Tag: Upfest 2022

4594. Upfest 2022 (34)

I guess it is a host’s prerogative, in this case Upfest, to be able to include lots of local artists to join in the fun of the festival, and it felt like, this year more than any other, that Bristol-based artists made up a significant proportion of all the artists in attendance. This is a brilliant thing, because it introduces all the visitors to the festival to the vast pool of talent we have in the city.

Zake, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zake, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Any regular reader of Natural Adventures will be no stranger to the work of Zake, and here we see him at work painting the body of one of his characteristic cartoon-style faces. I like work in progress (WIP) photographs, because they give you a real sense of how the finished article was created, and how the finishing touches can transform a piece.

Zake, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Zake, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

As always, it is the mastery of light and shade that makes Zake’s work so special, and he has managed to apply these principles not only to the character’s face but also to his clothes. A fine festival piece from Zake.

4593. Upfest 2022 (33)

I think I was being rather thick when I looked at this piece, and it took me quite a while to unpick what was going on. It is funny how you can look at something but not really see it, which is something I pride myself on being able to do ordinarily, but in this instance I failed.

Usedpencil, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Used Pencil, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The clever piece is by Used Pencil and is of course a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth, although not an entirely flattering one. Upfest was held this year just before the extended bank holiday during which the nation celebrated the Queen’s platinum jubilee – I didn’t celebrate, because I was in Porto with my daughter.

This portrait is a bit like a fully painted doodle and it is very nicely executed too. Used Pencil is another artist I have never come across before and his Upfest biography reads:

I am Used Pencil, the ‘Secret Walls’ winning, mural making, illicit illustrator with walls covered and exhibitions curated in HK, Lisbon, LDN, Manchester and Iceland, to name just a few. Always starting with a pencil and paper, I like to make marks on all surfaces using fine line creative wizardry.

Nice contemporary work.

4592. Upfest 2022 (32)

I think it is fair to say that some of the Upfest pieces are much more memorable than others. Some you really want to photograph and some others you forget that you even saw them until you review your pictures. This is definitely one of those memorable ones.

Mister Samo, Upfest 22, Bristol, Bristol, May 2022
Mister Samo, Upfest 22, Bristol, Bristol, May 2022

The bright piece is by Mister Samo, who I have not encountered before but who has a really interesting biography in the Upfest programme as follows:

Samo is a Portsmouth based trans artist, public speaker, and activist who focuses on intersectional gender identity and community. Highlights include painting at World Pride 2019, producing I EXIST (a trans bodies art book), founding an LGBTQ+ safe space scheme, and having his works collected by people across the world.

Mister Samo, Upfest 22, Bristol, Bristol, May 2022
Mister Samo, Upfest 22, Bristol, Bristol, May 2022

There is something very appealing about the piece and without doubt it demands to be looked at. The stylised yellow figure set on the blue and pink background stands out a mile, but as well as the bold colours, the finer details are what make the piece rather special, such as the hand and the beautifully drafted flowers. A very nice piece from Mister Samo.

4591. Upfest 2022 (31)

This was the first completed piece from Upfest 2022 that I saw this year and was the piece that alerted me to the fact that many artists were already out and about in Bedminster painting static walls as a precursor to the main event in Greville Smyth Park at the end of May.

Squirl, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Squirl, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The large mural is by Squirl, who has painted a few times in Bristol, mostly at Upfest, but also in collaboration with SPZero76 as part of the Gums and Tongue crew. This is a beautifully designed landscape scene in a highly stylised and colourful form. A stunner, and as fortune would have it, the roadworks in front of it made it easier to photograph as there are usually cars permanently parked in front of this wall. Great piece from Squirl.

4572. Upfest 2022 (30)

At Upfest you get to see work from so many artists that you have never encountered before, and in some cases may never encounter again. Always, though, there will be some pieces that stand out or stick in the memory, for whatever reason, and this curious piece by Rinascimento Punk is one of those.

Rinascimento punk, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Rinascimento punk, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The character in the piece is all a little surreal, with unfamiliar limbs attached (or in the case of the hand, unattached) to a torso and face. The hand is holding a planet (Saturn?) and I am guessing the head is in a space helmet, because the piece is entitled ‘Woman in Space’. This is an intriguing piece with loads of texture in the artwork. Great stuff.

4571. Upfest 2022 (29)

You couldn’t want to meet two nicer, albeit slightly bonkers, artists than Jimmer Willmott and Guts, who don’t paint the streets all that often, but when they do really bring things to life with their imaginative work.

