Tag: Shutter

1648. Upfest 2018 (10)

I round off the first 10 Upfest 2018 posts with this rather nice little shutter piece by Silk Crystal, which was one of at least two ‘extras’ that accompanied his official Upfest piece. This happens a lot on North Street, and I would think that probably upwards of 40% of shutters there have been enhanced by Upfest artists over the years.

Silk Crystal street art, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Silk Crystal street art, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Silk Crystal is a silk screen and street art company that operates around the North Devon coast and works a lot to commissions. This particular piece chimes for me with its marine theme (a lot of these this year) and certainly improves the shutter – now to get to work on the rest of the shop’s appearance!

1645. Upfest 2018 (7)

I don’t know very much about GretL, other than that she is a French artist and designer who likes to work with bold colours and ideas of camouflage. I saw this shutter piece on the first day of Upfest and could see that it was a new Upfest work, thanks to the label. Often it is difficult to date shutter pieces, because I rarely see them, due to the times I visit places where they might be.

Gretl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Gretl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

This is a simple and rather charming piece entitled ‘humming flower’ and here the artist has conflated the humming bird and the flower, both in the title and in the work. I think she may have done another piece during the festival and will have to look out for it. some nice work.

1428. Stokes Croft

Right next door to the huge Alex Lucas mural in Stokes Croft is this interesting recent shutter piece by Object… . This is a commission piece from TLD cycles and helps us to understand the boundaries between commissions and free street art.

Object..., Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2018
Object…, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2018

Object… is no stranger to this blog, and much of his work is highly political and outspoken. He is also an artist who needs to make money, just like the rest of us, and producing work like this is how he does it. What I really like about this piece is that is is a really nice rendition of a bicycle gear block which carries the strong signature stule of the artist. The shop could easily have commissioned some sterile corporate artwork, but instead chose a local artist. The shopfront as a result really fits in with the area.

1422. Stokes Croft, No111 (2)

Shutter pieces are always difficult to photograph, and I understand they are a devil to paint too. There is always quite a lot of glare from the curves on each panel of the shutter, and they are usually best seen with the naked eye which somehow accommodated for the glare and gives you a better image.

Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2018
Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2018

The chimp here is a beautiful creation by the versatile Kin Dose. He had a piece on this exact same shutter before, but it had recently been vandalised. I am a big fan of his work, and he produces it infrequently enough to always make you want more.

Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016
Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016

1272. Nelson Street (4)

I am including this piece, in spite of the fact that it has been around forever, because I have only rarely seen it, when I am in this part of town and the shutters are down. It is by DNT, who normally reserves his talents for the Stokes Croft area.

DNT, Nelson Street, Bristol, November 2017
DNT, Nelson Street, Bristol, November 2017

The shutter piece is situated on Nelson Street at the oriental supermarket, and has a western-oriental flavour to it. The cherry blossoms, characteristic of the Far East, fringe a portrait of a girl, almost geisha like but with western eyes.

DNT, Nelson Street, Bristol, November 2017
DNT, Nelson Street, Bristol, November 2017

I like this piece, especially as it is quite different from the kind of stuff I’m used to seeing by DNT. Worth waiting for.

1259. Upfest 2017 (123)

I first came across these two artists, Caro Pepe and Age Age at Upfest 2016 when they had adjacent pieces on North Street. Since then (and possibly before, I don’t know) they have collaborated quite a lot at festivals around Europe.

Caro Pepe and Age Age, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Caro Pepe and Age Age, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

It was so good to see them at Upfest 2017 collaborating not only on their ‘official’ wall, but also on this shutter and another wall (yet to be posted). This particular shutter has been home to some amazing artwork previously, and Caro Pepe and Age Age have continued that tradition.

Caro Pepe and Age Age, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Caro Pepe and Age Age, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The pair have once again used muted shades for their Upfest experience which gives this piece a subtle feel. It is amazing that their work blends so well because their styles and subject matter are quite different – maybe their success comes from blending these. Anyhow, this was a real treat and many visitors would have missed it, as I think it was sprayed in the days following the main festival. Thank you both.

1116. North Street No. 76

Alex Lucas is everywhere in Bristol, a street art celebrity. Even if people in the city don’t know her by name, they will almost certainly have seen her work, and will recollect it if you describe it to them.

Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017

This is a recent piece that I was lucky enough to see as the shutters were down when I happened to be passing by – something that doesn’t seem to work out for me too often because I do most of my walking and photographing during daylight hours.

Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017

What a great advert these beautiful butterflies are for the Independent Desigh Collective which sets out to feature and promote designers and makers from the local area. Maybe one day I’ll come knocking on their door/shutters.

1029. Upfest 2017 (57)

I met Falko One in East Street on the Sunday of Upfest. It was early in the morning and showers were threatening. He had already started on the first of three commissioned elephants he was planning to complete in the day, but was doubtful because of the rain. This is a man who likes to paint elephants, and he does it really well.

Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Falko One it turns out is one of the most well known street artists in South Africa and has been working for almost thirty years inspiring others and growing the graffiti culture there. He is best known for his elephants.

Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

As with several other pieces at Upfest, it was great to see the artist in action and how he went about creating his piece. I think what you see here is someone very much at ease with the subject. He has a great understanding of the proportions, shape and movement of elephants and can create these amazing pieces in no time at all.

Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Falko One, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The colours and shading, also bring a unique aspect to his art. I mean who ever saw a pink elephant before…hic?

941. Upfest 2017 (15)

Oze Arv was a very busy man during his short stay in Bristol for Upfest. This Portuguese artist from Lisbon uses patterns to mix expression and graphics. His style is instantly recognisable, as you will see as I post all of the work he left behind for Bristolians.

Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This is a lovely shutter piece on North Street, one of two ‘official’ pieces he sprayed for Upfest. Shutters are always hard, but he has been smart with this one, laying down a white background, which lifts the whole piece really well. I think most of his work tends to include the natural world.

Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Oze Arv, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I like the combination of the abstract and natural, I think it works well. I caught up with him for a few minutes, and he seemed like a really nice guy, happy to chat about his work. Lots more to come.

785. Stokes Croft, No.111

This is another piece that has been waiting and waiting in my archive and which I can at last write about, having recently found out who the artist is. The artist has been something of a mystery, and I have posted two of his pieces here before, the sinister cat and scary clown. It is of course Dose, AKA Kin Dose, AKA Nick Harvey.

Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016
Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016

I found out who he was by accident. I saw a poster advertising an art exhibition in the main street close to where I live, and there was the sinister cat on the poster, so I took a closer look. There was more information that helped me to track down Kin Dose on Instagram. Once on his feed, I looked through his work, and there was this piece…mystery solved.

Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016
Kin Dose, Stokes Croft, Bristol, September 2016

Kin Dose is clearly extremely talented and versatile. I’ve not yet been to his exhibition (at the time of writing) but hope to get there before it closes.