I knew nothing of the Thomas Brothers before Upfest where I saw this dazzling piece. The British brothers work together and bring in elements of 80s childhood experiences into their work, such as cartoons and Japanese toys, and create their contemporary works using these influences.
You just have to love a picture of a chimpanzee in a space suit, and if you don’t, then leave this post immediately. Interestingly this is not the first such simian astronaut I have written about, Zase and Dekor sprayed one some time ago near Eastville.
The artist of this chimp is Achim Szabo, a German artist who works out of Stuttgart. A look at his website shows you the incredible range of styles he adopts, and of course he isn’t restricted to walls, he can work in watercolours, design and digital as well. It seems that so many street artists have this broad set of skills. I wonder which branch of their work they enjoy the most.
In this piece, I particularly like the rough style that has been used to create it, almost a sketch, and it is topped off by the yellow banana. Lovely work.
Somehow this seems to be the perfect wheatpaste pairing. The fabulous D7606 bottles that can be found in so many places and the enchanting one-off pieces that 23 Magpies leaves for explorers to find.
It was impossible not to notice this bright and arresting piece by Kier (Chiara Frei) at Upfest this year. The three panels spelled out the phrase ‘Be the one you want to be‘ showing three green and purple portraits with interchangeable face parts.
From her website, Chiara describes herself as a graphic designer who loves her job and is happy to learn new things. Beyond that she prefers not to say too much about herself.
Her choice of colours and subject for Upfest meant that her piece really caught the eye. I went back to it two or three times, just to take another look. There was something about it.
I have featured Dale Grimshaw a few weeks ago with one of his Shoreditch pieces. Well, we were lucky enough in Bristol to have him pay us a visit for Upfest 2016.
His works are instantly recognisable, usually being portraits of people from around the world, many of whom face political struggles. The faces are usually adorned with face paint, and the works are usually accompanied by a little piece of wildstyle writing.
I managed to get a couple of pictures of Dale Grimshaw finishing off the piece on the Saturday, and I returned on the Sunday, and made subsequent visits to capture the finished article.
This work simply has to be admired, as do all of his works. Let’s hope for a quick return to Bristol.
As a naturalist by training, I find it difficult not to be enthralled by these magnificent frogs painted by JXC at Upfest this year. I was lucky enough to see this piece half way through its creation and again on completion.
Another masterclass in street art from the magnificent Sled One. The hoardings in Old Bread Street tend to get refreshed roughly fortnightly, so it can be difficult sometimes to photograph everything. In fact it is something of a miracle that I get to photograph anything at the moment. Work and family are occupying most of my time…I don’t mind the family bit, but work…
I don’t know quite why, but I have held on to these pictures for some time now. I think it is because I was worried that I might have already posted them. I have to confess that my blog is becoming a bit of a logistical challenge…dozens of folders and thousands of images…sometimes I lose track.
Back to Shoreditch where I found this great stencil by Unify. It is called Go Fly Your Kite and features a teddy bear that has been used in other works by the artist. I first came across Unify in Bristol with this No Blowing Bubbles piece on the wall of the Highbury Vaults. It is still there.
I still know nothing about the artist OHMS, but I know I like their work. This is an incredibly colourful and intricate piece tucked between some bushes on the side of the M32 roundabout between St Pauls and Easton.
Natural adventures 