Tag: Hire

4349. Dean Lane skate park (477)

I have always and will always love the work of Hire. Hire is one of a large contingent of Polish artists in Bristol, each one bringing something rather special to our city, and becoming part of its rich cultural heritage.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2022

This is a beautiful piece of writing set on a deep rich red background, giving it something of a sumptuous feel. I have to confess that I am not quite sure what the repeating pattern of letters says, I am used to picking out the letters HIRE or BF, but this is a bit of a mystery. As an exercise in repetition is is a stunner, and you might have a bit of fun playing ‘spot the difference’ between the three sections. Fine work from Hire.

4251. Cumberland Basin

Like many artists, Hire seems to have woken up from a bit of a pandemic slumber. Artists seem to have split into two camps over the last two years; those that went to ground and are now slowly emerging, and those that took advantage of the disruption and Furlough to paint like never before. Hire certainly belonged to the former.

Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2022
Hire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, February 2022

This is a nice double piece of ‘BFs’ from the Polish artist. I believe BF is a crew, but I don’t know what it stands for, anyway, Hire has gone for two different stylistic approaches to the letters and the end result is rather pleasing. His talent overfloweth.

4156. Dean Lane skate park (450)

Hire, an artist who I like very much, has been a little bit more active over the last month or so, which is great to see. This is a tribute piece in Dean Lane, which sat alongside one of his other recent works. I’m not too sure about the background to the tribute.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

Nice letters and colours combine to spell out DALLA in a rather subdued style, compared to Hire’s usual busy work. A very nice piece indeed.

4092. Dean Lane skate park (441)

I met Hire in Dean Lane the day before he painted this beauty, and he was basically sizing up the wall looking where would be best to paint his new work. I hadn’t seen him for quite some time, but he remembered me and even remembered my name, which felt good, and we chewed the fat for a little while, before I had to dash.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2021

I like, and have always liked, Hire’s work. His graffiti writing has a distinctive jagged appearance of edges and shapes that remind me of medieval weapons and blades. The letters are sophisticated, spelling HIRE, and the colour transitions beautifully worked, with a bright band running horizontally through the piece. So good to see both the artist and his new piece.

3717. Dean Lane skate park (418)

Although we don’t see too much of Hire these days, what we do see is of the highest quality. I am really enjoying Hire’s relatively recent reinvention pieces like this one in which he writes the word ODIAH

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2021

This beautifully presented piece incorporates some of the jagged elements of Hire’s customary style but softens them into a rather more conventional writing style. The colours are nicely selected and the grading of fill from light to dark is masterful. A really nice piece.

3660. Dean Lane skate park (411)

Ticking over quite nicely and occasionally reminding us he is still out there is Hire with this rather rich BF piece. I believe BF is Hire’s crew name as his Instagram account is @hireonebf although I am not too sure what the letters stand for.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2021

What appears to be rather different about this piece from his normal fare is the inclusion of a 3D shadow which really isn’t in his regular repertoire. It is a nice tidy piece, and I guess one directed as much at the crew as at the Dean Lane audience. A hardy perennial and one I wouldn’t be without.

3589. Dean Lane skate park (405)

It has been well worth the wait to see these two collaborating once again. Once a common sight, since last March, I think these two have only painted together a couple of times. This is back to the classic style for both artists, with their jagged spikes lettering.

Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Soge, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021

On the left of the collaboration, set on a vibrant pink backwash, which if you look carefully is a tropical beach scene with ocean waves and palm trees, are the letters SOGE in an irregular formation. The letters look like the thorn forest in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2021

To the right is writing from Hire who has taken a break from his more recent representations to revert to old style work with a great result. These two artists absolutely smashing this style of writing which seems to be pretty unique to them in Bristol – I can’t think there are any other writers who do this. Great to see them back together and I am hoping it is the first of many more.

3492. Dean Lane skate park (387)

Oooh, I haven’t seen anything from Hire for quite a long time, so to come across this in Dean Lane was a very pleasant surprise indeed. Of all the artists in Bristol that have changed their format or styles, I think Hire wins the prize for reinventing himself. There are traces of his older work, which the trained eye might see, but overall the new style, and different letters, seem like a new artist has hit the town.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

His letters spell out ODIAH, rather than HIRE, and I don’t know if it means ‘oh dear’ or spells something in his Polish language – a quick look at Google Translate tells me not.

The piece itself is out of this world. Crisp, clean letters in black on a dark blue background, with a cream border, and some supreme letter shapes. This is a welcome return from Hire.

3206. Dean Lane skate park (354)

Well, what can I say about this really classy piece of graffiti writing from Hire? It is out of the top drawer that is for sure and it demonstrates clearly the benefit of prepping a wall properly to create a big impact.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2020
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2020

The last piece I saw by the artist was a real departure from what we are used to and I have to say that I am comforted by this triumphant return. The midnight blues and blacks work well together and the sharp letters spell out the artist’s name. This is simple (although not really) and beautiful and I think might be my favourite piece by him ever. Bravo!

3118. Dean Lane skate park (340)

Before I start this post, may I say just how much I dislike the new WordPress editor. It is utterly pants, and although it appears to have more functionality, writing a post takes about twice as long as commands are a little more buried in the architecture. Moan over.

This is something of a curiosity, it is a Hire piece that looks unlike any other Hire piece I have ever seen before. I don’t know what prompted this departure from his usual style, but it is a hugely accomplished piece and one that should give him the confidence to experiment further.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2020


Set on a black background with a pink grid on the lower half and silhouetted skyline above it, Hir has written a four letter word that looks like DIAK, although I can’t be sure about that. There are very few hints that this might be by Hire other than the lower parts of the letters have his distinctive sharp edge to them. Be really interested to see where Hir goes from here.