6389. Brunel Way (290)

Dibz, Jody, Urge, The Art of Sok and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Dibz, Jody, Urge, The Art of Sok and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

This is another stunning production piece, led and bookended by Dibz and Fade, incorporating work from Jody, Urge and The Art of Sok.  The themed colours of orange and light blues works exceptionally well in this spot that can have a tendency to be a bit gloomy.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Starting with Dibz on the left (and rather annoyingly, capturing that shaft of light which makes an appearance in the afternoons), the collaboration gets off to a great start, with as sharp and tidy wildstyle graffiti writing as you would expect from Dibz.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

With five artists in the line-up, and three of them writers, the character pieces appear in the second and fourth slots. This astonishing Godzilla piece is by Jody, who has been on fire since joining up with Dibz and Fade over the last year or so (although, to be fair, he is always on fire, but perhaps more so recently).

Urge, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Urge, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Next up is a piece by Urge, who I know nothing about, but whose writing looks completely at home with the Bristol artists. I guess that Urge was visiting, or passing by, and got invited to join in. I love it that Bristol artists are so welcoming of others from around the country.

The Art of Sok, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
The Art of Sok, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

The fourth slot is taken up by the Art of Sok, whose distinctive style of cartoon characters, while so utterly different from the other four pieces, somehow manages to complement them very well. His characters are always beautifully presented in as close to a perfect state as they could be.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Things are rounded off by Fade, who along with Dibz ‘owns’ this manor. His beautiful letters, immaculately filled with two shades of blue and bordered with an orange 3D drop shadow, reflect the writing that comes before it. This is a very classy production piece from these five artists. Bravo!

6379. Brunel Way (289)

Goldie, Fade, Acer One, Jody and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024
Goldie, Fade, Acer One, Jody and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024

All year long, Dibz and Fade have been decorating this wall with alarming regularity, and they have been joined along the way in their endeavours by Andy Council, Jody and Acer One (amongst others) and this time are joined by Goldie, Acer One and Jody. A production tribute wall to honour the musician and DJ, Randall.

Goldie, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024
Goldie, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024

The whole production is very nicely balanced which given the configuration, which starts with a Goldie piece that embroiders the words ‘The R’. This is a really nice dedication and beautifully painted. The colour selection is reflected in the rest of the collaboration. It is always great to see Goldie visiting Bristol for a bit of a paint.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024

Fade is next up and he has compressed his piece to accommodate Goldie next to him and support the balance I was talking about earlier. With the orange and turquoise letters, Fade has written the letters ‘DJ’ which are as immaculate as you might expect. Both sets of writing are adorned with flames, which extend for the entire collaboration.

Acer One and Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024
Acer One and Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024

The centrepiece is  a shared space with Acer One lettering across the top of an outstanding Jody portrait of DJ Randall. Acer One has written ‘Too hot to handle’ which I am guessing is part of a slogan rhyming with DJ Randall. Not being a music specialist myself, I am unable to shed too much light on the artist or his work.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024

The Portrait is a faithful and beautifully painted, and certainly a fitting tribute.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2024

The production rounds-off on the right with a wide piece of wildstyle graffiti writing from Dibz. The Turquoise and orange letters spell Randall, so the whole production spells out:

“The R, Too hot to handle, DJ Randall”.

Wonderful stuff from this quintet of talented artists.

6362. Dean Lane skate park (749)

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

You might have seen several references in the past to World Wall Stylers, and wondered what it is all about. Essentially, it is a global street art collaboration event, organised through Instagram, setting a theme which artists can adopt, paint and photograph, tagging @worldwallstylers in their own Instagram feeds. It is a way of showing off your style to a large urban art community and observing other artist’s impressions on the same theme. This month is chapter 16 of World Wall Stylers and the theme is the film ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’.

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

Fade and Dibz have collaborated in this Roger Rabbit piece in what I would call a fusion collaboration where both artists will have contributed to all parts of the piece, in spite of the letters spelling out FADE. The character in this piece was called Smart Guy, one of five weasel characters belonging to the Toon Patrol. Brilliant work from the pair and a prompt to dig out the movie and re-watch it sometime.

