6154. Upfest 2024 (33)

Emotional Waterfall Art, Upfest 24, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2024
Emotional Waterfall Art, Upfest 24, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2024

If you like bright and colourful abstract designs, then this piece by Emotional Waterfall Art painted at Upfest 2024 will be right up your street. The artist is no stranger to Upfest, and she painted an enormous mural for the 75×75 event in 2021. I am not certain, because her social media accounts are vague, but I think that she is Bristol-based, or at least from the West of England.

Emotional Waterfall Art, Upfest 24, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2024
Emotional Waterfall Art, Upfest 24, Exeter Road, Bristol, May 2024

This piece is painted on a gate in Exeter Road (one for Thursday Doors in a year or two) adding a vibrant splash of colour. There is a whole ton of positive energy coming at you from the mixture of shapes and patterns in this delightful mural. I believe, from reading her Instagram post about that this piece, that she had a really great day painting it.

6153. Upfest 2024 (32)

Sr. Papa Chango, Upfest 24, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Bristol, May 2024
Sr. Papa Chango, Upfest 24, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Bristol, May 2024

Where to start with this outstanding and unbelievably cute piece by Sr. Papa Chango? An extraordinary still-life framed composition with a bowl of fruit and a decanter is enhanced with the appearance of two fluffy characters that appear to have artistic ambitions. The piece is so well painted, it almost looks like a poster that has been pasted up on this large wall.

Sr. Papa Chango, Upfest 24, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Bristol, May 2024
Sr. Papa Chango, Upfest 24, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Bristol, May 2024

I had not heard of Sr. Papa Chango before I saw this piece, and I believe that this might be his first trip to the UK, and definitely his first to Bristol. The Mexican artist now lives and paints out of Berlin, and is the creator of some magnificent murals like this one.

Sr. Papa Chango, Upfest 24, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Bristol, May 2024
Sr. Papa Chango, Upfest 24, Redpoint Climbing Centre, Bristol, May 2024

The artwork is so good and the creativity almost dreamlike and fantastical. In this piece he has managed to create a contrast between the passivity of the fruit and the activity of the adorable creatures, both of which are spilling out of the frame. This piece on the huge Redpoint Climbing Centre wall is absolutely one of the highlights of Upfest 2024.

6152. Upfest 2024 (31)

Bex Glover, Upfest 24, Stackpool Road, Bristol, May 2024
Bex Glover, Upfest 24, Stackpool Road, Bristol, May 2024

Bex Glover is an outstanding Bristol artist, graphic designer, illustrator and muralist, whose work can be seen on commissioned walls, and in various ‘corporate’ buildings in the city, much of it intact after several years. She is also a regular guest artist at Upfest events, and this is her superb piece for this year’s festival.

Bex Glover, Upfest 24, Stackpool Road, Bristol, May 2024
Bex Glover, Upfest 24, Stackpool Road, Bristol, May 2024

This one is painted on another new wall for Upfest (at this rate the whole of Bedminster and Southville will be one continuous mural) and one that looks so much better for having a splash of paint. There are two animal characters, a crane and a fox, in this piece inspired by Aesop’s fable ‘the fox and the crane’ with a working idea of ‘putting differences aside’. A sentiment that could be adopted before, during and after our divisive General Election

Bex Glover, Upfest 24, Stackpool Road, Bristol, May 2024
Bex Glover, Upfest 24, Stackpool Road, Bristol, May 2024

The distinctive blue background with tree boughs and flowers is the perfect setting for the abstract animals. There is a calm and natural atmosphere that is created by her artwork, which is always such a joy to see. If I had money and a wall, I wouldn’t hesitate to commission work from her, it ticks all of my boxes and some. This is a glorious piece and worth the extra yards to find it.

6133. Upfest 2024 (30)

Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024
Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024

Wowzer! A word I rarely use, but this outstanding anamorphic piece by Uncle left me breathless, and even now, looking at the photographs, it plays tricks with your mind. This kind of anamorphic art has been around for centuries, and in its more formal settings is called trompe l’oeil, which in French means ‘deceiving the eye’, and which can be seen in cathedrals, churches, palaces and streets all over Europe (and beyond I expect). Street artists have been refining the style and are now creating some utterly mind-boggling work for all to enjoy.

Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024
Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024

One of the things about anamorphic art is that it often has to be viewed from a specific point to achieve the full effect, and the first photograph just about hits the spot. Uncle has managed to create a green box that appears to be sunk into the building, and the 3D lettering in red, white and blue is sitting within the ‘recess’. Much of the illusion is created with very clever use of light and shade and shadows cast.

Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024
Uncle, Upfest 24, Luckwell Road, Bristol, May 2024

I am so pleased that Upfest invited Uncle, who is from Hong Kong, to paint this piece this year, and I hope that it encourages more of this kind of awe-inspiring art in the city. You can find more of Uncle’s work on his Instagram feed, that has quite a few interesting images and reels of this piece. Outstanding work.

6132. Upfest 2024 (29)

Sepr, Upfest 24, The Nursery, Bristol, May 2024
Sepr, Upfest 24, The Nursery, Bristol, May 2024

I have mentioned before that Upfest has a blend of local, national and international artists every year, but what is noticeable this year is that many of the Bristol-based artists have been given large feature walls to paint, which is great to see, and to be able to showcase some of our own homegrown talent.

