I tend to know what I expect to see from Dibz, so it always comes as a bit of a surprise when he turns out something different, and this was one such surprise from a week or two back at Dean Lane.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
The style of the piece might be rather different from the usual fare, but the quality is up with his customary high standard. The desert island scene is cleverly thought out with both day and night views captured inside and outside the DIBZ lettering respectively. Clean, tidy and dreaming of holidays. Soon a time will come when we can put our dreams aside and achieve our heart’s desire, soon.
This modest piece by Emma Philippa Maeve is one of the smallest of Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days, and could easily be missed by many due to its location just off North Street and the recess it sits in. It is a really interesting piece and quite unlike anything else from the event, demonstrating the breadth of styles and talent that is on display in Bedminster.
Emma Philippa Maeve, Merrywood Road, Bristol, August 2021, Upfest 21
The bright and colourful piece looks like an etching scratched into the surface of the wall and her work is influenced by her travels. Emma Philippa Maeve has a very interesting website that shows you more of her work and tells you a little about her inspiration. She uses the term Flaneuse, derived from Flaneur, to describe her lifestyle, and it is a subject close to my own heart. To explore for the sake of making new discoveries and learning more about what is around you… keeping your eyes open is what it is all about. Fabulous.
As a long-time admirer of Flava136’s work, it was a real treat to meet the artist for the first time during a paint jam on the long wall at Cumberland Basin. As is so often the case when meeting these folk, he was an awful lot younger than I had expected, but isn’t that what old people say about everyone?
Flava136, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
Watching Flava136 bring this piece together was an education, and his skill and technique shone through in his ability to keep such clean lines throughout. The design and colour selections of this one are quite exceptional, and I think this might be my favourite of his yet.
Flava136, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Featuring a kind of mash-up of a monster and some abstract artwork, Flava136’s work is always instantly recognisable and definitely a crowd-pleaser. Although he doesn’t live in Bristol, he manages to visit reasonably regularly which can only be a good thing. Excellent piece.
Damn, damn, damn those damn parked cars. This is a notoriously difficult wall to photograph, and while Epod was painting this incredible piece, I commented on the fact and said that clean photographs of his work would be something of a rarity. Somebody needs to put in some double yellow lines!
Epod, North Street, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
I spent a little while chatting with Epod, an artist from London, about the piece and how it reminded me a little of artists like Yvette Tanguy and René Magritte. So I gues what I was saying was that there was an element of dreamlike surrealism and symbolism going on in this piece.
Epod, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
I am so disappointed with these photographs, and short of camping on the street for days, simply don’t know how I will ever get clean shots of what is a truly stunning piece.
Epod, North Street, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
The final photograph at least gives you a feel for the skill and talent that Epod has and the wonderful concept behind this piece. This is one that if you live in Bristol or are visiting the city you will need to see for yourself. A superb mural.
More often than not, I try to avoid posting pictures with shadows on them, because they can obscure the artwork or distract the eye. In this instance though I think the shadows add to the overall drama of the piece by 3F fino.
3F Fino, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
The piece, from a little while back, shares a theme that 3F fino has painted before of a portrait of a masked figure. Set in an urban landscape at sunset (or sunrise, it is always difficult to know which) the piece is incorporated into the brickwork of the wall, something I always like. A nice eye-catching piece.
This ‘find’ is another one that I can attribute to Upfest’s summer event because I would never have stumbled across it if I hadn’t been driving around Bedminster like a lunatic looking for new Upfest pieces.
Andy Council, Garnet Street, Bristol, July 2021
The pair of pieces on the walls of the Chessel Centre, BS3 Community, are of course by Andy Council. The pieces have probably been there for a little while because they are in the form of animals composed of architecture, including the Clifton suspension bridge, a landmark that makes an appearance in much of Andy Council’s work. His more recent pieces have moved away from architectural components instead being replaced with building blocks stitched together with cord.
Andy Council, Garnet Street, Bristol, July 2021
Both of these little murals are packed with animals and a wonderful sense of fun. I’m not sure what the Chessel Centre actually does, but the murals convey a sense of community. This is a wonderful way to brighten up our streets.
From my favourite Bristol artist, Andrew Burns Colwill, is this outstanding new mural for Upfest’s 75 walls in 75 days event. Everything about this triptych piece is pretty much perfect. From the wall selection and use of the spaces to the highly political content, let alone the brilliant execution using his soak stain technique.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Luckwell Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,
My interpretation of the three suited figures in a pool represents the drowning of our Government and in particular senior ministers who, let’s face it, haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory over the last few years. On the left could be Sajid Javid, our SoS for health who took over the role from the utterly incompetent and indiscreet Matt Hancock. It doesn’t really matter who it is as they are representative of the Conservative Party political gang who care more about power than they do about the citizens who put them there.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Luckwell Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,
The central panel is more obviously a caricature of our utterly ridiculous Prime Minister who is now completely under the control of his power-hungry wife Carrie Johnson who seems to have more influence over government policy than he does. The pantomime continues, although it is more of a tragedy as our country slips into isolation and irrelevance.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Luckwell Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,
The final panel, with the red budget box, is obviously our beloved (not) chancellor Rishi Sunak who appears to have hoodwinked the entire country into thinking he is our saviour. I don’t feel particularly saved. The bar amongst the cabinet is so low, that anyone with the slightest talent shines like a beacon, but it is all comparative. So the piece certainly portrays a failing government and failing ministers and it is delivered in a tranquil, calm and resigned manner that gives the piece so much power. It is brilliant.
Andrew Burns Colwill, Luckwell Road, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21,
Andrew Burns Colwill is also amazing at creating those tiny little details that add so much to a piece, like this little drip of water oozing from a real crack in the wall. A sensational piece and commentary on our current political state. Bravo!
Watching Zake apply the light and dark shading to this fabulous piece during Eman’s birthday paint jam was a real pleasure. He has become something of a specialist at refining the effects of light and dark on his faces with the light source in this case coming from the left hand side. This clever shading exaggerates the features and created more of a 3D effect.
Zake, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, August 2021
Although his English isn’t great, it was nice to be able to talk with him for a while about his technique. Like all the artists around him on the day, he really seems to enjoy what he does. My only regret from the day is that when I returned the next day to take photographs of the finished pieces, three of them, including Eman’s, had been painted over.
It is always so good to see a new piece from Taboo, and it feels like a little while since his last one. This magnificent piece of graffiti writing is on the M32 roundabout, a wall that is seeing an ever-increasing turnover as artists compete for limited space I. The city.
Taboo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2021
The letters, naturally, spell out Taboo, although it takes a little time to work it out if you aren’t used to reading his letters. Unusually for one of his pieces there is no accompanying character, although there is an animated paintbrush in the middle of the piece. His organic and unconventional style is what marks out his work as being rather special and I love it.
This is the second recent piece from Tasha Bee that appeared at the other end of St Werburghs tunnel to her collaboration with Antikki. It is such a pleasure to see her painting again. Although she is really busy with her Pot Heads business, I hope that she finds time to splash a little paint at walls more often.
Tasha Bee, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2021
This is classic Tasha Bee. A stylised portrait with eyes shut, this time wearing a rather colourful and fetching cap. The criss-cross patterning on the cap I think is a technique she picked up from Soap a while back. Let’s hope this is not a one-off return to painting.
Natural adventures 