#DFTE, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
One of the rather nice things about the Cheltenham Paint Festival is that due to its proximity to Bristol, it often feels a bit like a home from home, as a lot of the domestic artists that paint at the CPF are from Bristol. #DFTE is no stranger to the streets of Bristol, and this one at the festival was a real cracker.
#DFTE, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
‘Thoughts are not facts’ – I love this. It is so true, and yet for so many people thoughts are projected as facts – and I am sure I am guilty of this myself to some degree. I come from an analytical evidence-led training, and work in ma sector where evidence is crucial, so the phrase chimes very strongly with me. #DFTE’s unique font – in this instance with lots of lovely drips – is bold and accessible. A truly wonderful piece, from the unusual philosopher/graffiti writer.
Sam Art, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Each time I do a burst of ‘festival’ pictures I become mindful of just how far behind I am with my posts – I still have dozens/hundreds of pieces to share from Upfest 2022 and many more from Cheltenham last year and this. I simply have to face the fact that I won’t be able to publish them all, at least not until I have retired. This is an unbelievable piece by Sam Art at this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival.
Sam Art, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Sam Art uses spray paint to create his photorealistic masterpieces, but he does so in a studio and then transports the piece to the festival site. Some might consider this cheating, but it is not. The pieces take a long time to paint and would probably be next to impossible outside exposed to the elements. The portrait of a young girl is stunning and the kingfisher – a street art favourite – sensational. The splashes of colour contrast perfectly with the greyscale portrait. Magnificent stuff once again from Sam Art.
Inkie, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
You can be pretty certain that Inkie will have a presence at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, which is great. What is even better is that although this piece was from the 2022 Festival, I managed to find it this time round… only a year late, but better than nothing I suppose.
Inkie, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
The character/writing combination is along the lines that you would expect to see. A beautiful girl with long flowing hair alongside some large block writing. I am not too sure what the ‘St Pauls’ refers to. There is a St Paul’s church very near where this was painted, but it could I suppose be a reference to Bristol’s St Paul’s district. Unmistakably Inkie, the piece is still looking fresh as a daisy. Nice Tribute to Julian too.
SkyHigh, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Each time I think that SkyHigh can’t possibly up his game, he manages to do so with what appears to be ease. I can’t imagine he has too much headroom for improvement, but hey, this is SkyHigh we’re talking about (no pun intended).
SkyHigh, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
This large piece is a perfect mash-up of characters, letter fonts and styles, seamlessly joined together to spell out SkyHigh in several combinations. The inclusion of Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Donald Duck add a sense of fun to the piece as well as being a bit weird with some additional eyes thrown in for good measure.
SkyHigh, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
One of the awesome things about the piece is how SkyHigh manages to compartmentalise each element as tight as tight can be, and yet there is a fluidity that makes sense of each of the components into an impressive whole. This is as close to graffiti writing perfection as you can get.
Smerk, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
UPDATE (2 November 2023): On posting this piece on Instagram I am informed by Smak that this piece is not by him and that the content of this post should be ignored. This happens from time to time. The piece is by Smerk, and the letters indeed spell SMERK. A forgivable mistake on my part.
I haven’t seen too much work by Smak in Bristol recently, so it was great to see this piece on the multi-story car park in Cheltenham at this year’s Paint Festival. The first thing to notice about this Smak piece is that it is really rather different from the usual style of his writing. That isn’t to say he isn’t incredibly versatile, simply that this is a small departure, and one I rather like.
Smerk, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
The letters in this piece have a slight 1920s/30s feel to them, like a modern version of something you might see at a lido or cinema, if you know what I mean. Perhaps it is the colour palette or the deep 3D shadows in red, combined with the letter shapes, I don’t know, but the overall effect is most pleasing and very easy on the eye. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the car park, Smak had already finished, but there were plenty of other artists up there to catch up with.
Elno, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
One of the highlights of my trip to Cheltenham for this year’s Paint Festival was the opportunity to meet and chat with Elno, a lovely, lovely person who made plenty of time to talk about her work, and a piece that I photographed earlier in the year from the Lighthouse Community Gardens. I caught up with her just as she was completing the piece, only the sword handle was incomplete and, of course, her signature.
Elno, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
I made a bit of a mistake asking Elno if her character had any links to Avatar (the film), and she swiftly put that one to bed. I gather that she has been painting characters like this for a while, and it is purely coincidental that this one resembles any kind of animation film characters, and if I am honest, I feel a bit of a fool for even asking as the resemblance is tenuous at best.
