Birthday paint jams are an opportunity for graffiti writers to break away from their customary letters (usually their street name) and play with the letters of the artist being celebrated. In this case, the Birthday boy was Dibz as he celebrated his 50th birthday, and the artist whiting his letters if Rusk.
Rusk Cumberland Basin, Bristol, October 2025
Rusk is a fabulous graffiti writer and takes a lot of care with his work, leaving everything neat and tidy. The colours of the piece tie in with Halloween; purple, orange and green, and the spider webs decorating the edges clear up doubt, if there was any, that October 31 is very much front of mind. This is the first of several pieces from this paint jam.
What better way to celebrate Goldie’s birthday than to paint a rather slick tribute, which is what we see here from Dibz and Jody. The sharp letters are by Dibz and the unusual fill by Jody, who is perhaps better knows for his characters and portraits.
Dibz and Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2025
As well as providing the ‘canvass’ for Jody’s work, Dibz has also painted a Metalheadz logo (Goldie’s record label) and THK to the right. The fill of Goldie’s trademark gold teeth by Jody is quite remarkable, and notable for the reflections (probably of the photographer or viewer). The whole thing is crisp, neat and tidy. A little bit more attention to the black buff (a second coat?) and this would be perfection.
Cheo, Dibz and Ulow, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025
Lots to see and admire in this wonderful triptych from Cheo, Dibz and Ulow, painted during a ‘high end’ paint jam celebrating the latter’s birthday. The whole wall, (see last photograph) was sheer class.
Cheo, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025
First up in this little sequence of three is a brilliant B Boy character by Cheo, with his second piece of the paint jam. A perfect cartoon-style, with so much detail to enjoy, and of course the trademark bee.
Dibz, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025
In the middle of this triptych is an outstanding piece of graffiti writing by Dibz which appropriately spells out ULOW. Beautifully designed letters and fills have to give way a little to some amazing exploding pink bubbles. A nicely balanced piece.
Ulow, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025
Finally, all eyes are on the amazing character by the birthday boy himself. Ulow has painted an extraordinary comic-style full portrait of a young woman dancing, or so it appears. Ulow has created enormous depth with his perspective, and accentuated the muscle-tone incredibly skilfully. Truly stunning work from all three artists.
Minto, Cheo, Hypo, Ulow, Dibz, Soker, Rusk, Shade One and Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2025
This wall has hosted some utterly outstanding pieces over the years, and this combination collaboration from Dibz and Cheo is right up there with the very best of them. The first thing to notice about this wonderful piece is just how neatly it has been executed and how well it stands out on the black background.
Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2025
The comic character, painted by Cheo is holding up a small board on which Dibz has written his name – it is a brilliantly clever way to present a character and graffiti writing together in a contextual storytelling scenario. There are so many details in the collaboration to enjoy, such as the signature bee, the laminate wooden board peeling and drips from the letters, and my favourite bit, the plaster on the character’s nose. Pure genius from Dibz and Cheo.
Fade, Jody, Dibz, Cheo and Acid Face with a Brace, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
In Bristol, we are really lucky and get to see a lot of collaborations and paint jams about the place, bringing together local artists who are often joined by visitors, invited or passing through. We get to see all sorts of different styles and levels, and then occasionally a top drawer special production like this one from Fade, Jody, Dibz, Cheo and Acid Face with a Brace.
Fade, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Photographing this production in its entirety was something of a challenge due to its sheer length and some difficult light conditions, with so much open sky above the wall. To start us off on this wall we have a semi-submerged piece by Fade, with the water level cleverly portrayed using different shades of colour above and below the water line, a theme continued by each artist through the production. Some dramatic skies round off Fade’s section nicely.
Jody, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Next up is a portrait piece by Jody featuring a warrior with a deep fur collar and long sword, so I am imagining a Viking theme going on, although I can’t help feeling that the hairdo doesn’t quite match the machismo of the character.
Dibz, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
In the centre and holding the whole production together is a piece of typically brilliant writing from Dibz, again, with the water line running through it and incorporating a wonky long sword. The dramatic skies also continue through this story.
Cheo, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Cheo brings a whole different style to the piece, while faithfully following the Viking idea. His cartoon warrior, wading through the water, is festooned with long blonde hair tied up with red bands. His snarling face is made rather comical with the tilt of his helmet. Of course, a trademark bee, also with a helmet, is in attendance.
