6365. Cheltenham 2023 (5)

Krimsone, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Town Centre East car park, Cheltenham, July 2024
Krimsone, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Town Centre East car park, Cheltenham, July 2024

Here are three more wonderful pieces from the Cheltenham Paint Festival this year, and I have to say that Andy Davies, the Director and organiser of the event, has excelled in gathering a blend of international, national and local artists together to show off their talent. I believe that 2024 is the best one yet. This first enormous piece, on the side of the Town Centre East car park, is by Krimsone, an artist I have only once before come across at Upfest 2017. This is a top class portrait piece worked to fit the tall wall perfectly, with a vase delicately balanced on the woman’s head taking up the top half of the wall. Incredible stuff.

#DFTE, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Honeybourne Line tunnel, Cheltenham, July 2024
#DFTE, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Honeybourne Line tunnel, Cheltenham, July 2024

As reliable as ever, Bristol artist #DFTE manages to raise a smile with his appropriately coloured writing exclaiming “Totally Bananas”. Fabulous drips.

Fark, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Princess Elizabeth Way, Cheltenham, July 2024
Fark, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Princess Elizabeth Way, Cheltenham, July 2024

Finally in this mini selection, Fark, who is a regular at street art festivals, presents one of his superb birds with precision and tidiness. Great work.

6268. Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024 (3)

Epod 3000, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Dunalley Street, Cheltenham, July 2024
Epod 3000, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Dunalley Street, Cheltenham, July 2024

Good morning and welcome to another brand-new week. What better way to kick off than with the third trio of pieces photographed at this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival? One of the notable things about the festival, which I am sure I will return to at some point, is that Andy ‘Dice’ Davies and his organising team are constantly finding new walls to decorate, meaning that existing murals get to stay where they are, constantly growing the outdoor gallery, which becomes an increasing draw for visitors and inward investment. If only the festival was able to gain more confidence from funders, which I know was a real struggle this year.

Epod 3000, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Dunalley Street, Cheltenham, July 2024
Epod 3000, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Dunalley Street, Cheltenham, July 2024

Fresh from his appearance at Upfest in Bristol, Epod, who is firmly on the festival circuit, produced this beauty on the side of the Holiday Inn Express, enhancing the visual value of the building tenfold at least. A stunning portrait of a beautiful woman with a sound system in her hair… and why not?

Fark, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, North Place car park, Cheltenham, July 2024
Fark, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, North Place car park, Cheltenham, July 2024

Next up is this very neat and tidy piece from Fark, who has become a CPF favourite and who managed to wheatpaste up his name pretty much everywhere I went in the town. A view, a rainbow and a bird – you cannot go wrong.

Wolfskulljack, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Two Pigs, Cheltenham, July 2024
Wolfskulljack, Cheltenham Paint Festival 2024, Two Pigs, Cheltenham, July 2024

Finally, another favourite at the CPF is Wolfskulljack whose Gothic-style Posca pen sketches are utterly captivating and technically brilliant. Her study of animals and their form is a joy to behold, and there is always a sense of menace or threat about her work.

I’ll be posting more from Cheltenham in due course.

5583. John Street, Exeter

Fark, John Street, Exeter, October 2023
Fark, John Street, Exeter, October 2023

One of the great pleasures of going to a city or town, even for the briefest of visits, is to explore a place that is unfamiliar. My three-hour stay in Exeter recently, yielded a plethora of fabulous doors for Thursday Doors, and some great pieces of street art, let alone an eye-opening blend of ancient and modern architecture.

Fark, John Street, Exeter, October 2023
Fark, John Street, Exeter, October 2023

In one of Exeter’s narrow streets I stumbled across this beauty by Fark, alongside a couple of My Dog Sigh’s pieces. Finding these gave me a wonderful sense of wellbeing, satisfaction and contentment. This is a beautifully crisp and clean piece by Fark featuring his trademark bird. Although the design looks simple, do not be fooled, to create such clean art with clearly defined boundaries and solid fills takes years of experience and an enormous amount of skill. That this is achieved with spray cans and not brushes is a triumph in itself. A great piece from a brilliant artist.

4636. Cheltenham Paint Festival 2022 (4)

Fark, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022
Fark, Cheltenham Paint Festival 22, July 2022

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
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.

3293. Cheltenham 2020 (15)

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, 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!