Tag: Mr Men

676. Upfest 2016 (103)

This is one of the premium walls at Upfest, and last year was the proud home of this magnificent Martin Ron piece. This year it was the turn of one of the Godfathers of Bristol graffiti/street art – Cheo.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, August 2016
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, August 2016

Sticking to the brief, or theme of Upfest 2016 Cheo’s piece features Mr Graff, an addition to the Roger Hargreaves community of Mr Men and Little Miss’.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, August 2016
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, August 2016

My honest opinion on this piece is that I don’t think it was the right piece for this wall. This wall deserves a huge imposing and impressive piece and this feels like it does not fill the space properly. It is a very safe piece, and so I can see the appeal of having it in a supermarket car park, but to me the proportions just feel wrong.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a great piece, beautifully sprayed and full of incredible detail and characters that Cheo brings to life so well. I feel it would have been better on a different wall that you could get up close to.

Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Cheo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The crazy worm and flowers at the bottom are wonderful, but seem detached from the main piece almost like a bonus afterthought. I concede that I may have got this completely wrong, but we all have a view.

674. Upfest 2016 (101)

There was an underlying theme to Upfest 2016 and that was the emergence of ‘Mr Graff’. This was a playful idea where Cheo was asked to create Mr Graff in the style of Roger Hargreaves ‘Mr Men’. Other artists were encouraged to play with the idea, and several did exactly that.

Loch Ness, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Loch Ness, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This piece ‘Mr Impossible’, is by the colourful and talented Loch Ness who specialises in psychedelic and surreal imagery. His pieces often have a host of playful characters sprayed in a multitude of great colours. Loch Ness also sprayed another piece at the school during the festival, but I don’t have a picture of the completed work, which was still behind scaffolding when I caught up with him for a chat. His work brightens up the dullness around us.

566. Upfest 2016 (77)

This rather nice large, clean piece by 45RPM, one of Bristol’s finest street artists, captures the theme of the festival ‘Mr Men’ (and little Miss) with a new addition of Mr Paint? I’m not sure what he is called, but it is a witty piece painted in the spirit of the event.

45 RPM, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
45 RPM, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The wall though is a complete bugger to photograph. It would seem that the parking bay in front of it is reserved 24/7 for white van man (although in this case a Range Rover)! I can’t count how many times I have been to north street to photograph this piece, and there it is…some bloody van. So I will calm down, and you will just have to put up with van pollution in my pictures. To help me retain my poise, I offer two other pieces by 45RPM – an owl, and an anteater…ahhhh that’s better.