Tag: Mural

3855. Upfest 2021 75×75 (34)

Compared to some of the flamboyant pieces painted at this year’s Upfest 75 walls in 75 days event, this one from Caryn Koh is delicately understated, and the wall set back from the main drag of North Street. The low-key nature of the mural should not, however, detract from its quality and the story it tells.

Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Dr Caryn Koh, to give her full title, has painted this mural of two of her cousins and the story of the artwork in her own words is as follows:

The mural situated at Exeter Road, Bristol, is about the relationship between siblings; how we unknowingly grow apart and have our separate paths on life’s journey but there is that unbreakable bond that binds us together.

The piece is an absolute beauty and comes across more as a fine art piece than a street mural. Really impressive.

Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Caryn Koh, Exeter Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Caryn Koh is from Malaysia, although I don’t know whether she came over to Bristol specially for Upfest or whether she is in the UK in any case. Either way, it is fabulous to see her work on this scale in our city. Another outstanding piece from Upfest 2021.

3848. Upfest 2021 75×75 (31)

Beaver Electrical Ltd is a lucky business. Not only do they have their shop in Bedminster, but they also happen to have an end-of-row wall that has had an enormous SPZero76 mural on it for the last couple of years, and now, thanks to Upfest 75×75 they have a brand new mural from the same artist.

SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

This new piece is an absolute beast and contains so many of the components that we would expect to see from an SPzero76 piece. Set in a stunning rural landscape, two lady bikers have stopped for a chat while in the background a robot advances. There is an element of a dystopian future about the piece, albeit not as horrific as some portrayals.

SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The attention to detail in this cartoonesque scene is astonishing, from the blades of grass through to the intricate engine parts of the motorcycles, let alone the two stunning figures. There are some nice touches too with his name displayed on the fuel tanks.

SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

Of course, no piece on this wall is complete without some frolicking beavers and SPZero76 has duly delivered down in the bottom right hand corner. The whole mural is a thing of incredible beauty and shows off the artist’s considerable talent. Brilliant. The picture below is his previous outstanding mural on this wall.

SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, December 2018
SPZero76, Greville Street, Bristol, December 2018

3847. Easton Business Centre (2)

This gorgeous new mural from Alex Lucas wasn’t the easiest to find, but with a little perseverance I got there in the end, and my search was well rewarded. Tucked away to the side of the building, by the bike racks, this piece, which is a little difficult to photograph, presents a little scene in which a couple of dogs are out on a delivery bicycle laden with cups of coffee.

Alex Lucas, Easton Business Cnetre, Bristol, July 2021
Alex Lucas, Easton Business Centre, Bristol, July 2021

The concept is imaginative, and as always the execution by Alex Lucas is perfect. There is so much character in the dogs and the scene is a whole lot of fun with its ‘Ulti-mutt coffee’ label. The piece joins another by Alex Lucas on another wall of the Easton Business Centre.

Alex Lucas, Easton Business Cnetre, Bristol, July 2021
Alex Lucas, Easton Business Centre, Bristol, July 2021

what I love about Alex Lucas’ work is that when you take a close up look Lou can see all the detail in the piece, and here, hidden in amongst all the coffee cups is a third little dog enjoying the ride. A lovely new mural to add to the growing portfolio.

3846. Upfest 2021 75×75 (30)

Upfest is the gift that just keeps on giving, and I cannot remember a time when so many high-quality pieces have been painted over such a sustained period. Given all the problems that the pandemic has thrown at us, I think the Upfest team have done an astonishingly brilliant job this year.

Snub 23, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Snub 23, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

This superb piece by Snub 23 looks as if it has been lifted straight out of a comic book, it is quite remarkable. The artist has used the dimensions of the wall perfectly and has created a really interesting perspective with the curvature of the tunnel behind the main character.

Snub 23, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Snub 23, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

The bright colours used for the hero of the piece contrast nicely with the grey scene and there is a sense of purpose about his stride. The whole thing reminds me of Dan Dare from the Eagle Annuals I used to read as a kid (they weren’t mine, they had belonged to my uncles when they were young). Amazing piece.

3818. Upfest 2021 75×75 (19)

This enormous mural was one of the first to be completed for the Upfest 75×75 event and is by Emotional Waterfall Art. The piece is a colourful abstract explosion of shapes on a white background – a confetti mural, which is an absolute bugger to photograph and can’t have been all that easy to paint.

