6857. Dean Lane skate park (818)

Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

I believe that this wonderful character piece by Turoe was painted to celebrate Soker’s birthday during a recent paint jam in the Deaner. The old-school piece is brimming with class, and references the ‘Eighties kidz’ who, alas, are no longer kids, but have come a long way and are have become the establishment/benchmark in Bristol street/graffiti art.

Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

Turoe doesn’t get out too much these days, but when he does, his work is without doubt of the highest calibre and this character with bucket hat, chain and watch, TURO belt buckle and spray can exemplify this. A little awkward to photograph, but not insurmountable with a wide angle function on my phone.

Haiku 1

.

A butterfly comes

we all gaze on in wonder

iridescent wings.

.

by Scooj

  • This was the first ever haiku I wrote. It was in honour of my mother on her 80th birthday 10 years ago. I had flu at the time and that period coincided with the birth of Natural Adventures. I used the haiku to open my speech at her party last night, so I thought I would share it again here today.

    Surfeit

    .

    Overindulgence

    too much rich food, too much drink

    delicate morning

    .

    by Scooj

    91st year

    .

    Mama turned ninety

    taking a dip in the sea

    in celebration

    .

    by Scooj

    Happy birthday (yesterday) mum

    6686. Sparke Evans Park (117)

    Even, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
    Even, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

    Earlier on this month, there was a very well attended RBF (Resting Bitch Face crew) paint jam in Sparke Evans Park, celebrating Desi and Even’s birthdays. This piece is one of the birthday girl’s offering, and it is really rather good.

    Even, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025
    Even, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, January 2025

    This combination piece, brings together some lovely curvy letters in Even’s classic style and the ‘V’ is replaced with a fabulous smiling Cheshire cat. The piece is really bright and joyful, and certainly stood out on a rather cold and wintery day. There is so much more great work to post from this particular paint jam.

    6646. Dean Lane skate park (787)

    Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
    Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

    What an honour for Pekoe to have a lovely birthday tribute piece from Smak back in December last year. This is a classic piece of traditional Smak graffiti writing, and reminds me of some of the first pieces I noticed by the artist, many years ago.

    Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
    Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

    The letters are mostly created by the outlines, and the fills resemble the background, giving them a bit of a transparent look. This piece also picks up on Smak’s current theme of including palm trees and hinting at the tropics. Great work from Smak.

    Happy Birthday

    .

    You know who you are

    first day of a new chapter

    happy day big man

    .

    by Scooj

    for PH

    6612. Dean Lane skate park (790)

    Wispa, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
    Wispa, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

    It is always, always a great pleasure to welcome Wispa to Bristol, and finding her pieces (almost always an unannounced surprise) is such sweet joy. This recent piece was painted to celebrate Pekoe’s birthday, hence the shout out top left.

    Wispa, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024
    Wispa, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

    Wispa’s work is always immaculately turned out, and the clever fills in this piece read across from letter to letter. Simply a wonderful piece.

    6448. St Werburghs tunnel (451)

    Kosc and Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
    Kosc and Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

    Every now and again, something very special appears on the walls of Bristol, without warning or fanfare, and when you find them they blow your socks off. This collaboration between Bristol artist Kosc and Tunbridge Wells-based artist Humor is one such collaboration.

    Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
    Kosc, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

    The collaboration, I gather, celebrates the birthday of actor Jenna Ortega, who I must admit is a little bit off my radar, although I faintly recognise her from her Wednesday Addams character, and the 2021 film The Fallout looks like it might be worth watching. She clearly has a large fan base, which I assume would include Kosc and Humor. Kosc has painted a gorgeous piece of graffiti writing which picks up the colours used for the birthday candles.

    Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
    Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

    I haven’t come across Humor’s work before, but this photorealistic portrait of Jenna Ortega is quite stunning, and something we don’t see nearly enough of in Bristol, outside of festivals or commissions.

    Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024
    Humor, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2024

    On the day I originally photographed this collaboration, there was quite a lot of glare on the wall, it can be a difficult wall to photograph, because it gets impacted by shadows and sunlight at all times of the day. I did return on a duller day, and think I got a slightly better picture with less glare (and a few more autumn leaves on the ground). Stunning work, especially when you consider it is a greyscale portrait. I would love to think that this might be the first of many visits to Bristol by Humor, but I won’t be holding my breath.

    6409. Dean Lane skate park (761)

    Lokey, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
    Lokey, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

    This wall in Dean Lane has taken a lot of paint recently, and anything painted here hasn’t lasted more than a few days, and so it was for this wonderful piece of anamorphic graffiti writing by Lokey. The piece was part of the celebratory paint jam marking Andy Council’s birthday (note the AC50), and encouraged by Paul H, we visited the spot the day after the works were finished, which was just as well given that several of them didn’t last long.

    Lokey, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
    Lokey, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

    Recently, Lokey has been taking his daughter with him to paint (which, incidentally I think is brilliant), but on this occasion it was just him, so he was able to put maximum effort and concentration. I think that this is probably the best piece I have seen from Lokey for a while… so full of precision and a perfect teaser for the eyes. Those letters really pop. Wonderful stuff.