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.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
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.
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.
Dibz and Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
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.
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.
Klashwhensober, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
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.
Klashwhensober, St Werburghs, Bristol, December 2022
I was lucky with my timing when I found this piece. The paint was still wet, and there was a lovely smell of spray paint hanging in the air. It is always good to capture fresh work in skate parks, because the wear and tear from skaters kicks in very quickly.
Corupt, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
It just so happens that Corupt was sitting on the other side of the wall, watching Stivs, with Mozzarella, painting another wall. I stopped for a nice chat with both of them. As always with Corupt, this piece is perfectly finished, with very clean lines and fills. It seems that he prefers to write STICK rather than CORUPT these days, which works equally well. So much about photographing and chronicling street/graffiti art is about timing, and I got it just right on this particular day.
Dibz, Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Three of Bristol’s best artists have come together to paint this outstanding collaboration in Dean Lane. Dibz, Rusk and Shade One are not strangers to this wall, but they have absolutely smashed it on this occasion, in a touching tribute to Shimmer (Shimz).
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
On the left is a gorgeously perfect chrome piece by Dibz, which could equally well spell DIBZ or SHIMZ (I wonder if the ambiguity was deliberate). Everything about this is on-point, and there is a rather nice little SHIMZ shout-out in the top left.
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Rusk and Shade One have been busy in this spot lately, and I think this is the third collaboration they have enjoyed this year. I don’t really need to tell you how much I admire Rusk’s work. He is one of the most meticulous artists in Bristol, and will always strive to ensure his work is flawless. There is a lovely yellow pattern in this piece that flow seamlessly across the letters.
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Finally, the portrait piece on the right by Shade One is, I assume, depicting Shimmer, as the Shimz RIP in the top corner would suggest. The greyscale photorealistic portrait is one of Shade One’s best to date, and the bar is pretty high. The collaboration is a fabulous one, and it will be a brave person indeed who is the first to paint over it.
Dibz, Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Evey turned up late to this RBF mini-paint jam, so I didn’t get to meet her on this occasion, but I did chat for a while with Desi and Lupa who had buffed the wall and were well into their pieces.
Evey, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
I seem to say it every time I post a new piece by Evey, but her progress is steady, and each new piece shows improvements both in design and finishing. This EVEN is a classic with nice curvy letters, three horizontal shaeds of blue/lilac and a topping of white with sprinkles – a wonderful pudding served up – delicious. It must surely be time for an Evey gallery.
I just happened to be in Dean Lane skate park as Acer One was starting this piece. It was quite busy down there at the time, with Silver (thank you, Paul H for reminding me) painting opposite, DJ Perks who had just finished a piece on the pool wall (I think) and Peggy was on the sloping wall near the raised skate park, painting a floral piece. I do like it when there are lots of people to chat with.
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
The wonderful piece, by Acer One, is a tribute to Shimmer, another artist taken away from us far too early in life. It is clear that Shimmer was a popular character, and there are tribute pieces all over the city dedicated to him. There is a lovely sense of order and geometry in this piece, but of course there is, it is by Acer One after all. Acer One uses a long ruler with a handle to achieve his straight lines, but you can see that he has also used the brick course to keep everything flush. A fine tribute.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
