Tag: Dean Lane

3968. Cumberland Basin

Brace yourselves for some more wonderful pieces by Maybe, which although this post is titled Cumberland Basin, actually come from three different spots in Bristol. The feature image was the first piece that I found from Maybe that wasn’t under Brunel way, but was posted on a column on the north bank of Cumberland Basin.

Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021
Maybe, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2021

This first piece has two face balloons whose strings are lovingly intertwined as they drift off into a galactic scene. It is also a dreadful photograph and slightly out of focus. My camera is getting a bit goofed up and I think I will be replacing it fairly soon.

Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021
Maybe, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021

The second piece was in Dean Lane skate park on one of the ramps and it is the only one I have seen there to date. Here a face looks on as a hand picks out a star, once again on a galactic background. There is a calmness and serenity about most of Maybe’s pieces that makes them really accessible for all to enjoy.

Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2021
Maybe, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2021

The final piece from this group was from Brunel Way, where most of his pieces have been painted, and this one features another face and hand combination, where the hand is actually another face. All of this curiousness is set on a stunning Red Sea and red sunset. A true beauty. We have come to a point where expectations of his work are getting higher and higher, because his pieces are getting better and better.

3963. Dean Lane skate park (430)

I came quite late to posting pieces by Bnie, not for any reason, I don’t know why. Perhaps I sometimes hold back until I know a little bit more about the artist, or perhaps their work grows on me. Anyhow, I am trying to make up for it now and will post her work as often as I can and if I find any in my archive searches will post them too. Last week, I posted a Bnie gallery and hope that she is now better represented in Natural Adventures.

Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Bnie, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021

This piece, on an awkward little bit of wall in Dean Lane skate park, is nicely pulled together with great colour fills, smiley mouth and heart on top of the ‘i’. Always reliable and always upbeat, Bnie’s work is greatly valued and enjoyed.

3957. Dean Lane skate park (429)

This is another wonderful piece by Flava136 in what has been the latest in a sequence of very welcome visits to Bristol recently. The photograph not only features the outstanding work of the artist, but also a couple of bags of rubbish. Now I am all for people tidying up this grubby corner of the skate park, but not finishing the job by taking the rubbish away and simply abandoning the rubbish bags (spoiling my pictures) is a bit useless really. There are bins not more than 30m away from this spot.

Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021

The superb work of Flava136 is the most overt writing I have noticed in his work before, such is the cryptic nature of his style. Clearly you can see an F, an L and an A, after that I think that there is a V in the monster’s teeth and an A at the end, with a little H inside it (maybe). Great to look at and so damn neat and tidy (contrasting with the bin bags).

3955. Dean Lane skate park (428)

I had a great chat with Nightwayss while he was painting this piece, and for a change, the dog wasn’t spooked and sat quietly while we chewed the fat. What I didn’t realise at the time, and I blame my dumbness entirely, was that this piece was being painted as part of PWA paint jam alongside Zake, Face 1st and Soap. Zake was also painting, but Face 1st and Soap were sitting on a slope watching the others paint. Stupid me didn’t recognise them, and although I spoke to them, It has been such a long time since I last saw them and I thought they were strangers. They must have thought I was being very rude not saying hi like I normally would with acquaintances.

Nightwayss, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Nightwayss, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021

Nightwayss has found a rich vein of form at the moment, not only in the frequency with which he has been painting but also with stretching his creativity. In this piece, Nightwayss has written Night in a very stylish anamorphic graffiti style, with some lovely shading. To the left is one of his lovely monkeys, which these days is not a given in every piece he paints. Fine work from a lovely, decent bloke.

3944. Dean Lane skate park (427)

Another Dibz piece in one of his favourite spots. This is a magnificent piece of graffiti writing, made all the better with the appearance of a little Marvin the Martian character, adding interest. Marvin the Martian is a bit of a favourite with street artists and has made several appearances on Natural Adventures in the past.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2021

The colours of the letters are sublime, and the explosive oranges and reds around the border work so well. The Marvin the Martian character seems to have a wonderful 3D quality about him, not a straightforward flat cartoon that you might expect. This is a highly accomplished and stunning piece of writing from the master.

