Tag: Maybe

6042. Upfest 2024 (1)

Maybe, Merrywood Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Maybe, Merrywood Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Right, strap in! Upfest 2024 is in full swing in Bristol. For those who don’t know, Upfest is a street and graffiti art festival which has been running intermittently for a decade or so and is touted as Europe’s largest festival of its kind, bringing local national and international artists to the city to show off their talents. The format this year is a little different from pervious years, where there is no central ‘festival’ element with music, food and hundreds of artists spraying boards in one of Bedminster’s parks. Instead, over three weekends (this being the middle one) more than 200 artists will be painting selected walls of south Bristol. I will try to include as many as I can in Natural Adventures, but alongside the everyday painting in Bristol, this will be a serious challenge.

Maybe, Merrywood Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Maybe, Merrywood Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

First up is this piece by a local artist Maybe (@maybepaints), who has been rather quiet on the streets over the last 12 months. This is a classic, incorporating all the elements he has been fine-tuning over the years, such as his incredible planets and starry space. Humour plays a large part in his work, and a moon face eating a banana fits the bill nicely. This is a wonderful piece that fits the spot perfectly. You can see more of his work in this Maybe gallery.

5338. Brunel Way (213)

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

By the time this post is published I will be midway through leading a workshop for a partnership in Lincolnshire. I arrived in Lincoln yesterday evening, and have never been here before. I was pleasantly surprised by the old town, and the cathedral is one of the most impressive I have seen in England. It is a pity I will be here only for a day, and returning home immediately after the workshop. I digress… Maybe wasn’t very impressed with this piece, when he posted it on Instagram, and was minded to go over it, but he hasn’t so far, so maybe he has some affection for it after all.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, June 2023

The subtle colours and gentle interlocking shapes make this more of an abstract piece than anything else, and as such does a good job, I think. The green shape has something of the pachyderm about it, and once seen can’t be unseen. I rather like this modest and gentle piece. My kind of thing.

5260. Upfest 2022 (70)

Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

One of the admirable things that Upfest manages to do is combine the national and international interest from artists around the globe with local artists who paint the streets of Bristol week in and week out. The artists are treated equally (although some get allocated ‘premium’ walls), and there is a fabulous sense of community.

Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This piece by local artist Maybe (Maybepaints), who only started painting on the streets about 3 or 4 years ago, doesn’t look out of place shoulder to shoulder with established international artists. The piece is, as much contemporary street art tends to be, a commentary on the state of our environment, with supermarket plastic bags drifting in the ocean.

Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Maybe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Maybe is a lovely man – much taller than I had expected – who has developed his own techniques, combining freestyle painting with stencils, to create these remarkable ‘other worldly’ places and scenes. You can see his progress over the last few years in this updated gallery of his work.

5242. Brunel Way (207)

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2023
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2023

Last year, Maybe sprayed a piece that was all about hay fever, and the fact that this recent piece under Brunel Way is not dissimilar, leads me to believe that Maybe might be a pollen sufferer at this time of year. The main difference between the pieces is that this one is a little more direct and graphic in its content.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2023
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, May 2023

Those of a fragile disposition should look away, as the character in the piece has her finger deeply inserted into her nostril, while green bogey faces (I am guessing) look on from the sidelines. The piece is nicely painted, creative and a little bit edgy in a schoolboy humour kind of way. Maybe certainly keeps us on our toes with his ideas and unique style.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2022
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2022

5226. Cumberland Basin

Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Maybe is an artist who has brought something totally new and fresh to the streets of Bristol over the last couple of years, starting with some very modest interlocking face pieces and now branching out into a large portfolio of creative ideas. This new piece on the Ashton Avenue Bridge, over the River Avon, takes us in another creative direction.

Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Maybe has painted a view out of a window of an aeroplane wing (in this case, Easyjet), using the shape of the bridge inspection hatch really creatively. It is always great to see street artists incorporating the surrounding elements to augment their work.

Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023
Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2023

Opposite the aeroplane window piece is a more ‘traditional’ offering from Maybe, complementing his work on the inspection hatches at the other end of the bridge. It would appear that Maybe is on a bit of a roll after quite a quiet winter.

5118. Dean Lane skate park (582)

Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

There was a time last year when Maybe was painting roughly once a week, but he has definitely slowed down of late… perhaps it is the cold weather. This is a rather nice large piece in the skate park which is quite tricky to photograph because of the angle of the slope and the size of the piece.

Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

Featuring his interlocking faces in a variety of contrasting colours, this triangular piece demonstrates how far Maybe has come in developing his early concepts from a couple of years ago. Some great use of blended fills and dark shading show a significant improvement in sophistication of his contemporary work.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2021
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2021

4978. Dean Lane skate park (561)

Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

Maybe emerged on the Bristol scene in 2021 and has grown from strength to strength, building a reputation in the street art community over the last couple of years. His work is original and intriguing, working on themes of interlocking faces and galactic scenes. This ramp piece is a large interlocking face variant.

Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

This side of the ramp is actually a really great place to paint, because is receives a minimum of scuffing from skaters. As Maybe pieces go, this is a rather large one, and in his slightly older style. I am hoping to see great things from this unique artist, and it would be great to catch up with him again as he is a lovely man.

4708. Brunel Way (174)

Maybe Paints continues to dazzle us with his column studies under Brunel Way, as he has done for the last eighteen months or so. His ideas are expanding and becoming more ambitious, moving on from his early and original interlocking faces.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2022
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2022

In this piece, we see an ear in profile with a dangly earring composed of two small stylised heads. This is all so Maybe, and unique, there simply isn’t anything else out there remotely similar. We are lucky to have such a broad spectrum of street art in the city for all to enjoy.

4661. Brunel Way (169)

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022

The creativity that is the signature of Maybe’s work continues to delight, with his constant flow of small stencil art pieces, most of which are painted under Brunel Way or the immediate area.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022

This recent piece depicts a woman contemplating the stars, made slightly weird by the ‘Mr Tickle’ hand curling in full circle. These atmospheric pieces feature planets and stars heavily, and Maybe has definitely refined his technique to create these beautiful space-scapes.

4641. Brunel Way (168)

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022

Today we discover Pula, which on first impressions is my kind of City, with a huge Roman and Italian influence. Definitely looking forward to getting out there and exploring the place. The casualty in this happy state of affairs is this fine column piece by Maybe.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2022

Maybe has switched-up his face to face composition with a rather more angular version which is rotationally symmetrical, and very easy on the eye. A year on from his first appearances under Brunel Way and I am still very much enjoying finding Maybe’s work.