Fade – Page 4 – Natural adventures

6149. Dean Lane skate park (727)

Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

There has been no let up from Dibz and Fade, and although their pieces don’t appear as regularly on Natural Adventures as they used to, it doesn’t mean they aren’t painting as frequently, it simply means they are having to compete for space with so much other art including Upfest 2024.

This is a classic presentation by the two artists with Fade on the left, Dibz on the right and a co-created character in the middle. They have cleverly reversed the fill colour layers between the two pieces of graffiti writing, with Fade starting with green at the top transitioning through dark blues to a light blue, while Dibz starts with the light blue at the top.

The writing is, of course, of the absolute highest standard, painted by two artists who are at the top of their game. I don’t know who the green dog character is, and my Google searches haven’t turned up any clues, which is a pity, but he is nonetheless magnificent. Naturally, there is more to come from these two… watch this space.

6079. Dean Lane skate park (721)

Fade, Jody and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024

Just because I have been paying quite a lot of attention to Upfest 2024 recently, id doesn’t mean that the world of Bristol street/graffiti art has stood still, on the contrary, it continues at the same ridiculous pace as usual. At the vanguard of high quality high productivity are the machine that is Dibz and Fade, and in this instance Jody too.

This ET tribute triptych is typical of the classy collaborations these artists have been churning out for well over a year now, since Fade returned to Bristol. On the left is a beautiful and perfectly presented piece of graffiti writing from Fade, that is notable for the drop shadow lifting upwards, which makes it feel like the letter block is moving downwards, if that makes sense – clever stuff.

The filling of the sandwich has been created by Jodi and portrays the most iconic scenes of the movie and possibly one of the most iconic images of the early 1980s. Not only has Jodi recreated Elliott and ET, but also the amazing landscape and moon shot. I like the way that the artists have put their signatures onto the box which ET is sitting in, as if they were written in felt-tip.

Rounding off the collaboration is a perfect piece of writing from Dibz which mirrors Fade’s writing on the other side. The drop shadow that Dibz uses is more conventional and acts as a counterbalance to Fade’s. This is an awesome ET collaboration, worthy of great praise.

6032. St Werburghs tunnel (424)

Fade and Pekoe, St Werburghs, Bristol, May 2024

Ah! Bravo! Bravo! What a magnificent and, if I am honest, slightly unexpected collaboration from Fade and Pekoe in the tunnel. Although the pair have painted together in the past, it still somehow feels like a surprise when they hook up to paint together.

I was going to write that this might not be the tightest of pieces, but the more I look at it the better it gets I’m my view. The sumptuous colour palette of gold and light purple ticks all the boxes and turns a good wall into a great one. Fade has kept the purple flashes to a subtle minimum, with just enough colour to complement the wonderful gold writing. Lifting the letters further is the beautifully clean white accent line along the upper edges of the letters. Brilliant.

I wasn’t too sure about Pekoe’s portrait on first glance, but I am sure now that it is absolutely on point. The lady is wearing a gold hoody that frames a beautifully expressive face and flowing hair. The woman’s face looks quizzically amused about something, and seems to be suspended in that moment before breaking into laughter, at least that is what I see, and that is the joy of art, we each take home what we see. I really love this collaboration and look forward to their next project together.

6026. Brunel Way (271)

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

This extraordinary collaboration from Dibz, Jody and Fade, in my view, approaches graffiti/character combination perfection, and I feel that the more I say about it, the more I risk devaluing it. This piece, is adjacent to an earlier collaboration by these three which I haven’t yet had the space to post…

The classic triptych begins with some stunning writing from Dibz with an outstanding deep 3D drop shadow, full of shades creating loads of depth. There are some nice dark highlights in the corner of some of the letters too.

Bookending the central character on the other side is some writing from Fade which closely mirrors Dibz’ writing. The main difference between the two is the colour of the drop shadow. Their work is deliberately merged into one.

Arguably, the star of the show is the portrait piece from Jody in the centre. I don’t know what it is that makes this one so special, maybe it is the colours, maybe it is the writing either side, I just don’t know, but it is truly outstanding and captivating. The portrait is full of mystery and power, with the flowing hair and wispy flowers providing plenty of movement. This is really great work from the three. How often have I said that over the last year or two?

