Tag: Portrait

592. Upfest 2016 (86)

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
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
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
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.

N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
N4T4, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

 

581. Wilder Street (11)

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
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
Unknown artist, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016

579. Welsh Back (1)

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 2016
Feoflip, Welsh Back, Bristol, October 2016
This 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 2016
Feoflip, Welsh Back, Bristol, October 2016
I 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.

524. North Street, Standard (3)

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 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, North Street, Bristol, November 2016
All 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 2016
Hannah Adamaszek, North Street, Bristol, November 2016
Come back soon Hannah, you are always welcome.

512. Upfest 2016 (69)

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 2016
Mister Feeney, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
I 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.

 

483. Upfest 2016 (57)

I have featured Dale Grimshaw a few weeks ago with one of his Shoreditch pieces. Well, we were lucky enough in Bristol to have him pay us a visit for Upfest 2016.

Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

His works are instantly recognisable, usually being portraits of people from around the world, many of whom face political struggles. The faces are usually adorned with face paint, and the works are usually accompanied by a little piece of wildstyle writing.

Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I managed to get a couple of pictures of Dale Grimshaw finishing off the piece on the Saturday, and I returned on the Sunday, and made subsequent visits to capture the finished article.

Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This work simply has to be admired, as do all of his works. Let’s hope for a quick return to Bristol.

Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dale Grimshaw, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

407. Upfest 2016 (40)

One of the most striking pieces at Upfest this year was this incredible portrait by Title. There is something about this work that simply draws you in to take a closer look.

Title, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
Title, Upfest, Bristol, July2016

Title, emerged from the hip hop and graffiti writing culture in Birmingham in the eighties before moving onto canvass work in the ’90s and studying  computer graphics and digital art.

Title, Upfest, Bristol, July2016
Title, Upfest, Bristol, July2016

Thankfully, he has returned to the streets with enthusiasm and appears to be enjoying himself returning to his first passion. It is difficult not to be intrigued by this piece. The face seems to be that of a young man…there was a #Alfie on the image on his website, maybe it was him.

An aside – a great many pictures by street artists seem to feature spray cans – the tools of the trade – note to self…write a special on spray cans.

405. Upfest 2016 (38)

During Upfest 2016 there was agreat deal of activity in Luckwell Road. The hoardings, which the seem to have been there forever, were getting a makeover with a series of portraits, the southern-most of which was this beautiful work by Philth.

Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I was lucky enough to see Philth at work on both the Saturday and the Sunday and to photograph the completed piece on the Monday.

Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Philth, Philip Blake, is a graphic designer and illustrator who favours painting ‘hot chicks’, using spray paints or paste ups. I recall a lovely work by him from last year’s Upfest that I will post about some time. That location now has a beautiful Caro Pepe work in its place.

Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Philth, Luckwell Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I love these two tone works with splashes of colour – Karl Read produced the same effect although with completely different techniques. Really great work.

387. Upfest 2016 (31)

I used to play five-a-side football with someone called Karl Read, but it wasn’t this Karl Read. This one is a stencil artist from the South Coast and created this amazing portrait in one of the key locations for Upfest. Last year, the wall was home to Robers Wass’ beautiful fox.

Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

There is something about the tones and lines that reminds me a lot of Copyright’s work, of which there is quite a lot in the area, and at first I thought it might be one of his, but then I looked closer.

Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Once again, one of the real pleasures of being at the festival was to be able to see the artists at work. In this instance, Karl was working with some really large pieces of card that were not entirely cooperating.

Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The more observant viewer, and one that gets to this final sentence, might spot a reflection of the author of this post (that’s me) in the glass door in the feature image. Vanity publishing!

358. Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London (1)

My wanderings in Shoreditch turned up so many wonderful pieces of street art, but this duo of Mr Cenz and Fanakapan really has to be the pick of the bunch. I am really familiar with both artists, thanks in part to the excellent London Calling blog.

Mr Cenz, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016
Mr Cenz, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016

For a while, I have longed to see some work, first-hand by both of these artists, so this was a real treat for me on a wet monday evening. Mr Cenz is a London street artist who started his graffiti in 1988 and is now a professional graffiti artist with his own company Positive Arts.

Mr Cenz, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016
Mr Cenz, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016

This reasonably recent piece is a freestyle creation of a female portrait distorted with shapes and colour, typical of his current work. Exceptional work and so very pleasing to the eye.

Fanakapan, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016
Fanakapan, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016

Fanakapan is a genius in my view. He creates the most incredible images of shiny surfaces which recently has featured helium balloons of lettering, animals and other shapes. The way he captures these subjects is quite extraordinary and his technique is quite exceptional.

Fanakapan, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016
Fanakapan, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016

In this piece he has even managed to incorporate two wooden features on the wall into his art. I am a huge fan of both these artists, and wish they would do more work in Bristol outside of Upfest. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I was a very happy man after finding these works on the side of 333 Mother, a pub on the end of Hoxton Square.