Dean Lane – Page 35 – Natural adventures

5101. Dean Lane skate park (577)

Zake, Chill and Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

The Pirate Wall Art (PWA) crew have already produced some outstanding collaborations this year, but this surely has to be the most striking so far. Zake, Chill and Face 1st have teamed up to produce this triptych of stylised faces.

To the left is a curious pair of faces which feel like they are symbolic of something, but I am not quite sure what – sun and moon or light and dark? Who knows. The flower face is something new that I haven’t seen from Zake before, but he carries it off really well.

In the middle of the triptych is a cartoon face by Chill. When Chill moved away from his black and white pieces, I wasn’t sure how long it would last, but I am pleased to say that his inclusion of several colours once again might indicate that this is a new direction of travel for the artist. I love the inclusion of some greenery and flowers in most of his pieces, showing a sensitive connection with nature.

Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

To the right, Face first has painted another group of faces, in which he continues to explore ways of peeling back the layers of our facades to reveal what lies beneath. In this case, the face with yellow hair has been split open to reveal a laughing girl emerging from inside. Some might see these pieces as gory or grotesque, I see them as a joyful exploration of emotions unearthed in a rather surgical, but playful way.

Plenty to think and enjoy about in this fine PWA collaboration.

5096. Dean Lane skate park (576)

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

There have been many tributes to Shimmer, since he passed away, indicating the loss felt by the street art community in Bristol. This is the second tribute piece by Acer One on this wall to Shimmer, who appears to have felt the loss particularly strongly.

As always, Acer One’s execution is clean and precise, geometry being his modus operandi. As we might expect, the beautifully designed letter font, of hollow letters, has two shadows, one black and one purple, giving the writing depth. Some tight colour transitions in the letters themselves, completes this fine work, which I expect to occupy this wall for some time.

5094. Dean Lane skate park (575)

Saor’s unannounced visits to Bristol usually culminate in a first class production, and this recent one in Dean Lane fits the pattern perfectly. The piece is exactly as you’d expect from Saor – beautifully thought out and designed and executed with extraordinary precision.

This piece spells out SAOR and incorporates the toothy monster face that the artist refined when painting under the name Flava136. This really is a first-rate work and incorporates so many nice little touches. I love the granite-effect patterned shapes, which really add an extra level to the piece.

While he was in the area, Saor also painted this mega-tag just around the corner. I love it when artists leave behind a few ‘extras’ when they visit.

5085. Cumberland Basin

Roo, Cumberland Bain, Bristol, March 2023

Naturally, whenever SkyHigh comes to town, Roo will be with him, as they are partners as well as painting partners. This ensures that we receive a double hit of great artwork from two wonderfully talented artists, each time they come to Bristol.

This is a beautifully executed and framed piece from Roo, featuring a dog with a spray can. What I love about Roo’s work is that everything is perfectly finished. There are no rough or blurry edges, no see-through fills, and the composition is always first-class. The cartoon style is perfect for her animal characters, and there is always a sense of fun in her work.

On this occasion, Roo left behind some extras, one of them a few yards away from this piece, another in Dean Lane and a small cat piece in the middle of the M32 roundabout. She and her other half can come back any time they like!

Roo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, March 2023

5082. Dean Lane skate park (574)

It is possible, in fact it is absolutely the case, that in documenting street art and graffiti, one can have a blind spot, and believe me I have had many over the years. This particular blind spot relates to the work of Raid, whose work I simply hadn’t registered until I met the artist while he was painting this piece in Dean Lane a little while back.

Of course, I have since found two more of his pieces, and I suspect there are plenty in my archives – something else to look out for next time I go archive-surfing. What makes my omission even more crazy is that this is the work of a superb writer. His letters are beautifully presented, and have a good proportionality about them. The lines are nice and sharp and fills solid, and his wispy decorations add a touch of flair. Watch this space for more from Raid.

5079. Dean Lane skate park (573)

Trawling through the archives is actually immensely enjoyable, but also very distracting. Another piece I rescued from incarceration is this rather fun scene, painted by Stiff.

As with some other artists in Bristol, aliens feature very strongly in Stiff’s work, and here we have an alien and a human interacting with some electricity generating equipment. There is a story here being told, but I’m not sure that I quite get it. Time machine perhaps? Anyhow, Stiff has a great knack for creating interesting and absorbing scenes like this one.

5076. Dean Lane skate park (572)

Trafficity, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020

Another piece from the archive, this one is from December 2020, which, although it feels like a long, long time ago, isn’t really, it is just that so much has happened since then. This piece, on the flakiest wall in Bristol, is by Trafficity.

His striking style and unwavering loyalty to his letter shapes makes Trafficity’s work some of the most recognisable in Bristol. The letters spell ZIOM, which is Polish means ‘dude’, ‘man’, ‘mate’ and so on – a nice inoffensive thing to write. As I always mention with Trafficity’s letters, it looks like there is a top and bottom half, each with smaller words, but I would need to ask the artist if this is the case. It is nice to release this one from the archive.

5071. Dean Lane skate park (571)

Somehow, I always feel comfortable when I see pieces by Hire. Hire was one of the first artists I spoke to, and I have bumped into him several times over the years. He is a mild-mannered, quiet and modest man whose particular style of graffiti writing is always on-point.

In this small piece, beautifully presented on a dark green buffed wall, Hire has written the letters BF, which I think relate to a crew – possibly a Polish crew. The jagged letters are superbly picked out by the cream border, and the whole thing is given a lift with the black shading surrounding the writing. A class act.

5063. Dean Lane skate park (570)

Dibz and Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

Two outstanding writers, Dibz and Turoe, have recently combined to create this wonderful tribute piece for Shimmer. I suspect that the piece may remain for quite some time due to both its quality and also that it is a tribute. This is a collaboration in which both artists have adopted a similar writing style and both are using the exact same colour scheme seamlessly.

To the left is the Dibz half of the collaboration, spelling out SHIMZ and to the right is Turoe’s contribution spelling TUROE. The green and yellow writing is as clean as a whistle and the whole thing set on a bubbly purple background – most eye-catching. In the middle of the piece is a Vaughn Bode lizard character, so much favoured by street artists in honour of the great man’s creations. This is a very, very fine tribute.

5056. Dean Lane skate park (569)

Klashwhensober, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

If I posted all of Klashwhensober’s graffiti writing, then there would be precious little else on Natural Adventures. I believe that he might be slowing down a little, as when I last met him he told me he has recently managed to get a new job, and I wish him the very best with that.

I decided to pick this one out for posting because it is typical of his work and has repeated some colours that worked so effectively before in a December 2022 piece in the tunnel, although the colours are divided horizontally instead of vertically. What you will always get with Klashwhensober is creativity with his writing. There is always something going on, together with the form of his letters. There is lots of dripping happening in this one, for example.

	paulh121 on 7701. North Street
	hitandrun1964 on 7699. Macscot Road – Upf…
	hitandrun1964 on 7700. Cumberland Basin
	restlessjo on 7699. Macscot Road – Upf…
	wrookieschu on 7699. Macscot Road – Upf…

	paulh121 on 7701. North Street
	hitandrun1964 on 7699. Macscot Road – Upf…
	hitandrun1964 on 7700. Cumberland Basin
	restlessjo on 7699. Macscot Road – Upf…
	wrookieschu on 7699. Macscot Road – Upf…

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