Another first…there seem to be an awful lot of artists making their debut on my blog recently, I don’t know whether there is a new intake of artists in Bristol or whether I have just started to notice them more (probably a bit of both). Actually this is not the first work I have seen from Stupid Stupid Meathole, but it is the first one since I knew who he was. Keep your eyes peeled for more from the archive.
Stupid Stupid Meathole, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
Firstly, I love this artist’s name even it if is a little long-winded, secondly, I really like his monsters and his rather unconventional style. This piece I think is called ‘wet fart’ (which makes me chortle in a childish way) and taking a closer look, you can see why. I look forward to more peaces in Dean Lane from Stupid Stupid Meathole.
I haven’t posted much from Hire for a while, and sadly I got to this one just a few moments too late it looks like. It is a real shame that some idiot has run a white line through this piece, and the beautiful Sikoh and Dibz piece next to it. Arturo has little to be proud of in my view.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2018
The amazing thing about this piece is that it is not a collaboration, the whole thing is by Hire, the Gothic influenced writing on the left and the dayglo bunny on the right. I like the way he has put these pieces side by side with their contrasting backgrounds. The colours used for the writing would make Decay very happy (he uses exactly this palette form most of his work). And, just in case you weren’t sure, the bunny helps us out with the location of the piece. Fine work.
On the lovely curved wall of Dean Lane skate park, this bright and cheery piece by Mr Draws was sprayed on 20 April to mark the 420 campaign. Regulars will know that I have long enjoyed the work of Mr Draws, and although his freestyle is not to everyone’s taste, it works for me.
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Mr Draws is going through one of his incredibly productive phases at the moment and I simply can’t keep up…there is too much in Bristol to cover in two posts per day, let alone all my other material from New York, Barcelona and London. I’ll do my best to keep it all coming.
Ugar is becoming something of a regular down at Dean Lane skate park, and his writing really stands out due to his unusual and irregular letters but particularly because of the fill style he uses.
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
I am building up quite a good photographic collection of his work and I am enjoying watching his development as an artist. This is small but perfectly formed, a nice piece.
Ooh, what a lovely collaboration between Dibz and Sikoh from a couple of weeks back on 20 April 2018. This collaboration has a wonderful nighttime quality about it, set on a dark blue ‘sky’ background.
Dibz and Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
I have posted several pieces by Dibz on this site in the past and commensurate with those, this one is clean and sharp and offers lovely complex lettering. It was great to be there when he started the piece to see how he goes about his work.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
As wildstyle burners go, you would have to hunt high and low to find more tidy works, he really is meticulous in his execution. What I like about this is that the deep borders have a vanishing point somewhere below the piece, which is technically more difficult than having a shadow going in the same direction.
Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Now Sikoh I have heard of before, but I haven’t knowingly seen any of his work before. Judging from this awesome piece and equally awesome Instagram feed he is an artist of the highest callibre. This piece is called ‘Plague Doctor’ and probably presses every possible button I have. A perfect piece in pretty much every way.
Sikoh, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
He doesn’t give away too much on his social media profiles, but I tracked down his profile from the 2017 Upfest programme, although in my pictures I haven’t yet found his piece…time to search harder (just done some homework…I don’t have it, he sprayed his piece at the Hare pub). His profile is as follows:
‘Sikoh is a graffiti writer from Glastonbury with a preference for sharp, flowing 3D letters and semi- Bboy characters. One part of IGK- an international crew, local Bristol crew- PWA and one quarter of Glastonbury’s MOA. Sikoh has been painting since 2013. Much of his commissioned works have been within the UK hiphop scene, for artists such as- Leaf Dog, Smellington Piff and Jack Jetson.’
It’s that man Touc again, this time he has brought his little ray of sunsuine toucan to Dean Lane, a perfect roost for such a bird. There is something very endearing about this elaborate tag, and I am looking forward to finding and snapping up as many as possible.
Touc, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Of course, the first two I have posted are in the two most obvious locations, The Bearpit and Dean Lane. I have found one or two others which I will share in due course. Happy Toucan.
Sometimes in life things come together to create a story. Some stories are good and others not so good. This wonderful piece by Kid Crayon provides the perfect backdrop to a good story.
