The strong tradition of graffiti writing in Bristol, that first emerged in the 1980s, has been upheld by a handful of dedicated and talented artists, whose numbers have swelled thanks to their persistence. At the heart of this community is Turoe, who has created this lovely piece for Hemper, another in this merry band.
Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The letters spelling HEMS appear as a burst of colour on the black buffed wall, made all the more eye-catching thanks to the flames licking the perimeter of the piece. This is wildstyle graffiti writing at its best, and we are blessed in Bristol that some of the best in class call the city home.
Mr consistency, that is the name of the game for Trafficity. He produces his complicated ZIOS letters time and again to his tried and tested formula. Quite how he is able to replicate this with such accuracy in so many spots is beyond admirable.
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
There is a lovely symmetry about his work, which usually incorporates three horizontal colour fills, as in this piece. He has a wonderful skill for blending simplicity with complexity. Always great work.
Here we have another classic combination collaboration from Dibz and Fade. Both artists will have been involved in the whole piece, but Dibz leading on the writing and Fade on the alligator characters.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2026
The alligators are called Brutus and Nero and are taken from the Disney cartoon film, The Rescuers. This piece reflects the technical skill of the two artists in every aspect of its presentation, and it all feels so easy when these two get together, but it takes years of practice and abundant raw talent to be this good.
Dibz and fade have been knocking out collaborations with unstoppable pace recently, and I must confess it is stretching me just to be able to keep up with their activity.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
This is an outstanding collaboration where both artists have contributed to the final offering. The letters spell addict, and I am guessing reflects their obsession with graffiti writing. A stunning fill and cosmic background show off their talent perfectly.
This is a rather fun collaboration between Hire and Zake in Dean Lane. I can’t remember if these two have collaborated before, they probably have, but this is still a bit of a treat from the writer and the character artist.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
On the left, Hire has written his letters in a rather compact block, which is quite unusual, as he typically spreads his letters out a fair bit. The fills of orange and light blue have been nicely done and work surprisingly well together. A deep drop shadow is bordered with a drippy pink line with light highlights woven in.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
I’m not too sure what to say about Zake’s character piece, as it is all a little bit strange. A bald man with a huge mouth and multiple teeth has a little finger puppet attached to the end of his long tongue. The puppet character, which looks like some kind of lizard monster is spraying pink ‘vomit’ over Hire’s piece, thus creating his drippy pink outline. A great read-across between the two pieces in this collaboration.
Biers has definitely come out of his quiet period, where he had temporarily lost his desire to paint, and his RABIES letters are popping up all over the place now. I do miss his little characters that accompanied his previous letter sequences, and I hope that they might come soon with these letters.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
This is a popular little stretch of wall which has quite a high turnover. Biers has painted his RABIES letters with a yellow, green and black fill and deep white drop shadow. The penny has only just dropped that the word RABIES contains (very nearly) the letters BIERS in it, which is perhaps why the letter form looks so familiar. Keep ’em coming.
Dibz, Cheo and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
What pure joy to come across this outstanding production piece by Dibz, Cheo and Soker. For anyone older than me, the piece is inspired by the long-running children’s cartoon Spongebob Squarepants.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
To the left Dibz had filled his outstanding wildstyle writing with the colours of Spongebob’s friend Patrick, the starfish, really cleverly done and as you would expect from Dibz, tight as a nut.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
In the middle, Cheo has painted a brilliant rendition of Squidward Tentacles, with a little sea snail on his back. Naturally the character is up to no good with some spray cans, and Cheo has included his signature bee, as you’d expect.
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
To the right-hand side of the triptych is another remarkable piece of wildstyle writing from Soker, which has been filled with the colours of the star of the show himself, Spongebob. I love the attention to detail with the inclusion of his little red tie.
In addition to the three main characters, the three artists have added so much detail to the background, creating a masterpiece, which fans of the cartoon would relish. Utterly brilliant and next-level.
Sled One, like so many other artists has had a rather quiet winter, and in a conversation with his earlier this week, he happily admitted that he is a ‘fair weather’ painter and doesn’t much like going out on cold, wet days.
Sled One, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
This is a distinctive ASK piece painted on the curved wall at Dean Lane. Sled One has painted so many of these over the years, that I expect he could probably do it with his eyes closed. Great letter shapes, great colour combinations, and a piece that feels rather energetic without being frenetic, if that makes sense.
You have to look hard to find this piece by Weas painted on the swimming pool wall behind the now lush hedge. The passageway here is quite narrow, so the photographs are on full wide-angle mode to capture the whole thing.
Weas, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
I think that I prefer Weas’ full combination pieces over his mega-tags that litter the streets of Bristol… there is even one on a utility box in my street. These more extensive pieces show us what he can do when he spends a little more time painting. The letters WEASEL in black across the bottom are accompanied by four (three purple) ghost-like characters weaving their way about. It is versions of these characters that are a familiar sight in the City. A nicely executed piece, hidden from view.
Bean has been back in Bristol, but only for a break I fear, as I have only found one piece recently. I believe he is still studying at university somewhere in the north of England, and only gets the occasional chance to paint. I do hope that when he graduates he will have a little bit more time to paint in Bristol because I truly admire his work.
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
The character in this piece is particularly notable for the flowing rainbow hair, but I am drawn to the wonderful perspective and anatomy visible through the t-shirt and on the arm and hand. Quite why the protagonist is holding a fish in chopsticks, I don’t know, but sometimes these things are simply an artist’s whim. Hoping to see more in the summer from Bean.