Upfest – Page 53 – Natural adventures

1095. Upfest 2017 (88)

This is a small piece by an artist I have not come across before. Sigil is a Norwich-based paste up artist who appears to have a very strong story to tell about the environment, an observation made by looking at his/her Instagram feed. This would seem to be confirmed by reading the biography notes from this year’s festival which includes the following:

‘By using the visual language of animals & plants, combined with themes of ideography, science and faith, SIGIL connects with the public directly within the urban environment, encouraging attitudes of environmental stewardship.’

I like artists that promote environmental issues through their art, such as Louis Masai and ATM, as this is partly what I do at work…connecting people with the environment through communication. So I have an immediate soft spot for this piece, which highlights the perils facing the vaquita, a small porpoise and currently the most endangered cetacean in the world.

The artwork looks a little bit rushed, which it might have been, due to the rain, but it is a nice piece. I would like to see more of Sigil’s work, particularly paste ups.

1094. Upfest 2017 (87)

This is an interesting piece from Dice 67 at Upfest this year, where we see the artist continuing to experiment with his freehand spraying, having spent most of his street art career to date stencilling.

To my shame, I have to confess that I walked past Dice 67 while he was spraying this piece, but didn’t recognise him or the style of painting. I even took a couple of pictures, but didn’t make the connection. It was only later, when I met Dice 67 and his family in the Steam Crane, that I realised I had goofed.

I went back to South Street Park later during the festival and found the completed piece, but at that point it hadn’t been signed. I later found Andy (Dice 67) again and advised that he ought to sign it, as other people like me might be expecting to see a stencil. In the feature picture, you will notice that the piece was signed in the end.

The work itself is a self-portrait, and I wonder how much the pretend ears were influenced by his children. I really like it that Dice 67 is making this big step in the art he creates, and I am looking forward to seeing more of it in the future.

It is also worth mentioning that Dice 67 organised the highly successful Cheltenham Paint Festival in September, which I was unable to visit, but some of the pictures I have seen on Instagram were utterly awesome.

1086. Upfest 2017 (86)

No RAW wall would be complete without a T-Rex charging at it from one side or other. This lovely ‘herd’ of dinosaurs by T-Rex was on the far right hand side of this six-artist wall and rounded it off really nicely.

T-Rex is a classy artist and seems to have waltzed into spraying these creatures straight from home, in fine clothes and bag over her shoulder. A no fuss approach to street art that is rarely seen. No mess, no overalls and in this picture I can’t even see any spare spray cans…maybe she borrowed them from Ryder. What a way to end this sequence of posts on the RAW wall at Upfest – a real highlight of the festival.

1085. Upfest 2017 (85)

The fifth RAW piece on this Upfest wall is by Ryder, whose work is just going from strength to strength at the moment. His use of colours in this piece is exceptional, and the wildstyle writing is everything I have come to expect from him.

There is so much going on in this piece, and the different letter styles combined with different colour schemes is somewhat reminiscent of the work of Sky High. I cannot emphasise enough how much I am enjoying the work of Ryder, I’m just surprised at how long it took me to properly register his stuff.

Ryder was sandwiched between Jaksta and his trusty painting buddy T-Rex…a good place to be.

1084. Upfest 2017 (84)

The fourth piece looking from left to right on the RAW wall at Upfest is by Jaksta, who has sprayed a great caveman character sandwiched neatly between Rusk and Ryder. I don’t know an awful lot about Jaksta, but I think he comes from Swindon. I have seen a few of his pieces around the place in Bristol, but I don’t think I have yet posted any.

Jaksta is clearly held in very high regard by his RAW peers, as each of them told me how good he is when I spoke with them. I think by the time I got to see his work here, he was already working on another piece nearby. I will try to dig out more of his work.

1083. Upfest 2017 (83)

I think that RUSK is probably the most diligent street artist/graffiti writer I have met so far. He takes his time with his work and adjusts it until he is satisfied. He was still spraying and revisiting this piece long after the rest of the RAW crew had packed up and left.

In this piece, the third from the Upfest RAW wall, he has some fabulous colour layers and texture infills in his writing – in my view this is a really classy piece and his attention to detail really pays off.

In taking a look at at the piece in progress, it is possible to see how the basic colours and shapes are laid down first, and then the detail and outlines are added afterwards, almost like the opposite of painting by numbers.

Rusk is a quiet and gentle fellow who it was my pleasure to chat with at Upfest. I hope it is not too long before I bump into him again.

1082. Upfest 2017 (82)

This is the second post from the RAW wall at Upfest, and I fear that Sled One, is a bit of a gatecrasher on this wall. Sled One, now part of The Paintsmiths, is a member of ASK, but was clearly very welcome on this wall.

I am not sure whether Sled One did this before or after his official Upfest lizards, but it looks like another of his crazy freestyle pieces. I think he does all this stuff just off the top of his head…remarkable really.

Of course there is something very witty about this piece, a bird in sunglasses sipping a cocktail sitting in a rubber ring…I’m not sure where he gets his inspiration from, but his imagination is amazing. I’m not convinced by the quality of the elephant though, which only goes to show that even Sled One is human.

1081. Upfest 20127 (81)

I have been mulling over the best way to present the Read and Weep (RAW) wall at Upfest this year, because there are six artists involved in the whole thing. I could have written one post about the whole collaboration, but regular readers will know that I like to concentrate a little on each artist…it is the way I do this blog. So here is the first of the RAW wall from left to right – Smak.

This is a fabulous piece of wildstyle writing, and I have been trying to decypher it. Obviously, the first thing I would look for is SMAK, but I just can’t see it, so my guess is that it says RAW, which is a little more visible in the image above.

The colour scheme was pretty much observed by all six artists, and the bright blue background really set off all the pieces brilliantly, particularly in the changeable weather over the three days. This long wall really was one of the highlights of Upfest 2017.

1075. Greville Road (7)

I am struggling a little about how to categorize this piece. It is by Sonic Oner, whose official Upfest piece I posted a little while back, but I think that this appeared a few days later, and so I am not classifying it as an Upfest piece, preferring to think of it as an extra gift to Bristol.

Soniconer, Greville Road, Bristol, July 2017

Located on a wall outside the Hen and Chicken, the piece is in great company, being next to a Pelmo piece. I love reptile street art, and this Iguana is really rather special. There is a lot of attention to detail in the scales, and the eye is beautifully worked.

I think he probably used the spray paints that he had used for his other piece, since the colour scheme is the same; green, white and black. It was a lovely surprise to find this after the main event of Upfest was over.

1074. Upfest 2017 (80)

OK, so this is one of those pieces that seems to have become quite iconic in the wake of Upfest. Everything about it is contemporary with the mood of the nation and other nations. It is bright and colourful but hides a more sinister discontent behind the hoodie and mask. My interpretation, which might be very wrong, is of resistance and revolution, of clawing back some decency, some freedom.

The piece, by Tysall, is one of the most memorable of the festival, however, I am not familiar with the artist at all. I believe that he is Bristol-based, and have found a rather nice interview with him here.

I think his entry in the Upfest biographies is one of my favourites:

‘Just trying to make my own mark… or mess, I’m still not sure which it is.‘

He has made his mark with me, no messing.

	hitandrun1964 on Minor injuries unit
	Bill Bisgood on Champions
	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	scooj on 7658. Tobacco Factory –…

	hitandrun1964 on Minor injuries unit
	Bill Bisgood on Champions
	Sheree on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	Suzette Benjamin on Thursday Doors – 21 May…
	scooj on 7658. Tobacco Factory –…

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