Tag: UK

1396. Upfest 2017 (153)

The boards at North Street Green are mostly set out in pairs and in portrait orientation. This means that when writing about them, one has to take them in pairs. Sometimes the pairing is wholly complementary, almost like a collaboration. In other cases the pairings are in marked contrast, and this is one of those. On the left is a feline (tiger?) face by Bristol’s J. West and on the right is a simple portrait of a girl and overwritten with colourful squiggles by Everything’s Oh-Kay.

J. West, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
J. West, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

J.West is no stranger to this blog, and I most recently featured his street savvy panda complete with ghetto blaster from The Bearpit. This blue cat, composed of geometric shapes and contrasting colours is probably the best of his work I have seen to date. I really like it.

Everything's Oh-Kay, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Everything’s Oh-Kay, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

I have not seen any of Everything’s Oh-Kay’s work before, and my first impression is that it feels very graphic designery. In fact, a great many street artists are designers and illustrators by day, taking to the walls to liberate their asrtistic talents away from a commission or customer brief. I am a little on the fence with this particular piece, and would like to see more.

Visiting time

.

Looking for a chair

and refining bedside chat

feels a bit awkward.

.

by Scooj

1395. Upfest 2017 (152)

Following directly on from my post of Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, here is another all female collaboration from last year’s Upfest between Kler and So Free So. Once more I feel lucky to see the work of two more artists relatively unknown to me.

Kler and So Free So, Upfest, Bristol, JUly 2017
Kler and So Free So, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

This collaboration works so well with two very different styles using similar colours to create two distinct female portraits. The portrait on the left is by Kler, from Barcelona, where she sprays on the legal walls. A former designer, she now travels widely for street art festivals. Her piece here at Upfest is a triumph.

Kler and So Free So, Upfest, Bristol, JUly 2017
Kler and So Free So, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

So Free So is a Swiss graphic designer who also does a lot of street work. She tries to convey emotions in her pieces, and the shadowy eyes and mouth in this work are part of this inner exposure. She has collaborated with Kler on several occasions, and on researching her for this post, it turns out I have seen their work before at Upfest. So Free So’s website is really well worth a look.

Kier, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Kler and So Free So, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The ward

.

The old man in bed

dreaming wild morphine daydreams

sleep after the fall.

.

by Scooj

1394. Upfest 2017 (151)

There were many fine collaborations at Upfest last year, but few of them were finer than that between Hannah Adamasek and Saroj. I have written many times about Hannah’s work, but don’t believe I have come across Saroj before.

Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

In the Upfest programme there is a really nice profile for Saroj Patel, and rather than paraphrase it, I have decided to offer it in full:

Saroj is a designer and artist whose practice encompasses illustration, painting, graphic design, typography and art direction. Nature is a compelling part of her work which incorporates decorative arrangements of organic forms, flora, and wildlife, creating a distinctive hand drawn style which displays a fluidity of movement through the use of patterns, lines and colour.

Saroj draws inspiration from exploring the natural and built environments around her, from wandering city streets to hiking in forests and mountains, capturing moments of stillness and chaos, embracing and absorbing the beauty in every moment.
Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I like this aquatic piece that places a swimmer in a setting of plants and fish, resulting in a rather atmospheric and fresh piece.
Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Hannah Adamaszek and Saroj, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
I was lucky enough to visit this piece, which was in the beer garden of the Steam Crane, several times over the festival and it is interesting to see how it developed. I am hoping that both will return this year.

1393. The Bearpit (127)

Although I am confident this is a Tom Miller piece, with his trademark explosion of swirling colours, it is not signed, and so there is that tiny little nagging doubt about it. However, since nobody else in Bristol paints like this, I will attribute it to him anyway.

Tom Miller, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2108
Tom Miller, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2108

I’m not sure if it is still there or not, it has been a week or two since I did any street art hunting in Bristol, but most of his recent stuff has been tagged and oversprayed unnecessarily quickly, which is pretty annoying really.

Tom Miller, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2108
Tom Miller, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2108

In this piece, a motif he uses a lot, a heart, is surrounded by a chaos of colour. A nice piece.

 

 

1392. M32 Spot (17)

I posted my first piece by Nevla about a week ago, and this is the second. Fortunately, I have a whole bunch more I can share, now that I know who the artist is.

Nevla, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018
Nevla, M32 Spot, Bristol, February 2018

His cartoon style is something quite different and refreshing in Bristol as well as being really distinctive. His characters are usually framed by a red or blue border and tend to be black and white, almost as if he has drawn the cartoon using a flip chart and thick black marker pen. It is a pity that he favours tunnels, because the light is always poor and photographs dishonest.

Sprinter

 

Enough already!

Winter’s tendrils holding fast,

bring me some sunshine.

 

by Scooj.

1391. M32 roundabout J3 (71)

A nice quick one from Mr Draws, which was to mark the arrival of storm Emma, one of a couple of snow events that hit the UK and Bristol during March this year.

Mr Draws, M32, Bristol, March 2018
Mr Draws, M32, Bristol, March 2018

I like this piece, it is modest and unassuming, but contains some lovely little details inside the dull chrome letters. As ever, always good to see Mr Draws’ work.

1390. M32 roundabout J3 (70)

A few weeks back there was a bit of an informal paint jam at the M32, with artists from Swansea, Cardiff, Tiverton and Taunton all represented. I managed to be there at the right time and photograph the artists at work. The interesting thing for me was that most of these artists/graff writers were completely new to me.

Amoe, M32, Bristol, February 2018
Amoe, M32, Bristol, February 2018

This is a lovely piece by Karm Amoe from Cardiff. He has a website, but it doesn’t say too much and appears to be incomplete, so I really don’t have too much information on the artist.

Amoe, M32, Bristol, March 2018
Amoe, M32, Bristol, March 2018

There is something very pleasing about the form of his letters, and the colours he has selected are outstanding. The swirly pattern at the base of the piece and white at the top adds some real class. Nice to be able to see something new (to me).