This piece is the second I have posted from a Halloween session down at the M32 junction3 roundabout by the ASK crew. The first was an unusual piece from Epok and this one is by SledOne.
SledOne has incorporated a pumpkin into his wildstyle name and absolutely nails this piece, as he has a tendency to do. The colour palette matches the other participants in this session, which would appear to have been a lot of fun. My apologies it has taken so long to report.
This is a special wall just off North Street, opposite the Upfest shop. The wall is a bit like the PRSC outdoor gallery, in that it is a place where street artists can show off their great works in the near certainty that it will not get tagged. The wall is respected.
The colours used are reminiscent of those he used to paint the hands and moth, further along North Street last year. There is something about this colour combination that is difficult to photograph, there is quite a lot of reflection, which you don’t get with the naked eye. The point being that the photographs don’t do it justice. It is a beautiful and spiritual piece, like much of his work. All good.
I guess I am about half way through my posts from Upfest 2016, and I don’t think I will have finished posting them until Upfest 2017! I am becoming overwhelmed by the number of pictures I have in my archive and am not sure how best to share them with you. Less of the rambling writing might be a blessing for you and more shorter posts each day…but that could risk graffiti fatigue, and I wouldn’t want you to be bored with increased posts. I have to say though that this is quite a pleasant conundrum, which would be all the better if I didn’t have to work!
It is always really nice when artists who come to Upfest leave additional works dotted around Bristol. These ‘extras’ range from commissions to ‘naughty’ pieces, but as far as I am concerned they are always welcome.
This amazing owl by Angerami will have been missed by most visitors to Upfest, and indeed to North Street, because it is in an alleyway with a huge iron gate in front of it. I didn’t notice it at first, but of course, I am always on the look out for such things.
The owl is beautiful, but I can’t help thinking it was done as a special request, because it really isn’t very accessible for anyone other than the owner of the alleyway. You might recall from an earlier post his incredible fish. I love street artists who paint wildlife and Angerami is right up there with the best.
This was one of the larger pieces from Upfest, and I have just spent 20 minutes looking for some other pictures that I took of it once it was completed, but can I find them…? It is quite an unusual piece by Fin DAC, and I have to say I think it is brilliant.
I particularly like the way the chimney stack has been incorporated into the work (which of course, you can’t see from these crappy pics) – I love it when street artists use the environment they are painting in to enhance the work. Fin DAC is an artist from Ireland but who now resides in London. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like this before, but it has some real overtones of Japanese culture in it, which I don’t think is common to his other work. Maybe that is just me. Really nice piece.
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.
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.
2016 was a highly charged year on the political front, and many artists who came to Upfest presented various viewpoints and commentaries on the major issues of our time. One of the most compelling was this incredible portrait of Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition.
‘When you cut out a man’s TONGUE, you are not proving him a LIAR, you’re telling the world that you FEAR what he might say’
This was a view supported by many on the left of the Labour Party, and is a nice quote. The portrait itself is really stunning, and captures the man extremely well. right down to the beige suit.
Alongside works by Voyder, Deamze and Soker sits this unusual and rather good collaboration by two great graffiti artists – Beastie and Decay. The Decay element is easy to identify, displaying all his concentric shapes and tones although this time in blues, rather than the usual reds, greys, whites and blacks that are his favoured colours.
Had the piece not been signed, it would have taken me a little while to identify Beastie’s contribution on the left. Some will remember his mischievous cat in Stokes Croft that had been tagged, but has now been resurrected. Because I only see occasional works by Beastie, I haven’t properly ‘got my eye in’ with his stuff, and his style is rather more broad than some other artists.
This is an interesting collaboration with a rather solemn message, but i think they have carried it off really well. Such a pity about the black line through the piece, but you have to be quick these days.
I took a stroll in Montpelier a little while ago and visited some streets I have not been to before, and some others that I haven’t been to for a long while. I was very pleased to find this Tom Miller piece on Richmond Road, and although it has been quite heavily tagged, it still conveys loads of movement and emotion in the world of Miller’s ‘imaginite’.
I have really grown to like the work of OHMS as it is markedly different from anything else on the Bristol graffiti art scene. I still haven’t tracked down the artist or crew, but will find something before too long I hope.
The work of OHMS usually appears to have an artistic theme based around the letters OHMS. They range from a ‘jungle‘ theme to a ‘cartoon space‘ theme for exmple. Always the filling of the lettering is ornate and colourful, and often includes artistic motifs. In this work an ancient Egyptian theme runs through it.
As the pictures were taken in a tunnel, they don’t really convey the vibrancy of this piece, but is is very good. Looking forward to loads more from OHMS as 2017 unfolds.
Natural adventures 