6338. Dean Lane skate park (745)

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

Fade and Dibz need no introduction here given that I have posted dozens of their collaborations already on Natural Adventures this year. Their productivity is admirable and the quality of their work, awesome.

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

This collaboration centres on the theme of 1980s arcade game Pac-Man, but adopts a modern version of the little yellow character. The yellow dots in the maze are reproduced, although I am a little surprised not to see the incorporation of the four ghosts. Fade has split his letters into two colour assemblages, perhaps adding a little variety.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

Dibz has also incorporated the maze element as his background and cleverly incorporated an ‘on-brand’ Pac-Man FUA (From up above). The transition of colour fill in Dibz’ letters is outstanding, and the fine yellow highlights help the letters to pop. Magnificent work from the duo.

6322. Dean Lane skate park (743)

Fade and Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Fade and Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

I am currently enjoying a few days in Copenhagen with my mother, to celebrate, belatedly, my 60th birthday. This means that the next few posts are a little hurried, and not very in depth, distractions being what they are.

Fade and Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024
Fade and Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2024

This is a gorgeous and beautifully integrated collaboration from Fade and Pekoe. There is a synergy in this that works incredibly well with both artists adding to the others’ work, where the total is greater than the sum of the parts. The letters are magnificently painted by Fade, and the ‘A’ replaced with a trademark portrait from Pekoe. There is so much to love about this striking piece, especially the rich colour palette.

6275. Dean Lane skate park (740)

Awkward, Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Awkward, Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024

The FUA (From Up Above) boys are at it again, although this time they are joined by Awkward, and have opted for a smaller wall for this collaboration. In this piece we see our two main protagonists getting closer and closer to fusion in their work.

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

Fade on the left and Dibz on the right have opted to use the same colours, 3D drop shadow, decorations and background, and it is only their stylistic differences that separate them. Dibz’ work tends to be a little bit more angular than the smoother edges of Fade. The colour transitions in the fills are excellent in both halves.

Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024

The central piece is book-ended by two characters by Awkward, who has painted with Dibz and Fade in Dean Lane not all that long ago. Messages contained in the speech bubbles are ‘roll the dice’, ‘Awkward’ and ‘Stop the war’. The characters look typically alarmed/animated with their exaggerated eyes and wobbly outlines. A rather nice collaboration from the three artists.

6235. Brunel Way (282)

Dibz, Jody and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Dibz, Jody and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

If ever you want an example of the perfect triptych graffiti writing/character portrait piece then look no further than this magnificent piece by Dibz, Jody and Fade underneath Brunel Way bridge. As always, these three have smashed it, and I just don’t know how many more ceilings they can break with their work.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

To the left, Dibz’ writing in black and pink is reflected on the right-hand side by Fade, where their writing is almost becoming indistinguishable except to the most experienced eyes. The key difference is that Fade’s letters tend to be ever so slightly softer than Dibz’. Both have created something special and finished it off with a splash of ‘liquid’ gold running behind the collaboration.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Sitting pretty between the graffiti writing is this outstanding skull painted by Jody. One of the great benefits of Jody joining these writers over the last couple of years is that we get to see so much more of his work on the streets, which I dare say we wouldn’t see so much if he was painting alone. When I see Jody’s work, I am still baffled how he manages to get such extraordinary detail and texture using a spray can. A trio at the top of their game.

6215. Brunel Way (279)

Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

I don’t think that I have ever seen so many production pieces as I have this year. The driving force behind these productions is the Dibz/Fade FUA brotherhood, and they have been oh so busy over the last eighteen months or so. In this full wall piece, they have been joined by Acer One and Jody, and what an amazing piece it is (gone now of course – overpainted by further FUA productions).

Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

The production is bookended by two pieces by Acer One using his highly designed lettering spelling out ACER on the left-hand side and JODY on the right-hand side, thus ensuring that all four artists are named overtly in the production. The writing is painted over a moon/sun icon, and commensurate with the oriental feel of the entire collaboration.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

There is a second set of inner bookends provided by Dibz and Fade, who present their wildstyle writing in a similar style and adopting an identical colour palette and decorations. In terms of painting, these two are brothers from different mothers, and while it is possible to tell the art of one from the other, it is becoming more difficult to do so.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

Everything about the production points towards the centrepiece which is provided, as is often the case, by Jody, and he has surpassed even his very high standards with this astonishingly beautiful portrait piece. Jody has been working on this robot/human interface a fair bit lately, and this follows on from his remarkable Upfest piece (not yet posted here). It is the detail in the piece here that is so admirable, the hair and garland, the features of the face, machinery in the neck and patterns on the kimono. The portrait is a fitting climax to the whole production and shown how the coming together of different elements complement one another in perfect balance. Awesome stuff.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, July 2024

6200. Dean Lane skate park (732)

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

This is the second piece (the first was by Deamze) I have seen in Bristol featuring Asterix and Obelix from the children’s comic book series written by Goscinny and illustrated by Uderzo, both, regrettably no longer with us, but their legacy lives on through apprentices who have carried on the series of books. I am something of an expert on Asterix, I was brought up on the books, and in my youth they were the only thing I would read (much to my family’s dismay), so I judge this remarkable piece by Fade and Dibz through critical lens.

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024

Starting with Fade, the strong and on-point letters in black with orange drop shadows, are nothing more than I would expect. For me, though the writing is eclipsed with the appearance of Dogmatix, Obelix’s dog, at the bottom left.

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

Dogmatix, obviously had a non-speaking part in the books, other than the odd growl or woof, and Fade’s rendition of the little character is perfect, picking up on his personality faithfully.

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

The centrepiece, probably painted by both Fade and Dibz features the heroes of the piece, Asterix and Obelix. The large sidekick, Obelix is 100% spot on, everything about his is brilliant. Getting on to Asterix though, my hypercritical eye isn’t quite happy with the warrior’s face, which feels slightly elongated… there is something not right about the proportions. I’ll let it go though, because they have tapped in to something that is deeply rooted in my childhood.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2024

Dibz rounds off the production piece by mirroring Fade’s style and colours to provide balance to the whole collaboration. Remarkable stuff really and a red-letter day for me on finding it. Below is the Deamze piece from 2018 before he emigrated to Tasmania.

Deamze, Waterloo Street, Bristol, October 2018
Deamze, Waterloo Street, Bristol, October 2018

6160. Dean Lane skate park (728)

Fade, Andy Council and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Fade, Andy Council and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

What I love about recording and writing about street/graffiti in Bristol is the enormous array of quality, experience and styles that I get to see – it is never boring, and I love to try and represent it all here. This is an extraordinary ‘high-end’ production from Fade, Andy Council and Acer One. I get the feeling from the balance of the piece that Fade may have been an opportunistic addition to this piece, but has integrated perfectly with the colour scheme and tone,

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

Fade, using all his experience, manages to create such a tight finish to all of his work, and it feels like there is never any part of it that is untidy or out of place. His letters spell FADE, and are filled beautifully in black fading to brown. The writing is set on a stunning grey/brown cloud that runs through the whole collaboration.

Andy Council and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Andy Council and Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

The balanced symmetry of the Acer One and Andy Council element of the collaboration is what makes me think that Fade was an add-on. It comprises one of Acer One’s designs that he is currently favouring, which is accompanied by two of Andy Council’s famous Ammonites.

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

Acer One has come up with this incredibly clever and intricate concept, where two words are incorporated into one design – something he has done before, but is now more refined. Some of the words are easier than others to see. The upper chrome lettering spells ACERONE and the lower black letters spell COUNCIL. If you block off the upper or lower part, it is easier to read the names.

Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Andy Council, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

I love it that Andy Council will often return to his ammonites in his mural work. They obviously hold an important part in his work because his signature incorporates one. These creatures are ‘composites’ made up of elements ‘stitched’ together in Andy Council’s unique and inimitable style. This is overall a brilliant production, and a precursor to a larger one including Dibz and Jody… watch this space.