6432. Dean Lane skate park (765)

Fade, Pekoe and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Fade, Pekoe and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

Every once in a while I go back a month or two into my archives looking for pieces that get missed or overlooked but that deserve to be published on Natural Adventures. How I let this one pass me by I’ll never know, but it is a wonderful collaboration between Fade, Pekoe and Dibz.

Fade and Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Fade and Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

Fade and Dibz paint this wall a lot, and I mean a lot, so it is really nice to see them hook up with Pekoe to collaborate with them. There is a strong spider theme coming across in the collaboration, and Fade’s letters have webs suspended from them and forming part of the fill. The dark letters are topped with a nice red colour for variation, and he has painted a tidy 3D drop shadow. Nice stuff from Fade.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

Pekoe has painted a small portrait centrepiece between the two writers, of a woman with a red face and spider hair theme going on. I don’t know if this is a fictional Pekoe character or whether is is meant to be some kind of spider woman character, but it is nice and tight and beautifully presented (a rose between two thorns?)

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

The Tryptich is completed with a fine example of wildstyle writing from Dibz, whose letter fills, decorations and colours reflect Fade’s on the other side. I would have liked to have known more about the spider theme, but my curiosity will have to remain unresolved until I next meet one of the artists. A nicely finished themed collaboration.

6425. Dean Lane skate park (764)

Risky, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Risky, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

I have been aware of Risky’s writing about the place for some while now, but I would say that in the last six months or so he has really upped his game, and is turning out some rather nice writing and some interesting fills, where his earlier pieces were perhaps cutting his teeth or practising.

Risky, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Risky, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

This one in Dean Lane follows a fairly basic formula, and has been executed really well. The letters RISKY are in two tones of red giving a basic light/shadow effect, which provides depth to the letters. The writing has a contrasting green drop shadow and the whole thing is bordered with a dark blue line. There is lots of thought and care that has gone into this piece of graffiti writing, and I look forward to this continuing evolution from Risky.

6417. Dean Lane skate park (763)

Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024


The curved wall in Dean Lane skate park is one of the most iconic and popular in Bristol as evidenced by the thick layers of paint that periodically peel off, often more than a centimetre thick. You can get a feel for the popularity of the wall from my updated ‘one wall many faces’ gallery of this wall 

Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Mr Crawls, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

Mr Crawls has done us proud with one of his bird characters that have become so familiar around the city. One of the things that I love about his work is that he is constantly evolving and that even though he may return to former themes and subjects he always incorporates new elements that he has picked up along the way. This is a particularly attractive bird.

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.

6408. Dean Lane skate park (760)

Turoe and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Turoe and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

Two of the Bristol masters have been at work in this fabulous collaboration in Dean Lane. Turoe and Soker have been writing for way longer than I have been posting about street art and are without doubt part of the established scene in the city. Although they don’t paint as often as some other graffiti writers, their work is always immaculate.

Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

The colour selection of both pieces is superb, with cool steel blues dominating. There aren’t the words to describe how good Turoe’s writing is. There is some wildstyle work, but it is not fussy or over-complicated. The colour transitions in the fills are exquisite and the 3D drop shadow with a vanishing point just beneath the piece sets the piece up perfectly.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

Soker’s piece is rather more elongated and has a slight metallic quality. The letters SOKER are clearly marked out, but it is the design of the letters that is so attractive. What a pity I photographed it when it was in the shade, as I expect that in the sunlight it would give off a quite different aura. Simply a wonderful collaboration.

6405. Dean Lane skate park (759)

T-Rex, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
T-Rex, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

This is the second piece I have posted from the paint jam marking Andy Council’s 50th birthday, although I’m not sure how much he would thank me for repeating this milestone with every post. The piece is a lovely trio of dinosaurs on the rampage by T-Rex.

T-Rex, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
T-Rex, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

T-Rex has a way of brightening up even the worst of days. Her mischievous dinosaurs could and perhaps should adorn any children’s picture book, and the crossover between the actual animals and cartoon characters is handled brilliantly. She concludes the piece with a nice ‘RAWrrrr!’, which is a play on the Read and Weep crew name, and a shout-out to Mena, who we all hope is making a recovery.

6402. Dean Lane skate park (758)

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

It must be nice (Hamilton earworm alert), to have talented friends who honour your birthday with a celebratory paint jam. On this occasion it was Andy Council’s special 50th birthday and he was joined by several artist friends in Dean Lane.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

This was his own birthday piece which is a wonderful starling painted in his inimitable style. The stylised bird exaggerates the superb iridescent colours that starlings have which you can only really see when you get up close. This is a great piece, on a slightly awkward section of wall, but Andy Council has nailed it. Happy belated birthday.

6399. Dean Lane skate park (757)

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

My inclination is not to say to much about this outstanding character piece by Cheo for fear of spoiling it. Cheo has been a mainstay of character pieces in Bristol forever and although he has been relatively quiet in recent years, he can still turn it on when he wants to. This is a beauty.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

The character is painted completely in green scale colours apart from the goggles and gold chain – even the bee is green. A small masterpiece from Cheo.

6396. Dean Lane skate park (756)

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

Awkward has been getting noticeably busier in recent months, possibly prompted by his counterparts with whom he has collaborated successfully. This time though he painted solo on the bricked up flat wall behind the long skate ramp.

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2024

The blue-faced character, wearing a baseball cap, appears to be resting on a wonderfully painted red cloud (emanating from his ear) and has a trademark speech bubble with the word AWKWARD spread over two lines. The large saucer eyes and wobbly lines to the left add a nervous energy to the piece. Awkward’s characters are quite unique and always come across as fairly wired or fraught. This is a nice piece.

6391. Dean Lane skate park (755)

Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024

Regular readers may recall that I am not a fan of posting work that is in effect advertising, but it seems that it is becoming all too common, whether promoting music or art. I guess I am more forgiving if an artist is promoting their own work, or helping out with mates, but it it still doesn’t sit very comfortably with me. It is a fine line between advertising for mates and corporate advertising. I suppose if money doesn’t change hands then it is ok. Somehow, though, the promotional aspect seems to disrupt the freedom of the artist, because there is a different driver or purpose, and this is reflected in their style and content.

Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024

Kid Crayon manages to gain leniency from me because I love his work, and in this piece he promotes n exhibition ‘Art on wax’ that happened way back in July. I expect the delay in posting the piece was down to my prevarication. It is well painted but in my view insincere. There you have it.