Lee Roy is a writer who has been knocking it out of the park this year with his distinctive style of writing. You can be pretty much guaranteed that whatever he paints will be bright and eye-catching. This is a lovely piece on the swimming bath wall in Dean Lane.
Lee Roy, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
There is a bit of a cosmic theme going on here, and he even includes the words ‘cosmic gypsy’. Galaxies, planets and stars decorate the background, and there is a rather curious assemblage of toadstools at each end of the piece – perhaps hinting at the reason for the psychedelic scene? Nice one from Lee Roy.
Ceus appears to have bought some new paints, and possibly a bulk order, because his last three pieces have all incorporated a similar colour scheme of light, bright shades. It feels to me that Ceus is experimenting a little bit at the moment and playing with a slight change of direction. It is never surprising when artists decide to do this, it is all part of growing and developing their style.
Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
The letters spell out CEUS, where the golden thread is the sky blue colour running through all the letters accompanied by alternating pink and gold. This is nice work from Ceus, and I get a feeling that we are going to be seeing a lot more of him this summer.
I’m not sure that I have seen an Elvs/Dibz collaboration before, so this one in Dean lane recently is a bit of a rarity. The two have combined to share a colour scheme and theme, which I think is based on Disney’s Beagle Boys characters. These characters are familiar to me, but I don’t think I have ever read or watched anything with them in.
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
You can always tell a good collaboration when you don’t know who has painted certain bits of it, and while it is obvious who painted the writing, it is not so clear with regard to the characters. My guess would be that the two around the ELVS were by him, and the one popping out over the top of DIBZ was by Dibz. As always, Elvs’ writing is first class, and instantly recognisable with his very fat, elaborate lettering. The fill fades are pretty decent too.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
Dibz is no stranger to writing/character combinations, and his skills are on show here. His wildstyle graffiti writing can be difficult to decipher if you don’t know what it says, but usually it is DIBZ, so you are on fairly safe ground. Talking of safes, there is a story in the piece, which involves the cracking of a safe using explosives. The character on the left is plunging the detonator, while the one on the right blocks his ears… the cartooniest of cartoon plots. This is a fabulous collaboration from two immensely talented artists.
Javiceus, to give Ceus his full name, has undergone as slight reinvention, and returned from his winter slumbers with a different look to his work, which is altogether lighter and more airy, if that makes sense. He continues to write the letters CEUS, but they somehow feel different.
Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
There is a heavenly appearance to this piece, probably conveyed by a background of blue and white, looking a little bit like clouds on a sunny day. The letters in a light lilac colour are nicely formed and executed, with an orange disc, which looks a little like a disfigured smily face, making up the ‘E’. More in this style to come from Ceus very soon.
At a guess I would say that I only post about a quarter of all the Werm pieces that I find, and tht is probably only a half of what he paints, so I will have to find a way to remedy that. I think I might have to do a trawl through my folders and publish a mini gallery to get back up to speed.
Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
In the short three or four years when I first met Werm, who was writing EMAN at the time, he is in my view, one of the most improved artists and graffiti writers in Bristol. The technical skills he displays with his work is of the highest order, and it just shows what talent combined with dedication can do. There is more to this piece of graffiti writing than just the stunning colour combination.
Consistently brilliant and brilliantly consistent, Trafficity manages to paint the exact same structural form of letters spelling ZIOM. As I have said in previous posts featuring his work, I suspect there is a hidden smaller word running along the top of the letters, but until I next meet him to ask him, I cannot be sure.
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
There is something very reassuring about Trafficity’s work, a constant landmark that reappears, when all else around us in in complete turmoil and chaos. The colour selections and transitions are near perfect, and the border and outlines clean and tight. It is always great to find a Trafficity piece.
This is a rather unusual piece by Stivs, and I have to say I’m really not very sure what it all means, so I decided to do a bit of a Google Interweb search. I think that the piece splits into two. On the left is a reference to an Australian film called Chopper and a character called Mark ‘Chopper’ Read who I assume says at some point in the film “Neville Fuck’n Bartos”. One for a quiet evening maybe. The other half is some stunning calligraffiti spelling out Jules.
Stivs, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
Stivs has been pushing the boundaries recently with character pieces and portraits, mostly linked to films, and his portfolio is about so much more than just his outstanding calligraffiti. The writing looks like it might be a tribute to Jules – I don’t know much more than that about it. My only reservation about this piece is the background, I can only guess that it has some significance.
It seems that we have another new artist on the block who is already making a name for themselves with some imaginative character pieces dotted around the place. The artist’s name is Bean, and what better way to introduce Bean than with this fabulous character piece in Dean Lane.
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
I have a feeling that the way Bean works is to draft up a digital sketch and reproduce it on a large scale with spray paints. The way the solid fills work would indicate that approach. Some nice touched here, the monocle and zip certainly add something. I have a feeling that we are going to see an awful lot of Bean this year, judging by the work rate over the last month or two.
This container on the elevated skate park platform, adjacent to the basketball courts, gets quite a lot of graffiti action – more often than not it plays host to throw ups and tagging, but occasionally it is adorned with something a little more classy, and that is the case with this Smak piece.
Smak, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
Smak, like several other writers in Bristol, has been something of a landmark, a heartbeat, of the graffiti writing scene. Ever-present, albeit with some short breaks, and always turning out quality pieces. This is a beautifully conceived and crafted piece. The colours work so well together, everything is on point, even the (deliberately) cloudy bits. Fine work, in a modest setting, from one of Bristol’s best.
Kool Hand’s work just gets better and better and in this piece he returns to his trusty baseball cap-wearing orangutan, but rather than being a flat face on piece, he has added a three-quarter profile and depth to his character.
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2023
There is loads of movement in the basketball, which you can imagine is spinning on the orangutan’s finger. The whole piece is beautifully finished and set on a grey urban skyscape with tall buildings on the horizon line. I rate this piece very highly because it marks a shift to a new level for the artist.
Natural adventures 