Elno, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
There is so much to like in this piece from the composition with its very strong Japanese influence. Characters with large eyes are always beguiling and beautiful, and the red hair, complete with flower, complements the blue skin perfectly. I love the touch of patterned material on the woman’s shoulder, adding some extra class to the piece. I suggested that she try to make it to Bristol for Upfest, a suggestion that didn’t fall on deaf ears. Let’s hope.
Elno, Lighthouse Community Garden, London, April 2023
Creative Ginger, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
I have only once before posted anything by Creative Ginger, and that was at last year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival, also in the Honeybourne Line tunnels, and featured a young woman cuddling a fawn. This year it was the turn of a young woman cuddling a fox, and what a fantastic piece it is too.
Creative Ginger, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
This kind of work contains a lot of emotion and warmth and the style stops just short of photorealistic, while being accurate, calming and soft. Foxes play a very large part in street art (note to self: do a special gallery of foxes) and Creative Ginger has done a great job with this one, and plays with the girls hair colour and texture alongside the foxes. A perfect mural, and one which I am sure appealed to the many families visiting for the festival. It would be great to see Creative Ginger at Upfest.
Creative Ginger, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Codo, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23, Cheltenham, July 2023
When I first started to write about graffiti and street art back in 2015, I had my own unconscious biases and preconceptions about the artists, and I must confess that I was a little afraid, believing that the edgy nature of the world I was entering was somehow representative of the people creating the art. How utterly wrong I was, and what a fool I was. I have met many, many artists and I can think of only one or two that were having a ‘bad hair day’, all the rest, without exception, have been wonderful people with interesting stories to tell, generous with their time and conversation.
Codo, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23, Cheltenham, July 2023
So, with this backdrop of incredible and talented people in mind, I met one of the very kindest and engaging people to date at the Cheltenham Paint Festival in one of the Honeybourne Line tunnels. I am talking about Codo (@codoartni). I caught up with Codo while he was finishing off his intricate/simple doodle piece, and he stopped, not only to chat with me, but went on to advise me on several aspects of can control, and gifted me some spray cans and a whole ton of banana caps. He made these gestures without any desire for gratitude, but filled with enthusiasm to help a wannabe artist. He made my day.
Codo, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
I have not seen Codo’s work before, so it was great to see him at work on this piece. Originally he had sprayed a pink and blue background with doodles, but decided to overwrite it with black lined doodles and the resulting effect is rather good. In amongst the patterns and faces are shout-outs to other artists he was painting with and other cryptic messages. The central character, dominates the work and is a simple thick-lined version of the smaller doodles all around. This is Codo’s identity, his look and feel that underpins his work. Great stuff. I very much hope to meet him again, perhaps if he could get himself invited over to Upfest next year or something like that, that would be cool.
Sophie Tuttle, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
There were an awful lot of beautiful birds painted at the Cheltenham Paint Festival this year, whether by coincidence or design I simply don’t know, but it feels like the nature theme is running strongly through street art these days, perhaps as a subliminal or conscious response to the global biodiversity crisis we face.
Sophie Tuttle, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
This enormous piece by Sophie Tuttle on the side of a building on Devonshire Street features two owls, one in good health, the other a skeleton, joined together by a red thread that each is holding in its beak. There is symbolism here I’m sure, and perhaps it is the delicate line we walk between life and death.
Sophie Tuttle, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
Both of the owls are perfectly painted, and each has a halo behind with a floral design in subtle blues. Perfectly proportioned and anatomically correct these owns are as much a study of form as they are paintings of birds.
Sophie Tuttle, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
I don’t believe I have come across Sophie Tuttle before, but that is hardly surprising since she is Boston- based. Her commitment to free and accessible art is a great thing indeed, and what a privilege to see her amazing artwork at the Cheltenham Paint Festival. Perhaps we could entice her to visit Bristol some time.
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
There was a time not so long ago when Andy ‘Dice’ Davies (Dice 67) had had to cancel this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival due to the lack of funding – a swiftly organised crowd-funding scheme saved the day and meant that the festival could go ahead, and in my view was the best festival to date. Huge gratitude and congratulations have to go to Andy and his organising team and the funders to have made it such a success.
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
I visited the festival on the Saturday, and many pieces were unfinished, so I will be paying Cheltenham a visit, when time permits, later in the year. One of the first complete pieces I found was this outstanding pair of lovebirds by Bristol artist Sophie Long, and what a beautiful site it is. There is a reference to Sinead O’Connor, whose recent death still hits a chord for those who loved her music and approach to life. Nothing compares to you.
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 23. Cheltenham, July 2023
Sophie Long is well known for her wildlife paintings and street art and has absolutely nailed it here, without a drip in sight. It is a pity I didn’t see her, because she is always up for a chat. This is the first of five posts from the Cheltenham Paint Festival, with more to come in due course.
Natural adventures 