4999. Dean Lane skate park (564)

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023

This wall is a little tiresome to photograph, especially as my camera doesn’t have a wide angle setting. The wall is in a narrow space opposite the wall of a ramp on the skate park, meaning that getting decent shots of anything painted here is a challenge. Biers, AKA WD40 has set me the challenge on this occasion.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023

With his WD40 letters, Biers has incorporated a cartoon character, and I have to say I have drawn a blank on this one, so if you have any idea who he is, please feel free to drop his name in the comments. This is a particularly tidy piece from Biers, who can sometimes be a little rough around the edges, but not here, this is clean and on-point. A really lovely piece by Biers.

4994. Dean Lane skate park (563)

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023

The waits seem to get longer between finding new Laic217 pieces, which is a real pity. I can only hope that the reason behind his slow down in street activity is that he has other great things going on in his life. It is not uncommon for street artists to go through peaks and troughs in activity, and that is all part of the game.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2023

This is Laic217 at his classic best, a skeleton holding a spray can, wearing a puffer jacket over a hoodie. There is tons of shape and texture in his work, especially on the clothes. Seeing this piece reminds me just how good he is and how much I miss his work.

4978. Dean Lane skate park (561)

Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

Maybe emerged on the Bristol scene in 2021 and has grown from strength to strength, building a reputation in the street art community over the last couple of years. His work is original and intriguing, working on themes of interlocking faces and galactic scenes. This ramp piece is a large interlocking face variant.

Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

This side of the ramp is actually a really great place to paint, because is receives a minimum of scuffing from skaters. As Maybe pieces go, this is a rather large one, and in his slightly older style. I am hoping to see great things from this unique artist, and it would be great to catch up with him again as he is a lovely man.

4971. Dean Lane skate park (560)

Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

Well, Rusk and Shade One have done it again with this collaboration and completely blown me away. This is their second recent collaboration in this spot, and with any luck, there will be more to follow. The writing and character formula seems to work so very well with these two, and although there is no crossover of style, there is something complementary about the two pieces.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

To the left is some very tidy writing from Rusk, which stands proud from the wall with some clever fills, shading and shadows. There is a kind of metallic feel to these letters which are filled exquisitely.

Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

To the right is the Shade One portrait of a woman, but I am not too sure who the subject is. With each new piece, Shade One is gently transitioning from a cartoon style to something more photorealistic, and I have to say that I am loving it. Another terrific collaboration from these two.

4962. Dean Lane skate park (599)

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

I had a great catch up with Face 1st as he was assessing where to paint this stunning little design. He had thought about using one of the flat walls on the buildings, but instead chose this curved wall instead, and what a great choice he made.

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

Any piece on the ramps of a skate park get scuffed up pretty quickly, naturally, and when I photographed this it was only a day old, and you can see immediately how worn parts of it have become. Face 1st has painted a laughing girl’s face sliced through vertically, exposing the letters F, A and E, with the C sitting proudly on the girl’s pink bow. A wonderful piece from a lovely artist.

4955. Dean Lane skate park (558)

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

Having only recently ‘discovered’ the beautiful floral art of Peggy, it turns out that I have been photographing some of her work for a while, but didn’t know who she was, so hadn’t posted any of it. I took this photograph back in July, and am pleased to share it now, because it represents yet another type of art on the vast spectrum on offer in Bristol.

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

Peggy creates some outstanding designs for her body painting work, and then upscales some of these for walls. Beautifully painted, these designs provide a unique and refreshing addition to any spot that she paints.

Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2022

To the right of the piece, Peggy has pasted three of her designs on the wall, and I remember thinking at the time, maybe we have a new wheatpaster in town. Sadly, I haven’t seen any more since then, but I live in hope. Lovely work from Peggy.

4946. Various locations

Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

There was a period early last year, when it felt like every available space in multiple spots was being filled with a portrait mega-tag by Asre, aka Runaway Joey. These distinctive characters are based on the same central core elements, but they are ‘pimped’, so that each has a distinctive look and theme. This is a mini-gallery of pieces by Asre from April last year. At another point in time, I will have to do another of these galleries to sweep up a bunch of other Asre pieces in the first half of 2022.

Asre, Jamaica Street, Bristol, April 2022
Asre, Jamaica Street, Bristol, April 2022

This was a small piece in Jamaica Street that reflects the basic character template.

Asre, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022
Asre, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2022

A Moon Street cheeky character wearing a red hat, beautifully picked out with the customary three layered thick border.

Asre, M32 Spot, Bristol, April 2022
Asre, M32 Spot, Bristol, April 2022

Asre shows his versatility with this quick column piece under the M32.

Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Asre, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

Rounding off this mini-gallery with a piece behind the fence in Dean Lane, this time the character is wearing a blue hat.

One of the curious things is that Asre’s prolific activity simply dropped off a cliff later in the year, so I guess there might have been a lifestyle change at some point. It would be nice to think that he will return to our streets in due course.

4940. Dean Lane skate park (557)

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

I rarely miss posting anything by Hire if I can help it, so I was surprised to find this outstanding piece from this gifted artist in my March archive. On the upside, I guess, I am sharing it with you now. Even though I am currently going through an unpublished back-catalogue of street art, there is at least 50% still unpublished, which gives me a minor panic attack.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

The striking colours used in this piece are divine and the writing itself, spelling HIRE, is outstandingly painted. The fine lines cutting through the middle of each letter is what elevates this writing from the good to the exceptional. This is an absolute belter of a piece from a lovely artist.

4938. Dean Lane skate park (556)

Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022

Another fine piece that got overlooked in my February postings last year is this magnificent work from Saor. On a dull winter day, the orange elements of the piece really cut through and draw the eye in. The piece was painted alongside NTS crew mate Mudra.

Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022
Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2022

I may have said it before, but Saor’s style reminds me quite a lot of Epok’s work (what has happened to Epok – I wonder). The concept is highly designed and very cleanly finished, almost as if it was painted with fine brushes. I particularly like the shadow behind the right-hand side of the orange letters. As always from Saor, a nicely conceived piece, brilliantly executed.

4916. Dean Lane skate park (555)

Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

This gorgeous Christmas treat from Ceus brings him back to a wall that he is really rather fond of, and one which is where I first became aware of his fine writing. There appears to be a Battle Royale going on with the warm and cold colour selections used in the piece, producing a stunning effect.

Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Ceus, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

Ceus has settled into a great rhythm with his graffiti writing in Bristol, and he is fast establishing himself within the community. I love it that we have such a vibrant overseas community of artists in Bristol, adding a multicultural layer to the already enormous spectrum of street art that we are privileged to see here