A gallery of extraordinary portrait pieces by the magnificent Shade One.
Instagram: @shad.eone
All photographs by Scooj
Shade One
Tag: Photorealism
6597. Upfest 2024 (56)
Since the stormy and wet winter weather started up in earnest about a month ago, fewer artists have been out and about, doing what they do best, a pause which frees me up to post a few pieces from Upfest earlier in the year. This one from SEPC is an absolute beauty, and one of the first I saw at this year’s festival.
SEPC is an artist from Manizales in Colombia whose colourful work embodies the connection of people in an urban environment, and his profile on the Upfest website is well worth a read. This was one of two or three pieces that the artist painted while he was in town. I love his humble approach, with plastic bags and boxes full of paint and kit for painting.
In his own words, SEPC combines photorealism with use of colour and incorporates various contextual elements. In other words, there is a lot going on in this work alongside the main portrait pieces, and all of it superbly painted. SEPC’s work was one of the real highlights of this year’s festival.
Franz Gertsch
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Children on a beach
photorealistic work
utterly inspired
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by Scooj
After visiting an exhibition of Franz Gertsch’s extraordinary work in the Louisiana gallery, Humlebæk, Denmark.
6069. Leicester
On a recent work trip to Leicester, I was fortunate enough to have a little over an hour early in the morning before meeting up with colleagues to wander around the streets. I met a very nice man called Cameron who showed me around the best spots, which probably saved me a great deal of time.
My visit also happened to coincide (utterly unplanned) with Leicester’s ‘Bring the Paint’ festival. Unfortunately, it was the first day of the festival and no new pieces were yet painted. What I do have though is a good record of the pieces that were at the end of their lifespan and were due to be painted over. This extraordinary piece by Smug was not being painted over, thankfully.
This is an iconic piece by Smug, and one that I had seen all over social media, but hadn’t ever registered where it was located, so coming across it in Leicester was an absolute bonus. There are no words really that would do the piece justice, so I will probably leave it there and just enjoy the memory of one of the best murals I have ever seen.
5592. Cheltenham 2023 (11)
Each time I do a burst of ‘festival’ pictures I become mindful of just how far behind I am with my posts – I still have dozens/hundreds of pieces to share from Upfest 2022 and many more from Cheltenham last year and this. I simply have to face the fact that I won’t be able to publish them all, at least not until I have retired. This is an unbelievable piece by Sam Art at this year’s Cheltenham Paint Festival.
Sam Art uses spray paint to create his photorealistic masterpieces, but he does so in a studio and then transports the piece to the festival site. Some might consider this cheating, but it is not. The pieces take a long time to paint and would probably be next to impossible outside exposed to the elements. The portrait of a young girl is stunning and the kingfisher – a street art favourite – sensational. The splashes of colour contrast perfectly with the greyscale portrait. Magnificent stuff once again from Sam Art.
5297. St John’s Lane (2)
This is the second piece I am posting from an outstanding collaborative ‘wall’ on a new hoarding in St John’s Lane. This breathtaking portrait piece is by Shade One and is significant in so much as it demonstrates so clearly how over the last couple of years he has developed his style from high-end cartoon portraits to a photorealistic style.
The sunglasses woman is painted in greyscale, which works really well when set against the colourful cosmic, cloudy background. When working in greyscale, particular attention has to be paid to light and shade, and Shade One has done this well, particularly in the folds of the fabric of the woman’s top. This is one of several outstanding pieces painted during a high-class paint jam a short while ago.
4808. Brook Road (3)
I have said it countless times before on Natural Adventures, and will unapologetically say it again, that some of the most satisfying rewards can be found when diverting course from the familiar. Yesterday, I switched up my spots a bit and decided to visit the Star and Garter, because I haven’t been there for a while. On arrival, I spotted a large mural down Brook Street, that I hadn’t been aware of. As I approached I felt the excitement rising, and was blown away by this magnificent piece by Sled One.
This morning I took a quick look at Sled One’s Instagram account, and it turns out he painted it back in August, which makes me feel a bit useless. The mural itself seems to be an eclectic mix of components slapped on the wall resembling a collage of memories. A cat, razor wire, a knight’s horse, some flowers and a merry-go-round, with a rather sinister body precariously lying horizontally on a seat. The stuff of dreams and nightmares.
There is a photorealism in this piece that I wouldn’t ordinarily associate with Sled One, as more commonly he paints cartoony surreal pieces. His talent, whatever the style, is immense. My favourite part of this mural has to be the cat, although the razor wire does add a sense of threat that is rather uncomfortable. What a privilege to stumble across this piece.
3830. Upfest 2021 75×75 (24)
There is no doubt about it – what we have lost in quantity by the change in format of Upfest 2021, we have certainly gained in quality. The 75 walls in 75 days initiative has been a massive success and each new wall brings with it extraordinary talent. This outstanding wall is by Pikto and really sets a high bar for this year’s productions.
It is the composition and colours that initially draw the eye, but there is something about the catapult boy’s expression that tells a story here of mischief and satisfaction. Photorealistic pieces like this one have improved so much in recent years that we have become rather blazé, and it is not until you stop and study them that you see the quality and the detail.
This particular wall has played host to some masterpieces recently and this one carries on that fine tradition. I took these pictures on a sunny day, and I rather like the way that the shadow cast by a tree to the left is commensurate with the shadow cast by the boy’s cheek on his face. Awesome is an over used word, but I will use it here. This piece from Pikto is awesome.
2845. Camden Town, London
Digging deeper into the archives. I took this picture in November 2017 in Camden Town, a full year and five months after it was painted by JXC. Frankly it is probably as good a photorealistic piece you are going to find anywhere, anytime. Why didn’t I post it before? I baffle even myself.
The picture may feel familiar and that is because it Chunk from the film The Goonies although with the addition of a tattoo on his stomach of JXC. I met the artist at the Cheltenham Paint festival last year, and he is such an incredibly nice guy and so modest with it.
It can be difficult to process that this piece has been painted with spray paint, and the sharpness of the patterns on the shirt are simply extraordinary. Similarly the out of focus background adds to the apparent authenticity of the piece. A small miracle.
2454. Cheltenham 2019 (2)
How can this not be an enlarged photograph? Sam Art is surely playing with our eyes and deceiving us. This incredible piece was one of the first I saw at the festival and was in place early on the Friday when all the walls around were yet to be painted. I believe that he painted it off-site before installing it in Cheltenham North Place car park.
The theme for the festival was literature or books to celebrate the 70th year of the Cheltenham Literature Festival and this portrait of J.K. Rowling could hardly be more fitting.
It is way beyond my comprehension how artists produce photorealistic art like this so I prefer not to understand it but to wallow in its glory. An extraordinary piece from Sam Art.
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