Upfest – Page 46 – Natural adventures

1370. Upfest 2017 (149)

What a brilliant piece this is from Cheo, the largest of several walls from the artist at Upfest featurig the animation character Morph. In this piece Morph is joined by his erstwhile partner in crime Chas.

My favourite part of this wall though is not the two characters in the foreground, but the gallery of bristol artists behind them. Morph originated on a television programme for children called Vision On, and one section of the show was dedicated to ‘the gallery’ which showed paintings that had been sent in by children, accompanied by great music, that all children of my generation would recognise instantly.

Cheo’s hilarious take on the Vision On gallery features several well known Bristol street artists with his take on their entries, knowing what he knows about their styles now. very funny.

In the piece he honours Andy Council (dinosaur), Soker ( a little girl), Voyder (a unicorn), 45RPM (an owl), 3Dom (a castle), Inkie (a Wallace and Gromit), Cheo (a bee) and Chelway (a whale). Poking fun at his mates.

1369. Upfest 2017 (148)

As with many of the pieces from the Aston Gate site at Upfest, I never got a picture of this completed work by London-based artist Woskerski.

I have seen and posted a piece of his from Leake Street tunnel in London about a year or so ago but have not seen any more of his work since, so it was great to see this photorealistic piece at Upfest.

Adjacent to the face wearing the 3D specs Woskerski has added some wildstyle writing, which demonstrates the versatility of this artist, who also paints under the name Methyl. Just a pity I didn’t get a final shot.

1368. Upfest 2017 (147)

I am not sure that Annatomix sprayed a wall or board at last year’s festival, and if she did, I didn’t see it. However, she did leave a couple of nice paste ups for us to enjoy.

This super wheatpaste features a fox and rabbit created in the unique ‘paper-fold’ style that Annatomix likes to use in her painting too.

This is one of the things I love about Upfest…all the ‘unofficial’ offerings from great artists.

1367. Upfest 2017 (146)

One of the wildest pieces of Upfest 2017 was this great work from the Goopmassta, who himself was one of the most colourful characters. A visitor from the United States who came over to Bristol with a loose posse of other artists.

Goopmasta, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017 — Goopmassta, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Unfortunately, as with many pieces in Ashton Gate, I didn’t get a clean shot of the finished piece, but even from the featured image you can get a feel for this free and happy piece.

The style of the piece is really rather seductive and eyecatching, and I can almost imagine the character being some kind of central figure in a children’s book…with a little bit of edge. Really nice work.

1366. Upfest 2017 (145)

It was impossible to ignore this extraordinary face by Rast ot Upfest 2017. Situated on the long hoardings at Ashton Gate, the bright colours and striking face drew you in.

Originally from Spain, Rast has been living in Bristol in 2014. I must say that I have not come across his work before, but surely would lioke to see more of it in the various locations around Bristol that I vsist.

1365. Upfest 2017 (144)

What a treat. Longstanding readers will know that I am fond of wheatpastes and this little bricked up window at the end of North Street was an absolute treasure trove.

At the top is a D7606 telephone box with David Bowie strutting his stuff. I have written about a larger version of this in Stokes Croft in a previous post. All around this vibrant paste up is a collage of black and white pieces by D7606 and C3.

Losthills and C3, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

Underneath the telephone box sitting snugly side by side is another playful Jake the dog by Losthills, this time dressed up as a wonderful hippie. On Jake’s right is a subtle but lovely paste up by C3…but there is more…

Losthills, C3 and Jimzina, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

…pan back slightly and to the right of the C3 is another Jimzina menu-woman to add to the several I have already posted, and let’s not ignore the Goopmasta sticker (more from him in a couple of posts). All in all a lovely wall.

1364. Upfest 2017 (143)

This unusual and rather haunting portrait, on the hoardings in Raleigh Road, is by the amazing Wasp Elder.

Rather than try to write something clever about his style, that I am not over-familiar with, I thought I’d quote his biography straight from the Upfest programme, because it so perfectly describes what is going on in this picture.

‘Wasp Elder paints pictures populated by enigmatic souls and unstressed backgrounds, enticing a sentiment of an obscure journey.

His drawings, paintings and films present an evocative combination of solitary figures, collaged scenes, close-ups, obscured features, and potential catastrophe.’

It is a fine piece and was in stark contrast to the rather more lighthearted pieces on the rest of this hoarding, lending weight to the wonderful diversity of street art. I like this a lot.

1363. Upfest 2017 (142)

This was most certainly one of the highlights of my Upfest experience last year even before I knew that it was by an artist whose work I admire greatly, Braga Last 1.

I saw this piece early in its genesis on one of my first circuits around South Street Park, but inspite of Braga being scrawled all over it, the penny hadn’t dropped. It wasn’t until the end of the second day that I was able to see the finished piece and grab a few moments chatting with Braga Last 1, or at least I should say with his girlfriend as he struggled a litle with English.

The piece is a self-portrait with a crazy bag of stuff in a back pack…but where is he off to? If you take a closer look, this is actually a Brexit piece – there are some clues in the bag.

If you look carefully, you can see that in the rucksack is a book ‘Brexit for Dummies’ a brilliant title. What saddens me is that Europeans view our departure as utter folly, and I can’t help agreeing with them. I feel embarrassed and ashamed that our nation voted to leave and I am left feeling closer to the Europeans than to my own countryfolk. I fear an unhealthy legacy for many decades to come.

1362. Upfest 2017 (141)

One of the first large pieces I saw at Upfest 2017 was this fabulously pink ice cream delight from Buff Monster on the side of the Salvation Army building which has played host to some wonderful work in previous festivals.

Buff Monster, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

There seems to be quite a big thing for monsters in the street art world, and I guess it relates to having a licence to spray whatever comes from the imagination. There are some great monster artists out there of which Buff Monster is one.

This is a great big piece of fun which has been beautifully sprayed and is a real asset to this part of East Street.

I hadn’t seen any of Buff Monster’s work before this (one of the brilliant aspects of Upfest), but was lucky enough to find a piece subsequently when I was on holiday in New York. It is always great to see something by an artist you are familiar with…comforting.

1354. Upfest 2017 (140)

The boards erected in South Street Park played host to some of the very best work at Upfest 2017, and this piece by Krimsone and Scott Nagy was right up there with the very best. This amazing collaboration shows street art storytelling at its very best.

Krimsone and Scott Nagy, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017

The magical story unfolding here is of a young child in bed, and a bedroom that is transforming into a dream-like fantasy world, and his bed is in fact a little boat. The whole image has the look of an illustration from a children’s book.

Both artists are from Australia, and if it weren’t for Upfest, how on earth would I ever get to see their amazing work? Such is the draw of the festival that artists from all over the world make the journey to Bedminster. I sometimes wonder if Bristolians know how lucky they are.

This is such a skillfully painted piece, such a shame that it was only temporary.

	hitandrun1964 on 7458. Greenbank (181)
	hitandrun1964 on 7459. Dean Lane skate park…
	cjsmissionaryministe… on Parrot or parakeet
	paulh121 on 7458. Greenbank (181)
	paulh121 on 7456. River Avon (109)

	hitandrun1964 on 7458. Greenbank (181)
	hitandrun1964 on 7459. Dean Lane skate park…
	cjsmissionaryministe… on Parrot or parakeet
	paulh121 on 7458. Greenbank (181)
	paulh121 on 7456. River Avon (109)

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