Upfest 2024 – Page 6 – Natural adventures

6060. Upfest 2024 (9)

Fesa, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

In the interests of keeping as up to date as I can with Upfest posts on Natural Adventures, I am posting a rare fourth piece in one day. This outstanding mural by Fesa is painted on a board outside the Redpoint Climbing Wall, which has been a well known Upfest spot over the last few years, and although a little off the beaten track, is well worth hunting down.

Fesa is a self-taught fine artist from Munich, and this rendition of a Dalmatian dog set in a rural landscape is breathtakingly good. Although the whole piece is fairly simple and sparse, it is filled with the atmosphere of a warm day, and the toppled mug is a wonderful observation. The buildings in the background remind me of Paul Cézanne’s style of work, leaving quite a lot to the imagination. I love seeing fine art pieces upscaled in this way for street art, and Fesa has done an amazing job with this one. Lots of animals represented at Upfest this year.

6059. Upfest 2024 (8)

Cheba, Lime Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

I realise that it is a first world problem, but one of the things I am agonising over at the moment is how on earth I post as many pieces from Upfest as I possibly can, alongside posting the regular everyday graffiti and street art that appears on Bristols walls every day. I guess it is a good problem to have, but it vexes me nonetheless.

This lovely piece from Bristol artist Cheba has been painted over one of my all-time favourite pieces in Bedminster by Willl Cross, which makes me a little sad, but that is the nature of street art.

Cheba is known for his atmospheric cosmic pieces, many of which can still be found around the city if you know where to look. In this one he has created a nebulous composition dotted with bright stars, looking like some of those photographs taken in space of vast ‘cloudy’ areas by exploration probes. There is a sense of both scale and calm in this attractive small piece.

Willl Cross, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

6058. Upfest 2024 (7)

The Hass, North Street Green, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

The Hass is an exceptional street artist whose talents never cease to amaze me, and he has knocked it out of the park with this extraordinary piece for Upfest this year. The long wall is at the back of the brick building on North Street Green, and I believe that this is the first year it has been ‘commandeered’ for the festival.

I think I got lucky with the gorgeous weather on the day I photographed this piece, because the colours of the grass and sky are reflected in the artwork. The whole piece is a mash-up of stunning portraits and a peacock and peacock feathers.

The Hass has made a clever play with the eye patterns on the feathers and the eyes in the portraits, quite deliberately I’m sure. Not only does the piece blend perfectly with some abstract shapes and patterns, but there is also some incredible detail throughout the work. It is unbelievable that the whole thing is painted using spray cans. Outstanding work.

6057. Upfest 2024 (6)

Faye Rai, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

There has been a concerted focus at this year’s Upfest to create permanent or long-life pieces on existing and new walls, at the expense of the rather more ephemeral boards and festival atmosphere of previous events. I suspect that the festival element is more expensive and difficult to organise, and has been dropped this year, which is a pity. However, we are left with a plethora of outstanding pieces across South Bristol to enjoy, such as this beauty from Faye Rai.

I believe that Faye Rai is reasonably local, being based in Gloucester, and is an artist with a background in illustration. She has not been painting on the streets for very long, but appears to have made the transition very successfully, if this piece is anything to go by. She favours natural history in her work, and this portrayal of a purple heron is outstanding.

Now that she has a taste for street art, it would be wonderful to see more of her work about the place, and I am left wondering whether she might be painting at the Cheltenham paint festival later on this year. I have just checked her Instagram feed and note that she was at Cheltenham last year, and I have some pictures of her work, which alas I haven’t yet uploaded on to Natural Adventures, such is my backlog. These are surely the halcyon days of street art.

6045. Upfest 2024 (4)

Rob Wass, The Spotted Cow, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

To be honest with you, I am not sure whether this piece by Rob Wass, in the yard of the Spotted Cow pub, is from this year’s Upfest or whether it was already there before. It looks pretty fresh, and I know the artist has painted for the festival before, so I imagine it is a 2024 piece. (Update: it was painted for Upfest 2024)

Rob Wass, who is a fine artist and designer, occasionally paints murals like this one, which are very much an upscaling of his studio work. He uses brushes rather than spray cans, which give him the opportunity to add in so much fine detail. This is a gorgeous piece with a flamingo at its heart and an array of decorative ‘peacock’ feathers fanned from the centre. An intricate and interesting piece, well worth hunting down.

6044. Upfest 2024 (3)

Abraham.O, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Wow! This is an utterly awesome portrait piece from El Salvadorian artist Abraham.O who is now based in London. He is well-known for his greyscale portrait pieces, and this is what I would describe as ‘high-end’ street art, the kind of thing that makes you gasp in amazement.

I understand the piece is a portrait of his wife, and what a wonderful way to demonstrate your love and affection. In photographing street art every day, one gets used to ‘street furniture’ getting in the way f things, and the gate across the right-hand edge of this one is annoying, but no more than that, as the piece stands out irrespective. The flower petals with the faintest hint of blue is a wonderful touch.

Abraham.O, Dean Lane, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

At Upfest, artists often leave behind little ‘extras’ and I believe this one in Dean Lane skate Park is by Abraham.O. There is a nice little biography of the artist on the Upfest artist pages of their website.

6043. Upfest 2024 (2)

Sled One, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Although this is the second weekend of Upfest, there are only a few completed pieces dotted around the place, although I expect that by the end of the festival period, there will be an overwhelming array of pieces for me to photograph. This piece is by another Bristol artist, Sled One who is one of the leading writers and most creative artists in the city. This piece is a bit of a change from his usual style, but demonstrates just how incredibly talented and versatile he is.

The crazy character piece is painted on the walls of the bowling club in Greville Smyth Park, and looks absolutely fantastic. The cartoon-style piece depicts a man on a bicycle smelling the flowers. It is beautifully designed and frames in a loose pink border and as well as the central character, there is a lot going on throughout the piece to let the eye settle on. As ever, an outstanding piece from Sled One. You can see more of his work in this gallery.

6042. Upfest 2024 (1)

Maybe, Merrywood Road, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

Right, strap in! Upfest 2024 is in full swing in Bristol. For those who don’t know, Upfest is a street and graffiti art festival which has been running intermittently for a decade or so and is touted as Europe’s largest festival of its kind, bringing local national and international artists to the city to show off their talents. The format this year is a little different from pervious years, where there is no central ‘festival’ element with music, food and hundreds of artists spraying boards in one of Bedminster’s parks. Instead, over three weekends (this being the middle one) more than 200 artists will be painting selected walls of south Bristol. I will try to include as many as I can in Natural Adventures, but alongside the everyday painting in Bristol, this will be a serious challenge.

First up is this piece by a local artist Maybe (@maybepaints), who has been rather quiet on the streets over the last 12 months. This is a classic, incorporating all the elements he has been fine-tuning over the years, such as his incredible planets and starry space. Humour plays a large part in his work, and a moon face eating a banana fits the bill nicely. This is a wonderful piece that fits the spot perfectly. You can see more of his work in this Maybe gallery.

	paulh121 on Sands
	M. on 7398. Peel Street Green (…
	I. J. Khanewala on Thursday doors – 8 Janua…
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	hitandrun1964 on 7398. Peel Street Green (…

	paulh121 on Sands
	M. on 7398. Peel Street Green (…
	I. J. Khanewala on Thursday doors – 8 Janua…
	hitandrun1964 on Sands
	hitandrun1964 on 7398. Peel Street Green (…

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