RIP seemed to have a lot of fun during Upfest this year. His works were not only confined to The Rising Sun (his designated temporary ‘canvass’) but also to the streets and hoardings of North Street.
RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
The dodo was very low down on a hoarding passageway. Who can resist a dodo eh? There is a lovely Stewy dodo in Leonard Lane…one of my earliest posts. The pun here links to the rather annoying, but very popular Wham! song of the ’80s.
RIP, Upfest, North Street, Bristol, July 2016
The philosophical chimp is another winner for me. I really like RIP’s work. It is fast, edgy, raw, humerous and keeps the streets alive for those of us who like to look, see and discover.
At this year’s Upfest I have been struck by how many female street artists there are, which is really great, because I think there is a perception that most street artists tend to be male. Well, there was a great mix of gender, nationality and style, and perhaps Danielle Clough, who comes from South Africa and works with thick bright embroidery thread most embodies this extraordinary diversity.
Danielle Clough, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Danielle was working hard in the hot sun on Saturday creating this magnificent piece, and continued her work through Sunday in the slightly cooler and at times wetter weather. The outcome is absolutely beautiful, and I hope it will be there for some time to come.
Danielle Clough, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I believe this work by Danielle is the first time I have posted work by a known ‘yarn bomber’, but it certainly will not be the last. Refreshing and beautiful.
I was really taken by this fantastic work by Belgian artist Din Din who describes herself as a ‘one woman artistic movement’.
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
On Saturday afternoon, when I watched her working, she was putting down the stencil at the bottom of the piece. I noticed that she used plastic stencils and asked her if she used them because they were stronger (seemed sensible to me), but she answered that with the plastic stencils you can work in the rain…so she came well prepared for a festival in Britain then!
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
On her website it looks very much like she did two other stencils in the area during her visit to Bristol, so I will have to hunt these down.
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
There is something about the piece that reminds me a little of Tian’s works that he pasted up around Stokes Croft during his ‘tour’ earlier in the year – photographic works with monochrome tones.
Din Din, Lime Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
A wonderful piece to see and to get a glimpse of the artist at work.
One of the first pieces I saw that had already been completed by the time I arived on Saturday, was this fine and controversial work by Pegasus.
Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
It is highly accomplished stencil work that one expects from Pegasus and the content of his work is often edgy and possibly uncomfortable for some. I imagine that any work representing Mother Teresa (a Saint) is going to be tricky.
Pegasus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I love this piece. It is quite shocking and at the same time so beautifully put together. I think this might be his first visit since his Trump/Hitler conflation in Greville Road, back in April 2016…another controversial one.
I still haven’t worked out how I am going to present all of the works that I captured and admired during Upfest over the last few days, but I have to get cracking because there is so much wonderful stuff to share.
Angus, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This post has four works produced by Bristol street artist Angus over the duration of the weekend. It was a pity that I didn’t get to meet Angus, it just seemed that we were in different places at different times. I’m sure we will catch up soon. The first image is his ‘showcase’ piece that was on his designated board and is quite stunning.
Another couple of pieces sit either side of a large wall by Inkie (coming soon) at the Southbank Club on Dean Lane. On the left is a great face in reds and blacks…
Angus, Dean Lane, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Angus, Dean Lane, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
…and on the right is a door that says it all really.
Angus, Dean Lane, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
His fourth piece was in one of his favourite spots on Raleigh Road, where this recent work which I wrote about, resided.
Angus, Raleigh Road , Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I like this work a lot, with Muttley from Whacky Races, a message that he has been working with for a while, and some great colours and design. His work just gets better and better.
What a busy couple of days it has been – a lot of walking and looking at hundreds of new pieces in South Bristol. Many of the works created are temporary and will be removed after the festival, some have been allocated prime sites and will remain for at least a year, others have been surreptitiously slapped up in interesting places and will have variable lifespans.
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
I will start my posts of Upfest with some wonderful pasteups by Phoebe New York (aka artist Libby Schoettle). I was especially pleased to see her work here in Bristol as I have only recently become aware of her and how brilliantly refreshing she is. A simple idea really well executed.
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
I particularly like the edge of her work, both in the content and statements, but also in the locations she chooses. I am a fan, and I expect there are more than just these two examples from Upfest in Bristol. I will be hunting for more.
Phoebe New York, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Upfest is a truly spectacular festival and I feel honoured as an adopted Bristolian that people have come from all over the world to participate over the last two days. There is still one more day to go, but it is a working day and I suspect things will be a lot quieter. I have no idea how I am going to post all the amazinf things I have seen this weekend – I’ll just have to see how it goes.
Well this may well be my last post before Upfest 2016 festival which begins tomorrow, and for which I have already seen a few early works on Instagram. There is a certain privilege that goes with being a Bristol street art blogger, and that is that each year, the largest gathering of street artists in Europe happens right here, in my back yard.
Deamze, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2016
Another privilege is to watch, all year round, the work of these two wildstyle writers who are at the top of their game. This simultaneously painted pair of pieces is on the back wall of the Vector car park. Deamze is on the left, and Voyder is on the right.
Deamze, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2016
The Deamze writing is reminiscent of a piece I posted back in June from the M32 cycle path. It uses the same greens and has his customary character and ASK motif.
Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2016
The Voyder piece is really unusual and something quite special. In his Instagram feed he has tagged the piece with #lichtenstein, and you can see the pop art explosion of colour and form.
Voyder, Raleigh Road, Bristol, July 2016
I love, love, love this. Voyder has absolutely cracked it with this one. Interpretive and in the style of a great artist and brilliantly executed. I can ask no more. Both of these will now have to make way for new pieces for the festival tomorrow. So excited.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a real soft spot for Face F1st. I will always try to post his works as soon as I can after I have spotted them, although it is not always possible with such a huge backlog of street art.
Face F1st, Ashley Road, Bristol, July 2016
This is a slightly unusual Face F1st piece. Sure, the soft colours are there and the FACE letters and the swirling hair, but the expression on the girl’s face is something new altogether. I’m not sure if I like it as much as the softer faces, but it is certainly striking. Good to see more work from the Face.
This rather unusual piece was sprayed back at the start of June and is by DNT. Rather delightfully entitled ‘RIP corporate bunny’ it taps into the edgy political community that makes Stokes Croft such a creative force in Bristol. I like this work for many reasons…bullet holes in a cuddly bunny character. Disturbing and visually engaging all at once.
DNT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
The piece has been sprayed over the Hoax and AKArat work that I featured in one of my earlier posts this year.
I’m not sure how many times I might have walked past this before I noticed it. I would like to think not many. Recently (I think) the Attic Bar at the bottom end of Stokes Croft (It might even be North Road) had a little face lift with this collaboration between Aspire and another artist. I haven’t yet worked out who the other artist is, but the work looks familiar.
Aspire and ? Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
As always, Aspire has turned out yet another superb bird, which looks like a blue jay again, to watch over us.
Aspire and ? Stokes Croft, Bristol, June 2016
I am perplexed by not knowing who the writer is. If anyone reading this knows the answer, please drop me a comment.
Natural adventures 