About Ponny left us a few of his poignant wheatpastes about the place during Upfest, of which this is the third I have posted. All of them have featured subjects who have hit upon hard times. The beautiful stencils in dark tones highlighted with copper have a sad but gentle feel to them and they are full of pathos.
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I am full of admiration for the work of this Italian artist, and how, in a quiet and subtle way, he reflects the troubles of our age of austerity and economic struggles. No fuss, no ranting, simply an honest portrayal.
Here we see yet another great new wall for Upfest 2018… the organisers really pulled out all the stops for the tenth anniversary festival. Slightly off the beaten track, but well worth the walk is this enormous piece by Andy Council on a Wessex Water building.
Andy Council, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This is a really wonderful piece that features a couple of Otters, characteristically for this artist composed of architectural landmarks from Bristol. Andy Council needed extensive scaffolding to get the piece completed safely, which remained in place beyond the end of the festival, so many visitors might not have seen the completed piece.
Andy Council, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
He seemed to be enjoying himself up there, but was well away from the bustle of activity in the main painting areas.
Andy Council, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Three landmarks clearly visible on the otter on the right are the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Create Centre and the Tobacco Factory. This is yet another outstanding piece from Andy Council and one that I hope remains for a long while.
Happy Christmas folks – a special one for you today…
I have known about this piece for a little while, but just not had the space to get all the way down to the far end of North Street to photograph it until a couple of weeks ago. It is by the extraordinarily talented Muckrock who visited Bristol back in September this year. She was given permission to paint this by Upfest who curate this spot. It had been the site of the Dr Love piece from Upfest which sadly had been badly tagged.
Muckrock, North Street, Bristol, December 2018
Since I have been aware of Muckrock through this piece and a spectacular one she painted at Dean Lane skatepark, I have followed her on Instagram. OMG she is good, and I think I might be a little bit in love with her talent. It is a pity she lives in America, but I guess it makes her trip to Bristol all the more special.
Muckrock, North Street, Bristol, December 2018
I absolutely love this GIRL POWER mouth which has so much attitude about it. There is much to admire in the artwork…the creases, shadows and shiny reflections on the lips and teeth. I would love her to come back to the city – maybe for Upfest 2019 (Please).
I remember very well the piece that Bill Giles created for Upfest 2017, and this piece, in a similar style, is bigger and better. Bill is a Bristol designer/illustrator and street artist whose ‘melting’ characters are instantly recognisable.
Bill Giles, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This piece, at the Tobacco Factory, is classic Bill Giles and has real class. It is great to have a picture of the skecth stage of the work to get a feel for how the piece gets from the black book onto the wall.
Bill Giles, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I like this piece, and rather wish he did a little more street work than he does. Imagine what this would look like at Dean Lane for example. A lovely piece for Upfest.
Tell me honestly…who doesn’t love a stencil of a chimp? And as they go, this is about as good as you are going to get – a brilliant piece by Matti. I don’t know too much about the artist, and although he has a website, it appears to be unpopulated.
Matti, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This stencil captures so beautifully the nature and soul of this little chimp. What is going on behind those glassy eyes? This piece so perfectly matches the perfect subject matter with brilliantly executed technical skills.
With so many artists flooding in to Bristol for Upfest, it is always great to see that there is a good representation of local artists, who keep things real. It can be overwhelming seeing so much street art, and at times awe inspiring, but it is as well to remember the roots of a festival like this whose foundations were built on the work of graffiti writers and street artists who produce work day in and day out on our city streets.
Ryder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This is a great piece of writing from Ryder of RAW (Read and Weep) which is technically brilliant as well as rather beautiful. Each of the letters seems to be bursting with character, and the colours and shading are absolutely masterfully worked. Anyone who wants to get more into burners, should take a long hard look at this one and enjoy the technique that has been applied to create it.
This is the second Mini Gabi wheatpaste I have posted from Upfest 2018 which this time features our heroine making a strong and contemporary statement ‘girls’ rights to feel safe!!’
Mini Gabi, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Before the festival I had never heard of Mini Gabi but strangely enough on my trip to Shoreditch in November I saw several of her paste ups, which felt really good. I’ll be posting them in due course. I’m rather liking this little character who has real attitude (some similarities to Phoebe New York), and regular readers will know I am very ford of wheatpastes.
I have only ever seen three pieces by Beep Monkey, and each of them has been at each of the last three Upfests. His work is consistently good and has a lovely cartoon style that is both witty and fun.
Beep Monkey, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I always look out for his work at Upfest because his wife is a colleague of mine, although it took us a couple of years to work out the connection. In this piece it looks like the monkey and the rabbit are having a bit of a disagreement. The piece almost looks animated and the three white flashes give it some movement. Another beauty from Beep Monkey.
Beep Monkey, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017Beep Monkey, Ashton Gate School, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Regular readers of Natural Adventures may recall posts about the ephemeral work of Annika Pixie who is a Bristol artist and regular at Upfest. Annika is a vibrant and colourful member of the local art community, who appears to spend her winters in Thailand teaching before returning to her adopted city.
Annika Pixie, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This portrait carries all the hallmarks of an Annika Pixie piece. The face is partly obscured by a thin veil as if peering through a net curtain and there is a sadness in the girl’s expression. on her chest are some little ballet dancer stencils…I wonder what the story is here. It is always great to see Annika’s work although I was disappointed to have missed talking to her this year.
The Hen and Chicken on North Street has a lot of wall space and is one of the focal points of Upfest. This particular wall has had some beauties on it in the past and this monochrome piece by 8Mail is no exception. Although this artist has been to Upfest for the last six years, I’m not sure I recall his work and can’t find any in my archives, but I do think I’ll have to go and take a better look.
Usually working in charcoals, this urban artist likes to capture chaotic and fleeting moments. There was just such a moment while he was painting the piece, when he tried to use the chair in the picture to stand. All I need to say is that the artist is a tall young man, and the chair was not designed for standing on.
This is a fine simple piece, that despite its simplicity contains real interest. I found it captivating.
