Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog nomad clan be more lisa

Beautiful Bristol: Upfest 2018

August 1, 2018

So last weekend saw the return of Upfest, Europe’s largest street art and graffiti festival, and yet another reason why Bristol is one of the best cities to spend a summer in.

Upfest, in its 10th year, attracts over 400 artists from around the world to paint venues across Bedminster and Southville.

In between torrential rain showers interspersed with sunny heatwaves I wandered around, phone in hand, to check out the latest #BristolGraff. Here are some of my fave pieces.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog bemorelisa nomad clan

This year’s pièce de résistance is the #bemorelisa piece by Nomad Clan. This piece on the side of the Tobacco Factory replaced last years’ John Lennon by Kobra which I really loved. While I admit that I was sad to see John go, in 2018 could there be a more perfect message than ‘Be more Lisa’? Hopefully, it will inspire a whole generation of badass girls (and boys).

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog sideshow bob streetart mural graffiti bristol

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog comic book guy simpsons graffiti

This years’ Upfest had a Simpsons theme, in fact Matt Groening himself selected three Upfest artists to bring his creations to life in their own unique styles.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog Bristol street art angus art

Love this adorable mosaic from Angus Art, points if you get the Banksy connection. 😉

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog lucas antics streetart mural bristol

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog lucas antics bristol streetart mural

Lucas Antics is one of my fave Bristol-based street artists. I love spotting her colourful, personality filled murals all over the city. I even tried to talk my boss into commissioning her to paint our boardroom – alas he said no. Bunnies are a bit of a signature of hers.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog jody artist streetart mural bristol

This piece by Jody is actually from last year,. A few of Jody’s pieces have been popping up around Bristol, including a beautiful one on the side of The Florist.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog bristol born and bread streetart cheba inkie graffiti

A gorgeous collaboration between Inkie and cheba on a bright day the gold lettering glows and the swirling galaxy stands out beautifully.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog murals streetart graffiti bristol

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog bristol streetart graffiti festival

One of the great things about Upfest is how close you can get to the artists while they’re working, it’s so inspiring seeing their amazing skills close up.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog divers helmet mural bristol

I loved this diving helmet piece by The Hass, as a cool Simpsons reference the artist included some of the three eyed fish from the show.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog

An oldie but a goodie, above the official Upfest shop.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog the london police mural streetart bristol

This mural next to The Tobacco Factory is by The London Police and it’s absolutely enormous. It was impressive just to see how the artists coped with the elements this weekend, there was torrential rain most of the time as well as strong winds which must have played havoc with the spray paint.

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog the best things in life arent things streetart bristol

I loved this! I totally agree although as a bit of a maximalist I can’t deny that I’m pretty fond of things too! ?

Upfest 2018 yellow feather blog street art graffiti festival bristol

I love the colours in this piece and I can’t wait to pop down and see what it looks like finished.

Upfest is one of the many reasons that Bristol comes alive in the summer, if you love colour, community and creativity then it’s definitely a festival and city to put on your bucket list!

Did you go to Upfest this year? Which were your favourite pieces? Let me know in the comments. 🙂

Love, Sarah x

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