Tag: Portrait

1732. Upfest 2018 (43)

The quality of Stencil work at this year’s Upfest was once again really high, and this beautiful piece from Neverender Design is just one of many examples of this. The portrait is a six layer stencil piece which looks rather tribal to me and is full of atmosphere and mystery and well as being technically excellent.

Neverender Design, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Neverender Design, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Neverender Design is a huge inspiration to any wannabe artists because he was inspired to start his own work at Upfest 2013 and he decided he would like to return to the festival as an artist rather than as a spectator. Well, here he is, and in my view he has absolutely smashed it. There’s hope for me yet.

1715. Upfest 2018 (40)

This is an outstanding large mural by Sicilian duo Rosk and Loste and one of the finest of the larger pieces at this year’s festival. Unfortunately I am unable to tell you anything more about the artists, because I can’t find anything about them on the Interweb.

Rosk and Lost, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Rosk and Loste, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This massive wall is slightly set apart from the main concentration of Upfest artwork, and probably receives fewer visitors during the festival weekend which is highly unfortunate, because this piece is really impressive.

Rosk and Lost, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Rosk and Loste, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I didn’t actually get to see it until a few weeks after Upfest, because it is in a part of town I rarely visit and I had to wait until I was passing by to get these pictures. The photorealistic style is so impressive as is the scale. Worth the journey.

1708. Upfest 2018 (33)

This is a magnificent new wall for Upfest 2018, just off East Street and pretty much perfect for large ‘permanent’ pieces by some well known artists. First up is this magnificent portrait by Koeone.

Koeone, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Koeone, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I am not sure I have come across the artist before, which is a bit of a surprise because he lives and works in North Devon, not a million miles from Bristol. This is typical of his work which features greyscale photorealistic portraits of women with pink and blue lettering and icons on the top of the head.

Koeone, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Koeone, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

The final product is really classy and all the better coming from a self-taught artist. Koeone shares this wall with Nol, Hull Graffiti, and Voyder amongst others. Real high quality stuff. Definitely worth a visit.

Koeone, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Koeone, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Nice drips!

 

 

 

1690. Upfest 2018 (30)

A stalwart of Upfest and the Bristol street art scene is the wonderful Georgie (Artist). This year’s piece is a stunning portrait of a child, and something rather different from her smiley face stencil work of last year.

Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Georgie has an incredible range of styles and techniques that she uses to decorate the city and is a most gifted artist who not only executes her pieces well, but also has a wonderfully creative mind. Her pieces rarely disappoint.

Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

It is a funny thing, but I missed a lot of artists this year. I think it might be because the weather was so ‘stop and start’ that artists tried to get as much done when the sun was out, and then ran for cover or went home when the rain came. Or…maybe they just saw me coming!

1663. Upfest 2018 (14)

I think this is the one, my favourite piece of Upfest 2018. The reason this works so well for me is that I have long admired this wall for all its textures and character and have photographed it before when it had no graffiti at all (I have searched through my pictures, but can’t find the ones I have taken here in the past, which is really annoying).

Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Kowse, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

The artist, Kowse One, is not even mentioned in the Upfest programme, and this certainly isn’t an official wall, but he did work on a fabulous collaboration with Braga Last One ( to come). I think he comes from Marseille, but beyond that I know little of him.

The piece itself is perfect in every way. The use of the rendered part of the wall and its juxtaposition with the bare brickwork, the colours used contrasting so well with the surrounding, the accomplished portrait work and the lettering on the face reflecting some of the tags nearby make this an enchanting and exciting piece. There is some real edge and brilliant improvisation. I love it, I love it.

1625. M32 Spot (24)

This is not the first piece I have seen by this artist, who I assume is Zake, not Cake or Eake, but it is the first I am posting about them…watch this space for more soon. I know nothing of the artist although I have tried to find out on the Interweb, so will have to confine my writing to what I see, rather than what I know.

Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018
Zake, M32 Spot, Bristol, July 2018

A cartoonish portrait or character, with so much charm and personality. It is a piece that is wonderfully crafted and in a particular style with a lot of focus around the eyes. The touches in purple to give a shadow are perfect, and I love a piece that has a discrete shadow underneath (something that Sepr does a lot). I love and rate this small column piece by Zake.

1623. St Werburghs tunnel (33)

I think I am in love with Tasha Bee’s work…there I’ve said it. I don’t know what it is about her style that presses all of my buttons, but there is something. Maybe it is the slightly 60s look and feel, maybe it is the colour palettes she uses, maybe it is the simplicity of expressions on her subjects or maybe it is that she does awesome collaborations with Face 1st. It is probably all of these and more.

Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018

This was one of two pieces I recently photographed in St Werburghs tunnel, lucky me, and each of them is equally good. The only dowenside is their location in the tunnel – the lighting is always so tricky. I think I might have got away with it this time…just.

1618. Leonard Lane (17)

Regular readers will know I don’t like to post pieces unless I know the artist, but sometimes it simply isn’t possible. This really unusual piece in Leonard Lane is in a more traditional fine art style, but added to that it incorporates some leaves that have been sprayed with metallic paint which make up the subject’s headdress.

Unknown artist, Leonard Lane, Bristol, January 2018
Unknown artist, Leonard Lane, Bristol, January 2018

When I see pieces like this, I guess that they are by artists wanting to give some outdoor work a go. Leonard Lane is probably the perfect place for this on account of it being a quiet backwater full of graffiti and very few ‘enforcers’. An interesting piece.

1586. Raleigh Road, Tobacco Factory (12)

At the far end of the Tobacco Factory staff car park is this modest and ephemeral piece by Annika Pixie. It was painted during an annual weekend paint jam organised by Stephen Quick.

Annika Pixie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2018
Annika Pixie, Raleigh Road, Bristol, June 2018

This wispish and haunting portrait is very much in the style that is associated with Annika. There are two things I particularly like about thuis piece…the veil-like see through curtain that sits between the subject and the viewer, and the nicely arranged stencils that surround the whole piece.

1558. M32 roundabout J3 (86)

This is an old one by Laic217 from my archives, and I think it demonstrates really well the progress he has made over the last couple of years. This was a format that he used a lot back then, his letters and a character. Somehow it all looks a little more crude than his current work. Always great to see an artist develop.

Laic217, M32 roiundabout, Bristol, October 2016
Laic217, M32 roiundabout, Bristol, October 2016

The lettering is the word LAIC, somewhat broken up, and the character is that of a young woman with her hair tied up. It is a curious looking portrait, but there is something rather compelling about it.

Laic217, M32 roiundabout, Bristol, October 2016
Laic217, M32 roiundabout, Bristol, October 2016

I can’t think why I never published this at the time…maybe Laic217 was going through one of his productive periods and I couldn’t write about them quickly enough. Anyhow, great to post it now.