808. Dean Lane skate park (50)

On 20 April each year, there is a legalise marijuana protest, or smoke-in if you like, where weed smokers will overtly disobey the law and rely on the theory of safety in numbers to avoid arrest or prosecution. In the UK, the main ‘celebration’ is held in Hyde Park, but in Bristol there is a parallel exercise held on the Downs.

Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017

This piece is dedicated to the 420 campaign and is unmistakably by Kid Crayon, who demonstrates his knowledge of marijuana admirably in this protest work.

Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017
Kid Crayon, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017

I always like a good political or protest bit of street art, and this one ticks all the boxes. Colourful, illustrative and subversive. The piece remained untagged for a long period in an area where street art tends to have a very short lifespan, possibly indicating a general respect and support from taggers and other artists.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES
SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

It has, of course, gone now.

806. Dean Lane skate park (49)

This is a small piece from Shab down at Deaners from a couple of weeks back. It is a wonderful abstract piece with great eyes…oh those eyes. I discovered another much larger piece by Shab in another part of Bristol, and am itching to go and photograph it.

Shab, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Shab, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

It is always a pleasure to see his work, every one feels like a little present. I feel very lucky to be able to access the free galleries that are the Bristol walls. My task is to make these treasures accessible for all.

Shab, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Shab, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

794. Dean Lane skate park (48)

Now that I know what I am looking for, and recognise the signature I will be featuring more of Hire’s work as and when I come across it. He is the artist who sprays the large buck toothed bunnies, which appear from time to time.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017

This is a wildstyle piece which, if you look carefully spells out HIRE, although it takes some convincing to be sure. This is a nice quick piece which all forms part of the rich mix you can find down at Dean Lane.

 

792. Dean Lane skate park (47)

This is not the first time that I have seen a collaboration wall between these two. Some time ago I posted a piece by Laic217 from Moon Street, but left the Cort piece out, which was on reflection a bit unnecessary. This time I have kept Cort’s half. I know little about Cort apart from these two pieces mentioned.

Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

Laic217 again seems to be experimenting with his grayscale work, with just a touch of accent colour in his signature. I have noticed too that in shared walls like this one, Laic217 always seems to occupy the left hand side – is this a thing for street artists? is it like having a preferred side of the bed?

Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017
Laic217 and Cort, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2017

I like this collaboration a lot, and am pleased to have got a clean photograph of it, something that is getting more and more difficult to do in Bristol.

The missing Cort photos from March 2016 are below…

Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Laic217 and Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016
Cort, Moon Street, Bristol, March 2016

774. Dean Lane skate park (46)

As Whysayit pieces go, this really is a first class one. Sprayed on what is probably the premium wall at Deaners,  it oozes with confidence and colour. I think what really marks this out from his other work, is that he has taken a bit of time to prepare a backwash, and it definitely helps the writing to stand out.

Whysayit, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017
Whysayit, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017

I liked this piece from the moment I saw it, and although it didn’t last long (nothing much does here) I’m glad I got to see it.

Whysayit, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017
Whysayit, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2017

755. Dean Lane skate park (45)

How on earth I stumbled on identifying this piece I genuinely can’t remember, but I am pleased to have done so as it has been in my archive for some while. It is a really nice piece of writing by Cokestd, an artist from Budapest in Hungary which he created in November 2016 while on a trip to the UK.

Cokestd, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2016
Cokestd, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2016

I do like it when visitors come and leave their mark in our city, especially when it is with a piece such as this – I like to think of Bristol as a welcoming place where we embrace our overseas friends with open arms. The piece itself is a beauty, nicely proportioned with great lines and colours.

740. Dean Lane skate park (44)

You’ve got to be slightly crazy not to love an owl…I think I might have said this before somewhere in this blog. It took me a long time to post this piece, it has been sitting in my archives, because I wanted to be sure who the artist was. It is by the French artist Braga Last1 and was sprayed during a visit to Bristol in September 2016.

Braga Last1, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016
Braga Last1, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016

I love it when artists from all over Europe, and indeed, the world come to visit Bristol and leave pieces for our citizens to enjoy. It certainly validates Bristol’s claim to being a world class street/graffiti art destination, something that is becoming a bit of a USP for the city.

Braga Last1, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016
Braga Last1, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2016

This is a beautiful piece and captures the form of the owl so well. The eyes are absolutely amazing. Despite being in Dean Lane, the piece stood in place unmarked for a couple of months before eventually being painted over – a mark of respect from other artists.

 

 

 

 

736. Dean Lane skate park (43)

I took this picture some time ago, and have never been able to find out who it was by. I felt, though that it was worth posting, because it is really quite unusual and not the kind of thing you normally see at Dean Lane.

Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016
Unknown artist, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2016

I like the piece a great deal, it is very well executed and the colours spectacular. What is going on here for the girl with the green sneakers? Who is this by?

 

734. Dean Lane skate park (42)

This collaboration was in Dean Lane for quite a while before eventually being painted over by Inkie. I have held back on writing about it, because I wasn’t at all familiar with its creators. Of course, good things come to those who wait, and I eventually tracked down the artists thanks to the miracles of the Interweb.

Paris, Haka and Mustard Tiger, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2017
Paris, Haka and Mustard Tiger, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2017

The collaboration is by Paris, Haka and Mustard Tiger, who must have been passing through, as they aren’t local Bristol artists. It is a curious piece and quite different from much of the stuff we see around here. Even the colours used are quite unusual.

Paris, Haka and Mustard Tiger, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2017
Paris, Haka and Mustard Tiger, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2017

The left third is by Paris, the middle section by Haka and the right hand side, a rather psychedelic piece, is by Mustard Tiger. I rather like each of the individual pieces in isolation, but I am not sure the collaboration works as a whole. It might just be a familiarity thing, but I don’t really see the thread between the pieces (colours, story, style)…I might be missing something. There is also a small tribute to CK One.

Paris, Haka and Mustard Tiger, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2017
Paris, Haka and Mustard Tiger, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2017

730. Dean Lane skate park (41)

This is one of the more unusual pieces I have posted in quite a while. I think it is just a crazy abstract expression, but I can’t be certain. The artist Jee See has featured in this blog several times with his ‘seismic’ pictures and girl in a military hat (freestyled not stencilled as I had implied in an earlier post). This piece is unlike anything I have seen before.

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2017

I really can’t quite make out what it is or represents – maybe it is a starship exploding, but what are those window frames on the left of the picture. What are the building shaped objects at the top of the piece, and are they even part of the whole work? The weird thing is that I actually rather like it, even though I can’t fathom out a story…or anything at all.