Tag: Cheltenham

3290. Cheltenham 2020 (12)

Kingfishers are a favourite subject for street artists and it is amazing how these little bird can give such inspiration, I wonder what it is about them that makes our hearts sing, is it the colours? The fleeting glimpses? The fishing? Who knows, but they are certainly a very popular.

Graffoflarge, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020
Graffoflarge, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020

I don’t know anything about the artist Graffoflarge, but he clearly has a sense of humour by fusing a kingfisher and duck in this piece. The artwork is really interesting, being made up largely of lines and the background is beautifully done to provide the perfect backdrop for the subject. Vibrant and fun, a classy piece.

3289. Cheltenham 2020 (11)

It is time for another short series of posts on this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival back in September, starting with this lovely collaboration from Bristol artists Inkie and Soker. This is one of those collaborations where the artists share a wall and colour scheme, but each piece is otherwise independent.

Inkie, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020
Inkie, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020

On the left is a stunner from Inkie full of intricate detail. This is a piece which the artist obviously spent a lot of time on and that time has paid off because in my eyes this is a near-perfect piece of graffiti writing.

Soker, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020
Soker, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020

On the right of the wall Soker has similarly smashed it. To anyone seeing this and thinking this is just another piece of graffiti, think again… this is world-class writing from two of the very best, and how lucky are we that they both come from Bristol. The more I look at this piece, the more I enjoy it. Bravo!

Inkie and Soker, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020
Inkie and Soker, Paint festival, Cheltenham, September 2020

3221. Cheltenham 2020 (10)

No street art festival in the south of England is complete without something, and often several somethings from My Dog Sighs. The artist seems to be particularly fond of the Cheltenham Paint Festival and this year’s main piece was no disappointment.

My Dog Sighs, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
My Dog Sighs, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

This is a superb take on urban pigeons in a style that My Dog Sighs has made his own. These clusters of pigeons, identifiable by their necks and iridescent purple and green breasts have faces as varied as their real life counterparts and have a sort of bewildered indifference about them.

My Dog Sighs, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
My Dog Sighs, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

I very much like the way the beaks are attached to the faces with string and the human faces, almost as if these are people in pigeon costumes, but that would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it?

My Dog Sighs, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
My Dog Sighs, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

This was one of my favourite pieces at the Festival this year, and a little different from some of the ‘big-ticket’ pieces he has done in previous years. I feel a My Dog Sighs gallery coming on soon.

3220. Cheltenham 2020 (9)

This year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival felt a little strange because of the far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus epidemic. In a way the Festival lends itself to social distancing because of the dispersed nature of the pieces across the town, but keeping one’s distance while talking to the artists, or the emptiness of some of the venues added a surreal layer to the whole experience.

Sam Art, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
Sam Art, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

I found this piece in the Two Pigs, and had to don a facemask to walk through the gaming pub to get to the back yard where a few pieces had been painted. I was there completely alone, which felt odd. I was however rewarded with this outstanding small piece by Sam Art, which is clearly a commentary on the state of our planet at this time. Some of you might remember his extraordinary photorealistic piece from last year’s festival. A fabulous artist.

Sam Art, Paint festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Sam Art, Paint festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

3219. Cheltenham 2020 (8)

The Agent is well known in Bristol not only for his Minion stencils, but also for being the father of another significant street artist in Bristol, Angus. At the Cheltenham Paint Festival this September he knocked himself out with this sequence of stencils on the inner panels of an iron railway bridge, along the course of the old Honeybourne Line.

The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020
The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020

In his single layered stencils The Agent appears to get most of his inspiration from TV or movie cartoons. There don’t appear to be any hidden messages or politics in his pieces, just a whole lot of fun.

The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020
The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020

Even creating these ‘simple’ stencils is not quite as easy as it might seem, and taking that step from ‘I could do that’ to actually doing it is the key to achieving many things in life. I am not preaching, far from it, I am perhaps reminding myself to pull my finger out and do stuff.

