Well what a splendid piece this is by Ugar, who is appearing more and more in my posts these days. The letters, in white, spell out URAG, a little bit of fun. I am attracted to his style of writing, and particularly to his imaginative range of fills he uses for the letters.
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2018
As time goes on, this young artist seems to be gaining in confidence, bit with the pieces he is producing and with the locations he is choosing. I will be following his progress with interest.
I have held on and held on to this collaboration for such a long time, because I was determined not to post it until I found out who worked on it with Dibz. Then I met Ulow a few weeks back (see my post about his Boba Fett piece) and was able to complete the puzzle.
Dibz, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, July 2016
The Dibz half of the collaboration was fairly easy to identify because I am familiar with his work and he sprays Dean Lane often enough for me to know his stuff when I see it. His writing here is very nice indeed and has quite a deep yellow border which sets it up beautifully.
Ulow, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, July 2016
The character half of the collaboration is by Ulow, and is something quite different. Set on a moody sunset skyline, a breakdancer entertains us with his contortions. The orange glow reflecting off the folds of his clothes is masterful work.
Ulow, Dean Lane skate park, Bristol, July 2016
Like so many pieces at Dean Lane, this one didn’t last long, but it was a real peach.
Still delving back into my archives, I have dug this piece out, because I met the artist a couple of weeks back, and now what I’m looking for and looking at. The artist is called Howl and often works in tandem with his collaborator Gumbo.
Howl, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017
I met them at the M32 east side of the roundabout and enjoyed a long chat while they were waiting for paint to dry. I said at the time that I didn’t know who they were, but that I probably had unidentified photographs of their work, and I was right.
Howl, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2017
Both artists belong to the What crew, which includes 45RPM, but they said that the crew was fairly dispersed these days. This piece is in my view beautifully executed. It spells out Howl and incorporates some clever shading and filling. The colour selection works really well with the contrasts bringing the piece to life. I am guessing the ‘O’ is a dog howling, it would rather make sense. All good, and nice to publish this one at last.
Another one from back in July last year, this time from Hire, who seems very much at home in Dean Lane. With a contrasting yellow background, this fabulous piece of gothic wildstyle writing stands out brilliantly.
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2017
Hire is a highly talented graffiti writer, who I can’t help feeling is slightly overlooked in the Bristol scene, so I am certainly playing my part in ‘bigging him up’. I cannot be sure, but I think this piece says HIRE. I think it is classy.
Biers is a really friendly artist who I have met on several occasions now. This was a piece from back in July 2017 which has been in my archive because Upfest posts tend to dominate my July/August time, and other street art snapped up around Upfest tend to get a little overlooked. But enough is enough, I am liberating a few images taken during last July since they are too good to ignore.
Biers, Dean Lane skatepark, Bristol, July 2017
Biers, I think, is connected with the No Frills crew, although my understanding of crews is patchy at best. He often writes No Frills on his pieces or NFS. I managed to find him working on this piece, and was lucky enough to return a few days later and see it in its finished state. Sometimes work on these walls can last only a day or two, especially in the summer.
Biers, Dean Lane skatepark, Bristol, July 2017
This is a nice clean piece that spells out Biers which once you get your graff goggles on you can easily read. I still find it interesting the way the layers go on in these pieces, with the fill going up first and the borders and finer lines last. Great skill required.
It is a rare thing for me to come across an Andy Council piece that is not a composite of buildings to create a beast of some kind. Equally rare is to see an Andy Council collaboration, but here is a piece that he sprayed just before Christmas with Hemper in the far corner of Dean Lane, and it is a real humdinger.
Andy Council and Hemp, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017
I don’t know much about Hemper other than that he is a well established and highly regarded writer in Bristol and I have only come across his work a couple of times. This collaboration feels like a bit of fun between two friends. Andy Council has made a character out of his ammonite signature, which has turned out really well. This was a nice piece to find, even though I got to it too late to see it untagged.
Clearly very excited about the release of the recent Star Wars movie (and who wouldn’t be?), it would appear that Soker, who usually writes his name, may have been inspired to spray this R2D2 piece. It is possible there is more to it than that, but it matters not, this is a brilliant clean piece.
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2017
On one of the feature walls at Dean Lane, this piece works beautifully, the proportions are all nicely done and the colours assembled well. The piece also generated some good banter on his Instagram account with his stablemates Cheo and Voyder (Darth Voyder).
What a lovely Christmas present from Mr Draws. He sprayed this enormous chrome burner just before Christmas Day and what is difficult to convey is its size. It is an impressive and fun piece.
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017
It is so good to have a regular feed of Mr Draws pieces, which he finds time to spray, in between woking in his studio on his mountains. I love this bloke.
It is always a pleasure to see a piece in progress and, if you are lucky enough, to see it again once completed. This was one such work by Ugar, our very own Hungarian Maestro.
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2017
I am really interested in seeing how he layers his work and that in common with many other writers, he starts with draft outline letters and then fills in the background before filling the letters. This feels counter-intuitive to me…being a non-artist, I would simply slap the background down first and then work up from there…this is one of the reasons why I am not out there spraying (apart from an utter absence of talent).
Ugar, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2017
The final piece of wildstyle writing is exquisite and all the more admirable for being worked onto the pre-existing colourful piece beneath it. I must confess that I had come to photograph the Erase piece that Ugar sprayed over, and was a little disappointed initially. That was until I saw the final product. I am looking forward to seeing more from Ugar in 2018.
What a lovely big smile in Dean Lane, from an artist called Luke Petty (Instagram @lukesmile91). It is a nice big bold piece and has similarities to the work of Pref 1D without the wordplay element.
Luke Smile, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2017
I have not been able to find out much about the artist other than that it seems he is British but has been travelling in Australia. Since doing this piece in Bristol and an earlier one in Shoreditch, it appears he has done one in Sydney, Australia. So I am guessing that he is back down under again.
At the time of writing (three or four days ago) this piece was still there and in pristine condition, where all around it has changed.A mark of respect.