Tag: Cheltenham

4730. Cheltenham 2022 (15)

I have only once before come across Madderdoit, and that was a column stencil piece under Brunel Way in Bristol, so it was good to see a couple more pieces by the artist in the skate park for the Cheltenham Paint Festival, of which this is one.

Madderdoit, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Madderdoit, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

The kid sitting among a bunch of spray cans reminds me a little of an early Dice67 piece, and is nicely done. The brightly sprayed heart is also a nice touch, without which the whole thing would be duller. I like the spread of spray cans, but would have created two or three stencils for these and perhaps coloured the tops – but there I go again nit-picking. This is a nice fresh stencil from Madderdoit.

4729. Cheltenham 2022 (14)

Pelmo, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Pelmo, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

One of my favourite Bristol artists is Pelmo. His work is usually well thought out and is about so much more than the artwork, often there are messages of love, affection and care with the relationships between characters. In this unusual piece, there are no characters, but a very strong climate message.

Pelmo, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Pelmo, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

Having worked in environmental communications for twenty years, some of it on climate change, I have seen many images like this one, and they are not uncommon. What is different here is that it is not a corporate ‘explainer’ but a heartfelt warning. Pelmo has captured the jeopardy of failing to act in a gentle, but effective way. I could look at this piece for a long time, it chimes for me and has a serene quality to it. Great work from Pelmo.

4728. Cheltenham 2022 (13)

Helen Harper, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Helen Harper, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

There is a very strong relationship between street art and tattoo art, for example, some of Bristol’s best street artists; 3Dom, Sepr  and Chill, among others, are also tattoo artists. So it is no surprise to learn that Helen Harper, who painted this gorgeous lion at the Cheltenham Paint Festival is also a tattoo artist.

Helen Harper, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Helen Harper, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

There are three elements to this piece that work nicely together. The black background has some swirly patterning, and the lion’s face is painted in a greyscale that works well with the background. Encircling the lion’s face is a circular burst of colour, radiating outwards. This is the first piece that I have seen by Helen Harper, but I look forward to seeing more in the future.

4727. Cheltenham 2022 (12)

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Even though Aspire no longer lives in Bristol, I have managed to come across some of his work this year, which is a joyful thing. Of all the artists that have left Bristol in recent years, I miss his work (and that of Kleiner Shames) the most. Thank goodness for festivals such as Upfest and the Cheltenham Paint Festival, which have encouraged Aspire to leave London and share his work in the provinces.

Aspire, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Aspire, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

This piece is an absolute belter, with a beautiful Robin, set alongside some silver birch trees and weirdly a bottle of sun spray. I’m not quite sure I get the significance of the plastic bottle, but it certainly sets up an interesting juxtaposition in the piece. As always the whole thing is superbly crafted, and Aspire’s pixelated sections perform the job of a signature. Top work from Aspire.

4726. Cheltenham 2022 (11)

Korp, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Korp, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

You might recall that I posted a piece by Korp only a few days ago of his Upfest piece. Here he is again with another fine ‘worm’ character portrait, this time from the Cheltenham Paint Festival.

Korp, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Korp, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

The character in greyscale with some pink elements is rather cute, if that is the right word, peering from the boarding out at viewers, feathers either side of its face. What Korp does really effectively is create shadows with different shades of paint, to create depth in the face, all of which is done with sharp lines and great solid fills. This is another fine festival piece from Korp.

4687. Cheltenham 2022 (10)

Tom Miller, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Tom Miller, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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?

Tom Miller, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Tom Miller, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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)

Creative Ginger, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Creative Ginger, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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.

Creative Ginger, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Creative Ginger, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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)

Paul Monsters, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Paul Monsters, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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.

Paul Monsters, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Paul Monsters, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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)

DFC1848, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
DFC1848, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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.

DFC1848, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
DFC1848, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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.

4683. Cheltenham 2022 (6)

Tash Creates, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Tash Creates, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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.

Tash Creates, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022
Tash Creates, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2022

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.