wall deserves a huge imposing and impressive piece and this feels like it does not fill the space properly. It is a very safe piece, and so I can see the appeal of having it in a supermarket car park, but to me the proportions just feel wrong.
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a great piece, beautifully sprayed and full of incredible detail and characters that Cheo brings to life so well. I feel it would have been better on a different wall that you could get up close to.
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The crazy worm and flowers at the bottom are wonderful, but seem detached from the main piece almost like a bonus afterthought. I concede that I may have got this completely wrong, but we all have a view.
I think I have said it before, but one of the great pleasures of Upfest is to see the work of artists from all over the world and from all kinds of disciplines descend on our little patch of South Bristol. One such artist, ‘Climber’ or Lee Nowell-Wilson from Baltimore left us with this beautiful portrait of a young child.
Climber, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Climber graduated with a Batchelors in painting in 2011. According to her Upfest bio, she now works at bringing those traditional skills to the streets. With creating relationships as the main objective, she strives after levels of vulnerability within her work to encounter people in their everyday. She certainly achieves her objective with this piece.
There was an underlying theme to Upfest 2016 and that was the emergence of ‘Mr Graff’. This was a playful idea where Cheo was asked to create Mr Graff in the style of Roger Hargreaves ‘Mr Men’. Other artists were encouraged to play with the idea, and several did exactly that.
Loch Ness, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This piece ‘Mr Impossible’, is by the colourful and talented Loch Ness who specialises in psychedelic and surreal imagery. His pieces often have a host of playful characters sprayed in a multitude of great colours. Loch Ness also sprayed another piece at the school during the festival, but I don’t have a picture of the completed work, which was still behind scaffolding when I caught up with him for a chat. His work brightens up the dullness around us.
I took this picture during Upfest 2016, and was going to enter it as one of the pieces from the event. What a mistake that would have been. The piece is a collaboration between Copyright and Gemma Compton and was sprayed some years ago.
Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
Of course I never usually get to see shutter pieces, because they tend to be up during the times I am out on the streets taking pictures. The work of these two artists works so well in combination; they both like bold colours, reds and blues, and both usually include female subjects. Gemma in particular likes to incorporate natural motifs setting the pieces off nicely.
Copyright and Gemma Compton, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
This is a striking and enduring collaboration from this couple.
Photographing street art and posting it on digital social media can be a frustrating thing sometimes. Some bloggers or Instagrammers, put up their images within hours or minutes of finding a new piece. This is great for getting a picture of ‘what’s new’ but is usually unaccompanied by any sort of narrative, and rarely a location…I don’t understand why people are so guarded. Others like myself, like to add a little bit of a back story…sometimes a little tedious (I’m sorry)…to give the reader just a little bit more than a snapshot. The big disadvantage of the latter approach is that images about contemporary news events seem rather out dated by the time I get to post them. A case in point is this witty ‘love is’ piece by John D’oh in one of the tunnels of The Bearpit.
John D’oh, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2017
So my apologies to all for the tardiness of this post, but I think it is still worth including in the blog. I don’t need to say much about the subject matter – it has been world news after all. I love the subtle (?) reference to Trump’s hair. This is a fun piece ridiculing the ridiculous.
Regular readers of these posts should have no difficulty in identifying this artist as Laic217. This is the sixth piece I have featured by the artist since the beginning of February, and I still have a couple more in the queue.
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2017
Back to his bucket hat character and distorted face. The Smilie is sprayed in a 3D viewer style, and with the pixelated shirt fragments around the character’s shoulders, the whole amounts to a rather ‘trippy’ piece.
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, February 2017
I have said a number of times recently that I am really enjoying witnessing the development of this Bristol artist who has still managed to remain rather aloof. Googling ‘Laic217’ simply brings up loads of my images. Perhaps I should try and contact him for an interview.
Natural adventures 