Tag: Portrait

1031. Upfest 2017 (59)

Another set of three paste ups from the prolific Jimzina at Upfest this year. The first was the largest I saw and was A2 size roughly. The girl in glasses, clutching a ring doughnut can still be found on North Street just by the hoardings near the Standard.

Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

All of Jimzina’s pieces carried the same theme, a young lady presented on the front of a menu or drinks list – very distinctive. The next one looks rather different to most of them, in that the girl doesn’t have black hair, instead she is wearing a pink flower to go with her pink lips.

Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The final one of these three looks a bit like what I would call ‘saucy-sophisticated’. Is that too much of a label seen through the lens of a middle-aged man?

More from this wheatpaster to come.

 

Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

1021. Upfest 2017 (54)

One of the most distinctive collaborations of Upfest 2017 was this piece by Tymon Ferenc de Laat (who really needs a shorter tag) and Nuno Viegas. The piece was sprayed in the garden of The Spotted Cow pub and has subsequently been sold.

Tymon Ferenc de Laat and Nuno Viegas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Tymon Ferenc de Laat and Nuno Viegas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

It has a high-quality finish to it and works really well as a collaboration with the particular style of each artist – the portrait by Tymon and the paper dart by Nuno – retained in the piece.

Tymon Ferenc de Laat and Nuno Viegas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Tymon Ferenc de Laat and Nuno Viegas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I particularly like the amazing attention to detail in the paper dart, with the shadows cast, and the bright line along the leading edge of the wing as if it were catching the light. Very clever and skilful work.

Tymon Ferenc de Laat and Nuno Viegas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Tymon Ferenc de Laat and Nuno Viegas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I’m not sure how often these artists collaborate, but for Upfest it worked a real treat.

998. Upfest 2017 (44)

One of the most striking and rather psychadelic pieces of this year’s Upfest was this portrait incorporating a glitched abstract background in the form of 3D colouring. The work is from the Brisish artist (Dan) Newso.

Newso, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Newso, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This is quite a difficult and busy piece to look at. Do you look at the face and get distracted (I do), or look at the abstract surround and get pulled into the face? Either way it is amost impossible to look at the whole. A very clever piece.

Newso, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Newso, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

On his website, Newso has published a biography, which reads:

‘Throughout 2016 Dan Newso developed his work combining figurative with abstract content in a glitch or implied collage style. This work is often painted on compressed cement board to give the feeling of a painting on a concrete wall.

Since 2008 he has been well known in Birmingham’s post-industrial creative quarter Digbeth, painting murals in public spaces. This work has largely been self funded and has been a process of getting to know the community to open up spaces to paint.

He paints commissioned artwork and murals in varied styles to suit clients needs; he has painted internationally with the latest project of 2016 being a residency in Perth, Western Australia.’

Newso, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Newso, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I like this piece, even though it confuses my ageing eyes. I hope he makes it back to Upfest next year.

 

 

979. Stokes Croft, the Carriageworks (28)

I hope that by posting this piece I will learn more about it from others who may know about it. I don’t recognise the artist, whose name appears to be ISRA, and no amount of Interweb searches have yeilded anything. What I can say is that this is a stunning piece with an extraordinary colour palette, modest and low key.

ISRA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2017
ISRA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2017

The protrait is quite incredible, and is complemented beautifully by the abstract colour pattern to its right. This is a rare piece from an unknown artist, but a work of real quality.

ISRA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2017
ISRA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2017

These arches at the Carriageworks are on borrowed time, as the building is due to be renovated and turned into flats that nobody from these parts will be able to afford, but wealthy landlords will snap up to make a tidy profit on. Perpetuating the housing crisis and buy-to-let economy which prices the poor out of affordable accomodation. Rant over.

ISRA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2017
ISRA, Stokes Croft, Bristol, August 2017

I am determined to enjoy these fine pieces on these arches for as long as I am able. Gentrification happens everywhere and it is not all bad.

928. Upfest 2017 (6)

This year, because of the showery conditions at Upfest, it paid to get work started early. Copyright had completed this wonderful shutter piece on North Street before the festival officially started on Saturday and was spared the difficulty of working in the rain (on this piece at least).

Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The piece really stands out in what is a rather drab shop front, and the pink strip lifts the portrait out and smacks you in the face (figuratively speaking of course).

Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Copyright, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Upfest is one of the only times that you can get to see a majority of the shutter pieces on North Street, especially on the Sunday, because most of the non-food retailers shut for the weekend. I really like this one from Copyright – it would make a great album cover.

920. Upfest 2017 (2)

At the very farthest end of East Street above the Barclays Bank is the first piece of Upfest 2017 that will be seen by visitors approaching from that direction. It is a stunning portrait by two of Bristol’s best street artists 3Dom and Voyder.

3Dom and Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
3Dom and Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

They have collaborated before to spray a similar piece a few years back and this is easily its equal. It is a busy piece full of meanings – there is the contextualising of Bristol with the Clifton suspension bridge and hot air balloons – and the headdress is full of hidden and overt meaning, including a third eye.

3Dom and Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
3Dom and Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The face, by Voyder is absolutely captivating. The whole bold piece is a fabulous taster for those arriving in Bedminster to discover some sensational street/graffiti art.

840. Upfest 2016 (133)

At Upfest 2016 there was one site where there were about thirty or so of these smaller (metre square) boards. I rather like seeing some of this smaller street art, which tends to have a bit of a crossover with fine art, perhaps exemplified by this portrait by Lauren Maria Hill.

Lauren Maria Hill, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Lauren Maria Hill, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This young Bristol artist appears to focus on portrait work and seeks out commissions and freelance work on her website. Her images, including this one seem to concentrate on the face itself with great detail, leaving the surrounding hair as a complementary feature, but somehow separate from the face. I like her work, and hope to see more of it around Bristol.

838. Upfest 2016 (131)

This is a stunning piece by Naskool that was situated on hoardings just off North Street, next to the Green. Naskool is an Austrian artist who started spraying in 2004 and now specialises in photorealistic street art.

Naskool, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Naskool, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I managed to take pictures while he was still creating this piece, and it is interesting to see how he built the layers. It seems different artists adopt different techniques.

Naskool, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Naskool, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This is one of the great works of the 2016 festival in my view – the expression and character that oozes from this piece is quite captivating. Alas, it didn’t last very long, as these hoardings were fairly swiftly ‘corporatised’ by the construction firm who are developing the site.

799. Upfest 2016 (130)

Recently, I have posted quite a few pieces from the magnificent Georgie (artist), including a wonderful Michael Caine portrait in The Bearpit. However, when I took these pictures back in July 2016, I don’t think I really knew too much about her.

Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This is a fabulous stencil, impactful and eye-grabbing. The contrast of the grayscale stencil and the bright and colourful background work really effectively for the subject matter of the piece. I am too lazy to find out what it is called, but it seems many of her works have an obvious name. I like this very much.

798. Upfest 2016 (129)

I met Annika Wilkinson, who paints under the name of Annika Pixie, for the first time a couple of weeks ago at a local festival in Bedminster. She is a lovely, chatty and talented artist who is from Sweden (although I have to confess I thought her accent Scottish) but is now based in Bristol.

Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

She tends to paint portraits that have a mysticism or dreaminess about them, which I rather like. I have found several of her pieces around Bristol, so it was lovely to finally meet her. Great news is that she will be back at this year’s festival,. which is easy for her, as she lives very locally.