Tag: Trompe l’oeil

4625. Upfest 2022 (40)

The very first time I saw Zabou’s work was at an Upfest festival a few years ago. After that I saw more of her work on a couple of trips to London and have become a big fan. Her photorealistic portraits are among the best in the world, and it is a privilege when she comes to visit the west of England, in particular Bristol and Cheltenham.

Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

All I know about this magnificent portrait piece is that it is called stuck, and given that I was a little bit behind the curve, I never saw her painting it, but only as the final completed work, which meant I couldn’t even ask her about it.

Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I love the way that the face is slightly compressed and contorted in the places where it comes in contact with the hole in the wall. I also love the overall trompe l’oeil effect of the painted brick wall.

Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zabou, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This is a magnificent piece that adds weight to the international status of Upfest and helps to draw visitors and inward investment to the city. We have come a long way since Banksy and his contemporaries. A truly stunning piece from Zabou.

1674. Westbury Hill

I have known about this mural for several years, but just never stopped to take a picture of it until very recently, and it looks as good close up as it does from a distance. It is by the hugely talented and lovely Bristol Artist Andrew Burns Colwill.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018

Painted in  2011, this mural depicts a giant looking out of a window and uses the trompe l’oeil technique to provide a false perspective that there is a window in the wall and that render has fallen, exposing brickwork underneath. It is in fact a flat wall.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018

I love the little details in the piece…the rose in the window sill and the ivy dropping down from the top of the window, and of course the cracks and the brickwork make this a truly magnificent piece, that I expect the good people of Westbury-on-Trym take for granted.

Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018

There is something rather forlorn about the giant’s expression and there is an untold story unfolding – the words ‘and the giant looks on, still waiting…..’ – tell us all is not well and I fear a broken heart is just around the corner. A most wonderful piece.