Each year at Upfest, there is a feature artist, and this year it was Jody. This small golden apple piece is one of a few works that Jody created at this year’s festival. In this piece, Jody has taken a simple idea and made it spectacular. The shading and light blended with the gold grey and white colours gives us an exceptional and compelling image, which contrasts so well with the black background.
Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Jody must have completed this, and one or two other small pieces before the festival began, which is probably just as well, because he was still painting his main piece a few days after the end of Upfest. I am including a picture from last year, to remind you of the considerable talents of this Bristol artist.
This stunning piece from Piet Rodriguez was one of the first I saw at this year’s Upfest and it set the bar very high indeed. Some readers might recognise this site from a recent ‘Thursday doors‘ post on this blog…what a vast improvement this make-over has made.
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Piet Rodriguez is a French artist who was raised in Brussels, and a quick look at his website gives you an idea of what an accomplished artist he is. I gather from his biography in the Upfest porgramme that he only took up the spray can in 2015, which surely is a good thing for all of us.
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This was not the only piece that Piet Rodriguez did at Upfest, and I will post his smaller board from South Street park at a later date. I think I am a fan.
Daa da da da da da da da daa daa dada dada. Getting right to the heart of the matter is this brilliant Simpsons piece from Soker. He really is quite one of the best writers around and this sofa scene totally proves it.
Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
His use of the Simpson characters on the sofa, a scene so familiar to anyone who watches the show, to create his name is inspired, and taking a closer look, there is almost a Picassoesque look to Lisa and Homer in particular.
Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The whole scene is well observed, with the lampshade and the picture of a sailing boat on the wall, and is indeed a special homage to the genius of Matt Groenig.
Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I managed to catch up with Soker, which I have never managed to do before, and had a quick chat on the Friday, again on the Saturday morning and later on in the Spotted Cow. I think he had slightly overdone his merrymaking on Friday night and had to abandon painting on the Saturday, nursing a bit of a sore head.
Soker, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I asked him why sometimes he wrote Soker and at other times Sokem. His answer seemed sensible to me…he started off with Soker (pronounced Soccer), but found the R difficult to write, so changed it to Sokem, before reverting once he found the R easier.
This has to be one of my favourites from Upfest 2018, and is really an outstanding piece.
I thought I’d kick off Upfest 2018 with one of the highlight walls of the festival which speaks volumes to me (a marine biologist by training), and really brightened things up.
One of the less celebrated, but nonetheless special, walls at Upfest is this side street, Mount Pleasant Terrace, just off North Street. Previous occupiers of this wall have been Sokar Uno (2016) and My Dog Sighs and Snub 23 (2017), so it has a great pedigree. This year the mural went big, spreading beyond the first floor and covering the entire end of row wall.
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
At first glance it might not be obvious that this is a Louis Masai piece, but a closer inspection gives away some of the tell tale signs, such as a patchwork turtle, and of course a signature!
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I was pretty spaced out at the festival, absorbing so much visual information but not really seeing things right in front of me – sensory overload if you like. I didn’t take a proper look at the wall until the scaffolding was down a couple of days later and then it hit me, this is a brilliant piece by Louis Masai.
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
There is so much to look at in this coral reef scene, but of course it comes with an environmental message, and there floating around the reef are a couple of Tesco bags, which once seen can’t be unseen.
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I love the way that he entered into the spirit of the Simpsons theme of the festival and presented us with a cartoon mutant fish with three eyes gawkily cruising across the reef. Some serious messages interspersed with a bit of fun. A great piece to start with. Hats off to Louis Masai.
Well what can I say about Nevla? Well the first thing I can say is that I met him at Upfest and had a good long chat with him…and what a decent fellow he is, just like so many of the street/graff artists in Bristol. I’ll keep my powder dry about our conversation for when I post his Upfest piece.
Nevla, The Bearpit, Bristol, July 2018
This is a lovely piece, that can be easily missed, on the ramp down into The Bearpit on the north side of the roundabout. The fun cartoon character is accompanied by the words ‘stay fresh’, and I think this piece certainly manages to do this. I am really enjoying witnessing the progress of this artist, who tells me he has been spraying walls for about a year now.
It would appear that when Inuk came to visit Bristol recently he may have painted two or three pieces. This is the second that I am posting, and the first that I found. I didn’t write about it straight away because at the time of taking the picture I didn’t know the artist.
Inuk, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
The writing is big and bold and spells out INUcK, which I guess is a variation on his name. I very much like the little character at the right hand end of the piece, who offers a little additional interest and decoration on the work.
This is the second of two recent pieces by the marvelous Tasha Bee. Regulars will know that I admire her work a great deal, and this piece is no exception to that. One of the things I love about her art is that I rarely go looking for it, tending to find it instead when I am out on one of my little expeditions.
Tasha Bee, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2018
In this one, which is just outside the roundabout on the St Pauls side, there are two serene figures in purple and blue facing each other. Consistent with her work, both have closed eyes and a calmness about them. I rather like the ear decorations, one is a yin yang symbol and the other a peace symbol. A lovely find.
This spot is always impossible to photograph – I think the only solution is to come down at dusk and use a flash, and if I am honest I’m not sure I am fanatical enough to do that. The piece is, of course, by Deamze and shows off his angular puzzle-like wildstyle writing really well.
Deamze, New Stadium Road, Bristol, July 2018
As is often the case, I am not at all sure who the character is, and think it might possibly be a figment of his fertile imagination. It feels strange, but of all the most productive Bristol artists painting at the moment, I still have yet to meet Deamze – our paths just haven’t crossed. I have a feeling he likes to keep himself to himself. Yet another consistently good piece.
A collection of street art by Kleiner Shames (formerly of Bristol and a frequent visitor)
All photographs taken by Scooj
Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2019Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2019Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2019Kleiner Shames, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019Kleiner Shames, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019Kleiner Shames, Waterloo Place, Bristol, October 2018Kleiner Shames and Epok, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018Kleiner Shames, New Stadium Road, Bristol, February 2018Kleiner Shames, Cherry Lane, Bristol, February 2018Kleiner Shames, Upper York Street, Bristol, January 2017Kleiner Shames, Armada Place, Bristol, August 2016Kleiner Shames, Backfields Lane, Bristol, September 2016Kleiner Shames, Backfields Lane, Bristol, September 2016Kleiner Shames, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Kleiner Shames, Upper York Street, Bristol, May 2016Kleiner Shames, Moon Street, Bristol, July 2016Kleiner Shames, Nine Tree Hill, Bristol, January 2016Fois, Hill Street, Bristol, November 2015Kleiner Shames, Hill Street, Bristol, April 2015
It feels like a while since I saw anything by Soge, so this writing in St Werburghs tunnel recently was a nice surprise. I think it was created during the paint jam which included a lot of PWA artists.
Soge, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
Soge, like Hire, uses a rather gothic style in his writing, which may be something they have brought with them from Poland, as it is not a style I see much of from any of the local artists. The letters SOGE are easy to pick out, although the lighting in the tunnel doesn’t really do the piece justice. Strangely I haven’t yet met Soge and so can’t really tell you too much about him.
Natural adventures 