Jimmer Willmott and Guts, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Jimmer Willmott and Guts, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It was genuinely a real pleasure to catch up with them just as they were finishing off the piece, and we chatted for a while, and they asked me to take the obligatory ‘artist selfies’ in front of the finished work, which was great fun. Unfortunately, the pictures were on their phone and not mine. On the left of the piece is a rather curious, and slightly disturbing character, looking a bit like Mr Potato Head given some Picasso treatment.

Jimmer Willmott and Guts, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Jimmer Willmott and Guts, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

To the right is a busy gathering of monsters and things, with a bit of slime thrown in, so typical of the bright and ‘happening’ pieces that Guts paints. I am not even going to try and interpret the piece, to do so would be foolish. The collaborative effort as a whole is so full of energy, joy and creativity, and it is such a pleasure to see more of their street work.

4570. Upfest 2022 (28)

Skor85 is a wonderful artist, living in Bristol, although I believe she is one of a number of artists in the city originally from Poland. It has been a very long time since I last saw any of her work, so managing to catch up with her, albeit briefly, at Upfest was a real bonus.

Skor85, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Skor85, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Her work often contains studies of the human form, although it might be contorted or in some way agonised, not unlike the work of Object…. I am pretty sure that there is some kind of narrative in this piece, but I am not quite sure that I can pin it down. I wonder if there is an anti-war theme to it.

Skor85, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Skor85, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The tortured character, an alien perhaps, appears to be fending off shells or satellites containing concepts such as television or money. A complex piece with plenty to think about together with a rich combination of a beautifully worked character and catastrophic scenes in the background, make this a real Upfesst winner.

4569. Upfest 2022 (27)

One of my favourite Bristol artists is Sepr, and it is great to see him embracing Upfest this year. I can’t recall any Upfest pieces by Sepr before, but I might well be mistaken. This is a prominent wall at Upfest, with plenty of opportunity to see it head on from a distance, as anyone driving from North Street to West Street will know.

Sepr, Upfest 22, Bristol, June 2022
Sepr, Upfest 22, Bristol, June 2022

The previous occupant was another Bristol artist, Cheba, so it is nice to get that local continuity. Sepr has painted a whole load of people out and about, perhaps reflecting the diversity of people attending Upfest. What is fascinating is that each of the characters is telling a different story; some seem anxious, some unhappy, some happy, some busy and some simply chilling. It is incredible to get so many contrasting emotions into one piece. This is an outstanding piece from Sepr, and what a joy that it will probably remain in situ until the next Upfest.

4568. Upfest 2022 (26)

This is one of two pieces painted by Ejits at this year’s festival, the other being a wall over a shop entrance on East Street. Although she doesn’t paint on the streets all that often, she does have one or two prominent murals in Bedminster.

Ejits, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Ejits, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Although I managed to photograph the piece as a work in progress, I unfortunately didn’t manage to cross paths with Ejits, which is a shame, but maybe next time. Ejits seems to be as comfortable painting on a small board as she is painting at scale and her straightforward solid fill characters are interesting and charming. I would say that her style is similar to that of Roo and Nol, although her characters are quite unique.

Ejits, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Ejits, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

One could be forgiven for thinking that her half-finished piece was complete, because it was signed, but the final picture shows you how much impact the additional details make on the overall piece. Watch this space for her other Upfest 2022 piece.

4543. Upfest 2022 (25)

Not only is Upfest great for the people of Bristol and surrounding area, introducing them to the magnificent world of street art, but it is also a massive pull for artists too.  Artists are drawn from all over the globe to attend this important event on the calendar, but many artists are local to Bristol who rarely paint walls, but have the opportunity to transfer their studio skills to a more accessible format. Some even get a taste for it.

Rosie McLay, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Rosie McLay, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Rosie Mclay is a Bristol artist who has painted at Upfest before, but in between festivals she continues with her studio artwork, which I have seen her selling in the Tobacco Factory market once or twice, and fine stuff it is too. This piece is really rather beautiful, and she has used the larger format to great advantage. The ‘study’ has two feet joined by a piece of string which is wrapped around the big toes of each foot. The string is fraying in the middle. Colour and tone is added with the yellow circle and red triangle, although I am not quite sure what the whole thing is about. I am a fan of her work, and perhaps I ought to buy something next time I see her selling sketches.

Rosie McLay, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Rosie McLay, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018