Tag: Upfest

3746. Upfest 2021 75×75 (2)

Adding to the challenge of keeping up with the turnover of street art in Bristol has been the recent unveiling of Upfest’s 75 new walls painted in 75 days. Not only is this a huge undertaking by Upfest, in what has been a very disrupted two years, but is a major challenge for me to keep up with. At the time of writing I have seen about eight or nine new pieces with several more on the go.

Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021
Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021

Any regular readers will probably recognise this massive mural as being by Bristol artist and designer Mr Penfold. In this piece he has gone large, but that rather suits his style of big bold designs and colours.

Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021
Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021

This particular wall is one that has hosted some amazing pieces and this is yet another one in that series. I have to say that this one went under my radar and I didn’t know that Mr Penfold had painted it until he posted it on Instagram, hence no WIP shots.

Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021
Mr Penfold, Church Road, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 2021

Although a stunning feature wall for Upfest, it is one of the trickier ones to photograph, especially in summer when the tree is in full leaf. It is always great to see new Mr Penfold pieces and this one is a real beauty.

3727. Upfest 2021 75×75 (1)

In Bristol, one of the most anticipated festivals each year is Upfest, where much of Bedminster turns its attention to a celebration of street art over a long weekend. Upfest is the largest festival of its kind in Europe and attracts artists from all over the globe as well as many closer to home. The last festival was held in 2018. In 2019, the Upfest organisers, Steve and Emma, decided to have a gap year to give all the people involved in the festival a break and prepare for 2020. We all know what happened next…

This year Upfest are hoping to hold a live event in Greville Smyth Park in August, but this looks to be in jeopardy because of the continued likelihood of restrictions due to the Delta variant of COVID-19. However, Upfest have also instigated another initiative called 75 walls in 75 days, which starting on 15 May aims to complete 75 walls by 75 different artists, thus spreading the activity and keeping it appropriately coronavirus-friendly. Although this piece by JXC is not the first to be completed, it is the first that I am posting.

JXC, Greville Road, Bristol, May 2021
JXC, Greville Road, Bristol, May 2021

JXC is an outstanding artist whose mastery of the spray can is legendary and his ability to create such fine detail is his trademark. This piece of a fly and his block capital letters and with dents smashed in the wall is absolutely outstanding, and it is difficult to know how he manages to do it. This is real high-end street art at its very best. World-class.

JXC, Greville Road, Bristol, May 2021
JXC, Greville Road, Bristol, May 2021

This piece shows not only the incredible skill of the artist, but the willingness of the very best in the game to come to Bristol and participate in Upfest. Look out for more of the 75 over the summer.

3656. North Street

This wonderful and rather large mural is by Ejits, a Bristol artist and is the fifth instalment of the ‘six sisters’ shop facades opposite North Street Green. Orchestrated by Upfest and Bedminster BID, each of these beauties is painted by a local female artist, showcasing the wealth and breadth of street art in Bristol.

Ejits, North Street, Bristol, April 2021
Ejits, North Street, Bristol, April 2021

The piece is painted not with spray cans, but more traditionally with paints and brushes and features Ejits which Emily (the artist’s real name) describes as ‘a curious and playful bunch of illustrated characters created to brighten up and bring joy to your world’. Well mark this down as an outright success straight away. I will confess at this stage that I didn’t know about the artist before she painted this, but now that she is on my radar, I’ll look out for her studio work and any walls she might be decorating.

Zoe Power, Gemma Compton, Sophie Long and Ejits, North Street, Bristol, April 2021
Zoe Power, Gemma Compton, Sophie Long and Ejits, North Street, Bristol, April 2021

It is probably best to finish off with Emily’s own words about the piece which she calls ‘Rumpus’, taken from her beautiful website:

‘After a long year of lockdowns, I felt it was important to bring something colourful and joyful to this piece of public art. I took inspiration from Where the Wild Things are and Keith Haring to create something with a lot of movement and energy. That’s why the title of this piece is Rumpus!

The Six Sisters are hyped to be the largest mural project in the UK designed and painted by female street artists.

It sits in a prominent and popular part of the city on North Street Bedminster and also features murals by Bex Glover, Zoe Power, Gemma Compton and Sophie Long. Lucas Antics will be the sixth and final artist to add her mural to the line-up.‘

Thursday doors – 30 July 2020

Doors 117 – back to the old graffiti doors from my archives

Wow, a really busy week for me with the rest of my team all away on their hols and only me to man the fort. So a quick rummage around in my archives it will have to be this week.

Dabuten Tronko, High Street, Bristol, July 2018
Dabuten Tronko, High Street, Bristol, July 2018

John D'oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2018
John D’oh, North Street, Bristol, July 2018

Nevergiveup, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Nevergiveup, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018

Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2018
Laic217, Moon Street, Bristol, August 2018

Nol, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Nol, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Annatomix, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Annatomix, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2018
qWeRT, Stokes Croft, Bristol, July 2018

Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018
Andrew Burns Colwill, Westbury Hill, Bristol, August 2018

OK, so it’s not a door, but I figured that this trompe loeil window by Andrew Burns Colwill was worth including.

Silk Crystal street art, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Silk Crystal street art, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Gretl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Gretl, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Louis Masai, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Piet Rodriguez, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

Another week gone in this crazy and unsettling time. In the UK we are due to have a few decent days of sunshine which always brings about a collective improvement in mood. May I wish you all a great week ahead.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

 

by Scooj

Thursday doors – 21 May 2019

Doors 107 – even more archive street/graffiti art doors.

