Annika Pixie has a lightness of touch that brings a spot of magic to her pieces. She is a fine artist and lovely warm person. For half the year she spends her time teaching in Thailand, and her Instagram feed is a constant stream of beaches and sunsets.
This piece for Upfest must have been completed early on the Saturday, because I never got to see her at work, which was a real pity – maybe this year.
There was so much great street art at Upfest 2017, it has been difficult to try and post ass much as I possibly can. This is a lovely piece by Hide2 which was at the Ashton Gate site, and in common with my other posts from there, the piece is not quite complete in these photographs.
On his visit for the festival, he left a nice ‘gift’ in Wilder Street which I wrote about back in August – it seems strange to now only be posting his official Upfest piece.
His work here is absolutely brilliant, both the portrait and writing are sensational.
Without question, watching Arladiss painting this piece was my most joyful experience at Upfest 2017. This was the second piece she worked on in South Street Park during the festival, and I was lucky enough to see her adding the final touches.
The charming portrait of a child appeared to be finished, but Arladiss had other plans. The youthful joy she brings to her paintings of children is complemented with a bit of child-like fun to bring about the final touches.
Arladis held a paintbrush loaded with paint and proceeded to splatter the piece with great gusto. Just watching her do this was an experience. She was so obviously enjoying applying this final touch and was beaming while she did it.
Her sense of fun rubbed off on the few spectators who gathered to see what she was up to and, for a moment we all reverted to a childish state. Her sense of fun is so infectious. I love the piece, and her other Upfest piece, and am thrilled to know that she will be returning for Upfest 2018.
Following directly on from my post of Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, here is another all female collaboration from last year’s Upfest between Kler and So Free So. Once more I feel lucky to see the work of two more artists relatively unknown to me.
This collaboration works so well with two very different styles using similar colours to create two distinct female portraits. The portrait on the left is by Kler, from Barcelona, where she sprays on the legal walls. A former designer, she now travels widely for street art festivals. Her piece here at Upfest is a triumph.
So Free So is a Swiss graphic designer who also does a lot of street work. She tries to convey emotions in her pieces, and the shadowy eyes and mouth in this work are part of this inner exposure. She has collaborated with Kler on several occasions, and on researching her for this post, it turns out I have seen their work before at Upfest. So Free So’s website is really well worth a look.
It was impossible to ignore this extraordinary face by Rast ot Upfest 2017. Situated on the long hoardings at Ashton Gate, the bright colours and striking face drew you in.
Originally from Spain, Rast has been living in Bristol in 2014. I must say that I have not come across his work before, but surely would lioke to see more of it in the various locations around Bristol that I vsist.
This unusual and rather haunting portrait, on the hoardings in Raleigh Road, is by the amazing Wasp Elder.
Rather than try to write something clever about his style, that I am not over-familiar with, I thought I’d quote his biography straight from the Upfest programme, because it so perfectly describes what is going on in this picture.
‘Wasp Elder paints pictures populated by enigmatic souls and unstressed backgrounds, enticing a sentiment of an obscure journey.
His drawings, paintings and films present an evocative combination of solitary figures, collaged scenes, close-ups, obscured features, and potential catastrophe.’
It is a fine piece and was in stark contrast to the rather more lighthearted pieces on the rest of this hoarding, lending weight to the wonderful diversity of street art. I like this a lot.
The very first post I wrote from Upfest 2017 was this piece by Apset and Ionas, a couple of Greek artists who had arrived in Bristol but had not been allocated a wall. The sprayed a wall in Dean Lane skate park, but then got very lucky and managed to find a hoarding in South Street Park where they produced this fine piece.
Both of their Upfest works incorporated an animal paired with a portrait. I think that the animals are by Ionas and portraits by Apset. Both works are great collaborations and something a bit different.
I hope that they are coming back this year, and that if they do, that they get allocated a spot, without having to agonise too much. A much needed little ray of Thessaloniki sunshine at a damp Bristol Upfest.
Really, this is one of my favourite pieces from the whole of Upfest 2017, not only because of the quality of work, but because of the cheerful resilience of the artists in persevering with their work in spite if the inclement weather.
A fine collaboration between N4T4 and Philth which really brightened up the walk between North Street and Ashton Gate.
These two artists have painted together at the last three Upfests, and although not a true collaboration, their pieces complement each other perfectly.
I walked past these two a few times, and took my favourite picture of the festival (above) of them cheerfully painting in the rain. Such dedication.
The N4T4 piece on the left is a wonderful example of his portrait style, incorporating colours and shapes which combine to make the whole. A blast of exquisite colour and a stunning face.
Contrast this then with the grey scale portrait by Philth on the right. He is as well known for his floral designs as he is for his portraits and this piece is overflowing with flowers that lift the piece to another level.
i absolutely love this wall. Beautiful.
Once again I have been doing a little bit of cleaning up of my archives, and I came across this rather unusual Kid Crayon piece from Kid Crayon last July. I am finding that Bristol art from July is often under-represented in my posts, because they get hijacked by Upfest and will remain unshared and unloved in my July folder.
This piece reminds me very much of the wheatpastes he used to do and which I used to take great pleasure in hunting down when I first became interested in all this malarkey. A classic Kid Crayon work.
The turnover of work in St Werburghs tunnel is quite eye-watering. I don’t visit very often, but every time I go, pretty much everything is new. I went down there deliberately this time to find this piece by Hazard.
It is hard not to be utterly captivated by her work (hers is on the right) which usually features a female portrait, either face on or profile, with beautifully ornate hair and head decorations.
I am not too sure who the piece on the left is by, but the contrast in styles is really interesting and in fact both work quite well together. I’m not sure that this was a collaboration, but I might be wrong. A fine piece.
There is a comment below from Tasha Bee who painted the lady on the left, she says it was a collaboration, and seeing the joint signature now, it all seems obvious.
Natural adventures 