It has been waaay too long waiting for this absolute stunner from Rusk, who seems to have gone to ground in recent months. What a way to return to the walls of Bristol, with this magnificent and rather unusual anamorphic piece.
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Spelling out RUSK, the letters are made up of a ribbon or tape which is coloured blue on one side and pink on the other. All very skilfully done, and if you take a closer look, the ribbon has some arrows and bars decorating it. Set on a ‘wallpaper’ background with clouds, this is a truly excellent piece, not that I would expect anything less from Rusk. Welcome back.
It would seem that Hire has returned to a fairly regular rhythm, having not painted very much during the lockdowns. This is, of course, great news, and the work he is presenting at the moment is as good as it has ever been.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
This stunner was painted a couple of weeks ago, and Hire has achieves a certain amount of symmetry in this piece, although a closer look will reveal that it isn’t symmetrical at all, it just looks that way. Hire has created a very clever piece indeed and it is beautifully presented and executed. So good to see him painting regularly.
Unusual and unexpected, this writing in Dean Lane is an untypical piece from Inkie that appeared about a week ago, at the same time as a Rusk piece on a nearby wall (coming soon). At first glance, the writing is not obviously Inkie’s and certainly doesn’t have many of his trademark elements.
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Take a closer look though and certain motifs are there. The quality of the piece is outstanding and although it might look a bit busy and eclectic, everything that is there is carefully placed, like the green hoops, the purple bubble writing around the edges and the shout-outs. This is a skilfully painted piece designed to look a bit raw, and Inkie has carried it off perfectly.
In the space of little over a week, several mega-tag faces by Awkward appeared in Dean Lane skate park. I have not seen any of Awkward’s work for simply ages, so perhaps he found some spray cans somewhere and decided to get out there and paint. The result of his endeavours is that I have decided to pull them all together in this collection, reflecting his approach.
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Each of the mega-tags features a rather distressed cartoonish face and a speech bubble, with the word Awkward written in it, although you might not be able to decipher the writing if you didn’t know who the artist was.
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
This yellow face appears to be crying blood tears and is accompanied by the words ‘Peace Now’ – a reference to the war in Ukraine, and other global conflicts I dare say.
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Awkward has been considerate and respectful with this yellow face with pyramidal eyes, inserting it into a collaboration piece that had been there for a few days, without damaging it, and perhaps even augmenting it.
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
This final one on the edge of the famous Dean Lane curved wall is, along with the others, rather striking, and has the words ‘Join the Cloaks’ (I think) – I don’t know what it means. Since this little starburst of pieces, I haven’t seen anything more from Awkward… perhaps when he finds some more paint.
In recent months, tattooist and street artist, Chill, has firmly established himself as a great cartoon character artist almost out of nowhere. His pieces have always been great to look at, but it is the frequency with which he has been painting them that has become so noticeable.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
This fine piece in Dean Lane is typical of his distinctive work. Chill typically paints black and white characters that look like they have been lifted from a cartoonist’s sketchbook, set on a red or orange background, creating great contrast which helps the characters to stand out. Chill has stretched his usual modus operandi by including some green foliage and some decorative dotty spheres, that look like dandelion heads. Plenty of fun and action in this piece and cartoon-style eyes to die for.
It is probably about time for another piece from Face 1st, and this one, like so many of his other pieces, is so full of joy and happiness. I think that Face 1st should be employed as a ‘happiness tzar’ for Bristol, and be allowed to spray his happy faces to improve morale in a time when good news is hard to come by.
Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
This particular piece in Dean Lane is in one of his preferred forms in which he has written FACE as the hair of a girl’s smiling face. For added effect, he has included a second face as the ‘A’ of FACE. It is always great to see anything by this artist, and the Bristol graffiti/street art scene simply wouldn’t be the same without him.
Truly, good things come to those who wait, and what a long wait it has been to see a public piece by Pelmo, but this is one of three very recent pieces that I know about and it is great to see he is out and about painting again.
Pelmo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
This small piece in Dean Lane skate park features one of his oversized characters flipping a little skateboard. What a joy to find this. I have long been a fan of Pelmo’s unusual work, that tells stories about people of extraordinary proportions doing ordinary things. There is something most endearing and compassionate in the way Pelmo portrays his characters with love and affection. Watch this space for more.
After a very quiet lockdown period, there seems to have been no stopping Biers, who now writes WD40, from decorating walls all over the city. This piece from a couple of weeks back is on one of the best known walls in Bristol, and a particular favourite of mine – I have even done a special gallery of it, that needs updating.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
In this lively piece, Biers takes something of a self-deprecatory look and critique of his own work that is not entirely complimentary. I would beg to differ with his analysis, as I think it is a rather tidy piece with loads of activity and movement, and the character with the speech bubble is nicely done too. Don’t be so hard on yourself Biers.
We don’t seem all that often, but when he visits a wall, he always leaves an impression, because his work is rather unique. I am talking about Stif who paints his rather surreal pieces from time to time in Dean Lane or sometimes Brunel Way. With this particular piece it was a case of blink and you’ll miss it, because it didn’t last long at all.
Stif, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Stif tends to paint on a black background which contrasts with the bold colours that he uses. This piece looks like it is a monster breaking out of a red parcel, and it might be a simple as that, I can’t really find a story or narrative underpinning the piece. It is rather eccentric and very memorable, and definitely worthy of posting on Natural Adventures.
Photographing street art and graffiti isn’t just about the big pieces, the obvious ‘in your face’ high end work. It is about capturing the full spectrum of work and the full spectrum of styles, content, ability and so on. Finding a couple of little gems, like these from Zake, exemplifies the joys of finding and cataloging street art.
Zake is normally known for his bright and expressive stylised faces, full of light and shade to exaggerate the contours of the features. In these two small pieces in Dean Lane, Zake gives us something more like a study, or something you might find in a black book rather than on a wall. It is not only the beauty of these works, but their rarity that is part of their attraction.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
I guess that they were both painted in the same session judging from the colour palette. A male and female portrait in subtle tones. Two fine pieces adding to the rich portfolio that the artist has to offer, and something a little different for the viewer.
Natural adventures 