Painting Outside for the First Time in 6 Years
It's been 6 years since I last painted outside, so the past weekend has been a special one. I got to paint at Upfest in Bristol this year on the side of boutique coffee shop Sweven.
I fell out of love with painting outside. I didn’t enjoy the ego that goes with street art and the pressure to be painting more and more walls. I decided to take a break from it until the time came that I wanted to do it again, and just for me. For fun and the love of just painting.
I chose to paint at Upfest. A festival that I’ve taken part in before, which has the most amazing atmosphere and people visiting to see different artists paint. This year didnt disappoint, it was amazing to speak with the people who came to watch and talk about all things art. Especially catching up with old faces that I hadn’t seeing a long time.
My idea was to paint the entire front of the Sweven Coffee. Previously only the wall at the side had been painted, so it was something quite new to be able to bring the entire shop front to life. I wanted it to fit with hte Boutique store and have that dreamy relaxed feel.
Over 2 days (it was meant to be 3 but the weather was bad for the last one) I squeezed in getting the entire painting finished. Like a big wave wrapping around the building you could see the fresh colour of the turquoise from a far.
I based the painting on a recent painting that is available as a painting and a print from my Salty Tides collection. I used a mixture of Acrylic, emulsion, spray, charcoal and pencil on the wall. Combining everything like I do on canvas. It’s always a joy to paint big and for me this was the perfect sized wall to get back into painting big.
I really hope that it brighten the street and bring more people to Sweven, who roast and source their own coffee. It was so nice to be working with an Independent shop that has a real passion about what they do. It was the perfect place to keep me fuelled throughs the long weekend.
