Tag: Urban

4887. Upfest 2022 (61)

Daub, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Daub, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I have only encountered Daub and his work at festivals, and so I conclude that he rather enjoys them. It would be nice to have him visit Bristol to paint a wall or two, but I just don’t think it is going to happen.

Daub, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Daub, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The fish eating fish is a familiar motif, but one that is given the Daub treatment, and looks fantastic. Daub tends to draw up his design with a white filled outline, to which the detailed black lines are added with black pen work. The outcome is always spectacular and full of fine detail. Fish and street art, what is not to like?

4885. Upfest 2022 (60)

Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This collaboration is an absolute belter from the RBF crew and brings together the talents of Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey in one magnificent board.

Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie, Vozie, Pekoe and Evey, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It was great to watch the crew paint this piece on a gorgeous day in late May, which felt like a genuinely joyous celebration of art and music in a totally Bristol context.

Bnie and Vozie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Bnie and Vozie, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The colour scheme adopted was sustained across the whole collaborative piece and combines the colours pink and blue that seem to have been a bit of a thing this year. On the left, Bnie and Vozie spoilt us with two superb examples of great graffiti writing.

Pekoe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Pekoe, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

The centrepiece of the collaboration was this magnificent portrait piece by Pekoe and arguably her finest piece of the year, although the bar she set herself was pretty high.

Evey, and Bnie?, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Evey, and Bnie?, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

On the right, Evey rounded the piece off with a huge shout-out to themselves with an RBF which I think might have been painted by Bnie at a guess. Some beautiful work from a beautiful group of people.

4884. Upfest 2022 (59)

 

Chi-Yien Snow, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Chi-Yien Snow, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

It never ceases to amaze me just how many artists paint at Upfest, and it is truly a triumph of organisation by Steve and Emma and their team. At the festival, artists can be allocated walls, some of them enormous, temporary hoardings or these 1 meter squares, and it is up to the artists to make the most of the space available. Chi-Yien Snow has done a wonderful job with this board.

Chi-Yien Snow, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Chi-Yien Snow, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Chi-Yien Snow is a fine artist living in Clevedon, who paints in acrylics and oils, and has painted this outstanding and soulful portrait piece for the festival. I would guess that the portrait is of a native South American, perhaps from the Amazon region, or at least that is what it looks like to me. It is always a real pleasure to see the work of new artists and I will be looking out for Chi-Yien Snow’s work from now on.

4883. Upfest 2022 (58)

Emily Joy Rich, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Emily Joy Rich, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

Emily Joy Rich is a regular participant at Upfest and her sign writing street art amply demonstrates the breadth of talent on display at the event. I always feel like I have seen more of her art than I actually have, perhaps it is because her pieces are so strong and memorable and remain in the memory for a long while.

Emily Joy Rich, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Emily Joy Rich, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This beautiful piece could be adopted as a mantra for our time. For me, I keep on dreaming for an Arsenal triumph in the Premiership, or for a Government free of Tories forever. I love the way Emily Joy Rich has combined the on-point word DREAMING on a backdrop of the words ‘keep on’, written in a drippy handwritten style. This is a classy piece from a classy artist.

4881. Upfest 2022 (56)

Sake One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Sake One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

I feel I have been neglecting the remarkable street art work that was created at the end of May during Upfest 2022, such has been the volume of new work in the city, so I am making up for lost time with a quick segment of ten Upfest pieces, starting with this one by Sake One.

Sake One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Sake One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This is an absolutely stunning and arresting piece, hidden behind some verdant trees, on a wall that has hosted several wonderful Upfest pieces in the past. I understand that the piece is inspired by the track Paradise Circus by Massive Attack. The California-based artist, who is no stranger to Upfest, said of this piece

“Since many apple trees are covering the wall, I wanted to make it appear like they are forest nymphs peering through. I thought it would work to give the mural this title, since she has a devilish grin. I also wanted to give a wink or Easter egg to Massive Attack and Bristol”

Sake One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
Sake One, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022

This is a fine work from a celebrated artist, and it was great to welcome him back to Bristol again for the festival.

4880. Dean Lane skate park (550)

Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

Another classy piece from Saor alongside his NTS friends on the long wall at Dean Lane. His work is so on-point, always neat and tidy. He achieves this without the comfort of borders, which means that all of his lines have to be cut-in perfectly, which is a terrific skill.

Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

The blues and yellows on a grey background work very well and are in line with the colour scheme for the whole collaborative wall. The stylised letters SAOR give way to some animation in the middle of the piece, with elements of a smiley face. This is an outstanding piece, which, to be fair, is consistent with most of his work.

4879. Dean Lane skate park (549)

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

I am rather hoping that Peggy will become a regular on the pages of Natural Adventures, because I really like her floral designs and her use of space in the spots she paints, bringing a touch of class and joy along with her.

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022

Peggy has used the space on the side of this skate ramp really cleverly, and produced a stunning array of leaves and flowers with decorative swirls. There is something a little similar in her style to Alex Lucas, certainly in the subject matter. I’m really looking forward to seeing much more from this rising star.

 

 

4878. St Werburghs tunnel (328)

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

I think that I have posted more Hypo pieces in the last couple of months than I had for the last few years before. He seems to be going through a very productive phase, finding time to paint with his friends. I imagine that there has been a change in life circumstances that has led to this liberation.

Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Hypo, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This modest piece in gentle colours was painted alongside Benjimagnetic, and perhaps reflects the winter weather, with its blues and greys and drips. This is another piece to add to the collection, which is pretty much big enough for a gallery – watch this space.

 

 

4877. Brunel Way (186)

Logoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022
Logoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

For once, Logoe came to Bristol and dropped only one piece, as far as I can make out. I believe he might have visited with his Mrs, whose piece lies next to this one. That is speculation based on second-hand information, and since Logoe has no social media presence, it is difficult to confirm one way or the other.

Logoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022
Logoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, November 2022

Not only am I late in posting this sensational Halloween piece, but I think that Logoe was late in painting it. This has all the ingredients of a top piece of writing, with Logoes characteristically slim script letters on a fiery background and festooned with a band of colourful ovals. A rather cute ghost character tops off the piece beautifully. A great Hlloween festival piece from Logoe.

4876. Moon Street (100)

Zake, Moon Street, Bristol, December 2022
Zake, Moon Street, Bristol, December 2022

How has it taken me so long to post one hundred pieces from my beloved Moon Street? I guess, in recent years, painting here has reduced as the gentrification of the area has taken a grip, and so it is not so much of a graffiti destination, with artists preferring St Werburghs, Bedminster, St Paul’s or the River Avon. However, we do stopill get some beauties down there, including this very Zake, Zake character piece.

Zake, Moon Street, Bristol, December 2022
Zake, Moon Street, Bristol, December 2022

The rather disturbing face, exaggerated by its asymmetry, is arresting to say the very least. A slight reversion to his early form of portrait, his strengths come to the fore, especially his use of shading and highlights to create depth of features on the face. A worthy piece for my one hundredth Moon Street post.