Tag: Jody

1905. Upfest 2018 (101)

During the Upfest 2018 weekend, I really struggled with who was painting this piece. The difficulty was that it was on a new wall that didn’t really offer close access and the artist was perched high up on scaffolding. It turns out that the piece is by Bristol’s magnificent Jody.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Jody is meticulous with his work and certainly never rushes. For this reason, many visitors to Upfest never actually get to see his finished pieces, until they return some time later. It was days before he finished this one, but wow, it was well worth the wait.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This is a cleverly worked portrait of a woman behind a golden cat mask and it truly outstanding. Like so many of his works it seems to have gravitas…I can’t really express what I mean by that other than that there is a seriousness about the work. Beautiful piece beautifully executed.

1642. Upfest 2018 (4)

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, 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.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1341. Charlotte Street (3)

Every once in a while a town or city will see a new piece of street art appear that becomes an iconic landmark and a part of its beating heart. Examples in Bristol are the black and yellow portrait of a girl in Stokes Croft by Stinkfish and the hanging man by Banksy just off Park Street. Well this new significant work by Jody is, I believe, going to be another one to add to the list.

Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018
Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018

I spotted Jody at work on this piece a couple of weeks ago, when he was on a cherry picker painting some flowers. At that point I wasn’t sure it was Jody, but his style and the method he uses to paint gave it away a bit.

Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018
Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018

The piece is a commission for a newly opened cocktail bar/restaurant on Park Street, called The Florist. The establishment is part of a chain called The Botanist, but as luck would have it, there is an independent bar of the same name in Berkeley Square a few meters further up the hill – so The Florist it is. Some of the interior pieces, I understand, are also by Jody and by fellow Bristol artist Gemma Compton. I will have to check it out.

Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018
Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018

I think this is a sensational piece and a real statement for Bristol. The wall can be seen when walking down Park Street and has a real ‘wow factor’ to it. Furthermore, it will probably stay in good condition as the wall rarely catches the full sun, making it difficult to photograph, but protecting it from bleaching. This is a feather in Bristol’s and Jody’s caps.

1153. Upfest 2017 (105)

Another really high quality piece at this year’s Upfest, this one is by local artist Jody. I think that this piece eclipses his wonderful work from last year, and this wall is really a very special wall.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Fin Dac had the privilege of painting this wall last year and it is fitting that Jody should continue where Fin Dac left off. This was a labout of love for Jody, and long after all the other artists had packed up and left, Jody was still at it, for several more days…maybe even a week or two.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I went back a lot, hoping each time that the piece would be complete, but I think Jody was hit by the changeable weather, and possibly the sheer ambition of the wall. On the upside, I have quite a few ‘in progress’ pictures.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

There is so much to love and marvel at in this captivating piece. The beautiful profile portrait, the cut out birds reminiscent of Henri Matisse and the extraordinary pink folds of material in the woman’s hair and neckline. This is a master work.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

In looking at the ‘in progress’pictures, it is interesting to see how Jody appeard to work in strips and patches, where other artists might come at a piece in layers. I guess the scale and scaffolding constraints dictate to some degree how a piece will be painted.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Along with Nomad Clan’s piece and one or two others, this really shows off the ‘high end’ of what street artists are capable of doing, and in doing it, bringing so much pleasure to so many people. I love this.

1125. Cheltenham Road, Library (1)

Now this is a beautiful recent piece by Jody, and make no mistake I rate this extremely highly. I am however slightly conflicted by its placement. As part of Government public spending cuts, Local Authorities have had to make some difficult choices. Closing under-used libraries has been one way of reducing costs, and generating income from sale of the land. This hoarding has been erected around the building site that was formerly the library.

I am not particularly conflicted about any of that though, my issue is that the construction firm have gone out of their way (it seems) to avoid attracting graffiti to the hoardings (in an area where hoardings quickly become ‘decorated’). As part of this, they have commissioned two great street artists to complete panels, of which this is one. I suppose what bothers me is that it is that the message this sends out is that these boards are ok for some artists, but not for others. Who decides? On what grounds? How do the artists feel about this? It all feels a little uncomfortable.

Jody, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017
Jody, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017

Putting all of that aside though, I think that this is absolutely stunning, and I consider this piece by Jody to be as good as any other I have seen of his. He does beautiful women’s faces to perfection, and I like the way the hair morphs into a smokey cloud.

Jody, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017
Jody, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017

What a treat for me to be able to walk past this every day on my way to work. It will be interesting to see how the graffiti community treat this. Jody is held in high regard, but there are some taggers out there who have no respect and they may take exception to this hoarding being for the select few and not the many.

I will update this post if anything happens.

766. North Street Green (7)

This piece from our very own Jody (when I say ‘our’, I mean Bristol’s) was something of a promotional stunt for Huff Post. He had been lined up to do a live spray, during which he unveiled the new Huff Post logo – the video has had more than 200k views…not bad really.

Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017
Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017

Not long after the piece was completed and the brouhaha had subsided, the logo was painted out, and then not too long after that, Cheo sprayed a bee on the hand. One in the eye for the corporates.

Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017
Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017

This coming together, albeit a bit haphazardly, leaves us with a really rather wonderful piece. The grayscale hand, so beautifully crafted, is the prefect partner for the vibrant and rather cheeky bee. Glad I got to see the completed thing before I knew about the backstory.

593. Upfest 2016 (87)

Jody is no stranger to the streets of Bristol and I have featured works of his before, most recently this Virgin Mary just off North Street. He was one of the established Bristol artists at last year’s Upfest and took over a tricky wall that had previously been occupied by Osch and his tiger.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I watched this piece by Jody take shape over the two days of the festival, and visited the scene a few days later to get a decent view of the piece. It is absolutely stunning. Clean, fresh and with a story going on.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This wall, however, must be the most difficult to photograph of all the walls used at Upfest. Try as I might, I just don’t seem to be able to get a decent shot. I notice that Jody took one from the top of the building opposite, but not all of us are fortunate enough to get such a privileged view.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I do like this piece, and admire it every time I walk up North Street. A great piece by the self-styled ‘aerosol artist’.

Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

 

572. North Street Green (4)

This is a special wall just off North Street, opposite the Upfest shop. The wall is a bit like the PRSC outdoor gallery, in that it is a place where street artists can show off their great works in the near certainty that it will not get tagged. The wall is respected.

Jody, North Street Green, Bristol, January 2017
Jody, North Street Green, Bristol, January 2017
Jody created this free hand piece of the Virgin Mary just before Christmas and had to battle with the elements whilst doing it, according to his Instagram feed. I think it was well worth the effort

The colours used are reminiscent of those he used to paint the hands and moth, further along North Street last year. There is something about this colour combination that is difficult to photograph, there is quite a lot of reflection, which you don’t get with the naked eye. The point being that the photographs don’t do it justice. It is a beautiful and spiritual piece, like much of his work. All good. 

 

314, North Street, Standard (2)

A little while ago, Jody created this beautiful detailed piece, which was very quickly adopted as the Upfest Twitter icon, only recently replaced by Cheo’s design. Jody’s work has an incredible realism and then tosses the realism into a surreal setting.

Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016

At last year’s Upfest he produced an incredible work of fingers dripping with oil, and here we have this delicate image of two hands making a heart shape, and encompassing a moth. Full of symbolism? Maybe.

Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016

This work is very memorable and located at the heart of North Street, where its predecessor was this Christmas piece by Cheo. I guess the wall will be repainted at this year’s festival, but as I discovered recently with the Inkie piece (Best thing since sliced bread), not all the street art in the area will be over-painted.