This piece has been around for a little while on the M32 roundabout, tucked in between a couple of bushes. I don’t know the artist – presumably Skot, and my efforts to try and track him/her down have led me to several Skots, the most likely being Skot One who I think is from London.
Skot One, M32 Roundabout, Bristol, September 2018
I rather like this piece, both the writing which is beautifully executed and the character. It is a long time since I last saw Andy Capp, but it seems the cartoon strip is still running. A nice touch and nostalgic reference.
The first thing that grabs your attention about this work is probably the bright pink colour, characteristic of the artist Stupid Stupid Meathole. Next is the faintly grotesque character/monster of the piece, but equally memorable is the fantastic name that the artist has chosen. Always distinct and always eye-catching.
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
I haven’t posted too much of Stupid Stupid Meathole’s work, because it only appears on the streets occasionally. If I see it I will always snap it and post it because I am rather strangely drawn to it. SSM never disappoints, but may shock a little and might not be to everyone’s taste. I however am a bit of a fan as it is always great to see something a bit different…a bit imaginative.
From just a little while back, this is a wonderful example of wildstyle writing from the Bristol-based graffiti writer Soge. Like his Polish counterparts, his writing has a hint of the Gothic about it, although not quite as much as Hire. In my view there is certainly a difference in influence and derivation between the Polish and British writers – but you would expect that.
Soge, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2018
Soge’s colour palette in this piece is very easy on the eye and there is something about the overall shape and design that reminds me a little of Inkie’s work. The letters quite clearly spell out SOGE. Great work.
Wow, wow, wow. I am head over heels in love with this stunning work by Muckrock (Jules Muck). Shortly after I photographed this fabulous piece I dived into the Upfest shop and had a chat with Paul Monsters and Steve and Emma who run Upfest. I mentioned this exceptional work in Dean Lane skate park to them and although they didn’t know about this one, they had met her recently and offered her a wall to paint at the other end of North Street. She must have done this one as a bit of an extra while she was visiting.
Muckrock, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
I can honestly say it is my top five pieces for 2018 and has come as a complete surprise which makes it extra special. I believe Jules Muck began her graffiti ‘career’ in England and Europe, but lives and paints mostly in the United States, living in Venice Beach. You can find out all about her on her extensive website, well worth a gander
Muckrock, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
I love the green monotone and the mischief in the portrait is to die for. I can’t really say too much more about this piece without utterly embarrassing myself. So you, like me, will just have to sit and gaze at it…sigh…
I was moved to dig out this old wheatpaste from my archives when I saw the wonderful Upfest 10th anniversary balloons that had been pasted up all over Bedminster by D7606. It can happen a lot when you have so many unpublished photographs, and I regularly scour my files to see if there are anty gems that I may have overlooked…well this was one of them.
D7606, Frogmore Street, Bristol, September 2015
This blue balloon with the face of Elizabeth Taylor was pasted up over my absolute favourite piece of street art in Bristol and one that inspired me to write this blog, by JPS. Such a great wall and a clever place for D7606 to position his balloon. I am pleased to bring the pictures out of archive.
A gallery of murals from Bristol illustrator and artist Alex Lucas
All photographs taken by Scooj
Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, May 2021Alex Lucas, Picton Street, Bristol, January 2021Alex Lucas, Picton Street, Bristol, January 2021Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2020Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2020Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, March 2020Alex Lucas, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2019Alex Lucas, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2019Alex Lucas, Easton Business Centre, Bristol, May 2019Alex Lucas, Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018Alex Lucas, Street art door, A Year Outdoors, Bristol, December 2018Alex Lucas, Ashley Road, Bristol, December 2018Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, February 2018Alex Lucas, Charlotte Street, Bristol, November 2017Alex Lucas, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017Alex Lucas, North Street, Bristol, October 2017Alex Lucas, Picton Street, Bristol, March 2016Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016Alex Lucas, Picton Mews, Bristol, September 2016Alex Lucas, St Andrew’s Road, Bristol, March 2016Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2015Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, December 2015Alex Lucas, Park Row, Bristol, November 2015Alex Lucas, Park Row, Bristol, November 2015Alex Lucas, Park Row, Bristol, November 2015Alex Lucas, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, September 2015Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2016Alex Lucas, Stokes Croft, Bristol, December 2015Alex Lucas, Picton Street, Bristol, March 2106
I always enjoy seeing the evolution of a piece of artwork, and Upfest affords the perfect opportunity to see artists at work and follow progress from cradle to grave. Of course this does depend on being in the right place at the right times, and I got lucky with this outstanding piece by Ant Carver.
