.
Constants disrupted
and a nation all at sea
despair before hope
.
by Scooj
4687. Cheltenham 2022 (10)
Tom Miller is no stranger to these pages and remains one of the most wildly creative and surreal forces in the Bristol fine art and street art scene. There is so much going on in this colourful explosion of thoughts and ideas, but it looks like a conflation of a motorcyclist with a bird with a lamb?
There is so much movement in the piece and a blurring of the real with the abstract that confuses our senses a little. You could study the piece for hours and still wonder at the end what on earth it is all about. The best way to find these things out is to ask the artist, but unfortunately I didn’t get to meet him this time… perhaps when I next see him.
4686. Cheltenham 2022 (9)
The Honeybourne tunnel is one of the key venues for the Cheltenham Paint Festival, but it is also one which is at risk of being painted over once or even twice before the end of the festival and almost certainly shortly after the festival as it is one of Cheltenham’s most popular graff/street art spots.
This is a gorgeous piece ‘the power of a hug’ by Creative Ginger, an artist who I have never heard of before but who seems to be based in the North East of England and paints for festivals, commissions and also runs a graphic design wing too. The artist ran the risk of being a bit schmaltzy with this piece, but just about manages to get away with it, and there is no doubt that it is eye-catching. Very pleased to have been able to see it.
4685. Cheltenham 2022 (8)
The thing about Paul Monsters’ work is that it is consistently outstanding. His geometric designs and colour schemes couldn’t possibly be by anyone else, and this one for the Cheltenham Paint Festival is a real beauty.
One of the really noticeable things about Upfest and the Cheltenham Paint Festival is that a large proportion of the artists are from Bristol and it makes me realise just how blessed we are, and how much a part of the culture street/graffiti art is. Paul Monsters is at the heart of that culture and his work emblematic of it.
4684. Cheltenham 2022 (7)
It is impossible to imagine the Cheltenham Paint Festival without a piece by local artist DFC1848, and more impossible to imagine that I wouldn’t post it, so here for you is his excellent piece from this year.
I won’t drone on about how much DFC1848’s work has developed over the years, other than to say that it has developed over the years. The fun piece featuring a cartoon shark and dog (and another unknown consumed creature in the mouth of the shark) is clean, sharp and colourful. A really fabulous piece and great example of this cartoon-style genre.
Common Toadflax
.
Yellow, rising high
stubble encircled island
proud common toadflax
.
by Scooj
4683. Cheltenham 2022 (6)
When street art and fish come together it generally makes me very happy. This was one of the first pieces I saw at the Cheltenham Paint Festival and it set the tone of high-interest and high-quality pieces in the town. The colourful piece is by Tash Creates, a self taught artist from Hertfordshire.
The design and proportions of the piece are first class, although of course it is an imaginary fish. It is funny how we can paint or draw a fish, and everyone knows it is a fish, and yet it isn’t a fish we have ever seen before, if you know what I mean. Anyhow, I think it is sufficient to say that I really like this piece. It would be great to see Tash Creates visit Bristol some time.
4682. Greenbank (52)
I cannot express how much I am enjoying this ‘happy’ period from Face 1st. There is something new and fresh about his work at the moment, which you might only notice if you have been following his art for a while. Face 1st is concentrating a little more on his characters, nearly always laughing girls, but there is more movement and different poses entering into his work.
In this piece we have one of Face 1st’s letters and character pieces, with the letters FA and E broken up with a kick-dancing girl obscuring or being the C. The girl is striking a similar pose to one of his other recent pieces, which I posted a short while ago. Gotta love this one.
4681. Sparke Evans Park (54)
It says ZIOM, but I have to admit that I struggle to see it sometimes, and it looks like there is a different word sitting along the top in blue shades, which looks like MOMM or MAMM, but I think it is just an artefact of the style of the artist. The artist is Trafficity, and his distinctive pieces are consistently well presented.
Trafficity is a member of the PAD crew, which includes Laic217 and Cort, although he tends not to paint as frequently as the others. The piece itself is composed of block letters with three discrete horizontal fills, and a little bit of extra ‘melty’ decoration along the bottom edge. Watch this space for something from my archive by Trafficity, coming soon.
4680. Lower Ashley Road (6)
I couldn’t start today’s post without paying tribute to HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Irrespective of one’s views about the monarchy, Queen Elizabeth has been a stable constant for our nation and many others, when all around her there has been chaos. It will feel slightly odd not having her around any more.
It is rare for anyone to give up their life to serve others (apart from in the public sector, of course), but to do so with composure, integrity, decency, objectivity and solemnity is special and something that our politicians, the people with the real power, could learn from. The contrast between the Queen’s behaviour and that of Johnson or Truss is stark. RIP QEII.
Our lives go on, and there is street art to consider. This is a real beauty from Taboo on an old shopfront that often attracts inferior throw ups, but not in this instance. I drive along this road fairly frequently, and I simply love seeing this writing/character piece, there is a lot of mischief in it.
The writing is typically asymmetrical and unconventional, spelling out TABOO, although that might not be entirely obvious at first sight. Of course, it is the Garfield character that steals the show… brilliantly painted and perfectly cheeky. I now have four Garfield pieces in my archives. One more and I might have to do a Garfield special post!
Natural adventures 