Tag: Mazcan

4523. Upfest 2022 (20)

Mazcan produced my absolute favourite collaboration of last year’s Upfest 75 walls in 75 days (75×75) event, so it was a great pleasure to meet her while painting the second of two portraits, both in Greville Smyth Park over the two days of the festival.

Mazcan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Mazcan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The portrait, you might recognise as Uma Thurman and in my view, is an excellent likeness in her stylised form. It was interesting to see how quickly Mazcan was able to produce this piece, which was a bit of a bonus extra piece, using up one of the spare boards available on the second day.

Mazcan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Mazcan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

When I see art like this, I realise how lucky we are in Bristol to host Europe’s largest street art festival in the shape of Upfest, and I offer huge respect to Steve and Emma who together with their team manage to organise a truly phenomenal event on such a regular basis. Lovely stuff.

Mazcan, King William Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Mazcan, King William Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

3769. Upfest 2021 75×75 (6)

Oh my goodness! There are some pieces that you look at and, well, they simply take your breath away. For me, this is one of those pieces. Painted for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days event, this astonishing collaboration from Mishfit and Mazcan simply blew me away, and I look at now as I am writing and wonder at its magnificence.

Mishfit, King William Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Mishfit, King William Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

These two portraits work so incredibly well together and are perfect for the space vacated by Caro Pepe and AgeAge. To the left is a stunning portrait from Mishfit painted with incredible graded skin tones and a beautiful headdress, the colours of which are reflected in a cloud to the right of the subject. I haven’t seen any of Mishfit’s work before, but what an introduction.

Mazcan, King William Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Mazcan, King William Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

Mazcan on the other hand has visited Upfest on a couple of occasions, but this piece is definitely a step up from before, and I think she must have been practising. This blue face has quite a lot of attitude and there is so much depth and bone structure created with clever use of shading. The red streaks in the hair add so much to the depth and contrast of the piece too.

Mishfit and Mazcan, King William Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Mishfit and Mazcan, King William Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

Genuinely, this is a bloody brilliant collaboration and will definitely stick in my memory for a long, long time.

2436. Upfest 2018 (158)

I have already posted a very striking Upfest piece by Brighton-based Mazcan but this one slipped a little under my radar until I recently started sorting through another batch of pieces from last year’s festival.

Mazcan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Mazcan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This is a superb work that looks like it has just dropped off the page of a rather dark comic strip book. There is drama and movement in the way the hair sweeps across the portrait… what is going on here? Her eyes give nothing away. Lovely piece.

Mazcan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Mazcan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

1819. Upfest 2018 (79)

This portrait is a highly memorable and unusual piece by Mazcan. The artist is from Brighton and she is known for painting portraits of women about the place. She is perhaps equally well-known for her crochet work, which she appears to enjoy very much judging from her Facebook feed.

Mazcan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Mazcan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

There is a lot of mystery in this piece, and it seems to be as much about what you can’t see as what you can. Certainly, this was a piece that I couldn’t take my eyes off. I’m not sure I like it as much as some of the pieces on her Facebook pages, but it is a great introduction to her work.