3734. Dean Lane skate park (419)

There are two or three artists vying for top spot as the most productive artist in Bristol at the moment, and possibly leading the field is Turoe with his combined TUROE and SHYTE pieces cropping up just about everywhere around the city.

Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

This piece at Dean Lane is from back in April, but I managed to retrieve it from my archives on the last trawl through that I did. Spelling TUROK the piece is very clean and tight, in fact everything you’d expect from this very experienced writer. The letters are great and the two colour shading is nicely done with a few rather nice drips about the place. The yellow splatter in my view could have been a little bit brighter to give more impact, but I am nit-picking. Quality stuff.

3720.Dean Lane skate park (419)

It would seem that Laic217 has found some rhythm to his street work and is painting more regularly no than he was for much of the winter. This portrait of a rather gaunt character is tucked away on the swimming pool wall at Dean Lane, and is modest by Laic217’s standards.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

There are some familiar elements in this character piece, but it does seem to mark a departure from skulls and skeletons continuing from his last Dean Lane character. Smoking and an exaggerated mouth gives this character a bit of a menacing look. All good stuff though.

3717. Dean Lane skate park (418)

Although we don’t see too much of Hire these days, what we do see is of the highest quality. I am really enjoying Hire’s relatively recent reinvention pieces like this one in which he writes the word ODIAH

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

This beautifully presented piece incorporates some of the jagged elements of Hire’s customary style but softens them into a rather more conventional writing style. The colours are nicely selected and the grading of fill from light to dark is masterful. A really nice piece.

3702. Dean Lane skate park (417)

I fully expect that these foxes by Nebeldac will become a reasonably regular feature of Natural Adventures, although some of the ‘rougher’ ones might get swept up into a compilation.

Nebeldac, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Nebeldac, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

This chrome fox appeared in Dean Lane a couple of weeks back and is really rather cool, making the most of a rare day of sunshine in what has been a very wet and miserable Ma. Nice to see the foxes appearing all over the place.

3695. Dean Lane skate park (416)

Even the quick pieces by Laic217 are rewarding, and this one is really rather nice, slapped alongside the fabulous Dibz ‘from up above’ piece. Both look destined to hang around for quite some time as scaffolding has gone up on the two skate park elevations of this building which I believe is going to be turned into a hostel. The pop up businesses will all have cleared out of the space by tomorrow and I guess development will begin after that.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

This monochrome character, although rather emaciated, breaks the mould from the skeletons we are so much more used to recently, but of course many of the older Laic217 pieces weren’t skeletons, so there is nothing too unusual in this piece. A nice quick one for all the Laic217 fans.

3691. Dean Lane skate park (415)

When I saw this piece I heard a voice in my head shouting out the word aaciiid! In that rather annoying 1980s way, if you know what I mean. This is a lovely piece from Mr Draws in Dean Lane in which he uses letters other than his customary DRAW. Good to see.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

I think that this is a beautifully executed piece with a good solid wall wash, great colour selections and some nice decorations in the form of blue horizontal lines with darker blue shadows. A tight piece from the Bristol stalwart.

3688. Dean Lane skate park (414)

I can’t be a hundred percent certain whether this was a collaboration or simply two pieces that had been painted adjacent to one another, but the black background leads me to believe it is the former.

Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

On the left is another wonderful piece from Flava136 painted on a recent visit to Bristol from his native Cheltenham/Stroud kind of area. It is an absolute scorcher with a lot of complex things going on in the fills and shadings of the goofy monster. Lovely precise work.

Veks, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Veks, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

To the right of the curved wall is a rather nice chrome set of letters spelling out VEK with a fine blue and green border, reflecting the colours of the 2DAE piece at the top of the wall, which I don’t think is a part of the collaboration, although I wouldn’t swear to it. Veks is having a bit of a busy time at the moment. I wonder how much all of these artists will be getting out once we resume a more ‘normal’ pre-Covid situation.

3685. Dean Lane skate park (413)

The phrases ‘it’s the early bird that catches the worm‘ or ‘you snooze, you lose‘ both come to mind in respect of this wonderful new piece from Pekoe. I had seen the piece posted on Instagram and said to myself that I would head on down to Dean Lane the next day to photograph it. How was I to know that a whole ton of scaffolding would appear overnight to obscure the portrait? D’oh!

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

I think I have just about managed to get away with a reasonable capture of this fine ‘third eye’ piece from Pekoe. There are definitely some new techniques coming to the fore in her work at the moment, most notably the dotted outline cheeks, chin and nose. Once again the use of bold colours guarantees that this piece stands out from the crowd.

3684. Dean Lane skate park (412)

Wow, another epic piece from four of Bristol’s brightest young artists, Nugmoose, Sage, Slakarts and Mudra. I’m not too sure that this lot have a crew name sorted out, but it is definitely time they got their act together.

Nugmoose, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Nugmoose, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

First up is another bold and unusual alien piece from Nugmoose in which there is something mysterious going on with the roots of a plant entering the character’s ear via a jar with alien writing on it. Imaginative and creative.

Sage and Slakarts, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Sage and Slakarts, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

In the middle of the collaboration is some lovely writing from Sage adjacent to something rather different from Slakarts. The cartoon-style character resembles a farmer Giles type with a piece of grass dangling from his mouth – more creative stuff.

Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

Finally, the collaboration is rounded off with a delicious blend of writing with a character incorporated into it from Mudra. The eclectic shapes and sizes of letters spell out MUDRA encompassing a Freddie Mercuryesque character complete with moustache and specs. He signs off with his customary @ symbol.

This is a truly creative collaboration from a really decent group of lads, and I can’t wait to see more from them as the year unfolds.

3660. Dean Lane skate park (411)

Ticking over quite nicely and occasionally reminding us he is still out there is Hire with this rather rich BF piece. I believe BF is Hire’s crew name as his Instagram account is @hireonebf although I am not too sure what the letters stand for.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

What appears to be rather different about this piece from his normal fare is the inclusion of a 3D shadow which really isn’t in his regular repertoire. It is a nice tidy piece, and I guess one directed as much at the crew as at the Dean Lane audience. A hardy perennial and one I wouldn’t be without.