4183. Dean Lane skate park (453)

There were so many original and interesting pieces that appeared during a Bristol Womxn Mural Collective Dean Lane paint jam back in November that I simply have to keep returning to my archive to dig them out to share.

Moonface, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Moonface, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

This Beauty was painted by Hana Moonface whose stunning illustrations can be viewed on her Instagram feed. The gold and black colours work well and there is a serenity in the face that is calming. Definitely an unusual piece to find in a spot more used to tags and throwups. Looking forward to seeing the collective at work again soon, perhaps in the spring.

4170. Dean Lane skate park (452)

Back to one of our regulars today, Mr Draws, who is having to compete much harder to make it into Natural Adventures than he did a couple of years back, simply because of the quantity and quality of street art and graffiti that is appearing in Bristol at the moment. It is a strong field.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

Notwithstanding this, Mr Draws has been ticking along very nicely and producing pieces with reasonable regularity. Recently he has been painting larger pieces on larger walls drawing out his letters. Always full of ideas and thinking of different ways to present his letters, Mr Draws is a central pillar of the Bristol scene.

4168. Dean Lane skate park (451)

Ok, ok, so Christmas was a little time ago now, but I am still so far behind with my posts that this delightful Christmas message from Pekoe in Dean Lane is coming to you a little later than I would have liked. The sentiment is still well-meant though and beautifully delivered.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

I didn’t see nearly as many Christmas pieces this year as I would have expected, so this was a sight for sore eyes. The portrait almost has a comic book look to it, especially with the speech bubble, and the dark colours used for the features add to that school of art. Something almost ‘Lictensteiny’ about it. The three TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) at the end of the Christmas message relate to three of the places Pekoe loves to paint. This piece was the cherry on the top of a very nice Christmas break.

4156. Dean Lane skate park (450)

Hire, an artist who I like very much, has been a little bit more active over the last month or so, which is great to see. This is a tribute piece in Dean Lane, which sat alongside one of his other recent works. I’m not too sure about the background to the tribute.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

Nice letters and colours combine to spell out DALLA in a rather subdued style, compared to Hire’s usual busy work. A very nice piece indeed.

4145. Dean Lane skate park (449)

This is a lovely door piece in Dean Lane from Laic217 that I am sure will make it into a Thursday Doors post sometime in the future. Featuring a masked spray painter, it is a striking and nicely worked piece that fits the space perfectly.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

This was the third in a quick-fire spate of Laic217 pieces, we may have to wait a short while for the next ones to come on line. In the meanwhile we can enjoy this fine work.

4137. Dean Lane skate park (448)

In recent months, there have been a lot of these ghoul character pieces appearing all over the place, and I feel that now is a good time to introduce them to Natural Adventures. The design, that has a Celtic knot look about it, is by Full Time Ghoul (FTG).

Full Time Ghoul, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Full Time Ghoul, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

The main concentration of FTG’s pieces are along the cycle path bordering the River Avon, and I look forward to sharing some of these with you in the New Year. Is this the ghost of Christmas past, present or yet to come I wonder? Or perhaps just a little bit of knotty ghoul fun.

Happy Christmas folks. I hope I will have a moment to post tomorrow, but Don’t hold your breath.

4134. Dean Lane skate park (447)

You can never rule out anything in the world of street/graffiti art, and to do so would be to suck the surprise and joy out of it all. I would never have predicted a Flava136/Mudra collaboration, and yet down in the Deaner we have a near-perfect mash-up from these two superb artists.

Flava136 and Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Flava136 and Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

This is a great example of a blended collaboration where it is difficult to be certain who painted what. There are of course the obvious bits that have all the hallmarks of the individual artists, but the bits in-between… A trained eye can tell them apart, but to most people you’d look at this piece and consider it to be by one artist.

Basically the central monster and smiley face are by Flava136, and the left and right hand elements (which spell out MUDRA (some creative imagination required)) are by Mudra. The whole thing is an absolute gem and I hopt that they will get together again sometime in the future.

4130. Dean Lane skate park (447)

Aah! The familiar shape and style of a Slim Pickings TES plastered big and bold on the Sally Army wall at Dean Lane skate park. Like several other artists in the city, Slim Pickings’ (Tes) work is a driving creative pulse, a regular heartbeat, that creates the foundations of a thriving street art culture in Bristol. Ever present and confident.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2021

This pink on yellow belter was painted over the rather nice portrait by Tao.create, illustrating how ephemeral the work of artists can be, especially in spots like this one. Lovely bubble-gum colours and drips, this is a great piece by Slim Pickings. Most unlike the artist, his pink fill is a little thin in places, and I can only think he was short of paint, because he is well known for his full and solid fills. Nice one.

4117. Dean Lane skate park (446)

Painted alongside Rozalita and 3F fino on the Sally Army wall at Dean Lane skate park, this striking portrait is by Tao.create. I have only seen a handful of pieces by the artist and I have liked what I have seen so far, but this is the best yet and introduces her work to a larger and more engaged audience.

Tao.create, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Tao.create, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

The bright portraits demands to be looked at and is big, bold and colourful. Some elements are better painted than others, the hair is very nicely done, and some of the features more developed than others (for example the nose has more work and detail than the mouth). I would like to think that Tao.create will continue to develop her obvious skills and follow in the footsteps of other Bristol portrait artists such as Pekoe and Hazard. Definitely one to look out for.

4114. Dean Lane skate park (445)

It is thrilling to see so many female artists hitting the streets through paint jams organised by the Bristol Womxn Mural Collective, and last month’s session in Dean Lane skate park were particularly productive, including this gorgeous fox mural by Urban Fay (Natasha Fay Watson).

Urban Fay, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Urban Fay, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

I’m not too sure I have posted anything by Urban Fay before, so this fox, a creature so closely associated with Bristol, is a perfect start. The decaying animal reminds us of the circle of life, and there is a lovely bit of narrative from the artist on this:

What wondrous blessings each morning’s sunrise brings us. The cycle goes on.