Deamze, Hill Street, Bristol, October 2018
Deamze, Hill Street, Bristol, October 2018
Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Elvs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2020
Dtor, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
Dtor, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020

3919. Dean Lane skate park (426)

It is a very good thing indeed that Flava136 has decided to visit Bristol several times recently, and long may it last – perhaps he should move here, that would be nice. His work is some of the cleanest you could hope to see, and by that I mean that everything, from the Emulsion backdrop to all the elements in his work are left with clean lines. There are no border lines tidying up little blemishes. Everything is perfectly painted, and this takes a lot of skill and patience.

Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
Flava136, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

The customary monster, with big teeth, is joined by a green smiley and decorated with all sorts of shapes, lines and colour schemes. The truth being tyold, I don’t think I can get enough of his pieces, each one being turned out immaculately. I don’t think I have seen a scrappy piece from the artist, ever. Superb piece, and more to come.

3914. Dean Lane skate park (425)

For the last year or so, there has been absolutely no stopping Dibz. I don’t know what happened (apart from the obvious pandemic impacts), but his occasional, sometimes rare, appearances turned into something approaching weekly. Of course this is simply great news for those of us who like his work.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

There are several key hints that help to identify Dibz’ work and this piece illustrates them nicely. He usually preps his wall nicely so that everything is neat and tidy. The overall form of his writing is diamond shaped, starting and ending small with a fatter middle. His wildstyle letters usually spell out DIBZ but this can be tricky to make out sometimes. He usually adds depth to his letters with a well worked 3D shadow without a border.

So beautifully turned out, this piece is an archetypal Dibz work. Utterly brilliant.

3910. Dean Lane skate park (424)

There are times when you get lucky, right? And I got so lucky with this early evening ‘dog walk’ in Bedminster and Dean Lane in particular, as SkyHigh was just finishing off this remarkable block graffiti writing piece, that he is so well known for.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

I don’t know what we in Bristol have done to deserve this, but this is the second visit by SkyHigh in as many months. We chatted for a while, as he tidied up the piece and it became blindingly obvious that I was in the presence of a perfectionist. Every small blemish was addressed and made good.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

The block letters have become second nature for the artist and he makes what looks terribly complicated, simple… he paints with the confidence and ease of someone at the top of their game. I love the inclusion of the ‘Hello my name is’ sticker in the letter ‘I’, a common icon in street art. Another stunner from the London artist.

3883. Dean Lane skate park (424)

I tend to know what I expect to see from Dibz, so it always comes as a bit of a surprise when he turns out something different, and this was one such surprise from a week or two back at Dean Lane.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2021

The style of the piece might be rather different from the usual fare, but the quality is up with his customary high standard. The desert island scene is cleverly thought out with both day and night views captured inside and outside the DIBZ lettering respectively. Clean, tidy and dreaming of holidays. Soon a time will come when we can put our dreams aside and achieve our heart’s desire, soon.

3873. Upfest 2021 75×75 (40)

This is such a wonderful piece on one of the most tricky walls to photograph in Bedminster (and there are a great many of them), but SkyHigh has worked with it rather than against it, and told me all about it when I met him while painting it.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2021, Upfest 21

The wall is in front of a little green which has been planted with trees, so photographing the full wall can only be achieved from the sides or through the trees. Taking this into account, SkyHigh has introduced a woodland scene as a backdrop and added a beautiful Bristol fox.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

The block letters spell out SKYHIGH and are painted in a vibrant blue colour that contrasts brilliantly with the woodland greens and browns.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

The whole scene might be a little more visible in the winter when the young trees have shed their leaves. I don’t think it really matters though because of the way the artist has approached the piece and incorporated the trees as part of the overall effect.

SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21
SkyHigh, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021, Upfest 21

SkyHigh is a highly skilled artist and demonstrates this with the stunning fox portrait to the right hand side of the piece, one of the best street art foxes I have seen. SkyHigh is always, always welcome in Bristol.