The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020
The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020

No The Agent wall would be complete without a minions piece, and here he delights us with a fine ‘bananas’ piece. And finally a rainbow flag…

The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020
The Agent, Paint Festival 2020 Cheltenham, September 2020

3218. Cheltenham 2020 (7)

John D’oh always has a strong presence in Cheltenham and his “gallery” of stencils this year was quite outstanding. With his razor sharp commentaries on the state of the nation and beautifully cut stencils, there is no mistaking his work.

John D'oh, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
John D’oh, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

This stencil I think dates back a little while and references the Sincura Group who held a Banksy collection exhibition of street art pieces and then contraversially sold them off in a sealed bid auction. Not really the point of street art and willful profiteering. Very nice stencil… any bids?

3217. Cheltenham 2020 (6)

Cheltenham is home to a small number of artists, but thanks in large part to Dice67 and his Cheltenham Paint Festival, it is firmly on the street art map of the UK. One of those local artists (although he might be from Gloucester, I can never quite remember) is Flava136 whose piece for this year’s festival was simply beautiful.

Flava136, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
Flava136, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

It is just such a pity that we don’t see more of his work in Bristol. His monster character is becoming more and more stylised and the design elements becoming more prominent. This piece is so clean and tidy and is a great showcase of his fine work. Flava136 is an artist I’ve yet to meet, but I’m sure it will happen soon enough.

3187. Cheltenham 2020 (5)

This is the last post in this little digression from the Cheltenham Paint Festival (although I will post some more in the coming weeks) and it falls to the brilliant Bristol artist Sepr to round off his cluster. Some of the best pieces at the CPF are painted on the pavilion in Pittville Park and this is no exception.

Sepr, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
Sepr, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

Sepr’s style is so appealing to me, the retrospective style so reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s and illustrations that used to appear in children’s books. The story here is of a man on the telephone listening to a penguin with a guitar and maracas. Go figure… stunningly executed work as always.

Thursday doors – 17 September 2020

Doors 120 – Some Cheltenham doors (posted a day late)

It has been a month since I last posted Thursday doors and like the idiot I am, I missed this Thursday for my comeback, so here is my offering a day (and a month) late.

I took these pictures on a trip to Cheltenham for the annual Paint Festival hosted there a couple of weekends ago. I can’t remember the last time I posted some newly photographed doors rather than the archive graffiti ones I have been posting lately, so I hope you enjoy them.

Awning in need of a minor repair, Cheltenham, September 2020
Awning in need of a minor repair, Cheltenham, September 2020
Beautiful birdcage awning, Cheltenham, September 2020
Beautiful birdcage awning, Cheltenham, September 2020
OK, so it's a little out of focus, but this door was just too good to leave out, Cheltenham, September 2020
OK, so it’s a little out of focus, but this door was just too good to leave out, Cheltenham, September 2020
An ornate wrought iron awning, Cheltenham, September 2020
An ornate wrought iron awning, Cheltenham, September 2020
The steps are curved and even the red door is curved, Cheltenham, September 2020
The steps are curved and even the red door is curved, Cheltenham, September 2020
A gorgeous door somewhat eclipsed by the warning notices to the right, Cheltenham, September 2020
A gorgeous door somewhat eclipsed by the warning notices to the right, Cheltenham, September 2020

So there we have it, I managed to get myself back into the swing of things, albeit a day late. Expect more archive pictures next week, unless I get myself out for a walk somewhere.

If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you really ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

by Scooj

3186. Cheltenham 2020 (4)

One of the nice things about the Cheltenham Paint Festival is the large number of Bristol-based artists that are asked to paint. Mr Klue is a particular favourite of mine. His modest demeanour betrays his obvious talent and unique abstract style

Mr Klue, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
Mr Klue, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

I am not overjoyed at my hopeless photography. The close-up is a little too close and I have cut off the left hand edge of the piece. This is a colourful piece that probably spells out KLUE, but might not, and presents many of the trademark features we would expect to see in one of his pieces; floating steps, wisps of smoke and coiled cones give the artist away. I am rather taken with the orange ball, a nice feature.