It is always nice to go to a regular haunt, in this case Dean Lane, and find something completely unexpected. It feels like getting a present or something like that and on this occasion the treat was from Cheo. I especially like this because Cheo can pretty much choose any wall he likes but will still come back to Deaner and slap up a high quality piece.
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
All the elements you would expect from Cheo – crystal clean lines, solid fills and clever shadows on a character brandishing a spracan all topped off with a trademark bee. A nice treat on a lunchtime walk.
A fabulous piece by one of Bristol’s finest graffiti writers, with a little addition by 3Dom, who seems to be rather busy on the streets just now. I got rather lucky with this piece, because I saw Soker just as he was sketching the piece out, over the top of a Mr Draws piece I had come to look at. I then had to go, and took a break for a week away on holiday. Luckily the piece was fully intact and untouched when I got back – respect to those taggers who decided to leave this one alone.
Soker and 3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
Soker is on something of a roll this summer, and his work appears to be as popular as ever. I posted his Simpsons Upfest piece on my Instagram account and it received more likes than any other piece I have ever posted by a factor of about 3.
Soker and 3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
I love the colour selections he has made for this piece, the blue and purple contrasting brilliantly with the chrome writing. There is so much to like here, and even if you are not a fan of burners and writing, surely this must generate some excitement – the quality shines through.
Soker and 3Dom, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
The whole thing is capped off briliantly by the addition of a face to the letter ‘O’ by 3Dom, bringing the whole thing alive and giving it incredible personality. The face almost looks like a transfer that has been rubbed onto the writing. A quality collaboration. Bravo.
I have said many times on this blog that I really don’t like to write a post about a piece unless I know who the artist is. Occasionally I make exceptions, usually when I rather like the piece and probably have no way of ever identifying its creator. This is one such example.
Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
This is a wonderfully cryptic wildstyle piece…so cryptic indeed that I cannot decypher it. The artist is definitely a visitor to Bristol, and sprayed this long wall in Dean Lane, which is something of a honeypot for visitors, because it is a well known ‘legal’ wall.
If you take a good look at this piece, it it beautifully worked, with carefully thought out fills and intricate detail. The overall styling and red circle in the middle remind me a little of Bristol artist Shab’s work, it has that abstract feel to it. A nice piece.
One of the many spin-off benefits of Upfest is that for some days before and for some days after the festival artists from beyond Bristol leave behind some little extras or souvenirs of their visit. This is one such treat by Katrina Kolk. I actually found out about the artist while researching the Feek post immediately before this one and reading the Dean Lane facebook page which had some images of Katrina Kolk working on this piece.
Katrina Kolk, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
Katrina Kolk is an Estonian artist who trained at the Tartu Art College and she has a WordPress website which includes a short biography and some of her work. This piece features a unicorn set on a patchwork of colour and abstract shapes. Being on a skate ramp, it is not the easiest to photograph, but her style comes across loud and clear. There is something joyful and free about this piece (and not just because it has a unicorn) which stands out in the skate park. Something fresh and different.
Each year in August there is an event held in Dean Lane skate park called DLH, or Dean Lane Hardcore. It is a fairly crazy affair with skaters, wild music and a lot of booze. Before the event, streetartists come down and do a bit of decorating on the ramps and walls, which ends up looking pretty good on the videos.
Feek, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
For at least the last two years, and probably longer than that, Feek has taken on the large ramp at the bottom of the park and given it an extreme makeover. I made it to Dean Lane while he was working on the piece, but he disappeared and I never got to meet him which is a pity.
Feek, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
The monster glaring out of the ramp is brilliantly done and suits the event perfectly his previous years piece was not dissimilar. All good work. Unfortunately, I think this year’s DLH was a bit of a wash out…you can’t skate in the rain.
Just as Upfest was waking up to the Saturday morning influx of visitors, I took a look in Dean Lane to see what was happening, because it is usually pretty busy down there during the festival. I took shelter from a downpour with a couple of artists who worked on this lose collaboration.
Unity, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
On the left was a half finished piece by Unity, an artist from Cardiff. I very much liked what I saw, but regrettably it had been painted over by the time I came back to see it at the end of the day. I had a great chat with her while we waited for the rain to abate and discovered that I probably have one or two of her older pieces in my archive…time to dig them out.
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
The middle section was by Rusk who had already finished and left the scene – maybe to work on his ‘official’ piece in South Street park. This quick one was of the high quality you expect from Rusk – he never disappoints.
Cyst, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
Finally, on the right of the collaboration was a piece by Cyst, from Cheshire. I was pleased to have been able to meet him, because it can be difficult sometime to identify work from visiting graff writers. All three pieces were very short-lived, but that is what you expect in Dean Lane, especially so during Upfest. Nice collaboration
The other day, just before heading off to Italy, I had a quick trawl around my favourite spots in Bristol just to get as up-to-date with new pieces as I could before missing out on a week of photographing street art. Dean Lane was fairly busy, as it was being prepped for the annual Hardcore funday that weekend. Feek was working on one of the large ramps (to follow) and I met DJPerks (a fellow admirer of street/graffiti art) for the first time. I think that we ‘hunters’ (I’m not sure if I like the tag) are almost as elusive as some of the artists. While talking to him, this green piece caught my eye.
Nightways, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
It is by Nightways, a visitor to Bristol, but I am not too sure where he calls home. He sprayed this piece as a three colour challenge, and I think it has turned out rather well. His Facebook page is a little cryptic, and he seems to have a thing for bears, although looking at his Instagram it all seems to be monkeys. Whatever his thing is, I rather like this piece, and hope he comes to visit again soon.
I only took this picture a couple of weeks ago and it has been buffed over at least twice since then. It is by the irrepressible Laic217 who never tires of creating these wonderful skulls and skeletons in various guises.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
This skull is donning a gas mask, or is it a sophisticated protection mask from the fumes of spray paint? I guess perhaps the latter and the yellow patterns are the paint fumes. It works either way really. The detail in the eye sockets of the skull is awesome and the bucket hat with the smiley so full of character. Laic217 has smashed it with this one.
It is always a pity when a nice piece gets dogged, especially when it has only been up for a day or two. This particular collaboration between NEVERGIVEUP and Soge was a perfect piece for the curved wall in Dean Lane skate park. It also marked a return of the monster by NGU, something I’ve not seen for a few months.
NEVERGIVEUP and Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2018
I had seen the Soge writing on Instagram, and it all really looked rather nice, but I guess some inferior talent had to go and goof it up. I’m all for the turnover of work, especially on ‘legal’ walls, but it is boring to see half-baked throw-ups going up over decent work. Still, we all know the (no) rules and just get on with it.
A beautiful ‘TES’ from Slim Pickings, this time in the wonderful claret and blue colours that we might associate with Burnley or West Ham. Once again, and as one would expect, the lines are crisp and clean and the fillings solid and neat.
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2018
I think this is the last of Slim Picking’s work that I have in my archive, so I rather hope he will be out there at Dean Lane or somewhere else doing his stuff that he does so well.
Natural adventures 