5592. Cheltenham 2023 (11)

Sam Art, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Sam Art, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

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, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
Sam Art, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.