Tag: Dean Lane

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.

 

 

2539. Dean Lane skate park (259)

Oh what a fabulous day – deep blue skies after what feels like a month of constant rain and a new Laic217 piece on the curved wall in Dean Lane – it just doesn’t get much better than this. Laic217 just keeps on doing it and with each piece his technique improves. This piece looks like it has been lifted straight off a sketchbook and the tones he gets in this greyscale piece are to be admired. The overall composition is really interesting and has some resemblance to a piece he painted on this wall in March last year with the words ‘Ice Ice Baby’.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

Making an appearance, a feature of so many street works, are some ‘Hello, my name is’ stickers. Now can somebody please tell me the significance of these – why do they appear so often? On these, one says Laic217, another says CortOne (one of his painting pals) and the third I’m not too sure about.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018

2534. Dean Lane skate park (258)

I was up at Dean Lane yesterday, and although this picture is from a while back, the little face by Mutatee is still there which is great news, because all too often installation pieces get vandalised or stolen.

Mutatee, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Mutatee, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

When I see this face it reminds me of the little toys of the 1970s called Gonks although with teeth, which I don’t think they had. I love these little curiosities that Mutatee has glued to various walls in Bristol, and I will continue to hunt them down. I do think that she needs to find a translucent glue though, as the white one used here is a little bit distracting. Always fun finding these.

2528. Dean Lane skate park (257)

Consistently out there and consistently upbeat Mr Draws continues to create his inspiring and light-hearted pieces wherever he can find space. I have just updated his gallery on Natural Adventures, and he really has been very busy over the last three years.

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

Mr Draws is quite unlike any of the other writers in Bristol and I would say that his style and fills are slightly unconventional. His lettering is reasonably straightforward, but the way he decorates his pieces is what brings them alive. In this piece I rather like the subtle shadow he has sprayed just to the left of the ‘D’ to lift it out from the wall a little. Nice technique.

2527. Dean Lane skate park (256)

There haven’t been nearly enough pieces by Hire in my view in the last twelve months or so. I like his unusual Gothic, almost brutal writing style that conjours up images of hardened steel weapons of the middle ages, or at least that’s what I see.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2019

On the curved wall of Dean Lane, this one I am guessing spells out HIRE, but I have to confess that I can’t see it, so it might say something else. Hoping for more from this fabulous writer and now that Nevergiveup has moved to Bath, we will need his menacing rabbits more thasn ever to keep us going.