My Dog Sighs and Curtis Hylton create giant mural on Windmill Hill in Bristol

The first mural of the Upfest Summer Edition series saw Southsea’s My Dog Sighs combine forces with the popular Curtis Hylton. Their creation, a collaboration on the side of the Rising Sun Pub, utilised the skills of both.

My Dog Sighs in particular is known for his paintings of eyes. Within them he will often paint a scene or a story which helps to cement a link to the area. Given that this mural sits on the side of a pub at the top of Windmill Hill in Bristol, it is a windmill that the eyes now reflect back.

For Curtis Hylton, a newcomer to Upfest, here we have an artist who has been getting ever more prolific. His work is focused on the natural world both plant and animal. He has painted the surround of the piece. The left eye surrounded within a bed of feathers. The right eye meanwhile peers out of what appears to be roses.

The artists had wanted to incorporate a bit of history into the piece. The windmill in question is indeed once supposed to have sat on the hill. With a location overlooking the rest of Bristol it would have had a commanding position. Evidence of the actual windmill ever existing is a little hard to find now. Prior to the areas development however one is supposed to have existed in the 15th century. Back then the area of Bedminster would have been little more than a sleepy Somerset hamlet.

Replacing a former long established but faded and tagged mural on the same wall. The work itself covers 1600 sq ft and took five days to complete. Part of the Upfest Summer Editions series. The works created are a response to the fact that this year Upfest is taking a bit of a rest after 10 straight years of running the festival.

The mural can be found on the side of the Rising Sun on Windmill Hill. You can also read about another of the murals created as part of the upfest summer editions here by Bristol artist Jody.