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Masters of the air
gulls soaring effortlessly
and pigeons dancing.
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by Scooj
Tag: wildlife
556. New Gatton Road
It is always great to see one of Louis Masai’s works close up, and this is no exception. I have actually visited this work several times recently, but the pictures have not been too good, mainly because of the shadows cast onto the wall from the tree in front of it. Hwever I got there in the end on an overcast day.
The messages that Louis Masai brings to his work chime for me, and I like the way he draws attention to some of the world’s more pressing issues relating to the environment and wildlife. To do so with such brilliant artwork is a rare talent. I hope his work turns a few heads and perhaps encourages people to take action, in whatever form that might take.
Louis Masai has produced dozens of these animal quilt pieces recently, and they seem to work so well, bringing together the organic and inorganic and injecting life into them. This particular piece is well worth a look, and can be found just on the edge of St Werburghs at the end of Mina Road.
495. The Bearpit (26)
On the 15th October 2016 The Bearpit played host to an international exhibition entitled ‘Resiste’. The exhibition featured the works of the Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaco, Mexico. I will cover this exhibition in more detail in a forthcoming post, but today I will focus on the participation in the exhibition by Bristol’s magnificent Aspire.
482. Upfest 2016 (56)
As a naturalist by training, I find it difficult not to be enthralled by these magnificent frogs painted by JXC at Upfest this year. I was lucky enough to see this piece half way through its creation and again on completion.
480. Moon Street (14)
I don’t know quite why, but I have held on to these pictures for some time now. I think it is because I was worried that I might have already posted them. I have to confess that my blog is becoming a bit of a logistical challenge…dozens of folders and thousands of images…sometimes I lose track.
474. Ashley Road (9)
Aspire sprayed this a little while ago, and within a very short space of time, a rather ‘jobsworth’ enforcement notice went up over the top of it. Some people are really stupid, or don’t really care, but when you look at the whole scene I know which bit I consider ugly and which out of place.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It would be great if he could return next year, although I’m not sure he could better this one.
422. North Street, No. 274
This amazing Tiger is no longer there; the wall has since been painted by Jody for Upfest 2016 (more on this to come). The tiger was painted for the Upfest 2015 festival and I never really got round to posting about it.
It is funny how things come about. I didn’t really know the artist, Osch (Otto Schade), until fairly recently and now I seem to be coming across his work all over the place in London. In fact I think I mentioned in a recent post that he hadn’t done much in Bristol. I was wrong, he did this.
The tiger is captivating and uses Osch’s unraveling bandage style of artwork. This work was something of a landmark on North Street and was part of a campaign to raise awareness for the Save Wild Tigers charity.
On the downside, this is one of the most difficult Upfest walls to photograph. It is very high and in a narrow lane and the best views are from a privately accessed roof. I’m afraid I didn’t have access, so my pictures are a little distorted.
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’.
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.
Natural adventures 