Ant Carver, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The first stage of this work was to give the wall a splash of colour and texture…the first layer. A mask was then applied to create a draft of the eyes, nose and mouth in isolation from the rest of the work, a little bit like a stencil.
Ant Carver, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Once the draft of the eyes, nose and mouth had been added, Ant Carver got to work on the detail, using greyscale for these features. The skill of the piece is in blending all these layers to create a wonderful effect of the separateness and togetherness of greyscale and colour and the strength of detail in the features and vagueness with the rest of the face…very clever work.
Ant Carver, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I managed to get a couple of slightly poor pictures of his work at Upfest 2017, so it was nice to be able to get this series of slightly better pictures this time round. A memorable and unusual piece.
There is one artist in Bristol whose work manages to attain higher levels each and every time I see it. It is of course Voyder who I have raved about many times in this blog before. At Upfest 2018 he really pulled out all the stops and painted this outstanding piece. Is there no end to his talent?
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This new wall for Upfest was in my view an unquestionable success and gave some bigger ‘permanent’ space for artists who can go big. The cars in the picture above give you a feeling for how big these pieces are.
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Voyder is probably best known for writing his name in a variety of styles, but always utterly recognisable as his work, which reminds me I must do a gallery of his work when I have a bit of spare time.
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
It is difficult to get across how good this piece is, both technically and in its clever subject material. I would take a long shot and guess that this is a self-portrait composed of three main elements: his faceless upper torso; a brown brush stroke of paint across his face; his familiar signature. This makes for at least three very different textures to the piece, each of which would be able to exist alone.
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The hands are beautifully worked and full of expression – I have not seen much of this kind of work from Voyder before although I know he has painted portraits before. The brown brush stroke is something he has been playing with for the last couple of years and appears in many of his pieces these days. I am told that the fill in the Voyder signature is a backdrop to a design screen. To cap the whole thing off nicely we have one of his trademark neon lines running through his name. A heavenly piece from this master of Bristol street art.
Unconscious bias is a curious beast, but it lurks in each of us in one form or another. One expression of it in me is the assumption that street artists are male unless they are not…if you see what I mean. I have made some terrible gender assumptions in the past with T-Rex, Skor85 to name just two, and so it was with Zabou. I have seen her work in London, but automatically thought she was a he. How glad I was to actually see Zabou at work during Upfest and to be able to write this post without falling in to the trap of gender assumption.
Zabou, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
To their credit, the organisers of Upfest do not ask for the artist’s gender on the application forms for entry and so never quite know what the gender mix will be at the festival…this year it was about 35% female artists, which, in what we consider to be a male dominated arena, is very encouraging indeed.
Zabou, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This piece by Zabou, originally from France, but now operating out of London, is a stunning portrait beautifully executed, and it is really interesting to see from these pictures how the layers build up to give the final whole.
Zabou, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I love the little sprays of colour on the hand, fingers and face of the subject – it is these little details that bring works like this to life. I really love the portrait, and wish I had been able to find a little bit of time to speak to Zabou, but the festival is large and the days short. Maybe next time.
One of the privileges that wheatpasters have is that they can spend lots of time in the studio conceiving and preparing their work, and only a few minutes pasting it up. That is not to say it is in any inferior to any other kind of street art, it is just different and requires different skill sets. Perhaps the most challenging part is finding the exact right spot to paste a piece up, and in this instance, Face the Strange has nailed it with this large expanse of red brick wall.
Face the Strange, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The piece itself is a clever reworking of Waddington’s Cluedo in which each of the characters have been given the Face the Strange treatment and have heads relating to their names. I really rather like this concept piece as did many other visitors to the festival who were gathered round it. This artist’s name says it all really.
Natural adventures 