I was going to run this post as an extra one yesterday for our American friends and use the cheesy pun “Happy Phourth of July”. I’m rather pleased I didn’t though, although quite happy to run with it today.
Phour, New Stadium Road, Bristol, June 2022
Phour continues to plug away at his aesthetically pleasing letters (and the sound they make as a word), leaving them at numerous spots around the city. There are some letters that work really well with graffiti writing, and Phour pretty much hits the jackpot. This piece has some great colours and is neatly finished with strong, clean black boundaries. This is a nice one to add to the collection.
I had to include this piece by Jody, even though it is only a half-piece, because it is absolutely fantastic. It was painted during the 50th birthday paint jam for Turoe a few weeks ago, which generated some outstanding writing and character pieces. Unfortunately, as I have found out to my cost, you snooze, you lose, and I just didn’t get down to the wall in time to photograph Jody’s portrait in full. The left-hand side had been sliced off (neatly, at least) by a newer piece by Cort.
Jody, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2022
I feel I ought to know who the character is in this piece, but I don’t. It is remarkable to think that Jody can create something so brilliant in only four hours, and it is humbling to see the amazing work that these artists produce. A half beauty from Jody.
I have an unwritten rule about taking pictures of street art, and it that one should always take a picture when you have the opportunity, even if the light is bad, or there are obstructions, because when you return to the spot, for a cleaner shot, it might have been overpainted. These photographs of a recent Stiff piece in Dean Lane have dappled sunlight across them, but they are the only pictures I have, it didn’t last long and wasn’t there when I went back.
Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2022
I was lucky enough to meet Stiff for the first time just over a week ago, while he was painting with the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective in Cumberland Basin, and he confirmed to me that he enjoys painting monsters and using the colour green. Stiff doesn’t paint very often, so the chances of meeting him are rather slight. This piece, like his others, is creative, fun and monsterish, and painted with a lightness of touch that is without pretension. Another one for the collection of beasts.
Not only is Upfest great for the people of Bristol and surrounding area, introducing them to the magnificent world of street art, but it is also a massive pull for artists too. Artists are drawn from all over the globe to attend this important event on the calendar, but many artists are local to Bristol who rarely paint walls, but have the opportunity to transfer their studio skills to a more accessible format. Some even get a taste for it.
Rosie McLay, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Rosie Mclay is a Bristol artist who has painted at Upfest before, but in between festivals she continues with her studio artwork, which I have seen her selling in the Tobacco Factory market once or twice, and fine stuff it is too. This piece is really rather beautiful, and she has used the larger format to great advantage. The ‘study’ has two feet joined by a piece of string which is wrapped around the big toes of each foot. The string is fraying in the middle. Colour and tone is added with the yellow circle and red triangle, although I am not quite sure what the whole thing is about. I am a fan of her work, and perhaps I ought to buy something next time I see her selling sketches.
This is a fine piece of graphic writing from Acer for Upfest on a permanent wall, although the permanence of the wall is no guarantee for the permanence of the piece and sadly this has already been dogged, which is a pity, because it is a classy piece that commands this spot overlooking Greville Smyth Park.
Acer, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
It is something of a joy to watch Acer’s work and how it progresses from month to month and year to year. His theme these days seems to be based on a highly stylised font or series of fonts that incorporate black base-lettering with transitioning rainbow colour outlines, creating both high design and depth. The sentiment is a good one… PARTY, which is what Upfest 2022 turned out to be, and a great one at that.
The man who paints (draws, geddit?), faster than his shadow. What a stunning piece, and definitely one of my favourites from Upfest this year. Featuring comic book character Lucky Luke, a series I never read as a kid, but rather wish that I had now, (I was more of an Asterix and Tintin fan), the piece, by Alain Welter is beautifully proportioned and structured, with a strong sense of depth.
Alain Welter, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
The board is quite long, and Alain Welter has used the space cleverly by putting in the text on the left and reducing the width enough for the proportions of the piece to work. Alain Welter is an accomplished street artist from Luxembourg (a first for Upfest) whose website is definitely worth a visit. He even has a blog post about this piece, so he likes to keep things up to date.
Alain Welter, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
When producing graffiti writing, it seems that Alain Welter uses the the letters MOPE, hence Lucky Mope instead of Luke. There is so much to like about this piece, it is very easy on the eye, witty, and the artwork is superb, just take a look at the writing on a curtain. Clever stuff. I do hope that Alain Welter makes it back to Bristol for next year’s Upfest.
It is always great to see street art that deviates from the norm that we are used to seeing, namely spray can art, and every year at Upfest, Angus, a local Bristol artist, treats us to a mosaic or two, although he is also an accomplished spray artist too, he seems to have preferred his mosaics in recent years.
Angus, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
This rather fun piece on one of the walls of the Hen and Chicken, a key venue for Upfest art, features a dog enjoying a pint of beer. I took the picture on a bright day, with shadows cast across the piece, but being an inherently lazy person, I haven’t been back to get the ‘perfect’ picture, but then I suppose who is to say what a perfect picture actually is. Enough covid-induced philosophising. Great work from Angus, and more to come.
If only I felt a little better, I could do a fabulous write-up of this remarkable and innovative piece by Victoriano for this year’s Upfest. Painted on a wall that hosted my favourite Upfest 2021 75×75 piece, this had quite a lot to live up to.
Victoriano, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
When I first saw the piece, it was a work in progress, but it was only when I checked out the artist on Instagram that I realised that there were several versions of the work in progress, each of which was photographed and then stitched together to make a time-lapse video of the dog running – You can see this innovation on Victoriano’s Facebook page, and on his Instagram feed, both well worth a look to see the creativity of the piece, and his first augmented wall.
Victoriano, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Right, that’s your lot for today, I am off to bed.
I am not well today and don’t feel particularly inclined to write any posts or do anything, frankly. Then I saw who was up next for today’s posts and felt a little better.
Andy Council, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2022
This piece by Andy Council Looks like a beautiful Chinese dragon, and has been painted in muted colours using his stitching style. A pink tongue cleverly joins this piece to the writing next to it, both of which were painted during a paint jam in Sparke Evans Park. The pictures were taken in the evening, and the colours haven’t ‘travelled’ very well.
Some walls simply blow you away, and it can be difficult to do them justice with words alone, and perhaps less is more in such instances. This three-way collaborative wall in Nelson Street is by Kin Dose, s,w,a,l.t and Stiiv (or Swick) (not to be confused with our own calligraffiti writer Stivs), the latter two who were visiting Bristol as guests of Upfest. It is always a real pleasure to have these ‘spill-over’ extras from the festival.
Kin Dose, Nelson Street, Bristol, June 2022
The Tiger is by Kin Dose, and makes the most of his ‘airbrush’ approach to spraying, managing to create an extraordinary sense of depth in the fur and hairs of the creature. A stunning piece, which on its own would satisfy, but, wait for it… two more beauties sit alongside.
s.w.a.l.t, Nelson Street, Bristol, June 2022
The middle piece is from s.w.a.l.t and is a miracle of portrait work in greyscale augmented with graffiti writing, in the style of Pichiavo. This portrait is probably my favourite piece of the year so far. Simply stunning.
Stiiv, Nelson Street, Bristol, June 2022
Rounding off this beautiful wall is a robin perched on a fragmented branch, by Stiiv (Swick). There is life and character in this little robin, and as with Kin Dose’s Tiger, the fluffy feathers give this piece real depth. A beauty.
Perhaps take a moment, not to read my words, but to enjoy this wall.
Kin Dose, s.w.a.l.t. and Stiiv, Nelson Street, Bristol, June 2022
Natural adventures 