Upfest Street Art Festival 2015

 Just a warning that this is VERY photo heavy.  The recent Upfest Street Art Festival in Bristol (the largest street art festival in Europe) saw over 250 artists from all over the world descend on 28 different venues in Bristol.

The styles, mediums and size were all different, some were small on boards, some half a wall and a few were the side of an entire building!  Some were stencils, others were spray can or pens and I even spotted pastel bars being used!

 

 A few were even vehicles!

 Some were beautiful faces

 Others were comical

 Lots of cider can were also spotted amongst the spray cans!

The detail work being added by hand

 

Not sure the elephant was part of the festival but I couldn't resist a photo

 

Some work in progress in the skate park

 

Some of the pieces were so big scaffolding or hydraulic platforms were needed

This was at the start of the festival

and this was after the festival-the completed piece

the cars below this parrot being spray painted weren't covered!

But the finished piece was simply stunning

 

These were a couple of sculptural pieces inspired by artists on the street art scene

 

others took inspiration from film and TV

 

In one of the local parks they placed boards all the way round so many artists could work whilst we all watched

 

There was a real mix of artists, young, older, male and female

 

My Dog Sighs (my favourite street artist) designed the flyers and also created this piece on the back of a train carriage

 

With artists, DJ's and beer and cider stalls it soon started to feel like a festival

 

some of the work was photo realistic and blew me away

many of the artists transported their paint in wheelie suitcases

Nice to see their mojo goes on holiday too!

Cheo (and his bee's) are famous round Bristol

Some work was political

Some was just fun

 

others were educational!

 

This work was stunning in real life

Some depicted underwater

others depicted space

 

whilst some incorporated moss

 

and ivy!

These are in the back yard of the Tobacco Factory (a great food, music and theatre venue)

 

Some were so vibrant

others had a slightly more 'dark' tone

 

Whilst not part of the festival on the walk back I came across this Banksy

 

and spotted some fabric fishes on a boat

 

Even houses and flats were decorated

not even road signs were safe

and there were even a few 3D pieces

 

artists came from across the globe

and even used window shutters as a canvas

 

or even entire sides of shops!

even the roads!

 

This was on the side of the Tobacco factory

 

This 'My Dog Sighs' was half a jigsaw.  If you were lucky enough you may have found one of his postcards with the other half printed so you could hold it up and create a pair of eyes (unfortunately I didn't find one)

 

The detail is amazing

 

Animals featured quite a lot

 

So there you are.  Lots of street art all for free.  That is why I love Bristol.

Happy crafting

Kyla