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
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.
Stephen Quick, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022
A west of England paint festival somehow wouldn’t quite feel right without a stencil piece from Bristol’s Stephen Quick. In this piece we have a dog in a space suit, and I have a feeling that the dog ‘Gryffin’ might be A portrait of Stephen Quick’s own dog, which I am sure I have seen somewhere, perhaps on social media. I read that the piece was inspired by a poster advertising the new Buzz Lightyear film. I also read on Stephen Quick’s Instagram post that he was recovering from Covid whilst painting the piece and was very fatigued, not that it shows in the final product.
Stephen Quick, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022
I must admit that the piece has grown on me somewhat. When I first saw it, something just didn’t feel quite right, maybe the grey space to the left, I don’t know, but it is a rare thing that I don’t immediately click with one of his pieces. I am glad to say though that on reflection it has grown on me and it is yet another great stencil from the artist, which reminds me, I still haven’t posted his Upfest piece from earlier in the summer yet.
I can’t quite recall if I have ever seen a Fark piece outside Cheltenham, and I don’t think I have, but I might need to check my archives to be sure. This year at the festival, we were treated to three of his offerings, although I think I only photographed two.
Fark, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022
I love the simplicity of his work, a classic example of the ‘less is more’ expression. Reminiscent of the Miffy character books, Fark’s birds have a charm all of their own. The message too is simple… ‘be excellent to each other’ – a phrase that could easily have come from #DFTE. This is a warm and peaceful piece and so very easy on the eye.
It would appear that Erviti, a studio artist from Bristol, is really enjoying her street art work, and barely a month goes by without one of her imaginative and creative studies appearing in some spot or other. This time she showed up in the Three Pigs back yard with this vase of lilies.
Erviti, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022
Erviti’s message next to the beautiful vase and flowers is loud and clear:
The climate crisis is here, plz panic, act now, thanks.
Sentiments I applaud. We must all redouble our efforts to act now. It is interesting to watch Sunak and Truss both campaign against the green agenda, one dropping the green levy on energy bills (as if it were the problem causing higher prices), and the other wanting to delay the UK’s target of net zero by ten years. What a couple of insufferable muppets.
The genius behind the Cheltenham Paint Festival is Dice 67, and as organiser, he is well within his rights to reserve a premium wall for his own artwork, and I wouldn’t think that anyone would object to that in any way at all.
Dice 67, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022
Here, Dice 67 has created a magnificent homage to Killing Joke (the band) which when I first saw it, I thought was was a Harry Potter piece featurng Professor Severus Snape, but the likeness wasn’t there. This is an absolute masterpiece, and demonstrates Dice 67’s development as a street artist, which is quite remarkable.
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022
I sit here writing this morning’s posts listening to the chirp of cicadas, overlooking a small pool which I will be enjoying in a few minutes, with the mountains of Croatia at my back.
I didn’t think I was going to make it to the Cheltenham Paint Festival this year, as my wife was away and I was on dog duty. The solution to the problem was to bring the dog, and I have to say he was unbelievably well behaved the entire time we were there.
The day itself was only a partial success though. Within fifteen minutes of arriving, I managed to drop and break my camera beyond repair, so I had to use my ageing iPhone to take the rest of the pictures, with a fast diminishing battery life. To say I was a bit grumpy was an understatement. That wasn’t the end of the tale of woe though. Last week I received a parking fine for not paying the correct amount in the Cheltenham car park. Grrrr. I put in only one hour by mistake and was there for at least four. So these photographs come to you at great personal cost and not a little irritation.
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022
This piece was the first I saw and is by the magnificent Sophie Long. A pair of hammerhead sharks, in great swimming positions, painted in greyscale and blending in perfectly with the grey buffed boards. Perhaps the most surprising thing about this piece is the absence of her signature drips. Perhaps she was trying something new, or perhaps I never got to see the finished piece. I feel that it stands up perfectly well without them.
Sophie Long, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017
It is the custom on Thursday Doors to post our favourite doors from the year on the Thursday before Christmas, so in this Coronavirus-impacted year, here are some of mine. All of these doors were posted in 2020, but some were photographed before that. I hope you enjoy them, and wherever you are may I wish you a happy Christmas and an infinitely better 2021.
January
Front entrance to the Bristol Hippodrome, Doors, December 2019
February
Arched garden door with a boot scraper, Bristol, December 2019
March
3Dom, Brook Hill, Bristol, March 2020
April
Shop door, Anchor Road, Bristol, November 2019
May
The Krah, Montpelier, Bristol, September 2018
June
Former door bricked up, Montpelier, Bristol, March 2020
July
Back yard gate, Montpelier, Bristol, May 2020
August
Little doors on a garden wall in Redland, Bristol, August 2020
September
A gorgeous door somewhat eclipsed by the warning notices to the right, Cheltenham, September 2020
October
Double doors in St Andrews, Bristol, May 2020
November
Shop front – no longer in business, Dorchester, June 2019
December
Sepr, Brigstocke Road, Bristol, December 2020
This has been a very tough year for all citizens of the world, and that includes us door enthusiasts. Doorscursions have been quite hard to come by. Let’s all hope that next year brings us some relief from the coronavirus pandemic and we can seek out a new and better normal life.
Happy holidays.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
The Celtenham Paint Festival was a bit of an unusual affair this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Slightly last minute and slightly reduced in ambition there wasn’t quite the atmosphere one would expect at a paint festival, but the quality of the art and variety of artists was nonetheless up to its usual standard.
Fark, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020
Fark is not an artist I am familiar with, but am very much drawn to this piece. The strong lines, uncomplicated scenes and bold colours are reminiscent of Dick Bruna’s work, a Dutch artist and author whose ‘Miffy’ books were a cornerstone of my early childhood. There is a lot to like in this simple painting of a songbird and who can argue with the central message of love? We need to get this artist to Bristol!
There were so many Bristol artists at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, which should have come as no surprise really as it is only a short distance away. One of those artists was Pekoe with this rather nice portrait piece.
Pekoe, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020
Pekoe’s portraits are easy to identify, usually by the fabulous styling of big hair filled and decorated, and this piece certainly doesn’t disappoint on that score. I stupidly haven’t met Pekoe yet, but I guess it is just a matter of time, being in the right place at the right time, although with a new lock down in place that might be a little while away.
Natural adventures 