Face 1st and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Face 1st and Chill appear to be collaborating quite a lot at the moment, and it is a joy to behold. In this piece the collaboration takes the form of a merger of pieces, rather than simply painting adjacent spaces on a wall.
Face 1st and Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
The frame of the piece, set on a pink backdrop, is the letters FACE in chrome from Face 1st, something we are familiar with seeing. What is different in this instance is that the A of FACE, instead of being one of Face 1st’s laughing girls is a fine cartoon character face from Chill. You can’t help but feel a sense of joy emanating from their work, and their friendship shines through in the collaboration. More to come from these two.
Anyone who regularly visits Bristol’s graffiti spots, can’t have failed to notice these lovely decorative floral pieces making an appearance in recent weeks. If the highly designed and beautifully presented piece resembles a transfer, that is no real surprise, as the artist, Peggy (@misspeggybrown) creates wonderful henna work… just check out her Instagram feed.
Peggy, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Set on a black background, the blue stems and pink flowers are expertly painted, beautifully proportioned with crisp fills and edges. I don’t know how long Peggy has been spraying walls for, but this is a highly accomplished effort and a joy to look at. Expect more of her work to be appearing soon on Natural Adventures.
In case you missed it, Face 1st is one of my favourite artists in Bristol. I try to post all his work that I come across, but it is an uphill struggle, so I do what I can. This one is on the famous curved wall at Dean Lane.
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
This is a stock sure thing from Face 1st, with a laughing girl’s face surrounded with FACE hair. In gold and yellow on a sky-blue background, the piece stands out, and there are some additional drips and bubbles to keep the interest. I haven’t seen any of the PWA crew for a long while, but next time I do, I will have to ask them about the significance of the gemstone, which appears in so much of their work.
Dibz and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Two of the greats of the contemporary street art scene in Bristol, Dibz and Acer One, have come together to create this magnificent collaborative wall in Deal Lane. You could hardly get two more contrasting styles of writing side-by-side – perhaps the inclusion of someone like Stivs or Mudra might just do it.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
Set on a buffed duck-egg blue wall, Dibz has painted one of his outstanding wildstyle pieces, which would normally spell DIBZ, but in this case it says EVIE. Using the tried and tested pink and blue (lilac) combination for the letters, Dibz has contrasted it with little yellow/orange squares, which personally speaking, I don’t think work very well with the background wall colour, and leaves me feeling a little queezy.
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
To the right, Acer One, who I was fortunate enough to have a long chat with yesterday in the tunnel, has also written something different. The name TOBY is the focus of this piece, which was a birthday tribute piece for his son. What better present could a person wish for? Some great colours in the letters, and the customary double shadow together create an amazing 3D effect, with the letters really standing out from the wall. Happy belated birthday, Toby.
I have long been an admirer of Hire’s (pronounced Heerae) work since I first came across his unique style of writing in a collaboration with Laic217 in 2017.Although his writing has morphed during that time, his style remains distinct and recognisable.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
I do like it when graffiti/street artists buff the wall first or frame their pieces in some way, as it allows the viewer to pick out the beauty of their work without distraction. This writing, spelling out HIRE is outstanding and in your face… there is no escaping it, it must be looked at, it is shouting out from the wall. His distinctive angular lines with points or thorns, and lines running down the middle of the letters providing depth, creates an overall impressive statement skilfully painted. A fine piece of work.
There are some artists who slip under the radar, often because their work is unsigned, or they just don’t paint often enough to get noticed properly. Acesartworld falls a little bit into this category, and although I have two or three of his pieces in my archive, I have never posted any of his work… until now.
Acesartworld, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
Messages of peace are relatively common in street art work, and completely opposite to the kind of reputation some would have you believe about graffiti/street artists. This is a rather unusual piece, unlike much I have seen before, and not exactly typical of Acesartworld’s normal usual work. I must confess though to being a little confused about this piece, because the character is holding a gun, which doesn’t really reflect the message. No matter, it is a fresh piece from an artist I hope we will be seeing more of.
One of the nicest artists in Bristol is, without question, DJ Perks, and his rise through sheer hard graft and an equal measure of talent has been a genuine pleasure to witness. DJ Perks seems undaunted in his pursuit of great writing and character work, and is so modest to go with it. If I had only half his talent and drive, I would be a happy man.
DJ Perks, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
The muted colours of this piece are expertly blended through the letters, and the whole thing is incredibly tight. There is one small error on the black 3D drop shadow under the letter ‘K’, which should be deeper. Other than that, this is a great piece of Bristol graffiti writing.
Mote is on fire at the moment. Barely a day goes by without another new piece appearing on the streets of Bristol, and I am having great trouble keeping up. Mote’s monsters are becoming larger and more sophisticated with each new piece, and it is a joy to witness his development.
Mote, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2022
I particularly like this character, there is something very endearing about it. In a departure from his recent approach, Mote hasn’t buffed the wall before painting this one, but it is strong enough to compete with the surrounding graffiti without being compromised. Another great piece from Mote
As part of a collaborative wall, this is something rather different from Kosc, but the high quality of the piece is there for all to see. Taking a break from his writing, which he seems to have been enjoying of late, Kosc has created this amazing rat skeleton character.
Kosc, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
There is more than a little menace about this rat, brought about by its posture and open mouth. You can tell that Kosc enjoys the anatomy of the creature and clearly has a good understanding of skeletal structure. There is some complementary artwork from Saor, whose part in this collaborative wall was just to the left, that cuts through the rat’s tail. Fabulous artwork from Kosc.
As well as being a fabulous graffiti writer, Dibz also recreates beautifully worked characters, and he has excelled with this Halloween piece recently in Dean Lane. The whole thing is a cleverly devised mash up of Groundskeeper Willy from the Simpsons and Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2022
The festive work is a belter and another example of just what an exceptional graffiti writer Dibz is. The Krueger jumper is reflected in the letters of the piece lifted with a purple 3D drop shadow. Another clever detail is the way Willy’s rake is a direct reference to Krueger’s creepy glove. A brilliantly conceived piece, perfectly executed.
