Fade – Page 4 – Natural adventures

6215. Brunel Way (279)

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

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.

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.

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.

6200. Dean Lane skate park (732)

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.

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.

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.

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 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

6160. Dean Lane skate park (728)

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, 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

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 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

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.

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.

	Wes Vinglun (aka) Ni… on 7679. Mina Road (17)
	hitandrun1964 on 7679. Mina Road (17)
	hitandrun1964 on Posy
	skat on Posy
	skat on Posy

	Wes Vinglun (aka) Ni… on 7679. Mina Road (17)
	hitandrun1964 on 7679. Mina Road (17)
	hitandrun1964 on Posy
	skat on Posy
	skat on Posy

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