Tag: Upfest

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.

Georgie

A gallery of fabulous street and festival art from Bristol artist Georgie

Instagram: @georgieartist

Website: Georgie

All photographs by Scooj

Georgie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Georgie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

 

Georgie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021
Georgie, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, June 2021

 

Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

 

Georgie, Jamaica Street, Bristol, February 2020
Georgie, Jamaica Street, Bristol, February 2020

 

Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

 

Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

 

Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

 

Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018

 

Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2018

 

Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

 

Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

 

Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017
Georgie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

 

Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017

 

Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017

 

Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2017

 

Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2017
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, February 2017

 

Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016
Georgie, The Bearpit, Bristol, April 2016

 

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.

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

4542. Upfest 2022 (24)

This is a fine piece of graphic writing from Acer for Upfest on a permanent wall, although the permanence of the wall is no guarantee for the permanence of the piece and sadly this has already been dogged, which is a pity, because it is a classy piece that commands this spot overlooking Greville Smyth Park.

Acer, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Acer, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It is something of a joy to watch Acer’s work and how it progresses from month to month and year to year. His theme these days seems to be based on a highly stylised font or series of fonts that incorporate black base-lettering with transitioning rainbow colour outlines, creating both high design and depth. The sentiment is a good one… PARTY, which is what Upfest 2022 turned out to be, and a great one at that.

4541. Upfest 2022 (23)

The man who paints (draws, geddit?), faster than his shadow. What a stunning piece, and definitely one of my favourites from Upfest this year. Featuring comic book character Lucky Luke, a series I never read as a kid, but rather wish that I had now, (I was more of an Asterix and Tintin fan), the piece, by Alain Welter is beautifully proportioned and structured, with a strong sense of depth.

Alain Welter, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Alain Welter, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The board is quite long, and Alain Welter has used the space cleverly by putting in the text on the left and reducing the width enough for the proportions of the piece to work. Alain Welter is an accomplished street artist from Luxembourg (a first for Upfest) whose website is definitely worth a visit. He even has a blog post about this piece, so he likes to keep things up to date.

Alain Welter, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Alain Welter, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

When producing graffiti writing, it seems that Alain Welter uses the the letters MOPE, hence Lucky Mope instead of Luke. There is so much to like about this piece, it is very easy on the eye, witty, and the artwork is superb, just take a look at the writing on a curtain. Clever stuff. I do hope that Alain Welter makes it back to Bristol for next year’s Upfest.

4540. Upfest 2022 (22)

It is always great to see street art that deviates from the norm that we are used to seeing, namely spray can art, and every year at Upfest, Angus, a local Bristol artist, treats us to a mosaic or two, although he is also an accomplished spray artist too, he seems to have preferred his mosaics in recent years.

Angus, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Angus, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This rather fun piece on one of the walls of the Hen and Chicken, a key venue for Upfest art, features a dog enjoying a pint of beer. I took the picture on a bright day, with shadows cast across the piece, but being an inherently lazy person, I haven’t been back to get the ‘perfect’ picture, but then I suppose who is to say what a perfect picture actually is. Enough covid-induced philosophising. Great work from Angus, and more to come.