Embarrassingly, it took quite a while for the penny to drop with this piece by Nugmoose. I haven’t seen much of his work this summer, and this piece wasn’t immediately as ‘alieny’ as most of his pieces… it had me baffled for an hour or two, and then the light bulb moment.
Nugmoose, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023
There are three basic elements to this piece, which come together very nicely. The white face in the centre of the piece and the cream/pink letters spelling out something in an alien language, both of which are quite flat and have solid fills. The third element, the green blobby organic matter, has both depth and movement and appears to be attracted to the writing/portrait, to embrace or consume it. Great to see Nugmoose decorating a wall after a bit of an absence.
Kosc seems to have slowed the pace right down recently, which probably reflects a busy time in his real life away from painting walls. It is great to see that there isn’t even the slightest drop in quality on his return, although in fairness, once an artist has reached a certain level, there is rarely a drop in quality unless constrained by time or paint.
Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023
The letters KOSC have an industrial, metallic sheet look, common to the artist’s pieces over the last couple of years, with occasional ‘rivets’ holding the sheet in place. Kosc has chosen some nice fills for the letters, some of which have spilled beyond the confines of the letters, giving the writing a slightly ethereal feel. Classy writing.
I am posting this piece by Andy Council out of sequence, having posted a piece he painted after this one, a week ago. You didn’t necessarily need to know that, but I feel better for being transparent and accurate.
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023
I am not going to try and guess what kind of bird this is because I will probably get it wrong – I’ll leave you to decide for yourself. Andy Council’s ‘thing’ for gratings (or radiators) has come to the fore in this piece, with the upper part of the birds wings being made up of them. There is a strong mechanical/metallic look to the bird almost as if it is clockwork – you might expect to see a wind up key embedded somewhere. This is a clever way to occupy this low wall and expertly done in my view.
What an absolute belter from Cheo, an artist who has lost none of his touch during his absence, and if anything has come back to painting on the streets with renewed vigour and creativity. It took me several attempts to get a clean shot of this piece in Dean Lane, because developers, who are working on the old Salvation Army building behind, had fenced off half of this wall, much to everyone’s irritation.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2023
I understand, thank you Paul H for the insight, that the piece was influenced by the Rayman video games, something I would not and could not have ever known. The beast is so brilliantly painted, and has such depth and detail that few artists would be able to recreate. Just an awesome piece from an awesome artist.
I think I first became aware of Peggy’s beautiful floral pieces in Dean Lane, a few yards from this one, so it is great to see how much she has come on and how much bolder and confident her work has become. This outstanding piece was painted alongside friends in a recent paint jam that covered as much wall space as possible in this corner of Dean Lane skate park.
Peggy, Dean Lane Bristol, September 2023
The colour selection for the piece is perhaps the first thing that draws the eye, but a closer look at the floral patterns and motifs adds to the overall enjoyment. The middle of the flowers contain little smiley or not smiley faces and Ying Yang motifs. And the trademark eyes at the centre of the larger flowers. A fine piece from Peggy, perfectly fitting the awkward spot.
You know it is going to be a good day when you find an Andy Council piece. When it happens, it is like one of those ‘my work is done here’ moments, if that makes sense. Andy council has had a comparatively quiet summer on the streets, so finding new and recent pieces has been something of a treat.
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
This wall is not the easiest to photograph, and before I had the capability to photograph with a wide angle, this piece would have presented me with a bit of a headache, and even with a wide angle aspect, it is still a little awkward. This panther (?) piece is the second animal to be painted by Andy Council on this wall recently (I will post the other one soon) and is styled in his extraordinary component composition. Each element of the creature is made up from bits of grating and pipe work, and other bits that look like they have come from a scrap heap, but combined, they make stunning whole. Beautiful and creative, this is a magnificent piece from Andy Council.
It is genuinely getting very difficult to keep up with Dibz and Fade, who appear to be smashing it week after week, with their collaborative walls, and this one, which I don’t think lasted very long, is a real beauty.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023
Dibz to the left and Fade to the right have written their names set on a shared blue background with some ‘thermal’ blobs surrounding the letters and breaking off. Everything about this piece is sharp, neat and tidy, and showcases their work perfectly. As well as painting together, it seems that the two get on really well, and bring out the best in one another’s artwork.
Yield is an artist who has been around for a little while, but whose work in rapidly improving and becoming more dominant. I believe Yield is part of the Sunday Lovers crew, so I would assume he (taking a gamble on gender) is probably Spanish. I haven’t posted much of Yield’s work to date, but the time has come to rectify that.
Yield, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
The playful piece in Dean Lane, which was painted alongside From Bacerlona, is full of colour and has a really up-beat feel to it. I don’t think that Yield has a particular ‘house font’ and each piece I have seen tends to be quite different from the last. What I have seen recently fills me with excitement about what Yield might be creating in the coming months.
UPDATE: Yield is not part of the Sunday Lovers, it would appear that any work alongside theirs in coincidental.
Chill,Fade/Face 1st, Soap and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
This is a wonderful collaborative wall from the PWA crew from a little while back, and includes a subsequently added piece from Fade, which is both good and bad. Good in that his work is always great and bad because he painted over Face 1st’s section before I had had a chance to see it. This wall has played host to some outstanding collaborations this year, of which this is one.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
The left-hand-side bookend is by Chill, and sets the tone (for those of us who view things from left to right), of the collaboration which has a theme relating to bed time and sleep. Chill’s wonderful character, complete with night cap and a five o’clock shadow, is holding a candle, all looking a little Dickensian to me.
Fade/Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Next up would have been Face 1st’s contribution, which looks like it was the letters FACE, with a frame of disintegrating green gloop. Fade has overwritten the piece with a nice tidy and sharp piece of writing, spelling out FADE. I have to say I was surprised to see this, but perhaps there is a little history there.
Soap, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
The third piece, by Soap, looks like a bit of a nightmarish scene, inspired by characters from the cartoon series Adventure Time, I think. I can’t identify the horned character, but the one holding the sword looks like Finn the Human, with a skull face. As with so many of Soap’s pieces, there is a whole story going on here, as well as some perfectly crafted writing, with the letters SOAP.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Finally and bookending the collaboration on the right-hand-side is Zake’s sleep-time character also with a night cap, but instead of a candle, the face is holding, with its only arm, a spray can, perhaps for a bit of an evening paint session. As ever, the shading and contrast have created enormous depth to the piece. What a lovely PWA paint jam.
Jay Kaes, Inkie and Gabs, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
I am a little pressed for time this morning, so short posts only today. This is a fabulous graffiti writing masterclass collaboration from Inkie, and two visiting artists either side of his piece from Jay Kaes and Gabs, neither of whom I have come across before.
Jay Kaes, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
To the left Jay Kaes has written KAES beautifully, with a deep 3D effect. There is s nice little shout out to Bristol too which is a bit of a crowd-pleaser.
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
The middle piece will be much more familiar to readers of Natural Adventures, because it is by Bristol stalwart Inkie. There are some great colours in this classic wildstyle writing that is so typical of his work.
Gabs, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Finally to the right, and mimicking the colour palette of Jae Kaes piece, is another fine piece of writing by Gabs, spelling out, yep you guessed it, GABS. The piece came a little bit out of the blue, but when Inkie paints in Bristol it is usually to do something a bit special in collaboration with others.
Natural adventures 