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Some of you who read this blog regularly will know that I recently lost my father and although we were not especially close, he was my father and that means something. Going back to work was a struggle so I made sure I kept up my lunchtime walks as a kind of mindfulness opportunity. On this day, 20 April, I decided to visit Dean Lane to see if there was any new work there, which is pretty much a certainty if I am honest. As it turned out, the place was really busy, with several artists at work.
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Some of the artists, including Kid Crayon, were there to mark 420, the long standing campaign to legalise cannabis (now perhaps you see what his artwork is all about). I spent a long while photographing all the works in progress and having a great natter with the artists. Realising I couldn’t spend all day there, although it would have been fun, I set off back to work.
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
Then I had one of those moments where an inner mini me took over and marched me back to Kid Crayon. As I approached him I apologised for my cheekiness and asked him if he could do something really special for me…I asked if he would spray a little tribute for my dad on this piece. Kindly he said he would…if he remembered. I thanked him and went on my way.
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018 (photograph: Street Art Bristol)
The next time I saw the piece was on Instagram, posted the next day (but pictured on the evening of completion) by Street Art Bristol (see above). And there in the bottom left corner is the tribute. I welled up when I saw this, lots of emotions going on. However there are a couple more twists to the tale. I also saw several other Instagram posts taken which showed the piece had been dogged (some people have no respect) probably only hours after the picture above was taken. I asked Street Art Bristol if he could send me a clean copy of the piece and explained why it was important to me – he did so without hesitation for which I am hugely grateful.
Kid Crayon, RIP Gledders, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
I managed to make it down to Dean Lane later on the Saturday (the day after it was completed) and to my surprise, somebody had restored the piece – I don’t know who, It might have been KC or somebody else, but it is great to know there are some good guys out there. If you look at the featured image at the very top of this post, you can make out some of the white markings of graffiti under the green background.
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
I have always liked Kid Crayon’s work, indeed it was largely down to him and JPS that I started blogging about street art in the first place. Through the kindness of Kid Crayon, this was my little way of marking the passing of my father. RIP Gledders.
Ugar is a promising young artist, originally from Budapest but now living in Bristol, whose unique style of writing is getting better and better. It is the organic nature of his letters and the kind of marbelling effect he uses to fill them that stands out in his work.
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2018
This piece , which is really rather beautiful, is on the curved wall at Dean Lane and has been well prepped and uses the wall to its full potential – not all work here is afforded the same thoughtful approach. I am enjoying watching Ugar develop.
Another Laic217 piece, this time on the long wall at Dean Lane which was sprayed at the same time as the NEVERGIVEUP piece just to the left. Both artists are part of the vibrant community of Polish street artists in Bristol, which also includes Hire and Skor85. It is nice when they work together.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
This is only a small piece, but what a fabulous piece it is. I particularly like the folds in the leather (PVC?) jacket the skeleton is wearing. Laic217 has been improving so much over the last couple of years, but it is his understanding of materials that has really developed…his skeletons parading an extensive wardrobe. I look forward to seeing one wearing a fur coat…a challenge.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
Laic217 has been busy lately, which is always a good thing in my book.
Getting back into the groove with some more contemporary work. This is a recent piece by Laic217 on the curved wall in Dean Lane skate park. He did a similar black and white piece here in July last year, just before Upfest.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
This time his skeleton character, rather than holding a spray can is shouldering a ghetto blaster (which I recently called a boogie box in a previous post) – booming out the lyrics ‘ice ice baby’ by Vanilla Ice. Seeing this, I just had to go onto YouTube to remind myself of the video, which features a lot of graffiti in it. The video is terribly dated (already) and the song itself so incredibly reliant on a great riff from Queen underpinning the whole thing. It is a catchy tune though.
Laic217, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2018
I don’t think I will ever tire of Laic217’s work – it somehow feels representative of the whole Bristol scene – an overseas artist who has settled here and is really becoming part of Bristol’s new wave which is vibrant and exciting, but sits comfortably alongside the longer established street/graffiti artists. There is room for everyone here.
Natural adventures 