5953. Dean Lane skate park (706)

Laic217, Zake and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Laic217, Zake and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

This is an unusual collaboration from the PWA crew notable by the absence of either Face 1st or Soap, the driving forces behind the crew for some years. Not that the absence diminishes in any way this curious collection of character pieces from Laic217, Zake and Chill.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

On the left is something of a trippy throwback from Laic217, with one of his face distortion pieces that are both admirable and disturbing in equal measure. A welcome return of the bucket hat badged with a smiley face sits on top of a stretched out portrait, made up of three faces. I suspect this party animal is enjoying some hallucinations in this captured moment. Weird and wonderful stuff from Laic217.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

The middle section of the collaboration is occupied by another slightly weird character piece from Zake this time. A buxom silver-haired lady is pictured in front of a rural house, with a porch and smoking chimney. I have no idea what the story is here, but I think that Zake is enjoying pushing boundaries.

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

Rounding off the collaboration is a charming portrait of what looks like a Mid-West farmer from the early 20th century with a pitchfork in hand and some chickens. The piece is absolutely brilliant, and all the more admirable for being painted in its entirety in greyscale. I have tried to look for a theme that binds the three pieces but cannot find one. Perhaps the theme is having fun painting together.

Laic217, Zake and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Laic217, Zake and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

5952. M32 roundabout J3 (564)

 

Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024

There is a lot of truth and honesty about Klashwhensober’s work. Sometimes his work can be a little scruffy and rushed, and sometimes it can be glorious, clean tidy and creative. This piece falls into the latter category, and s a general observation, his trajectory is upward and he is producing quite a lot of classy pieces at the moment.

Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024
Klashwhensober, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2024

The black letters on a blue background, spelling SOBER, are nicely done and complemented with a fine blue drop-shadow and tidy accents and starbursts. The inclusion of a character in the middle of the piece definitely improves the overall look and balances out the piece well. Great work from a still-productive Klashwhensober.

Resumption

.

It just couldn’t last

a warm weekend taste of spring

yields to wind and rain

.

by Scooj

5951. Purdown (69)

Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024
Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024

In recent months, a travelling artist has visited Bristol on a few occasions and left his very distinctive mark. The artist in question is Scrapyardspec, and his original face mega-tags are perfect for small spots such as columns and these square concrete walls up at the Purdown gun emplacement.

Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024
Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024

There were three of his pieces up there the last time I visited, each similar in form but painted in different base colours. There characterful faces can be found all over the city as Scrapyardspec moves from spot to spot, filling gaps and finding small walls to decorate. I believe he calls London home, and paints in a few favoured spots there.

Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024
Scrapyardspec, Purdown, Bristol, March 2024

His Instagram feed is worth a quick look as he posts short videos of how he goes about his work. I expect to see more from Scrapyardspec this year, as he seems rather fond of the opportunities Bristol offers.

5950. Richmond Road (7)

Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024
Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024

At the bottom of Richmond Road you will find this outstanding mural by Sikoh, you will also find a row of permanently parked cars in front of it, making it impossible to get a clean photograph of the piece in all its splendour. These pictures are the best I can get or am ever likely to get.

Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024
Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024

The piece, which I am guessing was a commission, or at least painted for friends or acquaintances of the artist, has a very strong Bristol theme running through it, starting with a hot air balloon, the Clifton Suspension Bridge and a Bristol fox, each icons of the city.

Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024
Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024

The middle section is occupied with an enormous octopus, although I am not aware of any connections this has with Bristol and assume that it is a central character in telling the story in a compelling way. The SS Great Britain and the Matthew are wrapped in the giant sea beast’s tentacles.

Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024
Sikoh, Richmond Road, Bristol, March 2024

The last panel features Cabot’s Tower on Brandon Hill and Concord, wrapping up a fabulous canter through the history of a city known for its discovery, engineering and adventurous spirit. The only thing missing is a riot or two, but that would probably spoil the positive vibe. An outstanding historical mural by a brilliant artist.

Hosta pots

.

Rainwater dusted

slim hosta leaves unwrapping

warm spring days are here

.

by Scooj

5949. Dean Lane skate park (705)

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

The Easter break from his studies has been a productive time for Bean, and I expect we’ll be fortunate enough to see a whole load more in the summer holiday. With each piece, Bean’s work appears to get more sophisticated in both composition and execution.

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

In this piece he features a man, who looks like he might be a little upset, with steam coming out of his ears. On his finger, he is dangling a tomato(?) which is of course normal behaviour… not. There is so much great detail in the piece and plenty of perspective, and the medallion with his signature is a fabulous touch. I am pleased to see again that Bean has put a bit of a buffer background to differentiate his work from the noise of previous graffiti on the surrounding wall. Outstanding work from a young artist who I think will be wowing us for some years to come.

5948. Sparke Evans Park (93)

Decay, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024
Decay, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024

This is just brilliant, a new piece from Decay. A while back, Decay was a regular painter on Bristol’s streets, often teaming up with Rezwonk, but then he moved away, and his pieces pretty much dried up except for the odd appearance at a festival or occasional paint jam. I understand that there is a chance that he might be hitting Bristol’s walls a little more often, due to his business settling down a little and having a bit more available time.

Decay, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024
Decay, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, March 2024

Decay holds a special place in my journey as a recorder of street art because he was the first artist I ever spoke to while he was painting a piece down in The Bearpit. I am so pleased to see that he has lost none of his creativiy and skill and has produced this beautiful DK incorporating, of course, his Chuck character. I cannot tell you how pleased I was to find this piece, and I am greatly encouraged by his little message at the bottom of the piece, “Back in the Room”. Bravo!

A reminder of his work here in this gallery.

5947. Dean Lane skate park (704)

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

There has been no stopping Biers and his WD40 pieces this year, each one a real pleasure to find and photograph. His tried and tested formula of writing his letters and incorporating a character in the ‘0’ continues to delight and keeps his inspiration fresh. The idea is one adopted by other writing/character combination artists such as Zaenone, and builds a series of ‘collectible’ works.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

It looks like Biers spent plenty of time with this one… it is neat and tidy with plenty of clean sharp lines and borders. Although the letters are generally fairly static from piece to piece, the two elements that give Biers scope for inspiration are the colour scheme and the character. Although these colours are not my personal favourite, he has worked them superbly into the horizontal layers with some drift shapes between them. The character is a treat, although I don’t know what popular culture cartoon he comes from. Altogether an awesome piece from Biers.

5946. Brunel Way (267

Rusk, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
Rusk, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

It has been great to see Rusk ticking over nicely so far this year with his outstanding writing and conscientious approach to his work. He has cleverly and sensitively incorporated a piece of Dibz/Fade work into this piece; the teenage mutant ninja turtle.

Rusk, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
Rusk, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

Rusk has been working on this ribbon writing style for a little while now, and it is really effective having an anamorphic aspect to it. While the ribbon letters are great, I am, unusually, not totally convinced by the purple and white underlines, they simply don’t quite work for me – perhaps I am being a little picky. Overall though I am judging Rusk by his own very high standards and this remains an excellent piece.