Cheltenham Paint Festival 2018: headlining artists announced

Each year, a public art festival helps transform empty spaces in the town into art must-sees and this year is no exception. The Cheltenham Paint Festival is in the final stages of planning. The artists are excited, the organisers are hard at work and the public are anticipating not only the where, but the who as well. Last year the festival showcased street artists from across the country, this year the dial is up to 11 and over 100 artists from around the globe are on their way to spray, brush and stencil their personalities over the empty spaces of Cheltenham. We are delighted to announce the top 10 featured artists of the festival. In no particular order they are:

Beau Stanton

Beau is a New York muralist who has done his fair share of big, bold and exciting pieces in the States. From stained glass to animations he does it all and does it beautifully. Beau has even had his artwork plastered across Time Square; so if you want extravagant artwork from a big artist, look no further.

Wasp Elder

Sam Worthington, known as Wasp Elder, has a specific style and consistency that makes his artwork identifiable. The Wasp often uses blocks of flats or large scale walls to create his work, which regulary revolves around people and uses desaturated colours with lots of contrast. He’s coming down to this year’s paint festival to represent Cardiff and bring his talent with him.

A post shared by Wasp Elder / Sam Worthington (@waspelder) on Sep 22, 2017 at 4:59am PDT

My Dog Sighs

My Dog Sighs returns to Cheltenham Paint Festival for 2018. In the 2017 festival he painted the side of the University of Gloucestershire building with bright colours and his signature subject, the eyes. My Dog Sighs features the eyes in nearly all of his work which gives it an intimate, connected feel. As a veteran to the paint festival we’re keen to see what sort of things he’ll get up to this year.

SPZero76

SPZero76 is a Bristol and London based illustrator and artist who keeps the cartoonish and fun nature of street art alive. Bright colours, caricatures and exaggerated features are at the forefront of his style which makes them hard to walk past. SPZero76’s recent clients include Lamborghini, Samsung and the BBC so if it’s good enough for them, it’s worth your attention

Nol

Nol brings European street art to Cheltenham. The Netherlands-based artist has a style which can only be described as bubbly. Everything he creates looks alive, is very round and looks as if it has been inflated. Nol has created his own creatures to go along with this aesthetic which look like living balloons in themselves. Various blues and pinks are the colours of choice for the artist so if you see any, it’s most likely Nol.

Snub

Snub is the alter ego of a graphic designer who wants to make a difference in society with his artwork. Snub uses his work as a means of “fighting the uninvited visual invasion of commercialism” and portrays lots of futuristic scenes with high tech subjects and lots of robots. The artist takes inspiration from the fictional character Hammerstein. Snub is a street artist from Brighton bringing his message to this year's festival.

SUNDAY BEST Robot power - SNUB23

Painted robot in Brighton sunday.

Mister Feeney

Mister Feeney creates high contrast and high detail portraits of pop culture icons. Feeney’s portraits include Laurel and Hardy, Robbie Williams, Benedict Cumberbatch, a vast selection of comic book characters and much more. With Mister Feeney, it’s the sheer volume of art he has created which makes him stand out, and all of it is to a consistent high level of detail.

P0g0

P0g0 is a Southampton-based urban artist who has shown he's not afraid to experiment and adapt his style. His most famous piece is the pair of submerged converse which have toured various locations. To see his artwork from the previous paint festival head over to the Bottle of Sauce in Cheltenham where it’s still on display.

Dice67

Andy “Dice” Davis is the organiser and visionary behind the Cheltenham Paint Festival. Dice67 is responsible for much of the artwork in Cheltenham; he has recently updated the Charlie Chaplin mural on Gloucester road and has been curating honeybourne line artwork for many years.

Roo

Roo is a female street artist from Guilford who gets creative with signing artwork. She likes to sign using different techniques but the one which sticks out is the speech bubble. Each piece by Roo is different from the other and each tells a different story.

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The top 10 artists are ready to go with can and brush in hand. Register for the Visit Cheltenham newsletter for updates on the festival, which takes place on the 8th and 9th of September 2018.