Acid Face with a Brace, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, May 2025
Rounding off the production is some more writing from Acid Face with a Brace, whose collaboration with Dibz and Fade in Dean Lane from earlier in the summer is still very much intact. The theme is beautifully embraced by Acid Face with a Brace, and he has included a wave breaking over his letters, mirroring the Fade piece at the other end. Awesomeness all round.
I was lucky enough to come across Dibz and Fade while they were painting this beautiful collaboration and was given a small insight into some of their colour choices over the last year. It turns out that they are only now finishing off the paint that they were given by Goldie for his wall of fame at Ikea last year. Amazing really that he gave them so much and that it has lasted this long.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2025
This stacked collaboration required quite a lot of ladder work, and seeing the work in progress gives some sense of scale. Fade is working on his letters, bottom left and Dibz is up the latter. I guess I’ll have top forgive them for the brown background, which works well with the flame colours used in the letters, although an extra coat might have helped in one or two spots.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2025
Overall, the twin collaboration is yet another demonstration of their extraordinary talent. I particularly like the green splats, giving the whole thing a bit of vibrancy and movement.
I can’t think how many times Dibz and Fade have teamed up in the last couple of years, but it must be into dozens, and this piece shows the true nature of total collaboration, where both artists created this incredible work together, and it isn’t possible to know who painted what. Lots of crew shout-outs are scattered around the outside of the piece in pink. Wildstyle writing at its best.
The piece spells out, rather appropriately, ‘Wild Style Addicts’ which probably sums up these two rather well. The gold and purple colours complement one another well, and it all looks very neat and tidy on the black wall.
If ever you wanted an example of contemporary wildstyle writing at its best, you wouldn’t need to go any further than this exquisite piece by Dibz. The subtle tones and dark background are in harmony with this piece being a tribute to the late Tickz, hence the ‘rest in peace’ writing to the top left.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2025
Everything about this piece is near-perfect. All the lines are sharp and clean, the fills tidy and unfussy, the white highlights consistent and bringing about a uniform 3D effect across the whole piece, and of course the halo in contrasting yellow. As tribute pieces go, this is about as good as it gets.
I think I was about five or six years old when I was given my first Asterix book. My mother was having her hair done and bought me ‘Asterix the Gaul’, to keep me occupied for the very boring two hour hair appointment. Not only did the distraction technique work, but it began a love affair I have had with these cartoon adventure books ever since. I still buy (in hardback) every new edition that is published, even though both the original author and illustrator (Goscinny and Uderzo) have now died. Imagine my excitement when I came across Dibz and Fade while they were painting this epic piece in Dean Lane.
Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2025
I can’t really add much commentary about the artists that is new, and I have run out of superlatives to describe their work. The writing on the left, by Dibz is about as tight and sharp as you can get with wildstyle graffiti writing. The orange letters with a deep 3D drop shadow, which has a metallic sheen to it, spell DIBZ.
Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2025
To the right hand side of the collaboration, Fade has adopted the colour selection for his piece, but, although subtle, his letters and style are a tad softer than Dibz’. A notable change in this collaboration is that the artists have swapped sides from their usual preference, which must feel a little bit like sleeping on the wrong side of bed. Maybe?
Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2025
The centrepiece of this production is a near-perfect rendition of the druid Getafix, who makes the secret magic potion that gives our protagonists, Asterix and Obelix, their strength. The artists have been so true to the original artwork, Uderzo himself would have been impressed. This really is a remarkable collaboration and shows off Dibz and Fade at their very best. I’ll forgive them for the ‘Geta-graf-fix pun.
Fade, Acid Face with a Brace and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
One of the best pieces of the year so far (in my view), this is an outstanding production triptych by Fade, Acid Face with a Brace and Dibz. What is difficult to convey is the scale of the collaboration, because not only is it wide, but it is also tall as well.
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
There is so much happening here, and it starts off with a superb piece of writing from Fade. The letters are complex and multilayered, with great fills, deep 3D drop shadows that appear to be translucent and some ‘tape’ wrapped around the ends of the word. The purple bubbly background is present through the whole piece.
Acid Face with a Brace, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Arguably the most eye-catching part of this collaboration is the central character by Acid Face with a Brace, a writer from Birmingham. The scary, hooded mummy-type character is superbly painted, with tons of movement, and brilliant folds in the fabric and bandages. The blue face and big red eyes are superbly crafted. This is simply awesome.
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2025
Rounding off the collaboration is a mirroring of Fade’s writing to a large extent, but with enough signature elements to be different and ‘Dibzy’ enough. The way these three have combined their talents to create this amazing production is a testament to their individual and combined skills. A little bird tells me that wall may get a facelift while retaining the character – you heard it here first.
Natural adventures 