5813. Dean Lane skate park (687)

Sepr and Boaster, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Sepr and Boaster, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

Aah! what joy finding this outstanding piece by Sepr and Boaster the day before going away for a week on holiday. Finding this piece, in part, helped me to overcome any withdrawal symptoms or FOMO while I was skiing in the French Alps. If I had missed the piece, I would have been a little regretful. but thankfully that didn’t happen.

Sepr, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Sepr, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

It is possible to see when artists are having fun and obviously bouncing with shared ideas and inspiration. A pair of toucans drinking Carlsberg Special Brew… who’d have thought it? The toucan on the left was painted by Sepr with all his trademark stylised cartoon painting skills on show. I cannot explain how much I like this piece, and have missed his work, which seems to be occasional these days. The toucan is holding a plastic bag containing four beer cans and he is holding another in his other hand. The piece is accompanied with the words “Two can Jackie Chan the toucan with a bag o’cans!” pretty much describes the piece. Jackie Chan is offering a can to his friend to the right.

Boaster, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Boaster, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

I recently posted a piece by Boaster which I photographed in Nottingham, so it is really satisfying to see another one so soon and this time in my home town of Bristol. Boaster’s toucan is drinking a bottle of Brahma beer (a brand I am not familiar with) and uttering the words “sim voce”, which I think means ‘yeah’ sort of thing in Portuguese. Am I to infer that the toucan is Brazilian? it would make sense. The two toucans are different in style, one very sharp, the other a little fluffier, but they work perfectly together. This is easily the best collaboration of the year so far, in my opinion.

5809. Dean Lane skate park (686)

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

I am so incredibly short of time today, suffering from having to plough through a mountain of work that has accumulated during the week that I was away. I sometimes wonder if it is worth going on holiday at all, because the feel-good factor wears off so quickly. This is a stunner from Fade.

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

It is quite difficult to understand just how Fade manages to turn out so many high quality pieces, each and every one completely original and perfectly turned out – he has certainly found his niche. This piece looks like a fiery furnace of coke or coal blasting out heat to create the hot letters. Great design, superb fills… excellent piece from Fade.

5796. Dean Lane skate park (683)

Face 1st, Chill, Kool Hand and Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Face 1st, Chill, Kool Hand and Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

The PWA boys have been at it again, for what may have been their first collaboration of 2024 and this one included Face 1st, Chill, Kool Hand (by invitation I think) and Laic217 on one of their favourite walls in Dean Lane.

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

Face 1st has come up with something a little different for this piece. He presents us with one of his laughing girls, wearing glasses and holding something in her hands. I can’t quite work out what it is, but in my mind it is either a wrap, or she is rolling a cigarette/joint. Underneath the character is a FACE in bubble writing.

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

Next to Face 1st is a wonderfully animated character by Chill, suitably dressed with a woolly hat for a cold January day. The smoking character is really well painted and typical of Chill’s fabulous cartoon style, which captures his tattoo skills and artwork.

Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

Next up is a dog character from Kool Hand, who has painted with PWA on a couple of occasions, but I am not sure whether this is as a guest or a member of the crew. I suspect the membership is a little loose in any case. The blue dog is nicely painted with strong solid fills and a clean thick border. The character is missing a mouth, and as am not sure if it is deliberate or whether Kool Hand decided, for whatever reason not to include one.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2024

Last up is a nice piece from Laic217, as always. This time he has squeezed on a rather angular skeleton skull face, also wearing a woolly hat for the cold weather and a hoody. The angular sun glasses are in line with the shape of the skull. A lovely winter-warmer from the PWA crew.

5784. Dean Lane skate park (682)

Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023

This sumptuous red and gold piece of graffiti writing is one half of a collaboration with Noise, which I posted a few days ago. The pieces were painted as a contribution to the World Wall Stylers theme for December. On reflection I perhaps should have posted the pieces together, but firstly I couldn’t capture both pieces in one photograph and secondly felt they both deserved to have a post of their own.

Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Werm, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023

I met Werm a week or so back for the first time in a while and it was great to catch up. I like this piece a lot. Werm has started to simplify his work a little, and in my view that is a good thing, concentrating on the impact of the piece rather than its technical complexity. Sometimes less is more, and definitely it works in this instance. The colours go a long way to enhancing the quality of this one. Great stuff from Werm.

5782. Dean Lane skate park (681)

Sake, Dean Lane, Bristol, Dacember 2023
Sake, Dean Lane, Bristol, Dacember 2023

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
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.

5779. Dean Lane skate park (680)

Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023

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
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.

5777. Dean Lane skate park (679)

Noise, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Noise, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023

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
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.

5775. Dean Lane skate park (678)

Lupa, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Lupa, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

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, 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.

5768. Dean Lane skate park (677)

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, 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.

5766. Dean Lane skate park (676)

Klashwhensober, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023
Klashwhensober, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2023

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
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.