5905. Dean Lane skate park (700)

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

Collaborations from Fade and Dibz are becoming part of the furniture these days, and it would be easy to slip into complacency or to take their work for granted. What I have to remember is that we are very lucky in Bristol to have two artists of this calibre at the top of their game and painting on at least a weekly basis.

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine who paints which bits of their collaborations these days, but my guess is that Dibz painted the letters FADE and Fade painted the character piece. It appears that the pair are on a bit of a Dragon Ball frenzy at the moment, as this is the second recent character from the cartoon series to appear in Dean Lane. This time it is the turn of Majin Buu.

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024
Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2024

The work of Dibz and Fade is pretty much always tight, and rarely, if ever, do they turn out anything that looks scruffy or rushed. This is what they do and they look like they are absolutely loving doing it. The benefactors of their labours are those that seek out and find their work.

5893. Dean Lane skate park (698)

Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

Probably the most notable ‘high-end’ collaboration partnership of the last twelve months has been that between Fade and Dibz. Shortly after Fade’s return to the UK, he teamed up with Dibz and they haven’t looked back since, turning out outstanding collaborative pieces on an almost weekly basis. For sure, the increased output from Dibz has been incredible, as he had slowed down a bit during the Covid years.

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

On the left Fade has written FADE in fairly soft lilacs with turquoise borders but surrounded them with vibrant bright oranges and yellows, providing contrast and interest. To the right is a character, Son Goku, from the TV series Dragon Ball – I never saw it, perhaps because I was too old, and didn’t have kids (1989-1996). I don’t know who painted the character… it may have been a joint effort.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

To the right Dibz has adopted a similar colour scheme, although applied in a different way. Such perfect writing, wonderfully tight as you’d expect. These two continue to smash it with every piece they paint, and it doesn’t look like they will be slowing down any time soon.