I think I have said it before, but one of the great pleasures of Upfest is to see the work of artists from all over the world and from all kinds of disciplines descend on our little patch of South Bristol. One such artist, ‘Climber’ or Lee Nowell-Wilson from Baltimore left us with this beautiful portrait of a young child.
Climber, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Climber graduated with a Batchelors in painting in 2011. According to her Upfest bio, she now works at bringing those traditional skills to the streets. With creating relationships as the main objective, she strives after levels of vulnerability within her work to encounter people in their everyday. She certainly achieves her objective with this piece.
This incredibly productive spot threw up some wonderful pieces recently and this magnificent portrait by Georgie was just one of them. Those that follow these posts might recall a piece by Georgie I posted here back in November 2016.
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2017
This is a really classy piece and instantly recognisable as Michael Cain. How she managed to produce this fine work in the dim light of The Bearpit subway is a real feat. Hats off to Georgie for this great addition to these walls. Her craft is amplified by the detailing of the background that helps the portrait stand out. I love this piece.
This piece is a really interesting collaboration between Ulysses Nevmer and Alexandr Hade both from Minsk in Belarus. Searching the Interweb to try and find out more about them, it would appear that they have worked together before.
Ulysses Nevmer and Alexandr Hade, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The piece features two female portraits, looking towards one another. It is difficult to know if they are the same person or different people, but there is clearly a story going on. There is a confidence about Nevmer’s figure and on the left and Hade’s figure to the right is seeming to look on, longingly with some uncertainty.
Ulysses Nevmer, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Ulysses Nevmer tends to paint people, so she says in the Upfest programme biography, “because they are beautiful , also not only outside!” You can see more of her work on her Facebook page.
Alexandr Hade, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Aleksandr Hade has an interesting statement in his biography and it relates to the story in his pieces mentioned above:
“The front layer of Aleksandr’s works may seem pretty obvious and straightforward at first sight, though almost always it has its hidden meaning or a story to tell. The whole essence of his art concludes in prompting the audience to speculate on the real storyline and the idea beneath the seem-to-be-evident form. Aleksandr mostly touches on the themes of diverging time, people’s attitude to nature and mythology.”
Ok, I’ll admit it, I am having a bit of a thing about Laic217’s work at the moment, and it won’t stop here. We see him once again experimenting with a figure distorted behind broken glass. There is a story here, the heart shape in the hole in the glass betrays that much. Laic’s faces and figures inhabit that territory between realism and cartoon, very much the province of street artists, where walls and boards provide the canvass.
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2017
This is a haunting piece, and lacks the humour and lightheartedness of many of his pieces, but it is intriguing and different and sets itself apart. Not to everyone’s taste I am sure, but I so much enjoy finding his works.
Laic217, M32 cycle path, Bristol, January 2017
No prizes for spotting the rather nice 3Dom eye character adjacent to this piece.
In late January I had a meeting in Exeter for which I had arrived a little early. I decided to head for the High Street to see if I could grab a bite to eat. What a great decision that was. I am not familiar with Exeter, especially the central shopping area, so the last thing I was expecting to find was this very impressive piece etched into a wall by the Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto, who works under the name Vhils.
Vhils , High Street, Exeter, January 2016
Exeter is not a city known for its street art culture, and this piece is a grand statement in the main shopping area, rather isolated and alone, but very, very impressive. I have seen work by Vhils on the Interweb many times, but seeing it up close like this was a genuine treat.
Vhils , High Street, Exeter, January 2016
His unique approach to creative street art, is to etch or scratch away the rendered surface of a wall back to the brickwork to create his large portraits. The overall effect is to carve something with a bit of depth and texture, albeit in binary colour schemes.
Vhils , High Street, Exeter, January 2016
I must say that I was really surprised to find something like this in Exeter and praise the authorities who commissioned the work. I am sure it is a constant talking point for residents and visitors alike. Happy days.
I absolutely love this beautiful work by N4T4, and was lucky enough to visit it several times during its creation at Upfest 2016. It is an outstanding piece by an artist who left his mark so memorably at the previous year’s event.
N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
It is always a privilege to see a street artist at work, at least that’s how I feel, and of course, when so many are in one place over two days that privilege is filled to the brim, and some. The eyes in the picture above show the evolution of the work…drafted out on the left and near complete on the right.
N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The finished work has something about it that I really like. It might be as simple as it is really beautiful and easy to look at, it might be the style, with so much going on within the piece itself, I’m not sure, but I know I love it.
N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I haven’t seen any of N4T4s work other than the two pieces at Upfest, so it would be great to see him return next year to lighten up the place.
Occasionally, when looking for street art on my wanderings, I am confronted by a piece that is unsigned and looks nothing like anything I have seen before. This is one of those. It is an unusual and rather compelling portrait beautifully sprayed, but it is tucked away on a small hoarding and largely out of view, except to those who seek out these places.
Unknown artist, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
I wonder if it is an artist having a bit of a practice at the street scene, or maybe a visitor to Bristol who is uncertain of the rules governing walls. Either way it is a refreshing piece, and I am content to not know who painted it. Maybe I’ll find out in the fullness of time.
Unknown artist, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
You have to hand it to Feoflip, the wall space he covered during his trip over to Bristol for Upfest 2016 was extraordinary. I am not too sure how long he spent in the city, but he must have spent much of it spraying.
Feoflip, Welsh Back, Bristol, October 2016This is just another example of his fantastic work. Subtle gentle colours, picassoesque portraiture, perfect location and framing. Feoflip is a master, and I sincerely hope he visits us again soon.
Feoflip, Welsh Back, Bristol, October 2016I like the way he has incorporated the window panels into his design, and that the shirt has a quilt-like property, each panel with a different design, but the whole thing working together. I can’t get enough of this visitor’s talents.
It would appear that the wonderful Hannah Adamaszek recently paid a visit to Bristol and left us with this beautiful portrait on North Street. The colours and earthy tones are typical of her amazing work, and the face is calmness itself.
Hannah Adamaszek, North Street, Bristol, November 2016All of Hannah’s work has this peaceful quality…perhaps if there was more of her work out there the world would be a more peaceful place. I know it sounds cheesy, but that’s how I feel about a lot of street art.
Hannah Adamaszek, North Street, Bristol, November 2016Come back soon Hannah, you are always welcome.
I have said on a number of occasions that one of the great privileges of Upfest is that we get to see so many artists from all over the country and beyond. This amazingly moving stencil is by Mister Feeney who is a spray paint artist and maker of stupid videos, so his Facebook profile says.
Mister Feeney, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something haunting about this stencil, or familiar, I’m not sure which. It reminds me of the famous National Geographic cover of the woman with the headscarf and amazing eyes.
Mister Feeney has been a stencil art prize finalist for the last three years and it is easy to see why. His Facebook stream is well worth a visit, and you get to see first hand just how accomplished he is. This is a fabulous piece.
Natural adventures 