It looks like Zake has been taken under the wing of PWA (Pirate Wall Art crew) recently, at least he seems to be painting a lot alongside Face 1st, Soap and Nightwayss. This is a superb and fun collaboration between Face 1st, Soap and Zake, and plays to their collective strengths.
Soap, Face 1st and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
I like this collaboration, because it is a merger of all three artists, with the outer two smiling girls from Face 1st, the laughing scull/mouths from Soap and the jolly centrepiece from Zake. All of these characters set on a boiling bubble splash of orange, red and pink. A joyful and fun collaboration, which I don’t think lasted too long – nothing much does on this wall these days.
On the big wall at Dean Lane is this wonderful collaborative piece from Etza and Chill, which absolutely demands to be looked at, there is no chance of passing it and not noticing it.
Etza, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
The bright pink background is the perfect setting for the black and white characters. On the left is a piece by Etza, whose work I’ve not come across before. It will not surprise you to know that both of these artists are tattooists, and it shines through in these pieces. The skull design with a frog perched on top is beautifully worked, and a great advert for Etza’s skilful work.
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
To the right is a stunner from Chill, whose work I have recently featured on Natural Adventures a couple of times. The cartoon man looks like he has just been lifted from a kid’s comic of the 1970s and is full of character and fine detail. A magnificent piece.
This collaboration falls into that category where adjacent pieces have adopted the same colour scheme but each is a separate design, particular to the artist that painted it. Great to see, and just about still there when I looked yesterday.
Regular readers of Natural Adventures will know that I am really enjoying the work of Maybe . His small murals are improving all the time and he is starting to make his mark in spots all over Bristol, spreading out from his ‘safe space’ under Brunel Way.
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
This first piece on a ramp at Dean Lane skate park might just be my favourite yet from Maybe. The colours are superb, and the blends from dark to light in each colour tone are exceptional. Calm and pleasing, it has the appearance of an Eastern European children’s cartoon that were so much a thing in the 1970s and 1980s about it.
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
The other two pieces in Dean Lane are small Yin and Yang badges composed of interlocking faces, which is the ‘trademark’ of Maybe. Some really great creative stuff here, and he just keeps on producing.
I posted a piece by Biers last week, that was actually painted after this one in Dean Lane, both representing a bit of a come back from this No Frills artist. Thanks to Paul H, I now know that Biers is writing WD40, it would have taken me a long time to work that out on my own.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
This piece comes with a little bit of text saying: “I can’t wait to feel the weight of nothing on my shoulders” – a message that certainly chimes for me. The letters/character combination is tight as always, and the ‘0’ lends itself to all sorts of character opportunities which Biers has grabbed in this instance. It is so good to see his work appearing again.
` There is something rather nice about finding Tuco pieces. They don’t appear all that often and never seem to hang around for too long, often on account of the fact that the walls he chooses to paint have a high turnover.
Tuco, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
I love this picture. A deep blue sky, one of my favourite walls, a nicely buffed grey background and the bright ‘Tuco-green’ he seems to favour, shouting out TUCO! Nothing pretentious or showy, just a banging shout. The smiley just rounds off the whole thing perfectly. More of your joy please Tuco.
Life is full of nice surprises, and this was certainly one of them. Every once in a while, Xenz pays a visit to Bristol and leaves behind some exquisite artwork. I found this one on my ’rounds’ a week or two back and was extra pleased because I hadn’t seen in on social media, and it must have been pretty new.
Xenz, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
Xenz specialises in creating fantasy pieces that portray those ‘sunlit uplands’ we hear so much about from our useless government. This piece of clever writing, spelling XENZ features classical buildings, statues and gardens perched on walls and hillsides, set in a pink, otherworldly landscape/cloudscape. Inspirational excellence from Xenz.
Although rather small and modest in scope, this little collaboration is very significant in the history of street art in Bristol. Veee, an artist from Weston-super-Mare and Stinkfish joined forces to bomb a couple of walls at the tail end of a trip that Stinkfish had made to the city. A crowd-funded project had brought the artist back to Bristol to tidy up a couple of iconic pieces he painted here some years ago.
Veee and Stinkfish, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2021
I had actually met the artists very briefly as they sprayed a wall in Dean Lane – unfortunately, when I returned a day later their work had been over-painted, so I only have this WIP shot. It was great to meet Stinkfish, in particular, because of his global reputation – he is a street art rock star, no doubt about it.
Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
The St Werburghs piece by Stinkfish is similar to the Dean Lane one, and it is like a mega tag. I wonder how many people know who it is by. It is interesting that Stinkfish would want to spray these little anonymous pieces about the place, but then again, I guess that is all part of the fun of spray-painting. There is another one of these that I will share soon, and of course I have to go and photograph the two renovations too.
Veee seems to be making quite a big noise at the moment, and I know that there will be plenty more pieces from him in Natural Adventures before long.
Vee and Stinkfish, St Werburghs, Bristol, October 2021
Hot on the tail of his first piece on Natural Adventures, I am pleased to bring you this second one from last month. Of course, there are a whole ton of his pieces in my archives, but it will take me a little while to unearth them all.
Dopes, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Dopes seems to favour these large letters with chrome or other bold solid fills and accent highlights and the overall effect is a good one. I know he takes care with his work, and it is clear to see from the sharp and clean lines that he is really conscientious about his work. Lots more to come.
I have a feeling that this fine little collaboration by Spanish duo Zake and Varo was painted on or around the Dean Lane Hardcore (DLH) event a couple of weeks ago. It is especially noteworthy because although Zake has been painting a lot recently, Varo has been on the rather quiet side for some time.
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
The face is obviously by Zake and yet another fantastic piece in his expanding repertoire. Once again, the piece is given a 3D appearance by some clever colour schemes, shading and highlighting, which is something of a speciality for Zake. The character has a thought bubble with the words ‘SK8 or Die’, which is definitely playing to the right audience in this spot.
Varo, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Varo’s graffiti writing is altogether something different. He definitely favours these large blocky letters spelling out VARO, and with this artist, less is definitely more. He doesn’t go for intricate, swirly or patterned fills, but just keeps things simple. I love the turquoise middles to his letters that with some clever shading appear to hover above the letters. Good stuff – and as a bonus you get to see my dog’s rear end.
Although I have photographed many pieces by Dopes over the years, I can’t recall ever posting any of them, which is a pity really, because he is a very skilled graffiti writer who has collaborated with other artists (largely from RAW) whose pieces have made it into Natural Adventures. Time to make amends.
Dopes, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
While I was photographing this piece, Dopes was actually watching on, unbeknown to me, and eventually he self-disclosed that he was the artist and we struck up a conversation. He was fretting a bit over the colours and some of the detail and was wondering whether to come back and make some small adjustments. I love it that some writers are such perfectionists, for example Rusk is another, that they agonise over a piece even after they have finished it. The lettering in this chrome piece is nicely accompanied by the blue borders and gaps, and the pink dashes just set the piece off really well. More to come from Dopes, and a few forays into my archive are likely.
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