Tag: Dean Lane

1832. Dean Lane skate park (173)

I got really lucky just before Halloween when I took my lunchtime constitutional down to Dean Lane. I always expect to see something new and occasionally expect to see an artist at work, but when that artist is Rusk it is a real treat and make no mistake.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018

Halloween I have observed is a time when street artists seem to enjoy hitting the streets and stretching their repertoire with a seasonal theme, which is always fun for people like me. This witty piece conflates Rusk with Count Duckula, the vegetarian duck vampire…who ever dreamed up that cartoon series?

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018

Rusk always has time for a chat, and as he does so he makes fine adjustments to his work, always seeking perfection. Much of what I have learned about the Bristol street art scene and culture I have gathered from our conversations. I love the way he works so hard to get his pieces just right. It is a privilege to see him painting.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2018

Unfortunately light conditions were a bit tricky – that autumnal sunshine is a real bugger, but at least I got some shots of the piece before it got tagged the following day. The day carried on being amazing with the arrival of Jee See just as Rusk was finishing off. My lunch break took a little longer than expected!

1756. Dean Lane skate park (172)

I just love it when these two get together, which fortunately they seem to manage rather regularly. These Laic217 bookended Cort pieces do tend to follow a formula in terms of presentation, but the characters and writing always offer something visually stimulating.

Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

Cort’s writing style seems to be quite versatile and he has produces a real gem here, incorporating soft curves and angular shapes all into the same piece. It is an unusual and slightly unconventional style, but that is what makes it stand apart from other writing.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

Then on to the Laic217 characters. His skeletons have become such a prominent feature of walls around Bristol that they must have entered the sub-conscious of a great many Bristolians on exposure alone.

Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

Rarely disappointing these figures include many of the things we expect from Laic217 – great clothing, skulls, smiley’s brick walls, bucket hats. I love the bit of fun too with the left hand side character using a roller to spell out the two artist’s names at the top of the piece. Another classic wall.

Laic 217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Laic 217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

 

 

1753. Dean Lane skate park (171)

This collaboration is a real treat and raises the bar by quite some margin. It is by Subtle and Rezwonk and is quite the best collaboration I have seen on this wall this year, in fact possible anywhere in Bristol.

Rezwonk and Subtle, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Rezwonk and Subtle, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

Rezwonk has provided an incredible background of little white symbols – actually I think they are made up of the letters R E Z W O N K, and in amongst them are some bright green ones randomly spaced. Each of the symbols has been dabbed, probably with a cloth, to give them some texture. This really does provide a perfect backdrop.

Rezwonk and Subtle, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Rezwonk and Subtle, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

The writing from Subtle is nothing short of sublime, every single part of it touching on perfect, right down to the hex shading on the S and the T providing texture and interest, but it is the 3D effect that really sets this piece apart. It is hard to look at it and not be fooled into thinking it has been written on a board that stands proud of the wall by a couple of inches. Also some of the accents have picked up the same bright green used by Rezwonk, to provide some read-across between the two.

An utterly outstanding collaboration that takes collaborations to a new level.

1749. Dean Lane skate park (170)

I arrived at this piece a little too late to see it in its original condition. It had been a collaboration between Mr Draws (in the middle) bookended by Tasha Bee. However, before I managed to get to see it, Oner had made a little contribution of his own.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

I have to admit that I rather like Oner’s burners. There is a certain honesty about them, unpretentious but nicely turned out and often just a little bit edgy. Tasha Bee has rapidly made it into my group of favourite Bristol artists with her stylised characters and pretty flower motifs.

Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tasha Bee, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018

She is very prolific, and even today on a long walk with the dog I found a couple more of her pieces. There is something rather spiritual about her characters, it might be something to do with the simplicity of the lines or the closed eyes or the little peace and love signs, I’m not sure, but they ooze serenity. It is a pity I didn’t see the Mr Draws bit in the middle, but I can imagine it.

