Dibz, Awkward and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023
This is a rather interesting collaboration in Dean Lane, in which Fade and Dibz have done their thing, but have been joined by Awkward, whose big-eyed character faces are in stark contrast to Dibz and Fade’s sharp graffiti writing.
Dibz, Awkward and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023
Dibz has written DIBZ and has a downwards and left facing drop shadow. Fade has written FADE and his writing has a drop shadow that goes up and to the right, which creates some imbalance in the piece (to my mind). Add to that the crazy character by Awkward and you have a collaboration made up of three great individual pieces, but the golden thread or flow is a little absent. Having made that observation, I still very much like the three core elements on this wall.
I am in a conference all day today, so I wrote this one last night, not that it makes any difference to anything at all. As reported several times before on Natural Adventures, Dibz and Fade have been unstoppable this year, painting some incredible pieces week in, week out. This beauty was on the long wall under Brunel Way.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
As with many of their recent collaborations, it can be difficult to know where the individual work ends and the combined work begins, but broadly speaking the writing on the left is by Fade, and under his tight writing he has the words ‘From up above’.
Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
The central character looks like something out of a Marvel or DC comic, but I am not sure that I can spend hours trying to find out who, although a quick Google search has led me to the door of Dark Phoenix from X-Men. Beautifully painted… these guys really are good. The banner spells out Tru Headz Kru (THK), which I assume is the two collaborating artists.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, October 2023
To the right, Dibz gives us another of his flawless pieces of graffiti writing, looking stunning in shades of green with a purple drop shadow. I can see several possible words in the letters, but most likely is DIBZ, although I can also see DARK, which would cross-reference nicely with the character. Still more to post from these two!
I have pretty much said it all when it comes to collaborations between Dibz and Fade. How on earth they find the time, the energy, the inspiration and the money for paint I will never know, but that is why they do what they do and I do what I do, I suppose.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, October 2023
This is one of those collaboration fusion pieces where each artist has contributed to all parts of the piece, although Fade probably did most of the writing and Dibz the character. I had to do a little research, and found out that the character is from the 1977 film Wizards and is called Avatar. I am pleased with myself finding this out, especially when there isn’t much to go on. These guys are far from done, more to come soon.
Collaborations between Dibz and Fade are fast becoming the most frequent on Natural Adventures, and they seem to be turning out at least one piece a week, which certainly keeps me on my toes. I try to post them all, simply because of their outstanding quality. Perhaps they will slow the pace a little over the winter months and I can turn my attention to other less well represented artists.
Dibz and Fade, Brunel Way, October 2023
This piece, quite small by their standards, features Scrooge Mc Duck, holding not a bag of money, but instead a spray can. The writing says FADE, but it is difficult to disentangle who painted what in this collaboration, but I am pretty certain Dibz painted the character and Fade the writing. Another very nicely executed piece from this productive pair.
Dibz and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
It seems that every time I go down to Brunel Way, I will find Dibz and Fade happily redecorating the long south-facing wall under the main road. They were at it again this week with yet another imaginative co-production. This particular piece was painted a couple of weeks ago, and I caught up with them as they were nearing completion. Both artists, and Fade in particular (who has definitely bonded with my dog) are so generous with their time and happy for a chat.
Dibz and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
I am pretty certain that the Yosemite Sam character was painted by Fade (he was putting on finishing touches). More obviously, the piece on the left is by Dibz and the one on the right by Fade.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
When you look at the work of the two artists side-by-side, I feel that Dibz’ pieces are always a little more intricate and sharper, while Fade’s pieces have a slightly softer and gentle appearance. To me, it is baffling how each artist is able to create a style and tone that is replicable from piece to piece – these guys are amazing.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
On the right is Fade’s contribution. Fade has really captured the colours of cartoons, and all of his pieces have that exciting glow about them, in this case created by a gorgeous golden 3D drop shadow. Yosemite Sam is a popular character with street artists and in this instance Fade has more than done it justice. Yet more to come from this pair.
Dibz, Cheo and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
I don’t often place work in progress (WIP) shots as the feature image, preferring to have the completed piece in all its glory, but in this instance I have gone for it, showing three masters at work, Dibz, Cheo and Fade.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
The turnover on this wall this year has been quite staggering, and the bar has been raised a few notches on the quality of pieces that appear there. On the left Dibz has done his stuff with pin-point accuracy and a crispness that is synonymous with his work.