You know the drill. Even though I have been out and about a bit and have photographed quite a few doors lately, I haven’t yet had time to upload them on to my PC – so until such time as I get myself a little bit more organised, you might have top make do with yet another seelection of doors from my street art archive.

I am pleased to note that readers apppear to have enjoyed these galleries when I have posted them, which gives me the courage to continue with them when I need to.

These ones were photographed from September 2015 through to December 2016.

Rob Wass, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2015
Rob Wass, Raleigh Road, Bristol, September 2015

The pictures above and below are the same wall painted for two different Upfest events.

Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Karl Read, Raleigh Road, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Unify, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016
Unify, Hoxton Square, London, August 2016

Stik, Grimsby Street, London, August 2016
Stik, Grimsby Street, London, August 2016

DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016
DNT? Wolseley Road, Bristol, February 2016

Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Sokar Uno, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016
Alex Lucas, York Road, Bristol, December 2016

Thierry Noir, Rivington Street, London, August 2016
Thierry Noir, Rivington Street, London, August 2016

So that just about wraps it up for another week, I hope you have enjoyed these doors. I hope I can back to some more contemporary photographs next week, we’ll just have to see how that goes.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

 

by Scooj

2897. Bedminster

I don’t quite remember exactly the name of the road that this stunning Feoflip piece is in, but it is in Bedminster off East Street I think. Just one of the amazing legacy of works left behind by the artist during and after Upfest 2016. I like everything about this artist – his style and soft colour choices, his attention to finding the right spot and his adventurous spirit.

Feoflip, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017
Feoflip, Bedminster, Bristol, July 2017

This Picassoesque face in grey shades on the mustard yellow background works perfectly on the red brick wall. Feoflip seems to have developed a technique that generates splatty thin lines that create the detail in his work and give it a really interesting texture. Unlike any other artist I have seen, Feoflip’s unique style works really well for me. I do hope he returns to Bristol before too long.

2880. Upfest 2016 (175)

I think that my favourite festival artist at Upfest 2016 was this gentleman, Feoflip. I managed to catch him working on his ‘official’ piece although never saw it completed, which is a real pity and possibly the reason I never posted this before.

IMG_5549_edited

The reason I liked him so much was probably down to the unofficial ‘extras’ that he painted during his stay all over the city. The style is so different from anything we are used to seeing and he truly entered into the spirit of the Bristol street art scene. I would love to see him return and bless us with more of his outstanding work. Some of the pieces he painted are shown below:

Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, November 2017
Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, November 2017

Feoflip, Little Paradise, Bristol July 2017
Feoflip, Little Paradise, Bristol July 2017

Feoflip, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2016
Feoflip, Gloucester Road, Bristol, September 2016

Feoflip, Welsh Back, Bristol, October 2016
Feoflip, Welsh Back, Bristol, October 2016

Feoflip, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip, The Bearpit, Bristol, August 2016

Feoflip, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016
Feoflip, Wilder Street, Bristol, September 2016

Feoflip, City Road, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip, City Road, Bristol, August 2016

Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016
Feoflip, North Street, Bristol, August 2016

Feoflip, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Feoflip, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

2879. Upfest 2016 (174)

Another throwback to Upfest 2016 and this lovely Minion piece by The Agent. Not only is The Agent a street artist and regular at Upfest, but he is also a central part of the ‘on the ground’ logistics team for the event and can be seen pretty much everywhere at the festival checking things are going smoothly.

The Agent, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
The Agent, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

Known for his Minion pieces (from the film Despicable Me), he is also the father of another prominent Bristol street artist. This piece typifies his strong links with the festival and screams out fun. A nice piece.

2878. Upfest 2016 (173)

Like many of these archive posts from Upfests passim, it is hard to understand why I haven’t posted this one from SkyHigh and Roo before. I can only think that it is because I never got a clean shot of the finished collaboration.

SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
SkyHigh and Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

These two London-based artists collaborate often, and where you find a SkyHigh piece, there is usually a Roo piece nearby. I took these pictures just as Roo (who previously I have assigned a male gender – dammit) was putting the finishing touches to her work. I suspect the lower right hand quadrant is not quite finished in these pictures.

SkyHigh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
SkyHigh, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

The SkyHigh half of the collaboration spells out SKY in his characteristic variety of block letters, each different from the next, and the colours used here are incredibly bright and cheerful. This is first class graffiti writing.

Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Roo, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

Roo has painted what I think is a dog, but looks a lot like a moose without antlers to me. The mischievous character has been spraying the letters Roo in magenta paint on the wall behind – a nice idea executed really well. This is a fine collaboration and I can only apologise for not sharing it before. (lots more apologies to come as I continue to scour the archives).

2877. Upfest 2016 (172)

Somehow, since the lock down I have a lot less free time than I had before, which feels rather counter-intuitive. I am still working full time, only at home and mostly on Covid-19 communications. The kids are at home all the time and there is no respite from looking after them 24/7. The dog still needs walks. My wife too is working full time at home and occupies the study to work, which is where our main computer resides, and all my associated street art files etc.

The upshot is that I am writing these posts in the few minutes I can when my wife takes a shower in the morning. I am on leave next week, and might be able to write a whole bunch of posts to get a little bit ahead. I don’t like flying by the seat of my pants.

Rusk, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016
Rusk, Upfest 2016, Bristol, July 2016

This is a stunning piece from the perfectionist Rusk on the RAW wall at Upfest 2016. I consider this to be an outstanding piece of writing and somehow Rusk, using highlights, has managed to create a metallic effect, so the whole thing looks like the side of a car or something like that. I can’t understand why I’ve not posted this before. Worth the wait.