Tag: Roo

3967. Upfest 2021 75×75 (67)

What a genuine pleasure it was to meet Roo for the first time while she was painting this magnificent shopfront piece for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days event. It would seem that her allocated spot, a pet shop on East Street, was the perfect match for her animal inspired work.

Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

Roo was able to show off her skills over the entire outside space of the pet shop, which is not inconsiderable, and so we, the viewers, are getting four animal pieces for the price of one, starting with this superb mouse/rat tucking into a fairy cake.

Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

On the largest panel of the shop, Roo has painted this sleeping dog which is dreaming about ‘Rrupfest’. In this piece you can see that the clean lines and solid fills are expertly finished and the light brown shading (in cartoon style) gives an additional 3D feel.

Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

On the next panel of the shop is a goldfish in a bowl taking a selfie as if it were a holidaymaker on a beach. The piece is full of wit and charm and rather unfortunately obscured by a wheely bin, the scourge of street photography.

Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
Roo, East Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

The final bit of wall to be painted by Roo is a fat cat enjoying some popcorn and taking in a 3D movie with its cardboard lenses.  The whole wall is a triumph for Roo whose work is a perfect fit for this kind of spot. It is great to see that since she painted this, Roo has visited Bristol again and left us a gorgeous lion, to follow soon.

2878. Upfest 2016 (173)

Like many of these archive posts from Upfests passim, it is hard to understand why I haven’t posted this one from SkyHigh and Roo before. I can only think that it is because I never got a clean shot of the finished collaboration.

SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

These two London-based artists collaborate often, and where you find a SkyHigh piece, there is usually a Roo piece nearby. I took these pictures just as Roo (who previously I have assigned a male gender – dammit) was putting the finishing touches to her work. I suspect the lower right hand quadrant is not quite finished in these pictures.

SkyHigh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
SkyHigh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

The SkyHigh half of the collaboration spells out SKY in his characteristic variety of block letters, each different from the next, and the colours used here are incredibly bright and cheerful. This is first class graffiti writing.

Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

Roo has painted what I think is a dog, but looks a lot like a moose without antlers to me. The mischievous character has been spraying the letters Roo in magenta paint on the wall behind – a nice idea executed really well. This is a fine collaboration and I can only apologise for not sharing it before. (lots more apologies to come as I continue to scour the archives).

2361. Leake Street tunnel, London (8)

I have seen one or two pieces by Roo in Bristol, and might even have seen some in London before, but this one is one of the most memorable so far. It features a rather self-satisfied rat sitting on a pot of paint, with a brush in hand, and I think we have to assume he painted the ROO in the background.

Roo, Leake Street, London, July 2019
Roo, Leake Street, London, July 2019

I am wondering if this piece was painted for the #Do1Cancer campaign, as many other pieces down there were hashtagged with the campaign. To me it looks like Roo has been very clever and turned the pot of Dulux paint into a ‘DU1’, if this is the case then I doff my cap, if not then I have seen something that was not intended. Either way this is a delightful piece from the London-based artist.

1894. Dean Lane skate park (178)

I have not been able to get out and about much recently so I think I might have missed quite a lot of street art that has since been overwritten. I was lucky enough to have found this little lion playing the high hats by Roo.

Roo, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018
Roo, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2018

Roo, I think, is a London-based artist who I know often paints with SkyHigh. When I see this, I wonder whether I might have missed something from SkyHigh or whether Roo just happened to be travelling in Bristol solo. Whatever, this is a rather tidy souvenir from his visit.

1411. M32 Spot (18)

I know very little about the artist who created this fun character down at the M32 Spot. I know he is called Roo, and he comes from London. I think he is probably mates with SkyHigh (also from London) because this piece is adjacent to the one by SkyHigh I posted recently and on Google image searches their work often appears together.

Roo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018
Roo, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018

I actually really like this piece. It is very clean and fresh and there is a fun story going on. I like the addition of sort of bricks in the background, which brings the whole piece to life. It reminds me of a Hanna Barbera type cartoon. High praise. I would like to see more from Roo in Bristol.