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.


2481. West Street (1)

Six bricks high. What an amazing contrast to the huge version of this same stencil by Dice67 in Cheltenham that I posted yesterday. Dice67 has really dined out on this iconic image of his daughter, but I am not surprised really, it has something very special about it, maybe it is something to do with the little girl’s stance and attitude that we all know so very well (particularly parents).

Dice 67, West Street, Bristol, September 2019
Dice 67, West Street, Bristol, September 2019

I spotted this on West street quite by accident – I really ought to have known it was there on the side of a shop, but it came as a nice surprise to me nonetheless. I suspect it has probably been there for quite some time, but as I have said frequently, I can’t be everywhere all the time and anyhow if I was, there wouldn’t then be any surprises. Gotta love it.

Dice 67, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019
Dice 67, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019

2480. Cheltenham 2018 (4)

Anyone who knows Dice67 also knows that his trademark pieces are based on stencils that he made of his daughter when she was about six or seven, wearing a top with stars and pink wellies. This is the largest version I have seen of this particular stencil and was painted of part of the Cheltenham Paint Festival 2018 As you will know, because I have said it before, Dice67 (Andy Davies) has been the driving force behind the Cheltenham Paint Festival since its inception three years ago. I guess he deserves a big wall as organiser-in-chief.

Dice 67, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019
Dice 67, Paint Festival 2018, Cheltenham, September 2019

This piece is really rather special and along with one or two other amazing pieces it dominates this town centre car park. I wonder if his daughter ever gets to see this picture of her and how she feels about it. There are a lot of them about, in Cheltenham, so I suspect that she is used to it. More from Dice67 imminently.

2451. Cheltenham 2019 (1)

What a cracker! This is an absolutely stunning piece by Dice67, AKA Andy ‘Dice’ Davies, the architect and organiser of the Cheltenham Paint Festival which was held this year on 5-8 September. This colourful piece is a portrait of Debbie Harry and I think is probably the best freehand piece I have seen from Dice67 yet.

I felt it appropriate to start my Cheltenham posts with this piece and I’ll be interweaving more of them into my regular posts over the coming weeks/months.

I have not been to Cheltenham since I was a little kid, and so on this visit I was able to catch up with some of the pieces from last year’s festival too, and they really are rather impressive. Dice67 has tried to find new walls each year of the festival so that the old ones can remain in all their glory alongside the new ones rather than being over-painted. Let’s hope he doesn’t run out of walls!

Dice67, Paint festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
Dice67, Paint festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019

Back to this piece… it is so beautifully worked, especially the amazing reflections on the glasses, and this is all a far cry from his stencils which was my introduction to his work. There was a festival theme this year which I think was books and in this piece the link is that Debbie Harry will be atending the Cheltenham Book Festival later this year – Dice67 is rather hoping that she’ll be photographed standing next to this portrait of her. A great way to introduce the Cheltenham Paint Festival to Natural Adventures.