Cheo, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
The beast of a piece in the middle is by Cheo, and is frankly utterly brilliant. The overweight character is holding a spray can (a popular theme I have commented on many times in this blog) and looking like he might have had a beer too many the night before. The genius of the piece is the ‘Hello Kitty’ underpants creeping out of the top of the character’s trousers. The hairy belly and five o’clock shadow are nice touches too.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
To the right, Fade reflects the colours, and to a certain extent the style, of Dibz’ writing on the other side of Cheo’s character. There is some mirroring of fills and drips too. The key difference between the two is the complexity of the design and thickness of the letters. Perhaps one day it will not be possible to distinguish between the two. A superb Triptych.
It is genuinely getting very difficult to keep up with Dibz and Fade, who appear to be smashing it week after week, with their collaborative walls, and this one, which I don’t think lasted very long, is a real beauty.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2023
Dibz to the left and Fade to the right have written their names set on a shared blue background with some ‘thermal’ blobs surrounding the letters and breaking off. Everything about this piece is sharp, neat and tidy, and showcases their work perfectly. As well as painting together, it seems that the two get on really well, and bring out the best in one another’s artwork.
There is no stopping these two at the moment, Dibz and Fade are on a roll and seem determined to make hay while the sun shines. The writing, by Dibz, is characteristically complex and perfectly finished, when is it ever not? The fill is a lovely earthy mix of colours in a style resembling army camouflage patterning. The 3D drop shadow has an icy cool feel to it, with a low central vanishing point, which works really well.
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
The superbly painted character, by Fade, is not known to me, but is probably, from the look of it, a Disney cartoon character. Since I and my children grew up, my knowledge of children’s cartoons has diminished and I often have to rely on Interweb searches to work out what people have painted. In this instance I have drawn a blank, so unless you know, you’ll have to linger, like me, in ignorance.
Update: Painted as part of the World Wall Stylers camouflage challenge.
Fade, Jody and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
We are blessed in Bristol to have so many outstanding graffiti artists, and I have to remind myself how privileged we are to be able to enjoy such awesome free art, that most towns and cities in the country simply don’t get to experience. Three of the best artists, Dibz, Jody and Fade combined to give us this amazing Ghostbusters triptych, alongside Ryder, whose piece I will post soon.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
To the left in spooky blue and green colours is writing by Fade, but just to confuse things, he has written DIBZ in a sot of mutual respect thing going on between the artists. Underneath are the letters RDA and RFK, which, if I am honest, I don’t know what they stand for, but are presumably crew names. Great crisp clean letters with a glow of green ghostly ectoplasm.
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
In the middle is a piece by Jody, which convinces me that he is one of the most talented and versatile character/portrait artists in Bristol, has painted Slimer, the iconic ghost from the film franchise. The fact that this year Jody has painted a range of pieces including a demon, a hooded woman, a renaissance portrait (using brushes) Barbie and now Slime, simply demonstrates that he can turn his hand to pretty much anything.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
To the right, the letters from Dibz are as perfect as ever. Dibz has been smashing it all year long and shows no signs of slowing down. He is painting so fast that some of his pieces are getting left behind in my archive – an unthinkable state of affairs. Yet another epic wall in this year of epic walls.
Only a few days ago I spoke about how many whole-wall epic collaborations there have been this year, and this huge wall is all the more impressive given that the whole thing was painted by only two artists, Fade and Dibz.
Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Fade appears to be something of a force of nature with both the quality and quantity of pieces he has been painting recently, and he appears to be equally comfortable with writing and characters. I have to confess that I am not 100 percent certain who painted each element of the wall, but I’ll have a go. I think the fox and the MOFO writing in white are by Fade.
Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
The vampire style character I have a feeling might have been painted by Dibz… it certainly has the crispness and quality that I would associate with his work, although equally, Fade might have crafted it.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
The next section of writing would appear to be by Fade, but having said that it might be by Dibz, doing that thing where he writes another artist’s name. The cartoon duck is fabulous, but I can’t place him.
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
The next section of writing is definitely by Dibz… there are very few artists who could replicate his superb wildstyle graffiti writing.
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2023
Rounding off the whole collaboration is a little scene with a cartoon dog and mid-west style farm house painted to perfection. The whole collaboration is utterly awesome and frankly it is difficult to process how they managed to pull it off so well. Bravo!
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