Tag: Karl Read

6092. Upfest 2024 (19)

Karl Read, West Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Karl Read, West Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Karl Read is something of a regular at Upfest, which is a great thing, and with each passing festival his work gets better and better. Painted over a stunning piece by Irony (one of my favourite of all time) cannot have been easy, but what Karl Read has replaced it with is worthy of this spot.

Karl Read, West Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Karl Read, West Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Karl Read uses large stencils for his work, and certainly in the past I have seen him struggle in windy conditions, but he has absolutely nailed his technique in this piece. The contrast between the black and white figures and the colourful peace sign made out of ‘Lego’ building blocks is a clever mechanism to bring focus to different parts of the work. The message is a poignant one in a troubled landscape of conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. This is a stunning stencil from a great artist.

Irony, West Street, Bristol, October 2021, Upfest 21
Irony, West Street, Bristol, October 2021, Upfest 21

4462. Upfest 2022 (4)

I was hoping that there would be some Ukraine pieces at this year’s Upfest, and Karl Read has delivered handsomely with this fabulous stencil piece featuring Volodymir Zelensky. The concept is simple and powerful, as the president of Ukraine reveals his true identity as Superman. I am reminded, each time I see President Zelensky of the Shakespearean quote from Twelfth Night that “Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them”. The middle one of these might apply in this instance.

Karl Read, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Karl Read, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Karl Read, an Upfest veteran, has cleverly worked on the colour scheme for the piece, with Zelensky painted in black and white and his Superman outfit blasting out in Ukraine’s blue and yellow colours. An additional nice touch is the little lapel badge worn by the president. This is a great contemporary commentary piece, deserving of this high profile wall in Bedminster.

3912. Upfest 2021 75×75 (53)

I met Karl Read at the Cheltenham Paint Festival last year, and what a very nice bloke he is too. He is an artist who appears to enjoy painting at festivals, and he has certainly been to several Upfest events in the past, this is his 75 walls in 75 days contribution.

Karl Read, North Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
Karl Read, North Street, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21

This is a superb bright and vibrant piece that makes great use of this slightly awkward wall. The message, in large colourful letters, is clear for all to see and will resonate with all but the most miserable people. Karl Read has chosen to paint his characters, a boy and a girl at each end of the letters, in black and white, probably using a stencil. The characters contrast beautifully with the letters and somehow bring out the colour even more. An upbeat and positive piece from the Upfest veteran.

2381. Greville Road (9)

Another wonderful piece painted as part of the Upfest Summer Editions celebrations outside the Hen and Chickens. This one is by Upfest stalwart Karl Read. The very large stencil is beautifully proportioned to fit this space and has a serene look about it.

Karl Read, Greville Road, Bristol, July 2019
Karl Read, Greville Road, Bristol, July 2019

The stencil is interesting because it has some simplicity to it, with large areas of single colours, but also in other parts it has complexity. I have seen Karl Read at work before and he uses large sheets of paper for his stencils that look quite unwieldy, but somehow he makes it all work.

Karl Read, Greville Road, Bristol, July 2019
Karl Read, Greville Road, Bristol, July 2019

The jewel in the crown of the piece is the girl’s hair which, if you look closely, is in the style of a Hokusai wave. The result is most effective, and the whole piece a triumph. Karl Read has absolutely nailed this blend of simplicity and complexity. I fully expect him to return for Upfest 2020.

950. Upfest 2017 (20)

This is a wonderful and photogenic piece by Karl Read, a stencil artist from the south coast who produced another lovely piece at Upfest 2016. A boy dressed as superman wearing converses and flying on a swing is a winning idea, and this piece has movement, tenderness and nostalgia combined in equal measure.

Karl Read, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Karl Read, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I don’t know how he put up with the tiny space he had to work in and the crowds stepping over his kit to get photographs of his work and the adjacent work of Lemak.

Karl Read, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Karl Read, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This was another really striking piece from the festival and has been shared a lot on Instagram over the last week or two. I really rather like it and feel that perhaps it deserved a permanent wall rather than a board, but then I could say that about pretty much everything at the festival. Note for next year…more permanent walls please.

Karl Read, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Karl Read, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

387. Upfest 2016 (31)

I used to play five-a-side football with someone called Karl Read, but it wasn’t this Karl Read. This one is a stencil artist from the South Coast and created this amazing portrait in one of the key locations for Upfest. Last year, the wall was home to Robers Wass’ beautiful fox.

Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

There is something about the tones and lines that reminds me a lot of Copyright’s work, of which there is quite a lot in the area, and at first I thought it might be one of his, but then I looked closer.

Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Once again, one of the real pleasures of being at the festival was to be able to see the artists at work. In this instance, Karl was working with some really large pieces of card that were not entirely cooperating.

Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The more observant viewer, and one that gets to this final sentence, might spot a reflection of the author of this post (that’s me) in the glass door in the feature image. Vanity publishing!