Tag: Cheltenham

3185. Cheltenham 2020 (3)

Daub is an artist I have come across a few times at the Cheltenham Paint Festival and at Upfest in Bristol. His ink pen pieces are most distinctive and painstakingly crafted. Last year I stopped for quite a lengthy chat, but this year was a little more difficult to interact due to social distancing.

Daub, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
Daub, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

This mesmerising piece is of an owl, I think, and between the large eyes is a small yellow beak, introducing the only colour to the work. What is not clear from these pictures is the amount of detailed shading that you can see when you get close up. A nice piece from a festival regular.

I have just checked and I never posted his piece from last year… I’ll have to put that right.

3184. Cheltenham 2020 (2)

Dice67 is the mastermind behind the Cheltenham Paint Festival and this year pulled the rabbit out of the hat to get the festival back on track in super-quick time. He is a truly remarkable man and manages to motivate others in his rather laid back style. Not only does he perform miracles of organisation and persuasion, he is also a highly talented artist and always makes time to paint his own piece during the festival.

Dice 67, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020
Dice 67, Paint Festival 2020, Cheltenham, September 2020

This piece owes more than a little to the genius of Michelangelo and his fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. A common theme in street art, this is beautifully executed and the handing Of the spray can is a really nice touch. The writing, spelling Dice67, is really nice too, especially with the cracks running through the letters. Bravo Dice67.


3183. Cheltenham 2020 (1)

The first of this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival pieces is from the tireless John D’oh with this clever Alice in Wonderland reference. As is often the case with John D’oh’s work, this piece is having a bit of a swipe at McDonalds and other corporate fast food  outlets and the impact they have on obesity and poor health.

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

In this scene, a rather plump Alice is being tempted to ‘drink me, eat me, buy one get one free, go large for 30p, free soft drink with every large meal’. Seeing it like this in a Dinseyfication drills home the message rather well. Many more from John D’oh to come from the paint festival.

3182. Cheltenham 2019 (36)

This is the last of three pieces from last year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival that wasn’t completed during my visit in 2019, but that I had the opportunity to revisit this year. The Star Wars AT-AT is by Pad303 and continues a style that he has been developing over the last three or so years. I’m not quite sure if it qualifies as anamorphic art, but he likes to trick our eyes into believing that the brick wall is coming alive.

Pad303, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020
Pad303, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020

Star Wars is a popular theme for street artists and Pad303 has nailed this war machine of the Empire, that I always felt was rather fragile in battle. This is a very clever piece, blending in with the colours of the wall (a wall which I’d like to add is most unsympathetic to being painted) and lifting the image out and giving it an animated quality. Brilliant. I have a few more of these pieces from Pad303 to share, when I have a moment.

3181. Cheltenham 2019 (34)

This is another outstanding piece from last year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival that I never got to see in its finished state until I visited for this year’s festival. It is a superb Hamlet work by French artist Zabou that I actually saw her working on last year, but haven’t been able to find my work in progress photographs.

Zabou, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020
Zabou, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020

Zabou is without doubt one of my favourite street artists. Her work is not only technically brilliant but her subjects and the emotional texture she conveys is quite remarkable. I think that this might be my favourite piece by Zabou, I am in love with it and cannot fault it.

Zabou, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020
Zabou, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020

The blue tones and flowers add some real interest, but it is the relationship between Hamlet (I am making that assumption) and Yorick’s skull that is so intriguing. ‘Alas poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio…’

3180. Cheltenham 2019 (34)

The thing about returning to an annual festival such as the one in Cheltenham is that a year later you get to see the pieces that weren’t completed on the visit a year ago. The next three pieces on Natural Adventures were all painted at Cheltenham Paint Festival in 2019, but photographed this year.

WD, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020
WD, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020

This astonishing anamorphic piece, or trompe l’oeil as I would prefer to describe it, is a tribute to Mobius (the mathematician) who invented the Möbius strip – remember that from O Level mathematics? It is painted by WD, an artist I know little about but who has a rather nice website that is worth a look at.

WD, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020
WD, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020

This really is a breathtaking piece and didn’t get painted until after last year’s festival had ended, so many visitors never got to see it which is a shame. One can only look at a piece like this and be filled with awe. It is not only clever, but it is also expertly painted. I love the incorporation of the chimney stack into the hat.

WD, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020
WD, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2020

I parked down a little side street to get these pictures and the last one is from a little distance away, but gives you a feel for the local impact of something so grand. Worth a trip to Cheltenham on its own.

There and back again

.

Cheltenham day trip

soaking up the sites and sounds

early autumn sun

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by Scooj

2862. Cheltenham 2019 (33)

Aah, this is a real beauty from T-Rex at the Cheltenham Paint Festival 2019. Three mischievous dinosaurs on the rampage in the Honeybourne Line tunnel, simply perfect. I said a short while ago that I don’t feature T-Rex nearly enou* in Natural Adventures and that this is another opportunity to put that right.

T-Rex, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
T-Rex, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

T-Rex is so adept at painting these characters that I expect she could do it in her sleep. For good measure she has complemented the rascals with a couple of fanged snakes for good measure. A lovely piece from the RAW (Read and Weep) artist.

2861. Cheltenham 2019 (32)

I posted this collaboration by Turoe One and Rusk yesterday without any words by mistake, so here it is today with some words. Not surprisingly the post received as many views/likes as it might have done without any description which is a little disheartening, but it is still nice that people apreciate the pitures. Thank you Paul for pointing out my error.

Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

The piece itself was painted at the Cheltenham Paint Festival last September and I was lucky enough to bump ito the artists while they were grabbing some sandwiches midway through their session. The photograph above is the only one I have with the whole piece, including  the bookend characters.

Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

Both artists should be familiar to regular readers of Natural Adventures, and didn’t have to travel far from their native Bristol to get to Cheltenham. My poor knowledge of popular culture prohibits me from telling youn too much about the characters in the piece but it is certainly spectacular and a true collaboration where both artists have contributed to all aspects of the work.

Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Turoe One and Rusk, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

The end characters are beautifully painted, and I would guess the one on the left was by Turoe One and the other by Rusk (I’ve got a 50/50 chance of getting that one right).

A most impressive piece from these two graffiti writers.

 

2860. Cheltenham 2019 (31)

At last I have a space to unlock this amazing piece by Sophie Long at the Cheltenham Paint Festival featuring a family of polar bears taking a walk. The piece is one of the larger ones that I have seen by the Bristol-based artist and was one of the highlights of the festival. Unfortunately, although I went to the festival on two days, I didn’t get to meet Sophie on this occasion.

Sophie Long, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Sophie Long, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

The painting carries all the hallmarks I would associate with Sophie Longs work. The bears are beautifully laid out in differing poses and touched with some colourful paintwork that complements the overall composition. Imagine how different this piece would look if it were just plain white bears.

Sophie Long, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Sophie Long, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

Of course, no Sophie Long piece would be complete without drips, and this piece has lots of them. This is a fine wildlife work from an artist who specialises in this kind of subject.