Tag: Upfest 2022

4657. Upfest 2022 (44)

SoFreeSo, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
SoFreeSo, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It is obvious from many of my posts on Natural Adventures, that I like butterflies, and this outstanding piece from SoFreeSo is an absolute beauty. The Swiss artist specialises in dreamy portraits and butterflies, and her pieces really come to life through the eyes of her subjects.

SoFreeSo, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
SoFreeSo, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

There is a lot to like about this piece, the overall composition and colours work very well, especially on sunny days, and those drips are to die for. Interestingly, the incorporation of eyes onto the wings of butterflies is an idea created by mother nature (or evolution if you prefer), where many species of butterfly have developed ‘eye spots’ on their wings to mimic a larger, more scary animal and deter would-be predators.

Peacock Butterfly, Haiku 1
Peacock Butterfly, Haiku 1

4656. Upfest 2022 (43)

DJ Perks, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
DJ Perks, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I managed to bump into DJ Perks several times over the two days of Upfest this year, which is always a pleasure, and we swapped notes about some of the pieces being painted at the festival. This Popeye piece was DJ Perks’ official Upfest piece, but he did another quick one on the afternoon of the second day (to come).

DJ Perks, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
DJ Perks, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

DJ Perks is making great progress with his writing and character pieces, and this one featuring the spinach-eating sailor standing in front of some chiselled rocks spelling PE(R)KS tells a lovely story, the letters and the character being directly related tom one another. More great fun from DJ Perks.

4655. Upfest 2022 (42)

Iain Macarthur, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Iain Macarthur, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Although Upfest was Highly populated with local artists this year, there were also at least twice as many who had travelled across Britain, Europe or the world to the city. Iain Macarthur is an illustrator from London whose work tends to focus around the deconstruction of faces/heads, of which this Upfest piece is a fine example.

Iain Macarthur, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Iain Macarthur, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This colourful piece explores what lies behind the face, and the answer here seems to be a tangled mass of blue and red organic tissue. Definitely an interesting study, and one that doesn’t present as gory or distasteful. A nice piece, well-designed for the tall, thin board.

Iain MacArthur, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Iain MacArthur, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

4654. Upfest 2022 (41)

Rosie Woods, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Rosie Woods, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This stunning piece, by Rosie Woods, is a little bit tucked away and perhaps overlooked by many, but in my view is one of the finest abstract pieces in Bristol at the moment. We were honoured to have Rosie Woods at Upfest, because although she grew up in London, she now lives in Australia, and that is one hell of a trip… perhaps she was over in Europe visiting relatives and painting at a variety of festivals/commissions.

Rosie Woods, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Rosie Woods, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The colours, depth and textures in this piece are seductive and compelling… it is really sumptuous. I have looked at a lot of Rosie Woods’ work on the Interweb, and am definitely a big fan. I very much hope that she will pay us a visit again, if ever she makes it over to the UK again.

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.

4624. Upfest 2022 (39)

Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It is always great to see Decay painting in Bristol, too much of a rarity these days, and even better when he teams up with Mudra. Although their styles are totally different, they have managed to work well together on this hoarding to divide the space up and allow their pieces to ‘talk to each other.

Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Decay and Mudra, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

To the left are some fine initials, DK, bound together by the irrepressible ‘Chuck’, who is very much missed in the city. To the right, Mudra has spelled out his name with an eclectic mix of letter styles, reminiscent of SkyHigh’s approach to writing. The black background brings out the best in both pieces on this collaborative board. Nice one.

4623. Upfest 2022 (38)

Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

On meeting Saor recently at the Cheltenham Paint Fesitval recently, he said that he would prefer me to refer to him as Saor in my blog posts rather than by his previous name. I said that I would do it, even if it gives me a bit of a headache in terms of tagging and cataloguing things. So Saor it is.

Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This Upfest piece is an absolute beauty. Crisp and clean and with a wonderful colour colour palette. the form of Saor’s letters remind me a little of Epok’s writing style, which is praise indeed. The letters spell out the name SAOR. It was very sweet, watching Saor’s little assistant helping out.

Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Saor, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The monster face seems to be back now, having been left out of a few recent pieces, and you can see that Saor hadn’t quite finished off the wispy circular cloud (a halo?) when I took these WIP shots. Saor is definitely an artist who continues to up his game with each new piece.

4622. Upfest 2022 (37)

Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I have a feeling that this might be the third piece painted by Jelly in Bristol, and this time she has brought a friend, apparan, with her. The double portrait, sited just off North Street, is a welcome burst of colour on what is an otherwise rather dull stretch of street.

Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Jelly and apparan, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The two portraits, although quite similar in style, have their own distinctive elements, such as the long eyelashes that Jelly likes to paint. It is really interesting to see the skin tones contrasting and the hair colours too. Portraits of women by women – this is great to see. A fine contribution to Upfest 2022, and we would welcome these two back anytime.

4621. Upfest 2022 (36)

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Two Inkie posts in a row… It happens you know from time to time, sometimes by design and other times quite by accident. This was an accident, but nothing to stress about, there are no rules on Natural Adventures, and if there were I wouldn’t stick to them anyway.

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I watched Inkie as he was painting this stunner, and was reminded of the incredible pace he works at. I watched him paint the lower left hand quadrant for a couple of minutes, walked the dog up the road for five minutes, came back and he had virtually finished the segment, awesome to witness.

Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Inkie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Somehow Upfest wouldn’t feel like Upfest without a landmark Inkie piece, and the area plays host to several of his pieces still, from years gone by. Inkie – Bristol – ASK (After Schook Klub) – Vikki. Says it all. A true beauty.

4595. Upfest 2022 (35)

I am a huge admirer of Johnman’s incredible pieces, and although I have only seen a handful of them, each one is an absolute cracker. I particularly like this piece, because accidentally or deliberately, the scene blends into the real blue sky behind it, giving a slightly surreal feel to the whole thing.

Johnman, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Johnman, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Johnman has a gift for producing intrigue and drama in his work, and here we have a girl in a wheat field under a deep blue sky with a dove of peace. The colours suggest that this is a representation of the Ukranian flag and that it is a piece depicting the war with the Dictator Putin’s Russia. A stunning, mysterious and compassionate piece from this outstanding artist.