Tag: Street art

891. North Street Hoardings (8)

I think that Sirens must have been squatting uncomfortably on the ground for a while during the creation of this calming piece in North Street. It is tucked in amongst scaffolding and a small alcove, often used by graffiti artists and taggers. The space smells…well what should I say? a bit like a WC, and I guess that plenty of pub goers relieve themselves here after an evening out.

Sirens, North Street hoarding, Bristol, June 2017
Sirens, North Street hoarding, Bristol, June 2017

How fabulous then to see this uplifting piece so typical of Sirens. Silhouetted houses and rooftops with a magnificent setting sun; an inspirational piece so full of hope. I know that Sirens likes to surprise people with his choice of location and he has excelled with this one. I imagine many will walk past it none the wiser, but those who look around will see it and benefit from the joy it brings. Nice one Sirens!

890. Bedminster

On one of my lunchtime jaunts I got lucky enough to meet Andy Council working on a piece that didn’t incorporate animals, which judging from our conversation, I think is something of a ‘day off’ for him.

Andy Council, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Andy Council, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

He was working on quite an awkward low stretch of wall on a ramp, but has managed to craft an impressive cityscape in his most distinctive style.

Andy Council, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Andy Council, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

The location is a spot new to me, and there is a host of other treasures there from local graffiti artists. I’ll come on to these over the coming weeks.

Andy Council, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Andy Council, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

What I particularly like about this work is the vibrant colours and use of the space. It shows how a bit of time spent in the hands of a skilled artist can improve the local environment of what was previously a dull grey utilitarian tiled pathway. Nice to meet Andy for the first time too.

888. Upfest 2016 (155)

So I decided to round off this batch of last year’s Upfest posts with a very Bristol piece. This wonderful side of a bus was sprayed by the ASK crew, which comprises a great many of the Bristol graffiti/street artists I have covered in Natural Adventures passim. It would be fitting to end the 2016 posts with this, but I still have plenty more. I have decided to intersperse them with future posts, but obviously I’ll be concentrating on Upfest 2017 over the coming weeks.

ASK crew, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
ASK crew, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Please don’t ask me to identify all the members of ASK, it could take me a while. The ASK (After School Klub) crew tend to dominate the street art scene in Bristol, but there is always plenty of space for others, and I don’t think they are too precious. Great colourful bus, but pretty dismal pictures. Nice eye – probably by Voyder.

 

887. Upfest 2016 (154)

This is an extraordinary piece by Random, called ‘Prisoner 46664’ and is a portrait of Nelson Mandela. Random, originally from Liverpool, lives in North Wales and works with stencils, sculpture and wheatpastes, which scores lots of points with me.

Random, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Random, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The work is an ingenious stencil with letters cut into it, placed over a red background. The letters are like a wordle of key associations with Nelson Mandela, such as ‘Freedom’ and ‘political’ and ‘rebel’ and ‘statesman’.

Random, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Random, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

A magnificent piece from Random.

886. Upfest 2016 (153)

I have said it in a previous post, but the children at Ashton Gate Primary School are the luckiest in Bristol. so many pieces decking the walls of their playground. I believe that it was a one-off though, and they’ll not be using the school again for Upfest. The reason for this is that it is a bit off the beaten track, and the artists reported that not many people came to see them working, and they felt a little isolated.

3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This is a wonderful piece by 3rdeye, an established artist who has been involved in the graffiti scene since the 1980s.

3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
3rdeye, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

His characters are simple and bold but have some emotional depth and feeling. I really like this work. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to photograph it properly, so the composition is slightly out of context. A great colourful piece.

885. Upfest 2016 (152)

You rarely meet anyone who doesn’t have a fondness for Baloo and his ‘the bear necessities’ song from the Disney adaptation of Kiplings’ the Jungle Book. It was the film I saw most frequently as a child – six times – in the days before videos. I had the LP, and pretty much know the entire film word for word, even now.

Mr Bear, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Mr Bear, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

A digression. This is a fine stencil from Bristol born and bred Mr Bear. I must confess to not knowing much at all about this artist, and I haven’t come across his work, or at least, not knowingly. He is a member of SSOSVA and started painting in 1997 under the moniker ‘Bas’.

884. Upfest 2016 (151)

Rumbl is another street artist from the rather large Dutch contingent that attended Upfest 2016. I must confess that when I first saw this piece I didn’t much like it. Now that I have looked a little more carefully and researched some of his other work, I think I get it now, and actually rather like it.

Rumbl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Rumbl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This is a perfect Upfest wall and he has made a good job of it. He has a love of American illustration of the 1960s and you can see that clearly in this work. The stylised horse and cowboy boots…sort of Woody meets Lucky Luke meets John Wayne. I do now rather like this – pity it took me so long to post it.

 

 

883. Upfest 2016 (150)

I have a terrible feeling of being rushed to get these Upfest 2016 posts published, because at the time of writing this one, there are only about two weeks to go before 2017’s festival gets underway. I popped into the Upfest shop today and picked up my map. Very exciting indeed. This year there is going to be a very long wall (fifty or so artists) at Ashton Gate.

Back to this pair of works that I photographed together because of the interesting contrast between them. On the left is a piece by Von Grey, a psychedelic offering that has undertones of Sgt Pepper about it, which is no surprise as his biography states that his work is heavily influenced by 1970s album covers, ancient artefacts and modern subculture.

Von Grey, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Von Grey, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The piece on the right is a fabulous gorilla by Daub who judging from his Facebook and Instagram accounts appears to be remarkably fond of this gorilla, and why not, it is a magnificent beast. It is interesting that the gorilla is superimposed on a background that appears to tell its own story and I fear it is somehow not all good news.

Daub, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Daub, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Nice works by both of these artists.

882. Upfest 2016 (149)

Guts is a graffiti artist I have only recently been posting about on this blog, and when I took this picture at last year’s Upfest, He hadn’t crossed my radar at all.

Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Guts, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

His Upfest catalogue entry reads ‘Guts is a Bristolian artist who makes lowbrow weirdness for people who like that sort of thing. He mainly works in spray paint, acrylic and posca on canvases and other stuff he finds lying around’. Reading this reminds me that so many street artists are incredibly modest about their talents, and I think that Guts is among them.

 

881. Upfest 2016 (148)

Hey, there’s a whole bunch of not very scary monsters in this work from Nol, and I think Edo Rath. Michael Nol is a rather tall Dutch artist (not that you can see from these images) and Edo Rath enjoys painting clean lines and happy characters. Together the pair have formed a collective called Noodle Inc.

Nol and Edo Rath, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nol and Edo Rath, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I was able to take a couple of snaps while this piece was in progress, and it is interesting to see how the piece is constructed, with a full outline, and then systematic filling from left to right.

Nol and Edo Rath, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nol and Edo Rath, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I have touched on this in a previous post, and I am intrigued by artists go about their business in such different ways. some add layers, some freestyle completely, some use templates, some work from the centre outwards and so on. All interesting.

Nol and Edo Rath, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Nol and Edo Rath, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I think these guys will be making a return for Upfest 2017. Watch out for more scary monsters.