UK – Page 290 – Natural adventures

5323. St Werburghs tunnel (370)

I have missed several recent Stivs pieces (wrong place, wrong time), so it was good to find and photograph this one . The artist has returned to his calligraffiti, having spent some weeks painting portrait pieces, although this one is a little more stylised and mainstream than his typical calligraffiti style.

The strange orange and green colour combination works surprisingly well, but why wouldn’t it? I guess they are colours often seen together in nature. Instead of writing STIVS, he is playing with us and has written STYVZ. This is a nice quick one from Stivs.

5322. Upfest 2022 (80)

David Puck, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This is the last in a batch of ten pieces that I have posted from Upfest 22, in my rather tardy efforts to cover the festival as thoroughly as I am able. That it is taking me so long is a symptom of the uptick in activity on the Bristol streets over the last two years or so. Keeping up is challenging.

This brilliantly painted piece by David Puck of two men kissing, would have been seen as controversial and challenging a decade or so ago, but thankfully it is part of a more normal and mainstream narrative these days. There is still more to do, but when I think back to attitudes when I was growing up we have come a long way.

There is a real skill in the artwork here, where there is actually a lot of white space, with just a subtle hint of shading, but enough to provide texture and depth to the men’s faces. I believe that David Puck has now left Bristol for the time being, but his artwork has had a positive impact on the city over the last year or two.

5321. Upfest 2022 (79)

Elvs and Smak, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I don’t think that I would have predicted that Smak and Elvs would have teamed up to paint an Upfest collaboration, and yet that is exactly what they did. What I really like about the piece is that it is an integrated collaboration, with elements from each artist woven into the whole.

I had a little chat with Elvs, just as he was finishing packing up, and rather irritatingly (for him) I pointed out a little mistake, which he then felt obliged to correct. It was only a small thing, but once seen, it couldn’t be unseen. In the picture above, the mistake is that the yellow body of the character didn’t quite align behind the blue triangle. The image below shows Elvs making the necessary alteration.

The whole piece is brilliantly painted, with some fine blue and pink letters (the perfect colour combo) by Smak and a dog/cat character playing around behind the writing. This is a fun piece that really captured the atmosphere and vibe of the festival.

5320. Upfest 2022 (78)

Rob Wheeler, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I have only once before seen the work of Rob Wheeler, I think, and that is on one of the commissioned columns under the railway on Stapleton Road, and his style is so distinctive, drawing on the William Morris style of large floral decorations, almost looking like a sumptuous 1970s wallpaper design.

The design is tight, the lines sharp and fills solid, and from a technical point of view this piece is near perfect. This floral treat was a highlight of the festival, although to be fair, there were so many highlights.

5319. Upfest 2022 (77)

Upfest is an opportunity for artists to showcase their work to a huge number of visitors, local and from further afield, and with so many pieces on view, it is difficult to make an impression, but Bristol artist Zubieta seems to have hit the spot with this vibrant piece.

A young woman lies in a flowery meadow, looking at her melting cell phone. The flowers seem to be pleased to see that the phone is wasting away, and the woman can turn her attention to nature. Live in the moment and take in your surroundings is the subliminal message that I get from this bright and colourful piece.

5318. Upfest 2022 (76)

This was one of a couple of pieces that Eyesaw painted for Upfest in 2022. His distinctive style plays on the concept of 3D art that should be viewed through blue and red cardboard glasses so that the character pops out from the ‘canvas’. I have to say that I don’t know whether his art actually works as I don’t have any specs, but it looks like it might do.

The character, painted on a plain background (it looks like the pre-buffed board) resembles Taz, the Tasmanian devil, a cartoon character devised by Looney Tunes. Other aspects of Eyesaw’s work include the introduction of video glitches and flying pixels, to create busy and animated artwork. This is a fun piece Eyesaw.

5317. Upfest 2022 (75)

Giulio Rosk, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022

As with any street art festival, there will always be a ‘wow factor’ and one of the artists who brought this to Upfest was Giulio Rosk with this magnificent writing and portrait combination piece just off North Street.

What is great about festivals is that there is a good chance that you will get to meet and chat with thee artists, when they have a little downtime. I managed to grab a few minutes with the artist and his agent/friend, and discovered that as soon as Giulio Rosk finished this piece they were jetting off to Italy for another festival, so we were lucky to have them here in Bristol.

The piece is a clever one where the subject – I think it is a self-portrait – is penning the name ROSK as if on a pane of glass. The photorealistic artwork is exceptional and the whole thing, one of the highlights of Upfest. Unlike the temporary boards, this piece is still there for all to see, and is likely to remain until Upfest 2024 next year.

Ebb

On an ebbing tide

discarded or stolen things

revealed for a while

by Scooj

Street sounds

Teenage boys yelling

with semi-broken voices

herald the weekend

by Scooj

5316. Upfest 2022 (74)

Wee Nuls, Upfest 22, Bristol, Upfest 2022

Another visiting artist to Upfest 22 was Wee Nuls from Belfast, although she has visited Bristol at least once before, and left a rather nice piece underneath the M32, if my memory serves me correctly. I’ll try to dig it out and add it to the end of this post.

This is a rather delightful, demonic piece from Wee Nuls, that comes across as a highly designed and polished work. It is the kind of thing you might expect to see in a gallery or as a framed contemporary picture, but here it is as a piece of street art, wonderful.

The piece is really nicely finished and sharp, using up the space on the square board really well, giving a polished and professional appearance. Great work from Wee Nuls.

	Sheree on Minor injuries unit
	hitandrun1964 on Minor injuries unit
	hitandrun1964 on 7627. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on Minor injuries unit
	scooj on Minor injuries unit

	Sheree on Minor injuries unit
	hitandrun1964 on Minor injuries unit
	hitandrun1964 on 7627. Cumberland Basin
	paulh121 on Minor injuries unit
	scooj on Minor injuries unit

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: