Tag: Urban

458. Upfest 2016 (55)

My favourite piece of the 2015 Upfest was the incredible geisha by Dan Kitchener on the wall of the Salvation Army shop. It was fantastic then to have DanK return to Bristol this year. His spot was slightly off the beaten track, and I didn’t find him until the Sunday when it was all a bit drizzly.

Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Dan Kitchener had pretty much stopped spraying for a while and was leaning over the lift and chatting to a friend when I took a couple of the pictures. He really wasn’t too impressed with the weather.

Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

The piece, once it was revealed, turned out to be something of a reflection of the weather in which it was produced. In fact much of Dan Kitchener’s work creates the effect of wet night time scenes viewed through a car windscreen…or that is how it feels to me.

Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Looking closely at the woman with the umbrella, allows you to see that part of the picture away from all the distraction around it, and it is just beautiful. Step back and add in all the bright lights and you have the most vibrant scene.

Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I am always so impressed with his work, and I could look at these scenes he creates for hours, studying all the details and effects. It is hard to believe that he paints these things with spray cans. Yet another artist at the very top of his game.

Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Dan Kitchener, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

457. Upfest 2016 (54)

This brilliant swirling ‘Bristol’ by Voyder really felt like the signature piece for this year’s Upfest. Visitors to the festival were queuing up to take selfies and group pictures in front of this piece. I wonder how many of them knew it was Voyder’s work – it matters not, they saw it for what it is, a joyful celebration of Bristol art.

Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Voyder, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Voyder is a prolific graffiti artist and many of his pieces seem to be inaccessible, especially if you aren’t prepared to enter derelict sites, so it is especially nice to have one of his pieces in an area with high footfall. Around the time of upfest, Voyder was spraying quite a lot of these ribbon effect pieces, most memorably the Lichtenstein piece neat the Tobacco Factory, now long gone. This is just more stunning stuff from one of the best Bristol writers.

Dog house

 

Is it possible

that I can get things so wrong?

I’m in the dog house.

 

by Scooj

456. Upfest 2016 (53)

Well, here it is, the ‘official’ piece by What Have I Done Now. This Alice in Wonderland work seems to create a graffiti wall all on its own. An anarchic Alice (the piece is called ‘A is for Alice) stands looking at a colourful wall (with drips!) and casts a beautiful shadow. I can’t quite read the words on the left of the picture, but I think it says ‘curiouser and curiouser, (?) I am. Which way do I go?’  which is a slight corruption of the original quote.

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

I am very fond of the Alice in Wonderland story, having read it more than once, but also having listened to the most incredible double album musical version of the book starring Karen Dotrice, Bruce Forsyth, Dirk Bogard, Tommy Cooper and many other incredible actors. I listened to this hundreds of times with my sister when we were kids. This artwork has sent me on a hunt for the album and, goodness me, the Interweb has come up trumps. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be able to listen to the album again after some forty years or so – you can hear it on YouTube here. I thoroughly recommend it. Happy now.

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.

453. M32 Roundabout J3 (18)

Recently I have become much more aware of the extraordinary works by Ments. His works recently have often been side by side with one of Bristol’s brightest young street artists, Sled One. I don’t know too much about Ments, but know that I really like his work.

Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
His wildstyle writing has a wonderful organic feel to it…forget about straight lines and geometry, this stuff looks like weird kinds of biological matter under a microscope. The letters spell out Ments in fabulous colours and shapes.

Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
Ments, M32, Bristol, September 2016
I have more works by Ments and will post them soon, but I hope with a little more about the artist himself. This stuff is pretty awesome, I think.

Neglected

.

With trepidation 

I stride to the allotment 

first time in six weeks. 

.

by Scooj

Football train

.

General hubbub 

snippets of conversation

and clickity clacks. 

.

by Scooj

450. Cowper Street, Shoreditch, London (1)

When I first started my two days a week working in London this Summer, I stayed in a hotel on City Road and ventured out towards Shoreditch without really knowing what I would find. One of the first encounters with street art I had was this bold signature piece by Thierry Noir.

Thierry Noir, Cowper Street, London, August 2016
Thierry Noir, Cowper Street, London, August 2016

Thierry Noir is a significant French street artist and has a Wikipedia page just to emphasise the fact. He claims to have been the first street artist to paint the Berlin Wall…more in the link. I love his simple style and bold colours. He hardly needs to sign his works, but this one said to me ‘welcome to Shoreditch’.