Tag: Dean Lane

3321. Dean Lane skate park (366)

Technically first-class and exactly what you’d expect to see from Elvs, this is a lovely recent one in Dean Lane skate park. Although Elvs lives in Wales, he makes the trip over to Bristol on a remarkably regular basis and that can only be good for Bristolians.

Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020

I was going to write that this is classic Elvs, but I guess that pretty much every piece he paints is classic Elvs. That doesn’t mean to say he is a one-trick pony, far from it, but he does have a style and method that he tends to stick to. Horizontal fills in warm colours are broken up by fine detail lines in black at the top and white at the bottom. The 3D shadows are also horizontally split with black at the top and blue underneath. Same basic framework with innovative detail. Nice work from Elvs.

3307. Dean Lane skate park (365)

In have recently taken a couple of excursions into my archive (I have so much unposted material from earlier this year it is insane) and on one such search I found this lovely piece by Stivs at Dean Lane skatepark on the swimming pool wall.

Stivs, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 22020
Stivs, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 22020

At this particular spot, the high railings make taking front-on photographs rather tricky, but it is possible to get pictures from the side. This lovely piece from Stivs adopts his calligraphy style but in this case with fatter letters that have been filled with horizontal colour stripes and a silhouetted landscape/cityscape running through the middle. A very nice piece.

3304. Dean Lane skate park (364)

Always tight, always pretty near perfect. I can’t think of a Dibz piece that hasn’t been meticulous in both design and execution, and if there are any I’ve yet to see them. This is yet another superb piece from Dibz in Dean Lane (his favourite spot) from a week or two back.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020

In most cases, Dibz buffs the wall first to ensure there is a focus on his wildstyle writing. The day glow green and pink colours stand out on the blue wall, and the design is simply outstanding. Dibz is an artist with a plan and he paints his plan and he does it well. A fine work.

3296. Dean Lane skate park (363)

I haven’t seen a piece by Turoe for quite a while and I understand that his absence may be attributed to a recent illness. Whatever the cause of his absence he makes reference to it with the words ‘back from the dead’ at the bottom right hand side of the piece.

Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Turoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

Turoe has painted a reasonably uncomplicated piece although it has a real feel of a Slim Pickings TES piece, especially the two ovals at the start of the T and the fills drips and letter shading. Both artists belong to the No Frills crew so it is no surprise that their styles impact on one another. Welcome back Turoe.

3294. Dean Lane skate park (362)

Within street art circles, the digital social media network is a fairly crowded place, and a fair proportion of the pieces I photograph I have already seen on Instagram and I make a deliberate decision to go and find them. A smaller proportion of pieces I ‘discover’ all on my own and in a strange way this gives me rather more personal satisfaction. I suppose one solution would be to stop using social media (would probably be a good thing in the long run), but somehow these platforms lend themselves so well to the ephemeral nature of the art I love. I found this one without knowing of its existence and what a lovely surprise it was.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020

Soker has knocked it out of the park with this tight colourful and beautifully designed piece of graffiti writing in Dean Lane. The colours used with the letters complement each other so well whilst contrasting too – how does he achieve that? The whole thing simply oozes class, something I have said so many times when writing about Soker’s work. Classy work, classy artist.

3286. Dean Lane skate park (361)

Mr Draws has been turning out some really nice pieces recently and this one is a particularly colourful one. His work has a tendency not to last too long, probably an artefact of the walls he paints rather than any commentary on the quality of his work.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

In this piece, as usual, he spells out DRAW! and his fills are a colourful array of lines, spots, stars and squiggles. This is classic ‘make it up as you go along’ artwork and looks like it was fun to do. The streets of Bristol would be duller without Mr Draws.

3272. Dean Lane skate park (360)

Around the time of lock down when the streets were rather empty, some artists took the opportunity to hit walls hard, some others disappeared almost entirely… Soge was most certainly in the former category. The he went a bit quiet, and this newish piece in Dean Lane is the first I have seen for a month or two.

Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

One would normally associate Soge with his elaborate graffiti writing but he has been moving gently in the direction of character pieces (who can forget his lock down beavers?). This is an unusual and fun piece, clearly commenting on the coronavirus pandemic and our obsession with the news and ‘pandemic group behaviours’. The character looks like something out of Dungeons and Dragons and is really nicely painted and the green gives it a magical feel. A more than decent piece.

3268. Dean Lane skate park (359)

It seems that everywhere I look in Bristol I am coming across new pieces by Bristol newcomer Mudra, and a most pleasurable experience it is too. Incoming artists and new artists keep the whole scene nice and fresh and add to the extraordinary diversity of art in the city.

Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Mudra, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

When I first spotted this one in Dean Lane, I wasn’t too sure who it was by, and guessed it must be from a visiting artist, but then I saw the @ with a hat signature and the penny dropped that this was so obviously a Mudra piece. I guess the letters spelling Mudra and the signature ‘Mudra’ ought to have indicated who the artist was, but it is all about familiarity and context. The piece has some lovely colour combinations and unusual letter shapes. I reckon this would have made a superb 1970s album cover, it has that kind of feel about it. Great work and so much more to share with you.

3266. Dean Lane skate park (358)

Taboo has been busy again, this time with an uncharacteristically colourful piece in Dean Lane skate park. As with most Taboo pieces, this one is a graffiti writing and character combination and is certainly eye catching.

Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

The letters are unruly as always, not following any strict code of script, rather they appear to be crafted on-the-hoof in an organic creative outpouring. The colours and fills are to be admired and the whole thing is really rather attractive.

Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Taboo, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

Of course, the eye is drawn to the Popeye Character flipping open a tin of spinach, that rather surprisingly has spewed out a train, arcing over his head. What the f…? Whenever I look at pieces by Taboo, I am drawn into a deeply surreal place where anything is possible. This one is a classic.

3264. Dean Lane skate park (357)

It is truly great to see that Dibz and Shade One seem to be collaborating rather a lot at the moment, and they have absolutely knocked it out of the (skate) park with this recent piece in Dean Lane.

Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

The face is by Shade One and to me represents a great example of a crossover of old school/new school, and what I mean by that is that there are some lines, for example the eyebrows that are quite angular and remind me of old New York style graffiti characters, but the blue frame, bubbles and decoration are much more contemporary in style.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020

As ever the graffiti writing from Dibz is outstanding, and the sharp clean lines with a complex colour scheme so expertly done demonstrate clearly why Dibz is simply one of the best graffiti writers around. The red object to the right of the piece I believe is a butt plug (although I might be mistaken) and was not part of the original collaboration, unfortunately it doesn’t add much to the piece in my opinion, and is ever so slightly annoying.