Emotional Waterfall Art, Smyth Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Emotional Waterfall Art, Smyth Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

Emotional Waterfall Art is a Bristol-based outfit run an artist who plays hard to get on her website and doesn’t disclose her name, simply that she is the creator of Emotional Waterfall Art. I’m not sure how many murals she has painted before, and I am not familiar with her work, but this is a very impressive introduction.

3814. Muriel Alleyway (5)

Hurrah! For Yoliws ( Yoli Ward-Streeter) a Bristol artist and member of the fabulous Bristol Womxn Mural Collective, hurrah! I say again for this delightful mural in one of Bristol’s less visited street art spots. This mural is bright and full of joy.

Yoliws, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, July 2021
Yoliws, Muriel Alleyway, Bristol, July 2021

I managed to take these pictures on a bright day and without the trees casting a shadow, which is something of a feat in this particular spot. The character has been painted with Yoliws’ characteristic wobbly lines and the orange body filled with beautiful stars and squiggles. The piece has loads of movement to it and an underlying happiness, which is so great to see. A truly uplifting mural.

3804. Gloucester Road

The wet fish shop on Gloucester Road is a bit of a landmark, and certainly you always know when you are walking past it. At weekends and in the evenings you might get lucky and see the shop when the shutters are down and enjoy this fishy mural from Nina Raines.

Nina Raines, Gloucester Road, Bristol, June 2021
Nina Raines, Gloucester Road, Bristol, June 2021

Although the piece has been here for some time, I only recently walked past it at the right time with a camera handy. As a marine biologist (by training and in my heart) I love seeing marine themed street art and these lobsters, crab and mackerel are just the ticket. Something of a contrast with Nina’s wonderful collaboration piece on the dental practice in Bedminster, showing off her versatility.

3800. Upfest 2021 75×75 (14)

What a terrific way to mark my 3,800th street art post with this magnificent mural tucked away just off North Street in a miniature park called Ebenezer gate pocket park, by Hampshire artist Sian Storey.

Sian Storey, Ebeneezer Pocket Park, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Sian Storey, Ebeneezer Pocket Park, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The park is so small that it is quite quite difficult to get a full shot of the wall, so it is best visited in the flesh where you can soak up all the beauty and detail from the comfort of a bench. The watercolour effect of the piece brings a light and delicate touch to the wall, and the composition of two hummingbirds surrounded by flowers over a central patterned circle is delightful.

Sian Storey, Ebeneezer Pocket Park, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Sian Storey, Ebeneezer Pocket Park, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

This is a skilfully painted piece that typifies the high standard of murals at this year’s Upfest event, and although things haven’t quite turned out as expected this year, the 75 walls in 75 days initiative has really captured the imagination and will leave a legacy of stunning artwork for both Bristol citizens and visitors alike.

3795. Upfest 2021 75×75 (12)

This little gateway at the back of The Malago was until recently home to a lovely mural by Alex Lucas featuring two white rabbits hares on the phone. Now it has been re-painted as one of Upfest’s 75 new walls in 75 days by Natasha Kirby.

Natasha Kirby, Greville Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Natasha Kirby, Greville Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The new mural is very beautiful indeed, bursting with colourful flowers on a deep blue background and creating a little bit of summertime in this otherwise sunless summer. Natasha is a self-confessed flower obsessive and flowers are at the heart of her design and print work which can be seen on her website. You can see that the mural has a very strong design element and has such balance making it very easy on the eye. This spot is a devil to photograph, because there is nearly always a car parked in front of it. 

This is another Upfest classic.

Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

3791. Upfest 2021 75×75 (11)

We, the citizens of Bristol, have been spoilt by Steve, Emma and the whole Upfest team. In the most trying of circumstances they have pulled off a most remarkable event, or show, lasting 75 days and the painting of 75 walls. As if that wasn’t enough, the legacy of this monumental effort will bring joy to the hearts of many for months and years to come.

Hixxy, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
Hixxy, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

This wonderful facade mural is by Hixxy, an artist I have not come across before. As far as I can make out, she is based in London and Liverpool and she describes her work as ‘pop botanical murals’ which looking at this piece makes total sense. This modernist painting features pear blossom and a face that Hixxy dug out from a 1950s archive. It is amazing how much information you can get from Instagram!

The whole piece works really well over the shop front of Kask wine, and Hixxy has very cleverly incorporated the windows into the darker parts of the design so that you hardly notice them. A fine Upfest piece.