2644. Dean Lane skate park (268)

I am seeing more and more work by Dasco, but I think I have only ever posted one piece by this artist before. I have quite a few in my archive, and I think I’ll have to dig them out and post them, because pretty much everything I have seen is really very good. I think that my lack of Dasco posts is basically down to knowing nothing at all about the artist.

Dasco, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019
Dasco, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019

This particular recent piece of graffiti writing from Dasco in Dean Lane is absolutely masterful. The more I look at and study it the better it seems to get. Using the tried and tested black, white and red colour combination (Decay would approve) Dasco has crafted a beautiful and stylish font, elaborate and fancy without being precious. I need to find out more about this great graffiti writer.

Dasco, Deal Lane, Bristol, August 2019
Dasco, Deal Lane, Bristol, August 2019

2634. Dean Lane skate park (267)

This is a recent piece from Hire in Dean Lane which appears to have been dogged with some green paint in the middle. The curious thing is that it is the same colour paint as that used in the background. I can only summise that the splodge was either self-inflicted or done by a passer-by who used the discarded can – either way it is a pity.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019

I like Hire’s work, it has such a distinctive Gothic style and is quite unlike ahy other graffiti writing in Bristol. Although I haven’t seen him for a long time, Hire is a quiet, unassuming and decent artist who has always stopped for a chat. Looking forward to more in 2020.

2630. Dean Lane skate park (266)

There is something about the work of Elvs that I find rather compelling. His letters are so very distinct and always easy to identify. I love what he has done in this piece, using a little spaceship to create a ray of light over his writing and offer the opportunity to show off two discrete colour variants, one within the arc of light and the other outside it.

Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2019

The piece is really clever and I’m not sure I have seen this kind of idea on a wall very often. As always, Elvs has turned out some really tight graffiti writing that speaks volumes to his great talent.

2608. Dean Lane skate park (265)

Well, so long as Slim Pickings keeps churning out his magnificent TES pieces, I’ll continue to post them. As always his work is clean, sharp and he has some decent colour selections although I fear there might be just a little bit too much contrast between the letter colours and the green and yellow background.

Slim Pickings (Tes), Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2019
Slim Pickings (Tes), Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2019

I have a great many pieces by Slim Pickings in my archive and I’m just waiting for a lean period to publish them (the chance would be a fine thing). More to come in due course – maybe I feel a gallery coming on…

 

 

2596. Upfest 2018 (167)

This extraordinary piece at Upfest 2018 wasn’t actually an official piece, but one of those ‘extras’ that we get in Dean Lane from visiting artists who didn’t get an Upfest pitch. I have tried to find out a little bit about the artist, but haven’t had much success. I found Mowcka’s website, but the ‘About’ section is beautifully lyrical and mysterious, but evasive and I expect that is the whole point.

Mowcka, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Mowcka, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

I am troubled that on this day I managed to get water on my lens and didn’t check it or discover it until I uploaded the photographs. The result is presentationally disappointing, but the artwork magnificent. There is something very ‘mother Earth’ about these characters and a fair amount of symbolism going on too.

2589. Dean Lane skate park (264)

Another nice piece from the archive, this time from the brilliant Hire. I managed to snap this piece just as it was being overwritten, so kind of got lucky. You can see the outline of the piece that went over it.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019

I think that Hire is probably one of the overlooked heroes of the Bristol street art scene and his work is always on point. His gothic style is his trademark, and we mustn’t forget his rabbits that were being painted in Bristol before the arrival of his compatriot Nevergiveup. These letters, skilfully filled with black and yellow spell out HIRE… I think. A great Deaner piece.

2567. Dean Lane skate park (263)

When I saw this little collaboration from Tasha Bee and Stupid Stupid Meathole, my first thought was that it looked a bit old and weathered, and I wondered if I might have overlooked it on previous visits to Dean Lane… in other words I have absolutely no idea when it was painted.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

The collaboration is bookended with two beautiful faces from Tasha Bee and filled with what looks like the word ‘meat’. These two have collaborated before in the past, but not for some time. In fact I don’t recall seeing much from Stupid Stupid Meathole for quite a long while.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

I’ll always have time for Tasha Bees stylised faces and am equally fond of SSM’s rather grotesque figures. This piece of writing though is quite uncharacteristic because there is lots of colour, not just the single pink SSM usually uses. A nice low-key collaboration.

Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

2553. Dean Lane skate park (262)

One of the things I love about going through my archives is that I get to re-visit a whole bunch of gems that for one reason or another I didn’t publish at the time – often because I operate with a monumental backlog. I reckon that for every piece I post on Natural Adventures there must be five or six that never see the light of day.

Slakarts, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018
Slakarts, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018

This overlooked and yet utterly wonderful piece is by Slakarts and was painted in Dean Lane back in January last year. His trademark stylised faces are always recognisable and he seems to favour a soft or gentle colour palette. This face has been adorned with plenty of little decorations and some nice painted drips. More in my archives to come.

2544. Dean Lane skate park (261)

Recently there has been a little bit of an increase in the number and variety of wheatpastes that have been appearing in Bristol from a few different artists. This, of course, pleases me because I am very fond of this form of street art.

Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

This couple of paste ups by Georgie are quite small and hidden away and could easily be overlooked, but they are little gems. The print shows a heart being set upon by a group of ants, set on a dotted background. One in in pink base colours, the other in blue.

Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Georgie, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

Georgie is a wonderfully talented artist who works in a range of different media and is equally happy with studio or street work. There are more paste ups from Georgie to come soon, so watch this space. Great stuff, and fun to find.

2542. Dean Lane skate park (260)

Slim Pickings (a name for this artist I got from I know not where) or Tes has consistently turned out pieces (most of them in Dean Lane) this year each to a really high standard as one would expect from this perfectionist. Over the year there have been subtle changes to his general design that keep his work interesting and alive.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

These letters have been painted over another piece which sadly I missed, as it looks rather unusual with Mc Scrooge or whatever his name is sitting in an arm chair. Slim Pickings’ piece once again demonstrates his great talent for finding the right colour combinations to bring out the best in his work. I’ll be interested to see how much he changes his standard letters over time.