Tag: Upfest

455. Upfest 2016 (52)

You may recall that I posted paste ups of a mouse and a cat by 23 Magpies recently. Well here is another one of the treats that she left behind at Upfest. This time, always on a wildlife theme, we are presented with a charming wheatpaste of a newt drawn onto the cover of an Ian Maclaren title page.

23 Magpies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
23 Magpies, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush was Ian Maclaren’s first story about rural Scottish life. I have no idea if this is of any significance to the piece by 23 Magpies, or if it is a random bit of book used as a background context for the little newt. Whatever the intention, the execution is once again excellent. I think there may be more to come from 23 Magpies in these Upfest posts.

454. Upfest 2016 (51)

There is something dark, political and edgy about What Have I Done Now’s work. His paste ups are full of menace, like this one (called laugh riot) of a riot police figure, waving a US flag and adorned with Mickey Mouse ears. Taking a swipe at some attitudes in a small wheatpaste without words is part of the skill of this kind of street art.

What Have I Done Now, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
What Have I Done Now, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
This piece was situated in the small lane at the bottom end of Dean Lane skate park where it joins North Street. I think some bits of it still remain. I have also found in my Upfest archive his ‘official’ piece for the festival and I will post it shortly.

This is one for the fans of political street art, an art form that seems to be slightly out of vogue at the moment.

436. North Street, bus stop at Fairfield Road (2)

This wonderful piece appeared a few days after Upfest had ended, and I guess Feoflip decided to stick around and improve some bare walls. I really love this piece, the soft pastel colours give the piece the look of an illustration. The character looks like it has just walked off the pages of a children’s picture book. I would love to read that story.

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

Feoflip was unknown to me before Upfest, but I have now seen several of his pieces all over Bristol, and will be sharing them over the coming weeks. He is fast becoming one of my favourite artists. I love the combination of organic and mechanical, it works very well, as with his piece at Ashton Gate School.

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

The more observant reader may also notice the Gregos mask just to the left of this piece which I wrote about last year.

434. Upfest 2016 (50)

Without question, one of the highlights of this year’s Upfest was this magnificent mural by the fabulous Louis Masai. His works are nearly always highlight threats to the environment or endangered species and on that ticket alone he ranks highly in my own personal favourite artists.

Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

His recent murals have featured animals painted with a patchwork quilt kind of effect, and in this case the rhinoceros is being stitched together by a honey bee and a bumble bee.

Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It is difficult not to be impressed with this work, and not surprisingly Louis Masai’s status in the street art world has grown in the last year or two.

Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Definitely, definitely in my top five pieces from this year’s festival. It is a pity that it is slightly off the beaten track as many visitors to Upfest will have missed it. The piece is on the Redpoint Bristol Climbing Centre on Winterstoke Road.

Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Louis Masai, Redpoint, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

It would be great if he could return next year, although I’m not sure he could better this one.

433. Upfest 2016 (49)

Seeing Bristol street artists’ work at Upfest just felt right. In amongst all the exotic invitees to the festival were the artists that put Bristol on the map in the first place. If there wasn’t a street art scene here in the first place then there would be no festival.

Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Kid Crayon, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This cheeky piece by Kid Crayon is yet another great work by one of my favourite Bristol street artists. I read, I think on KC’s Instagram feed, that he was not happy with the piece and that the sun had played havoc with his spray cans. Havoc or not, KC never fails to please, with his bright colours and Picassoesque ‘blue’ figures. Keep them coming!

432. Upfest 2016 (48)

C3 is a street artist I admire very much. The distinctive cut out pasteups C3 produces were very much in evidence at Upfest along the hotly contested spots of North Street. There wasn’t a biography of C3 in the Upfest programme, so I am not certain that the works were entirely official, which in my mind makes them all the better.

C3, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
C3, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The work of C3 will often feature, as in this wheatpaste, a backdrop of newspaper, typically with an image of a woman in black ink and red hair. Instantly recognisable and each telling a story of love or heartbreak. Since seeing C3’s work in Bristol, I have photographed a whole lot more in Shoreditch, which I will share soon. Worth a quick squint at C3’s website too.

430. Upfest 2016 (46)

One of the best things about my personal journey into the world of graffiti art and street art has been the discovery and continuing observation of Tom Miller. Tom is a fine artist who has turned his hand, like many others, to the street and with stunning results.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This work was produced for Upfest, and I managed to catch him just as he was signing the piece. Some great shots, but my intrusion came at the expense of a film maker who has been following Tom for a couple of years…I got in the way a bit…oops.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

All was ok though as we have a mutual interest in Tom,’s work, and my accidental ‘photobomb’ was forgiven.

Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Tom Miller, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Tom’s work is centered around his construct of ‘imaginite’ which is, I think, the idea of capturing the mind’s thoughts in art. A fabulous concept, and one that draws heavily on the Surrealist movement. I just love his work and this is a beauty.

418. Upfest 2016 (45)

Krishna Malla is an illustrator from Cornwall. As a frequent visitor to Cornwall, I need to seek out some of his work, as street art is hard to come by down there. His wonderful work at Upfest, of a snail (what is it about snails…see 3Dom’s recent work in Stokes Croft) contains two of his alias’ ‘Hare’ and ‘Tech Moon’.

Krishna Malla, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Krishna Malla, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

He has a nice website, in which his ‘About’ section reads as follows:

“Street artist and illustrator from Cornwall.

I like doing drawings.”

That’s pretty cool. Krishna Malla teaches at the Arts University Bournemouth, which is also pretty cool. Given that Bristol is somewhere between Cornwall and Bournemouth, it would be nice to think he might drop by and paint something new for us sometime.

417. Upfest 2016 (44)

I have been aware of The Addicted Doodler for some time, but never posted any of his work before (something that will change I assure you). What I didn’t know until I started to find out a little bit more, was just what a brilliant designer and illustrator the Bristol-based artist is as well as his more familiar street art.

The Addicted Doodler, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
The Addicted Doodler, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This piece from Upfest is typical of his light-hearted style in which he gives human characteristics to inanimate objects in a cartoon style, sometimes quite reminiscent of Mr Potatohead. Personification? Whatever the style is called, I love the bright and cheerful look he brings to the streets of Bristol.

416. Upfest 2016 (43)

I like a bit of edge, and at This year’s upfest it was provided in small doses by the brilliant wheatpaster ‘What Have I Done Now’. I don’t know if he had a ‘feature piece’ or whether he had been invited to simply paste up his work wherever he felt like, but there was plenty of the latter on show.

What Have I Done Now, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
What Have I Done Now, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This small Piece appeared on the corner of a large advertising hoarding, and as with so many of these things, many visitors to Upfest walked straight past it, probably focusing on finding the next art venue. A pity.

What Have I Done Now, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
What Have I Done Now, North Street, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I liked What Have I Done Now’s biography in the Upfest programme, it reads:

‘When people ask me what kind of artist I am, I say political.As more often than not I’m responding to the machinery of control as it grinds us all up in its gears. I’m trying to remind folk we can simply refuse to stop applying the grease.‘

Good words, and great art work. More to come.