The curved wall in Dean Lane skatepark has been getting a lot of action lately and this pink blobby piece by Stupid Stupid Meathole only lasted a few days before being replaced by Inkie (see next post).
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
I have always rather enjoyed the faintly grotesque nature of Stupid Stupid Meathole’s work, and this piece with three eyes staring out of it is itself overwritten by the same artist with a little throw up saying ‘Hole’. I’m not certain that many people will have seen this piece, so it is just as well that I got there to record it for posterity.
What a fabulous piece this is by Rusk. I don’t tend to associate his work with character pieces, but this burner/character combo is a real winner. I never read any of the Garfield cartoons, but certainly know who he is, and this lazy cat is brilliantly suspended in the ‘U’ of Rusk.
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
The writing, as you would expect from Rusk is absolutely first class and the colour combinations absolutely perfect. That red is ‘to die for’. This piece was painted alongside an excellent Rezwonk piece (to follow) a couple of weeks back. Really great piece.
Elvs is a fine wildstyle writer from Wales, although I don’t know if he lives in Bristol or in Wales, but he tends to do several pieces every year in the popular Bristol graffiti spots. This is one of at least two pieces he did during May this year (more on his other one soon) and it really shows mastery of his elaborate ‘tag’, which remains broadly similar in shape from wall to wall.
Elvs, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
This piece is characteristically clean and sharp, with three lovely horizontal layers of pink acting as a backdrop to the detailing in black that makes this so obviously an Elvs piece. I’m not certain what the Japanese writing says, but I do know that it is in the Katakana form. It might say HiSoKu. I’ve noticed that Elvs quite often has this Japanese influence in his pieces. I’ll have to ask him to elaborate next time I see him.
Strictly speaking this is not actually Dean Lane skate park, but is actually a Dental surgery on the corner where North Street and Dean Lane meet, it is however, adjacent to the skate park. Over the last year or two this whole wall has become progressively grubby as taggers started a job that then moved on to rather useless throw ups. Something had to be done.
Ali Hamish Campbel and Nina Raines, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
I was down at the Deaner a couple of weeks ago and was lucky enough to run into Nina Raines and Ali Hamish Campbell who were just finishing off this fun commission for the dental surgery. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of what it looked like before, but this is a dramatic improvement, and just demonstrates how uplifting great street art can be.
Ali Hamish Campbel and Nina Raines, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
Nina told me that she designed the piece (she is a scenic artist) and the pair of them collaborated to paint it, Nina drawing on Ali’s experience of using spray paint. Overall this is a really nice commission, and hats off to the dental practice for making it happen. A win-win situation.
Earlier on this month, this fabulous Disney Robin Hood piece appeared in Dean Lane. I would have posted it sooner because it is a really classy work, but it has taken me a little while to uncover the artist. I would guess that I could probably identify about half of all the street/graffiti art I see in Bristol, which sounds good until you turn it around… I struggle with about half of it. Instagram and Google searches are my most valuable tools in finding out more about ‘unknown’ pieces, and in fact one of the reasons I started doing these posts is to help others facing the same difficulties and who simply want to know more. This I can confidently say is by Warp.
Warp, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
Warp, also known as Sam Giles Art and Design, is an artist whose work I haven’t consciously registered before, but whose name I am familiar with through Facebook. He works in Devon and Bristol and is a self-taught graffiti artist and designer. I think the letters here spell out SEBA and the whole piece is nicely executed with King John and Sir Hiss bookending the whole thing. Nice fun piece – I look forward to seeing more.
When you see a piece like this in blue tones with a dash of white and it is so incredibly clean and tight, you can only stand back in wonder and admire the extraordinary talent of Bristol’s Cheo.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2019
Cheo usually paints character pieces, and I don’t think there is anyone better at creating this cartoon style anywhere in the country. Every line and shadow is immaculate and skilfully laid down. As always he has marked the piece with his signature bee. This was a lovely surprise piece to find in Dean Lane and is another little reminder of the world class street art scene in Bristol.
Painting collectively as Reseau, this is a magnificent and wonderfully colourful collaboration between Stupid Stupid Meathole, Panskaribas and Rory MacRaild, on a wall that has seen so much action over the years in Dean Lane but rarely three artists at one time.
On the left and right of the piece, Stupid Stupid Meathole gives us some writing which deviates a little from his customary all pink to include blue and green letters. On the right he has squeezed in some of his grotesque teeth… because he can.
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Then in the top left and across to the right, Panskaribas delights us with his cartoonesque style. The character on the left appears to be using a record deck and I have noticed that music seems to feature a great deal in his work.
Panskaribas, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Finally, in the centre of the collaboration I am realy pleased to intoduce Rory MacRaild whose work I have not knowingly seen before. I think he has absolutely smashed it with this Picassoesque portrait. It really ticks all my bokes, it is interesting bright and colourful and beautifully executed.
Rory MacRaild, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
The whole collaboration is like being in a gallery. It is a meeting of styles that kind of works, and It seems that SSM and Panskaribas enjoy working together as I have seen a few collaborative pieces by them now. Great piece that has lasted a little while. Respect.
Just to prove that he is not a one-trick-pony (which he absolutely isn’t) here is a non-rabbit piece by Nevergiveup in Dean Lane. This is a nicely thought out piece with great colours and elements in it and it is so very easy on the eye. The first thought I get is that it looks a bit brand-like and would work very nicely on a beer mat (do they still exist?).
Nevergiveup, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
The letters ZBOK I think are a crew or something similar that Nevergiveup and some other Polish artists use. It translates as pervert or deviant… not an entirely unexpected word for an art form that is edgy and rebellious. I guess there is something a little paradoxical about such a nice design for the word zbok. Great piece by Nevergiveup, just a shame I didn’t get there when it was clean.
This is the second No Frills collaboration in Dean Lane in a month or so from Slim Pickings and Biers, which is nicely set on a black background with a Day-Glo green/yellow ‘cloud’.
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
On the left is the Biers piece that features a cartoon scientist, whose test tube is bubbling over with the luminous green/yellow stuff. After a little Googling I found out that the scientist is Professor Utonium from the Powerpuff Girls – a cartoon series that completely passed me by. I’m not sure what the writing in this one says, he seems to write something different each time now, which is great.
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
Slim Pickings on the other hand remains utterly consistent with his design and the letters TES. I guess that for him he seeks to perfect something he is familiar with, and although the design remains the same, the colour selections and one or two little inclusions vary it and continue to hold interest. Another great collabortaion from these two.
Rounding up on the flying visit to Bristol by Spanish duo Rama and Largo I am posting this urban scene by Largo in Dean Lane. This is an unusual piece which is actually very nicely done indeed. A street scene almost Lowry-esque in its depiction and aspect, lacking only the matchstick people.
Largo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2019
I love the detail of the wall running through the piece with graffiti on it, a story within a story, and the bus shelter is a great addition to the piece. It is a pity these two were only over for a short trip, because I think their work adds an unfamiliar dimension to the Bristol scene. Regular readers will know how much I enjoy it when visitors come to town and this is precisely why. Come back soon.