6008. Dean Lane skate park (714)

Fade, Dibz, Noise and and Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2024

I am not sure that I have seen this wall painted as much as it has been over the last year or so, not just painted, but painted with so many high-quality pieces. This recent collaborative piece is by Fade, Dibz, Awkward and Noise.

Fade and Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2024

The left-hand end of the wall is collaborative combination from Fade and Awkward. Starting with the latter, I think that this is the most extensive bit of work I have seen from him, with so much more than his usual mega-tag face. Here Awkward has included a complete character as well as some woodland beasties and flowers, with loads of little details. The character is wearing a Cheech Wizard hat and surreptitiously holding a spray can. Fade has painted some beautifully finished letters, acting as a central platform for Awkward’s decorations.

Dibz and Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2024

The middle section is by Dibz with a combination of outstanding writing and a couple of characters… a Vaughn Bode Lizard and another masked character whose name I don’t know, both faithfully reproduced. There have been a whole ton of Vaughn Bode inspired pieces lately, and I guess it is a theme from World Wall Stylers or something like that.

Noise and Awkward, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2024

Rounding off the wall and sticking with the colour theme, Noise, who seems to be enjoying a spate of collaborations, has produced another of his NOISE pieces composed of dense letters with stunning fills and transitions. Awkward makes another appearance with a character peeping over the ‘S’ along with a couple more woodland bugs. Altogether a wonderful piece from the foursome.

5999. Dean Lane skate park (712)

Dibz and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2024

The machine that is Dibz and Fade continues to produce outstanding collaborations, and this one in Dean Lane is a cracker. The Dark Knight is a popular icon for street artists, and Dibz and Fade have gone with the darker variant of the caped crusader, unlike the comedic, lighter cartoonish options they might have gone with

When I asked Fade how I should attribute the artwork in their pieces, he suggested that where the lines become blurred, just label them Dibz and Fade. The writing is attributable, with Fade on the left and Dibz on the right, but the rest of the work is collaborative. A well-thought-out piece, tidily presented – what else would you expect?

5909. Brunel Way (264)

Fade and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

I am so far behind with my posts that since this piece by Dibz and Fade was painted, the left hand side has gone, and the right hand side augmented. The more these two work together, the more difficult it becomes to determine who has painted what, and I was lucky enough to meet them yesterday and Fade said that the both contribute to both bits of their work, and that it might be easier to attribute the pieces to both of them, rather than trying to isolate one artist from the other.

Having said all of that, on the left, the writing is the work of Fade, containing plenty of spots from the cheetah. Some great letter shapes and the crossover fade from orange to black is expertly handled.

On the right the letters spell out Dibz, and the character, which I have only just realised as I write this, is the cheetah from the Cheetos snacks brand, hence the words “it’s not easy… being cheesy”. The cheetah and the writing have been incorporated into a full wall Alice in Wonderland piece from the pair, which I hope to be able to stitch together from several visits. There is no stopping this Dibz/Fade juggernaut.

5905. Dean Lane skate park (700)

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

5872. Dean Lane skate park (694)

Pekoe and Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

It is not often that you find a Fade/Pekoe collaboration, but I have been photographing street art and graffiti writing for long enough to know that you should always expect the unexpected. I wonder whether this was a planned thing or whether they found themselves at the same place at the same time and decided to paint together. I guess I’ll only ever know if I ask them.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

Pekoe has smashed it again with this wonderful portrait piece, and there is something about the presentation of her work these days that makes me think she is in a good place emotionally and that it is surfacing in her paintings. The subject has wonderful full lips, dark eyes, hoop earrings and an absence of tears. The decorative shapes help to break the piece up a little and add to it significantly.

You simply can’t hold Fade back at the moment – not that you’d want to – and his enthusiasm for painting walls is not only expressed in the quantity of the pieces he paints, but also in the incredibly sharp quality of his work. The letters here are very crisp, the transitions of the fills are exceptional and the 3D drop shadow nicely uniform. Fade comes across as a bit of a perfectionist, which is probably why he enjoys painting with Dibz so much. This is a very nice collaborative wall.

	paulh121 on 7360. St Werburghs tunnel…
	paulh121 on 14 years
	hitandrun1964 on 7360. St Werburghs tunnel…
	beth on 14 years
	hitandrun1964 on 14 years

	paulh121 on 7360. St Werburghs tunnel…
	paulh121 on 14 years
	hitandrun1964 on 7360. St Werburghs tunnel…
	beth on 14 years
	hitandrun1964 on 14 years

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