Sake is an old school graffiti artist who only paints occasionally these days, but who has been painting for a long time. It has been great to see this wall, one of my favourites, getting quite a lot of attention recently, but having said that, nothing seems to last very long, and I think this piece disappeared quite quickly.
Sake, Dean Lane, Bristol, Dacember 2023
The writing, and fill in particular, are reminiscent of early New York graffiti writers, something that Sake carries off with authenticity and style. The letters are nicely presented and the driop shadow really good, but it is the pink stars running through the letters that win me over in this cracking piece.
Kool Hand has come on a long way from his early days, when he concentrated on one character, his orangutan, that gave him scope to practice his technique. Fast forward to now, and he is coming up with all sorts of characters, and adding layers of sophistication to his painting.
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023
This looks like a crocodile character, really stands out with the white background and the colours he has chosen, there is definitely no hiding here. The fills are good and solid, the lines thick, but crisp, and his cutting-in is good too. All round, this is a good character piece from the Bristol regular.
Ooh! this is a very nice piece of graffiti writing from Noise, which was painted in collaboration with Werm for the ‘World Wall Stylers’ December 2023 challenge (@worldwallstylers), which I think incorporated the colours gold and red. Noise followed the brief well.
Noise, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
I like Noise’s large letters, that really impose themselves, and the fact that the ‘I’ sits over the ‘O and S’ which in turn sit over the ‘N and E’. The gold fill is nice and solid with only a few decorative elements, leaving the letters looking uncluttered. This is yet another decent piece from Noise.
My rummage through my graffiti archives continues with this beauty from Lupa, painted last February. I have said before that I am attracted to her slightly crude style, which is definitely not to detract from it, but to distinguish it from some of the other writers who paint with knife-edge precision. There is room for all styles on the walls of Bristol.
Lupa, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Lupa’s letters are large and chunky, giving plenty of scope for creating interesting fills. In this case, she has used some lovely shades of purple and lilac which are carefully blended in several different ways, overlayed with some symbol decorations. Her trademark face in the ‘U’ is looking a little sad, and is joined with a simple smiley on top of the ‘A’. An attractive piece from a graffiti writer whose work definitely appeals to me.
As the leaves die and fall on the hedge that skirts the railings between the skate park and the swimming pool wall in Dean Lane, it becomes easier to see what has been painted on the wall behind, although once revealed, it is difficult to know how long the pieces have been there. I like to think I am reasonably on the ball with this kind of thing, but I really don’t know how old this piece by Trafficity is.
Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Trafficity is a rolling constant in the Bristol street art scene. Painting the same ZIOM letters in the same way, with only the colour palette and some small details to distinguish between pieces. I particularly like the colours he has used in this piece, especially as they blend well with the few dangly leaves from the hedge. Always consistent, always classy.
I wasn’t too sure whether to include this Klashwhensober Christmas piece, mainly on the grounds that I find it a little disturbing. I have noticed recently that several pieces have taken a slightly darker turn. The SOBER letters are still bright and vibrant, but the characters are a little on the weird side.
Klashwhensober, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
In this Christmas piece, I think I would run a mile if I saw this Santa by the fireplace. He looks like he might have had a few too many brandies, and his hand gesture is hardly in the Christmas spirit of things. The letters are good with great colours – I’m just not too sure about the character.
Biers (or WD40 as he writes these days) has been on fire this winter, producing a series of fine writing and character pieces. The formula is a winning one, and the balance between the writing and the character is usually spot on. There are also loads of additional elements that feature in his work and contribute to the overall look and feel.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
I am not sure who the cartoon pig is, but will do a very quick Google search to see if I come up with anything… nope, I have drawn a blank. So we have a pig with a bandage – there is a story there I am sure. This is a nice piece to round off the year with for Biers, and I hope he keeps up his frequency and consistency into the New Year.
Ryder, Inkie and Mr Riks, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
When Inkie is in town, he will often get together with friends and paint a collaborative wall, and often it is this one in Dean Lane. On this occasion he got together with Ryder and Mr Riks, which is not a trio of artists that would ordinarily spring to mind, but the street art scene is always full of surprises.
Ryder, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Ryder doesn’t paint at Dean Lane all that often, but he has smashed it with this rather condensed burner painted in orange and grey. The RYDER letters are nicely worked, with the orange bleeding out into the background at the top of some of them. The colour palette which includes a dark blue and black isn’t one that I would instinctively chose, but works incredibly well in this striking piece of graffiti writing.
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Most of the time, you pretty much know what you are going to get from Inkie, and this chrome piece delivers in bucket-loads. Great design and precision are trademarks from the gentle giant, who is probably one of Bristol’s most famous street artists after Banksy, alongside Nick Walker and Cheo. Inkie has such a distinctive style, that I reckon he could write any combination of letters and it would be easy to identify.
Mr Riks, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
To the right, another artist with a distinctive style, Mr Riks, has gone for this colourful piece, which is full of energy and joy. Although, not the focal point of the piece, the cartoon eyes are irresistible and draw attention. Great fills and a wonderful drop shadow, this is a fine piece of graffiti writing from Mr Riks.
This collaborative wall brings together three graffiti writers, each with very strong and distinctive styles, opting to paint in colours of their choice, making it a loose collaboration – more like three friends painting a wall together, without a theme or agenda. Great stuff.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Well, they’ve been at it again, and I love it. Mote and Mr Crawls seem to be enjoying their collaborative outings, and not content with picking a single spot, they have been painting together all over the city. This piece in Dean Lane is tucked away between the railings and the swimming pool, and not the easiest to photograph.
Mr Crawls and Mote, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
The collaboration has a slightly gory story to it, with an axe embedded in each of the characters and blood spurting from the wounds. Mr Crawls’ bird character has a slightly sinister look to it, I think it might be the eyes, and has a beak that looks like it might belong to a seabird like an albatross or something. Mote has reverted to one of his happy-go-lucky monster characters, although the axe would looks particularly nasty piercing one of his eyes. All a little bit weird. Plenty more from these two to come.
Chill, Face 1st and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
This might be the last time I post about the PWA crew this year, and what a productive year it has been from this fabulous group of artists who have kept us entertained and enthralled during 2023. This collaboration, tucked behind the fence of the swimming pool, is by Chill, Face 1st and Zake.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
To the left, chill says it all next to his character piece with the words ‘last one or not, 2023 was hot’. Chill’s cartoon character takes on something of a surreal appearance with lots of eyes, everywhere, and an extra mouth in the ear. Interesting and fun stuff from Chill.
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
In the middle is a little girl character by Face 1st, and guess what… she is having a lot of fun with a couple of spray cans, one in each hand. A small nod to the vampire genre, with fangs and blood dripping from her mouth, this girl is perhaps not as happy as most that Face 1st paints.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
On the right, Zake, who I think has run Klashwhensober pretty close as Bristol’s most productive artist of 2023, has painted a rather grotesque laughing face. Lots of mouth and teeth to deal with in this one, and the rather haunting eyes with no pupils that Zake often paints, adding mystery and some edge to the character. All good stuff from the PWA folks. I can’t wait to see what they create in the new year.
Natural adventures 