A collection of work from Andy Council.
All photographs taken by Scooj































































A collection of work from Andy Council.
All photographs taken by Scooj































































I don’t think that there has ever been a time when I didn’t enjoy finding a new Laic217 piece and this one is no exception. The work is in one of his favoured spots in Moon Street and fits the frame of the doorway perfectly. There is a sinister element to the piece with the eyes missing and the scarf obscuring the face – I would expect nothing less.

I have mentioned many times before that Laic217 has developed his techniques a great deal over the last few years especially the different materials worn by his characters. In this piece the handkerchief tied around his neck has folds that disrupt the pattern on it, a nice touch.

Three hallmark signs mark this out as a Laic217 piece…The bucket hat, the smiley and the distorted face. They just keep coming.
This is one of my favourite stencils from one of my favourite stencil artists (although he has moved more into freehand work), Dice 67. The painting features his daughter Izzy wearing a hoodie, gold skirt and pink wellies. Izzy has her own fine work to the right of the feature image.

This was not the main Upfest piece from Dice 67, rather it was a bit of a bonus, sprayed on a vacant board from a no-show artist. All good.


Two innocent fawns
break cover in the lane, sweet
and vulnerable.
by Scooj
The unmistakable face of Johnny Rotten.
When I asked some artists from the RAW crew about who painted this they told me it was by the legendary Turoe (Turo). Now, I have come into this rather late, the last 3-4 years or so, and I find it quite difficult penetrating the street art world that predates my interest. Because of this, there are many gaps in my knowledge and this was the first time I had seen work from the artist.

The entry for Turoe in the Upfest programme simply reads “Old school Bristol graffiti legend”. Further reading in the book ‘Children of the Can’ (Bristol graffiti and street art) by Felix Braun confirms his standing as a major player in the Bristol graffiti and hip hop scene.

The work itself is beautifully done, which screams punk rock. It is interesting that before the eyes were completed the punk rocker is reasonably generic, but with the eyes it could only be Johnny Rotten. Nice piece.
One of the more academic and mind-blowing pieces at Upfest 2017 was this absolutely stunning classical style piece by Mezla. I managed to catch up with him while he was painting this piece and he said that he was supposed to be using the boards down at Ashton Gate, but that he found the music just a little bit too loud for his liking, so he crossed over the road and found this wall.

I absolutely love the way he has combined abstract work with some life form, and the subtle shades and colours are perfect. This really is one of my favourites from Upfest 2017 and is so very different from pretty much everything else on display.

I don’t think I can praise this piece highly enough. His Upfest biography reveals how he started off as a writer but has moved on since.
Well, well, well, the gifts just keep coming. Regular readers will know that I have only recently discovered the wonderful art of Pekoe and I have featured her work a couple of times in the last month. It turns out that while I was going through another batch of pictures from my Upfest 2017 archive, I found this piece by an ‘unknown’ artist who I now know is Pekoe. I love it when this kind of thing happens.

Her Upfest piece was definitely one that caught the eye and is rather more polished than some of her street work – it is a festival after all. She sticks with the female portrait formula that appears to be her preferred subject matter. I am reliably informed by Gary, the art blogger that this wea actually a collaboration piece with Mr Sleven and DNT.

Pekoe is a talented Bristol-based artist whose work I am just getting to grips with and I certainly want to see a whole load more. Looking forward to it. Worth a quick peek at her Linked-in page too.
It’s the Cornish air
grandma used to say, that’s why
I sleep like a log.
by Scooj
.
It isn’t easy
sifting through another’s life;
once loved, discarded.
.
by Scooj
.
Swallows hug the turf
darting with great precision
past rails and fences.
.
by Scooj