Dean Lane – Page 11 – Natural adventures

6677. Dean Lane (799)

Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2025

It brings me great joy when I come across new Kid Crayon pieces. He has been reasonably quiet over the last couple of years, which in a way is a good thing, because it signals that his work is going well, and being an artist/designer having plenty of work is always a positive.

This wall used to have three alcoves in it, and in fairness, was quite difficult to paint. For whatever reason, the council decided to fill the alcoves with breeze blocks, and I have to say that the unintended consequence was this new long wall, which artists have been enjoying ever since. Kid Crayon has used the full length of the wall to paint his letters in hi favoured pink. Each letter is in a distinct style, where the ‘O’ is a masked character incorporating a floating crayon. A nice tidy piece and great way to start the year.

6646. Dean Lane skate park (787)

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.

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.

6640. Dean Lane skate park (796)

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

Tucked away behind the railings and hedge that borders the swimming pool is this charming small floral piece by Peggy. At first I thought it might have been an old piece, because I know she has painted here before, but I am pretty certain that it is new, which is great news, because she hasn’t painted much this year, and I do like her work.

This piece is so typical of her floral work, and it is great to see how she transitions her tattoo designs onto walls. There is symbolism in the piece, the flower has an eye. I am not too sure what it all means, but it is distinctive and curious. I hope Peggy hits the street more often in 2025.

6638. Dean Lane skate park (795)

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

I have written this post in advance, because I am taking a break with my family to Marrakesh (apart from my son who jetted off to Thailand yesterday for a couple of months), and I will be busy today with getting ready for the flight, packing etc.

Mr Draws has been smashing it this winter, and when a lot of ‘fair weather’ artists retreat to the comfort of their homes, Mr Draws has been stepping up to the plate and turning out some lovely, happy pieces.

This is a large piece, covering up the whole wall, which can easily accommodate two or three pieces, and often does. Mr Draws has filled the space really well, with his bright letter fills set on a skyscape background and some stylised blades of grass running along the base of the writing. Mr Draws has quite a unique style, and I don’t think that the way he paints his pieces is all that conventional either. I really like this one.

6636. Dean Lane skate park (794)

Risky, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

It feels funny posting this piece by Risky, because it is only the third to have made it onto the pages of Natural Adventures, but I have been photographing his work for at least two years, so I am surprised I haven’t published more. I know little about the artist, and can’t find any socials at all, so until I catch Risky in the act I’ll have to remain ignorant – having said this, I have a nagging feeling that I may have met him a while back, painting under Brunel Way… the old grey matter isn’t what it used to be.

I love it that Risky, like so many other occasional writers in Bristol, turns up from time to time with a vibrant and colourful piece like this one, that really catch the eye. While this isn’t technically high-end, it has loads of things that I like; some great letter shapes and that strong red colour works really hard; some interesting white highlights that help the letters to pop, and some more subtle red highlights, adding a bit of depth to the letters; finally, a green drop shadow and yellow border. Although not the tidiest piece I have seen, I really like it.

6630. Dean Lane skate park (793)

This looks like it might be my last street art post of 2024, a year in which I have published 897 street/graffiti posts and 22 artist galleries, not a bad haul really, and there have been some corkers in amongst that lot. I tend not to do annual reviews or ‘top tens’, but I am sorely tempted to do so this year. Time, of course, is my enemy (and my friend).

It somehow feels good to round off the year with a piece by Haka, a true Bristol combination graffiti writer/character illustrator, who has been presenting children’s picture book and cartoon characters for a long while. In this piece he has painted one of my favourite walls with his characteristic writing and included a faithfully recreated BFG – Big Friendly Giant by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake. Be safe seeing the old year out and New Year in.

6626. Dean Lane skate park (792)

Mr Riks and Lokey, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2024

Although this wonderful collaboration from Mr Riks and Lokey doesn’t look particularly festive, I believe it to be a Christmas piece. It is certainly lovely to see these talented graffiti writers out painting together, although I think this paint jam was meant to be considerably better attended.

Mr Riks has such a distinctive style, and he has brought his letters to life with a distinctive blue-green and yellow combination, and for good measure added a little wasp with a spray can in hand. Lokey, meanwhile, remains one of the only anamorphic writers in Bristol, and this wonderful piece rounds off a productive year for the artist. A superb Christmas collaboration.

6617. Dean Lane skate park (791)

Happy Christmas. Lots to do today, so another short entry. I was fortunate enough to meet Omie for the first time a couple of days ago, and as with nearly all the artists I meet, he is a nice person, who made time for a chat. I was pleased that he knew about Natural Adventures and appeared to appreciate my write ups of his work. It was a genuine pleasure to meet him, because I really like his original take on each and every piece he paints.

This is a wonderful piece of writing from Omie, in celebration of Pekoe’s birthday – what a fine tribute. The colours are compelling and the blended fills work nicely particularly with the addition of spots, although the orange paint is a little thin… thin paints can be a pain in the butt. Some black highlights add interest to the letters which are beautifully presented. The Darraigh referred to in the bottom right hand corner is the recent storm that swept across England in Early December.

6612. Dean Lane skate park (790)

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

6597. Upfest 2024 (56)

SEPC, Upfest 24, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024

Since the stormy and wet winter weather started up in earnest about a month ago, fewer artists have been out and about, doing what they do best, a pause which frees me up to post a few pieces from Upfest earlier in the year. This one from SEPC is an absolute beauty, and one of the first I saw at this year’s festival.

SEPC is an artist from Manizales in Colombia whose colourful work embodies the connection of people in an urban environment, and his profile on the Upfest website is well worth a read. This was one of two or three pieces that the artist painted while he was in town. I love his humble approach, with plastic bags and boxes full of paint and kit for painting.

In his own words, SEPC combines photorealism with use of colour and incorporates various contextual elements. In other words, there is a lot going on in this work alongside the main portrait pieces, and all of it superbly painted. SEPC’s work was one of the real highlights of this year’s festival.

	scooj on Thursday doors – 5 Febru…
	scooj on Thursday doors – 5 Febru…
	scooj on 7449. Greenbank (180)
	skat on Thursday doors – 5 Febru…
	Dan Antion on Thursday doors – 5 Febru…

	scooj on Thursday doors – 5 Febru…
	scooj on Thursday doors – 5 Febru…
	scooj on 7449. Greenbank (180)
	skat on Thursday doors – 5 Febru…
	Dan Antion on Thursday doors – 5 Febru…

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