Sepr, Upfest 24, The Nursery, Bristol, May 2024
Sepr, Upfest 24, The Nursery, Bristol, May 2024

This is an outstanding mural from Sepr, who is no stranger to the pages of Natural Adventures – you can see more of his work in this gallery. The green colour palette is masterfully worked in this cartoon-style balloon ark. There is a wonderful story unfolding here of animals sharing a balloon trip (balloons, like street art, being one of Bristol’s USPs) under a warm sun. Sepr has designed the piece to work around the doors and windows of the house, which interestingly has no window above the door, allowing more mural space. In my view, this is a masterpiece of stylised cartoon street art that brings smiles to the faces of passers-by. Awesome.

6131. Upfest 2024 (28)

Luke Smile, Upfest 24, West Street, Bristol, May 2024
Luke Smile, Upfest 24, West Street, Bristol, May 2024

Life in full colour! This outstanding Upfest piece, by Luke Smile in a way reflects the previous two posts (Shane O’ Malley and Paul Monsters) in its joyful use of colour and specific reference to colour in the words. Although this is not the first time I have seen Luke Smile’s work in Bristol, he is not a regular visitor, so it felt especially good to see this piece.

Luke Smile, Upfest 24, West Street, Bristol, May 2024
Luke Smile, Upfest 24, West Street, Bristol, May 2024

Luke Smile is a British artist and designer and has been concentrating on his ‘Smile sans’ font which we see here in this mural. I have lifted Luke Smile’s description of the font from his website, because I am sure his explanation is far better than anything I could write:

‘The bespoke font has a hollow-like quality where the 3D areas of the letterforms leave space for bold colour and texture whilst casting interesting shadows’

I have to say that this piece really struck me when I first saw it and it remains one of my favourites from this year’s festival.

Luke Smile, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2017
Luke Smile, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2017

6130. Upfest 2024 (27)

Shane O'Malley, Upfest 24, Bedminster Down Road, Bristol, May 2024
Shane O’Malley, Upfest 24, Bedminster Down Road, Bristol, May 2024

There are some murals painted at this year’s Upfest that you simply just have to stand back and admire, and this extraordinary piece by Shane O’Malley is one of them. The double house wall is a new one for Upfest this year, and although a little way off the beaten track and without anywhere to park, is well worth the trip.

Shane O'Malley, Upfest 24, Bedminster Down Road, Bristol, May 2024
Shane O’Malley, Upfest 24, Bedminster Down Road, Bristol, May 2024

Shane O’Malley is an artist from Galway in Ireland who works on designs based around circles, geometry and colour in both the studio and on walls – you can see more of his murals on his website. This piece conveys joy and excitement and is complemented by the blue skies on the day I photographed it. A wonderful Upfest piece.

6129. Upfest 2024 (26)

Paul Monsters, Upfest 24, North Street, Bristol, May 2024
Paul Monsters, Upfest 24, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

I have a feeling that this was one of the first walls to be completed for this year’s Upfest, and there is likely a very good reason for this. Paul Monsters, whose colourful geometric murals are well known in Bristol, also works with Upfest, so I imagine he needed to complete his piece early so that he could help with his festival responsibilities.

Paul Monsters, Upfest 24, North Street, Bristol, May 2024
Paul Monsters, Upfest 24, North Street, Bristol, May 2024

The wonderful mural is painted on the side of the Bristol Beer Factory, and Paul Monsters has carefully incorporated the pint glass logo into his design. The use of various tones of colours to create depth in these geometric pieces is a trademark of Paul Monsters’ work and although at first glance his work might look simple and straightforward, it is in fact complex and sophisticated. This post reminds me that it is high time I produced a gallery of his outstanding work.

6109. Upfest 2024 (25)

Kid Crayon, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Kid Crayon, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

This combination character and graffiti writing piece by Bristol’s Kid Crayon was something of a rarity at Upfest this year. It seems fitting that Kid Crayon was selected to paint this wall, because for me, he kind of represents the ‘Bristol school’ of street art, and although the styles of Bristol are enormously varied, somehow KC encapsulates them in his art.

Kid Crayon, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Kid Crayon, Greville Smyth Park, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

The piece is a tribute to Jack Black, who KC obviously admires, and he openly states “This is not the greatest Montana burner in the world, no, this is just a tribute!”. This statement shows Kid Crayon’s modesty, because this is an accomplished piece, perfectly presented for an Upfest audience. It would have been nice to see a bit more graffiti writing at this year’s festival – maybe next time. More of Kid Crayon’s work in this gallery.

6108. Upfest 2024 (24)

Angie Jerez, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Angie Jerez, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

With the sheer number and quality of large murals at this year’s Upfest, it was easy to become complacent, and I nearly missed this wonderful piece, by Angie Jerez, above Kask, which when you stroll on the ‘wrong’ side of the road in North Street, is quite easy to do, which I why I always walk up one side and back the other side.

Angie Jerez, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
Angie Jerez, North Street, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

This mural, featuring two birds and plant seed heads, way above the clouds has been beautifully designed around the stacked windows above the wine bar. The limited number of colours draws attention to the fine detail of the design itself, and the stylised birds are glorious. I don’t know anything about Angie Jerez other than what appears in her Upfest Biography, and that she is originally from Bogotá in Colombia, but now lives in Atlanta. What a brilliant thing that she came to Bristol to paint at Upfest.