6967. Dean Lane skate park (838)

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

I am so pleased to see that Bean is back in town and doing his stuff, which he does so well. The last piece I posted was a portrait piece that couldn’t be more of a departure from his ‘house’ style, and it was great to see. Here he returns to more familiar territory, with this wonderfully colourful character piece.

Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Bean, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

The character, like so many he creates, has no pupils in his eyes, which gives him a bit of a haunted look. Old Bluebeard here is wearing a kind of gilet over a green t-shirt, with a gold chain and cap accessories. The whole thing is beautifully painted, and tight as a nut. There is great separation from the piece (by Turoe) beneath it, with red, black and white bordering, bringing his character to the forefront. I don’t think that Bean particularly believes/enjoys wall preparation or buffing – perhaps it takes too long, or maybe detracts from the subversive nature of street art. Another great piece from an artist whose work I really like.

6964. Dean Lane skate park (837)

Nice One, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Nice One, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

OOF! This is a superb character portrait piece by Nice one, so full of movement and vibrancy. The ‘sketchy’ style that Nice One adopts for his character pieces has an impressionist quality, with what appear to be brush strokes rather than spray paint work, especially around the face and hair. This is a clever technique, and I suspect rather difficult to do.

Nice One, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Nice One, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

The character is wearing enormous glasses, with a hint of reflection in them, which is incredibly effective. There is no need for a signature, when the whole piece sits over a huge ‘Nice One font’ ‘N’. A superb piece from an artist whose work is beautifully executed and always interesting.

6954. Dean Lane skate park (836)

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

Although the style and composition are familiar from Mr Draws in this piece in Dean Lane, the words are rather refreshing and different. Italian, the language of love, is just so good to listen to, and who can say the phrase ‘Bella Ciao’ or more commonly ‘Ciao Bella’ without doing so in a charming Italian accent?

Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Mr Draws, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

The colour scheme is a curious one, especially as the top horizontal slice matches the background dark tone. Typically unpretentious and unfussy, this is a a nice piece from Mr Draws that occupies this long space rather well.

6947. Dean Lane skate park (835)

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

I am used to seeing Zake character pieces that tend to be head-on round faces in a cartoon style with lots of light and shade creating depth, so this is something a little different.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

The profile portrait of an androgenous person draws more on a realistic version of a character than the cartoon style I am used to from Zake. The hair, in particular (most of his characters are bald), is great to see, demonstrating that Zake is far more than simply a one-trick pony. Definitely an unusual piece from one of the most prolific artists painting in Bristol at the moment. I have updated my gallery of Zake’s work so you can see what I mean.

6944. Dean Lane skate park (864)

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

This combination piece from Fade and Dibz is outstanding, and really ticks all my boxes. I watched them as they started painting this and knew, even when it was in draft that it was going to be an absolute blinder.

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

This is straight out of the black book, a sketch come to life with a clever twist and superb early Disney character. I love seeing works in progress as it shows just how unbelievably talented these artists are, and how they build the picture up into something quite magnificent.

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

The writing is by Dibz, and has a beautiful, deep 3D drop shadow, with additional shading to create perfect depth and lift. The fox character, by Fade, looks like he is reading Dibz’ black book, maybe at this actual picture, which would be a clever twist.  The whole thing is set on a piece of lined paper, which adds another whole dimension to the collaboration. Bravo! Gentlemen.

6942. Dean Lane

Tian, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
Tian, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

Really quick ones today. I have to drive up to Leeds to pick my daughter up and bring her home, with loads of her stuff. Before that, we have a recycling centre (tip) trip lined up.

By now you will know I am very fond of Tian’s wheatpastes, and this is another one from his latest visit to Bristol.

Tian, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
Tian, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

The Japanese Geisha girl is a theme he returns to often, and it is at such odds with the urban environment that surrounds it. The placement of this piece on a heavily tagged wall is near perfect.

6934. Dean Lane skate park (833)

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

It was a genuine pleasure to catch up with Jee See just as he was finishing off this piece in Dean Lane. Jee See was the second street artist I made contact with, back in 2017, after meeting Decay in the Bearpit, and I have been enjoying his work ever since.

Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

This is a SEISMIC/Mr Nobody combination piece, which includes the phrase “H is for…”, and according to what Jee See told me, H is for Heterosexual who Hates Homophobia, and for cisHet ally.

Jee See blends his trademark seismic writing with the cartoon face and the Gothic ‘H’, bringing all the elements together successfully in quite a small space. It was great to catch up with the artist, as he doesn’t get out to paint much these days – a serendipitous moment.

6927. Dean Lane skate park (832)

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

Andy Council has painted this exact spot a number of times, and I can only think that the shape and size of the wall suits his pieces really well. I had to make a return visit, because I arrived only moments after he had completed the piece, but there was a dirty great big shadow running right through the middle of the piece. Obviously, I managed to get some better pictures the second time.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

The creature looks like a cross between a dinosaur and the Alien creature from the film series. It is, as you’d expect, beautifully crafted from a load of component parts that come together beautifully to make the whole. The writing to the left ‘Rising Trichomes’ I think might be a reference to cannabis buds, and not, as I first thought, the dinosaur species name, haha. A fine piece from Andy Council.

6925. Dean Lane skate park (832)

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

It is a little disappointing that I have missed a couple of pieces by Hire this year, which is a real pity. You have to be quick off the mark in this game, and if you snooze, you lose. However, it does feel like Hire’s pieces, a bit like Kid Crayon’s pieces, tend to get painted over rather quickly. I am not sure if this is deliberate targeting or simply bad luck, I would like to think it is the latter, but whatever the reason, it makes their work feel even more precious.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025

This is a slightly strange piece by Hire, which I think is meant to represent a pile of poo, with some excited insects making the most of it. Certainly it is an unusual composition in brown (why is everyone painting with brown this spring?), spelling out ODIAH, letters which Hire likes to use from time to time. How much better the piece looks with the subtle green glow on the edge of the letters, without which it would all look a little flat. Unusual and interesting work from Hire.

6922. Dean Lane skate park (831)

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

There are a couple of things that are slightly unusual about this piece by Fade. The first is that it is a solo piece and not a collaboration with Dibz and second, it has unfamiliar letters, as it is a tribute to ‘the Mrs’ to use Fade’s words, although I can’t remember her name, and I am struggling to decipher the letters.

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2025

The graffiti writing is flawless, as you would expect, and stands out on the large wall with a black background. There is a little too much brown for my own personal taste, but I have spoken enough about that in recent posts. Really stand out work from Fade