1747. Dean Lane skate park (169)

Ok, so I have been doing a little bit of a trawl through my archives to let a few overlooked pieces see the light of day. This one by Hire I managed to photograph moments before it was buffed over, I forget who by (I think it was Dibz), but you can see the paint can at the ready in the bottom left of the picture.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018

Hire is one of several Polish artists in Bristol, adding an international feel to the work we see here. His writing tends to be very cryptic and his lettering angular and sharp, looking like shards of metal. Normally his writing spells out his name, but I’m not so sure that it does in this piece. It is quite a ‘dark’ piece, which is often the case with his work, even his bunnies are touched with menace or melancholy.

1743. Dean Lane skate park (168)

The first thing that grabs your attention about this work is probably the bright pink colour, characteristic of the artist Stupid Stupid Meathole. Next is the faintly grotesque character/monster of the piece, but equally memorable is the fantastic name that the artist has chosen. Always distinct and always eye-catching.

Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

I haven’t posted too much of Stupid Stupid Meathole’s work, because it only appears on the streets occasionally. If I see it I will always snap it and post it because I am rather strangely drawn to it. SSM never disappoints, but may shock a little and might not be to everyone’s taste. I however am a bit of a fan as it is always great to see something a bit different…a bit imaginative.

1741. Dean Lane skate park (167)

Wow, wow, wow. I am head over heels in love with this stunning work by Muckrock (Jules Muck). Shortly after I photographed this fabulous piece I dived into the Upfest shop and had a chat with Paul Monsters and Steve and Emma who run Upfest. I mentioned this exceptional work in Dean Lane skate park to them and although they didn’t know about this one, they had met her recently and offered her a wall to paint at the other end of North Street. She must have done this one as a bit of an extra while she was visiting.

Muckrock, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Muckrock, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

I can honestly say it is my top five pieces for 2018 and has come as a complete surprise which makes it extra special. I believe Jules Muck began her graffiti ‘career’ in England and Europe, but lives and paints mostly in the United States, living in Venice Beach. You can find out all about her on her extensive website, well worth a gander

Muckrock, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Muckrock, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

I love the green monotone and the mischief in the portrait is to die for. I can’t really say too much more about this piece without utterly embarrassing myself. So you, like me, will just have to sit and gaze at it…sigh…

1731. Upfest 2018 (42)

I approached Upfest on the Saturday morning from East Street and as I was at that end of Bedminster, dived into Dean Lane skate park because it is always busy with ‘fringe’ festival art, and by that I mean it is not all entirely official. This is one such stencil work by About Ponny, an artist not known to me before…I have immediately become a fan.

About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
About Ponny, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018

About Ponny is a highly skilled stencil artist from Bologna in Italy and I found a short biography on his Facebook page which I have translated from the Italian using Google translate. It reads as follows:

Ponny was born in Bologna one evening after dinner.

Single, but only in the name, because always accompanied; for this reason it has no gender.

Son of a game between friends and of the passion for art, in all its forms, as long as expression and creativity, incessant source of emotion.

In continuous search for balance on the edge of legality, the road torments him, the only place to express himself!

This work, in  my mind, is stencil work of the highest calibre. The subject is touching and soulful, the execution brilliant, the colour scheme has an earthy and innocent quality and the location is brilliant. One of the best ‘unofficial’ Upfest 2018 pieces.

1725. Dean Lane skate park (166)

I’m getting to see quite a lot of work by Kool Hand dotted about the place, and what I see I like. His work is distinctive, using only a few strong colours to fill strong clean lines around his characters. There is a light-heartedness about his work which brings a smile to my face.

Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Kool Hand, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

The writing part of this piece spells out KoolH and is rather nicely filled out with what looks like a bit of a jungle scene commensurate with his crocodile character. It looks like his dark green might have been running a little low. I love the way he always preps his walls with a whitewash background, another tell-tale sign that Kool Hand is about.

1724. Dean Lane skate park (165)

Yeah, the bunny is back, not the NEVERGIVEUP bunny, but the Hire bunny. This rather dark bunny carries all the hallmarks of a Hire piece. The massive buck teeth and the angular Gothic shapes that make up the fur – much of his writing also uses this sharp-edged style.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2018

I have a very soft spot for Hire’s work, both his rabbits and his writing – there is a seriousness and melancholy about them. I’d like to know what the speech bubble says, it is probably a Polish reference. Nice little tribute to CKone as well.