My camera roll for July is mainly South Bristol Street art. If I was having coffee with you, I would tell you about our second visit to Upfest. one of the largest street art festivals in Europe took place in Bedminster and Southville in Bristol in May. It attracted over 300 artists and about 50,000 visitors over seventeen days.

There are over 170 works included in the official Upfest map and we still have a lot more to discover. The festival is certainly helping with the urban regeneration of the area, It is good to know that the art works are not being vandalised or painted over.

We are beginning to be able to recognise some of the local artists and definitely have our favourite pieces. I will introduce you to some of the best who aren’t Banksy.

Andy Council

Andy Council is a local south Bristol artist who often turns recognisable local buildings and landmarks into dragons, dinosaurs or horses. You should be able to spot Clifton Suspension Bridge and concorde in the painting above. He often uses the local terraces as the skeletons of his animals. This piece below on the side of the Chessel centre actually predates Upfest but I like it.

Silent Hobo

Silent Hobo is another local artist who took part in Upfest. His very distinctive style has elements of manga comics.

In this piece the girl is getting a leg up to a brighter future.

This wall of the tobacco factory gets a new design for each Upfest. For 2024 Inkie and Silent Hobo collaborated on this mural. The brightly painted terraced houses are very easy to recognise as a local landmark.

Inkie

Inkie real name Tom Bingle is one of the original Bristol street artists who worked with Banksy. He is known for his lettering and art nouveau influences. He is one of the few artists to be publicly recognised uder his own name. He is a former head of graphic design for the videogame maker Sega and even has his own Wikipedia page.

If you need a door

Thursday doors is a place on the web where door lovers from around the world can come together to share pictures of doors and the stories behind them. This week I have one from Upfest for you.