I remember at Upfest 2017 really loving a piece by Lauren Maria Hill and she has come up trumps again in 2018. A fine artist, who is probably more at home in the studio, Lauren Maria Hill manages to use these smaller boards to showcase her stunning portrait work.
Lauren Maria Hill, Upfest, Bristol, October 2018
Unfortunately I never saw the finished piece, I think it must have been taken away and protected from the showery weather, but you can get the general idea from these pictures. This is another work from Upfest 2018 to feature a leaf from a Swiss cheese plant – Maybe they are fun to paint.
Anyone reading this will know that I am a big fan of Kid Crayon. His bright and unusual pieces always contain an element of wit, charm or mischief and this pink crocodile demonstrates this sense of fun with a commmentary on the rain that fell throughout the Upfest festival.
Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, October 2018
This shutter piece was the second that he did at the festival, both using this colour scheme, so I am guessing that he got a job lot of these colours especially for the weekend. There is something really endearing about this crocodile and there is a gentleness to the way he is holding the little umbrella. A lovely piece.
It wasn’t until Upfest this year that I discovered that I already knew The Hass, but under another name (there is a clue in the piece itself). It would seem that he has two street personas, one for his profession as a designer, and the other for recreation. I can tell you now that all of his work under whatever name is brilliant, and this piece is emblematic of that.
The Hass, Upfest, Bristol, October 2018
I am always going to favour an underwater scene and this one takes some beating. It really creates the impression of being under the sea, with the skylight creating a small shimmer at the top of the piece. There is a great story here, although it rather defeats me…the diver’s face looks like a carved pumpkin, but might be a skull.
The Hass, Upfest, Bristol, October 2018
There is a ship in a bottle that morphs into the diver’s helmet and octopus tentacles all over the place. Another nice touch are the goofy three-eyed fish from The Simpsons that also make it into Louis Masai’s coral reef piece from this year’s festival. There is another The Hass piece just off Park Street that I must photograph when I get a chance.
An enormous doodle with plenty of detail for you to feast your eyes on by artist Daub. This is an artist who likes detail and is prepared to spend time working it up. I am guessing that this is a Posca pen piece, but if I am honest, I am a real novice when it comes to artist’s materials.
Daub, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
The whole piece resembles something aquatic or coralline interspersed with human features such as the eyes and the hand on the right hand side. I don’t know what it is about, if indeed it is about anything, but I rather like it, and the whole thing plays with your eyes a bit.
Daub, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This was yet another piece that was finished by the time I got to it, so I never had the pleasure of meeting the artist…maybe next year.
This portrait is a highly memorable and unusual piece by Mazcan. The artist is from Brighton and she is known for painting portraits of women about the place. She is perhaps equally well-known for her crochet work, which she appears to enjoy very much judging from her Facebook feed.
Mazcan, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
There is a lot of mystery in this piece, and it seems to be as much about what you can’t see as what you can. Certainly, this was a piece that I couldn’t take my eyes off. I’m not sure I like it as much as some of the pieces on her Facebook pages, but it is a great introduction to her work.
I have no idea who this little piece was by, but when I passed it, it was attracting rather large crowds – unusual for such a tiny piece, but maybe it was the humour and subject matter that made it appealing.
Unknown, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
I have seen an awful lot of Trump street art, and not a single one, a single one (…as Trump would say, because he loves to repeat his sage-like words softly) is in any complimentary. I think this little piece speaks for most of us. Interestingly a short time later it had gone – a street art hunter’s trophy.
I love this striking stencil work by Paintily. The concept of a mask hiding another mask beneath it is a good one, and the ancient look adds to the mystery of the piece. The whole thing is worked really beautifully with great care and attention being paid to the shadows cast by the outer mask on the inner one.
Paintily, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This piece is all the more remarkable for being a stencil, which must have taken an eternity to prepare. The standard of stencils at Upfest 2018 has really been quite staggering and we are lucky to have seen so many over the course of the festival. Below is a little reminder of Paintily’s piece from last year.
Oh my oh my. This utterly outstanding piece by Elafil was the biggest head turner of the festival. I had to revisit it several times, just to enjoy the bold brash colours and expression knock me over. I seriously rate this piece as a brilliant piece of street art. The bottle green and copper tones work so well together and create something that assault your eyes – ‘hey look at me’ the piece is saying.
Elafil, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Another thing about this particular piece is that it is unquestionably photogenic, which is great for someone like me who likes to present great pictures of street art in my posts. The only downside is that when I got to see it, the artist had already finished and fled the scene. Next time!
Elafil, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Elafil is from Spain although I’m not sure which part. He clearly has ambition to join the international circuit and on this evidence shouldn’t have any problem at all. He has a website which showcases some of his great work, but alas no ‘about me’ tab.
Another South American artist at Upfest 2018, this time a Peruvian who is based in Barcelona, Bronik. The hat is the clue to the origin of the artist, but as I mentioned in the Dinho Bento piece two posts ago, there is something about the continent of South America that seems to have its own style.
Bronik, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
In this lovely piece, we see again a story of connection between people and nature. This appears to be an inescapable component of our lives and yet one that we seem to be ambivalent towards if it gets in the way of our lifestyles. Only today (I wrote this two days ago) the WWF announced that since 1970 we have lost 60% of vertebrate species. Shameful. That is in my lifetime. Art like this may be all we have to remember our beautiful planet by.
Bronik, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This piece sings to me. It gives me what I need to redouble my efforts to make a real difference in this world and to act at whatever levels I can to slow the rate of biodiversity loss. A while back I wrote a haiku about our self-destruction. It was called Ants and is as follows:
I am not entirely certain that this is an official Upfest piece, but failure to include it would not be in the spirit of my Upfest write ups. It is a cheeky shutter piece by T-Rex a local artist whose ‘graffiti partner’ Ryder sprayed his trademark tag on the left hand wall of the shop in the feature image.
T-Rex, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
T-Rex’s dinosaurs are a familiar site in Bristol and at Upfest too and add humour and a lighthearted touch. One of the things I love about these three characters is how the eyes give them each completely different personalities/emotions. Looking left to right, the first looks wary, the second fed up and the third agressive. A bit of fun.
