These tight collaborations from Dibz and Shade One are becoming something of a feature in Dean Lane this year, and it has been a genuine privilege to see and photograph them.
Dibz and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
The precise graffiti writing from Dibz paired with the stylised portraits from Shade One have a crispness and professional look about them. The walls are always nicely prepped and the work carefully done.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
On the left, the black and white writing from Dibz is so sharp and painted to appear like a sticker, along with all the surrounding ‘shout outs’. Note the little fold over on the far left, a trick repeated in the top right-hand corner of Shade One’s contribution.
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2020
Shade One creates these amazing portraits that have a sophisticated comic book feel about them. What lies behind those eyes? I love the shirt collar too. Overall another excellent production from this pairing.
Always tight, always pretty near perfect. I can’t think of a Dibz piece that hasn’t been meticulous in both design and execution, and if there are any I’ve yet to see them. This is yet another superb piece from Dibz in Dean Lane (his favourite spot) from a week or two back.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2020
In most cases, Dibz buffs the wall first to ensure there is a focus on his wildstyle writing. The day glow green and pink colours stand out on the blue wall, and the design is simply outstanding. Dibz is an artist with a plan and he paints his plan and he does it well. A fine work.
It is truly great to see that Dibz and Shade One seem to be collaborating rather a lot at the moment, and they have absolutely knocked it out of the (skate) park with this recent piece in Dean Lane.
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
The face is by Shade One and to me represents a great example of a crossover of old school/new school, and what I mean by that is that there are some lines, for example the eyebrows that are quite angular and remind me of old New York style graffiti characters, but the blue frame, bubbles and decoration are much more contemporary in style.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2020
As ever the graffiti writing from Dibz is outstanding, and the sharp clean lines with a complex colour scheme so expertly done demonstrate clearly why Dibz is simply one of the best graffiti writers around. The red object to the right of the piece I believe is a butt plug (although I might be mistaken) and was not part of the original collaboration, unfortunately it doesn’t add much to the piece in my opinion, and is ever so slightly annoying.
This superb collaboration from Dibz and Shade One was a precursor to their Cheltenham Paint Festival collaboration in the Honeybourne Line tunnel painted last weekend. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the finished Cheltenham piece, but was privileged to watch the pair working together.
Dibz and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2020
This Dean Lane Piece is truly outstanding, and the quality of design and execution is of the highest order. I particularly like the blue bubbles, the largest of which provides the background for Shade One’s character on the right. What you see here is a near-perfect work from two very talented artists.
Dibz and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2020
This is yet another stunning piece from Dibz in Dean Lane. I can honestly say that I can’t remember such a productive period from this artist before in my (sometimes limited) experience.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2020
Superb writing with a green surround is brought to life with delicate red thread encircling the whole piece. This is classy writing of the highest calibre and really something to behold. Great work from a great artist.
I have said it before that Dibz has been painting a lot recently, like so many other artists since lock down eased. I am guessing that many artists have been furloughed and have therefore had more time on their hands than usual. I expect that as time passes and things get back to our new normal many artists will return to work and this frenetic activity will start to slow.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
This is an outstanding piece from Dibz, whose attention to detail and sensational finesse is second to none. Everything about this piece is good, from the black background to the colour selections to the design to the brilliant fades in the 3D work and the orange drips. This is a masterful work.
A short while ago there were a few tribute pieces that appeared around Dean Lane for the graffiti writer Desire, of which this was one. This piece is by Dibz, 2Keen and Shade One, although I’m not too sure which bit the latter painted because the Dibz bit is obviously Dibz and the 2Keen character is obviously 2Keen. Perhaps he did the rest of the writing, I don’t know.
Dibz and 2Keen, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
I don’t know much about Desire, but this is a fine tribute and I like the touch ‘Rest in Power’. It is so good to see Dibz so active at the moment, and I haven’t seen a new 2Keen piece for a very long time indeed. This is a high quality collaboration.
So many artists have has a creative rush since the easing of lock down and one of them is Dibz. Ordinarily you’d be lucky to see a new Dibz piece once every two months or so, but I have seen three in the last month of which this is one.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2020
Dibz is a precision graffiti writer. I have never seen anything by him that isn’t really tight, clean and crisp and I have never to my knowledge seen a throw up from him. This is a very classy piece of writing with a beautifully graded fill from dark red through to orange and yellow. The slim yellow edging on the upper sides of the letters creates a lifting effect. This is a piece for connoisseurs.
This is what can happen when two outstanding writers combine their efforts. This supreme collaboration is by Dibz and Shade One, painted in Dean Lane on the same day that Rusk, Soker, Inkie and Hemper painted on the other long wall back in March. A red letter day indeed. The whole collaboration is set on a clean blue background with a magnificent silhouetted cityscape running horizontally through the piece.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
On the left is an absolutely faultless piece from Dibz as we have become accustomed to expect. The fills are really subtle, dradig from a lighter blue at the top to a slightly darker one at the bottom, and the letters have just the right amount of accents in red to set the piece off nicely. This is what great graffiti writinng looks like.
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2020
On the right we have some equally high-class writing from Shade One, an artist I know relatively little about. In this piece I particularly like the tiny ‘cracks’ in red through the letters and the stellar accents on the first and last letters. Magnificent. I am not too sure what the letters say, nor their significance, it looks like JOBE or TOBE. The only other post I have made from this artist was an Upfest piece from 2018.
Natural adventures 