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.

6263. M32 roundabout J3 (612)

Dime, Jody and Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Dime, Jody and Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

What a wonderful triptych piece on the roundabout which is what I would describe as a unique collaboration between Dime, Jody and Turoe. I am not familiar with Dime and am guessing that he was visiting Bristol and made contact with artists in the city to see who’d like to have a paint. That is how I imagine these kind of things happen.

Dime, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Dime, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

The collaboration starts with a stunning piece of graffiti writing from Dime, with nicely defined letters, beautiful fill colours and a deep 3D drop shadow. The borders are nice and thin and flawless, and the letters are lifted with contrasting orange and red blobby decorations around the outside. The way I think about decorations in a piece is to try and imagine what it would look like without them – often they enrich what might have been something a little ordinary. Decorations are part of the composition, not just an afterthought.

Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

Jody has been smashing it all over the place for a sustained period, and I understand from talking to Fade, is really enjoying himself. In this piece he provides the filling in a graffiti writing sandwich and features a cartoon style cool character striking a pose with a cloudy background. I love the sparkle on the sunglasses, a brilliant touch.

Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024
Turoe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, July 2024

Rounding off the collaboration is a piece of writing from a Bristol legend, Turoe, although I originally thought it was by Soker it is actually a tribute collaboration to Soker who had a cycling accident recently (Thanks to Jay for the background information). If ever you want to know what outstanding graffiti writing looks like, then look no further than Turoe, and this piece demonstrates why. Perfect colour selection, superb interlocking letters without being over-engineered, a deep and contrasting 3D drop shadow and tight border. All the elements are there and they are brought together by a master of his craft. All in all, this is a fabulous and quite unexpected collaboration. We are blessed, and a fabulous tribute.

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.

6161. M32 roundabout J3 (590)

Pekoe and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Pekoe and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

This is another installation from the recent paint jam to celebrate Wispa’s (in absentia) birthday. I can’t recall whether Pekoe and Jody have collaborated before, but they have done so spectacularly well in this writing/cup-cake combination piece.

Pekoe and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Pekoe and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Pekoe has been working more on her letters over the last year or so and is clearly gaining in confidence. There is a uniformity and discipline here which is good to see, She has added a sprinkling of ‘love hearts’ in line with the confection theme for the paint jam. The cup-cake by Jody is nothing short of perfect… topped with a swirl of cream a cherry, mint leaves and some chocolate sprinkles. A superb collaboration from the pair – I hope Wispa was suitably impressed/touched.

6079. Dean Lane skate park (721)

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

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024

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.

Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024
Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024

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.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2024

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.

5723. M32 roundabout J3 (537)

Dibz and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023
Dibz and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023

There is just enough time to squeeze one more utterly awesome piece from Dibz and Jody before the year is out. Although not overtly Christmassy, this piece does have a sense of celebration and festival about it.

Dibz and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023
Dibz and Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023

The wildstyle writing is from Dibz, and has a camouflage influenced design, offset perfectly with dark purple drop shadows. The letters, which of course are perfectly sharp and well finished, create a wonderful frame for the central portrait by Jody.

Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023
Jody, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2023

Jody has actually painted a lot on the streets this year, which has been a huge bonus, and he has definitely saved one of his best for this end-of-year collaboration. There is a sadness and calm in the portrait, and it feels religious or spiritual in nature. Simply stunning.

5718. Dean Lane skate park (671)

Dibz, Fade and Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Dibz, Fade and Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Good morning and happy Christmas Eve. A busy day for most, I expect, and definitely for me. One of my tasks today is to make a ‘Sussex Pond’ pudding, which is our alternative to Christmas pudding, which the kids and I don’t much care for. I’ll keep this short.

Dibz, Fade and Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Dibz, Fade and Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Wonderful work from Dibz, Fade and Jody, who have teamed up several times this year to produce some outstanding collaborations. This is a true collaboration where all the contributions are in the one piece. Jody painted the wolf, and Dibz the letters, so I expect that Fade painted the wonderful background.

Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023
Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, November 2023

Jody steals thee show a little with his magnificent wolf portrait in the centre of the piece. It is so good to see so many street pieces from him this year, and I hope he continues into next year.

5481. Brunel Way (226)

Fade, Jody and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Fade, Jody and Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

We are blessed in Bristol to have so many outstanding graffiti artists, and I have to remind myself how privileged we are to be able to enjoy such awesome free art, that most towns and cities in the country simply don’t get to experience. Three of the best artists, Dibz, Jody and Fade combined to give us this amazing Ghostbusters triptych, alongside Ryder, whose piece I will post soon.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

To the left in spooky blue and green colours is writing by Fade, but just to confuse things, he has written DIBZ in a sot of mutual respect thing going on between the artists. Underneath are the letters RDA and RFK, which, if I am honest, I don’t know what they stand for, but are presumably crew names. Great crisp clean letters with a glow of green ghostly ectoplasm.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

In the middle is a piece by Jody, which convinces me that he is one of the most talented and versatile character/portrait artists in Bristol, has painted Slimer, the iconic ghost from the film franchise. The fact that this year Jody has painted a range of pieces including a demon, a hooded woman, a renaissance portrait (using brushes) Barbie and now Slime, simply demonstrates that he can turn his hand to pretty much anything.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, August 2023

To the right, the letters from Dibz are as perfect as ever. Dibz has been smashing it all year long and shows no signs of slowing down. He is painting so fast that some of his pieces are getting left behind in my archive – an unthinkable state of affairs. Yet another epic wall in this year of epic walls.

5209. Brunel Way (205)

Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

This is an absolute classic collaboration from the crème de la crème of Bristol graffiti writing and street art, from Acer One, Dibz, Jody and Turoe, taking up the entire length of the bridge support wall under Brunel Way.

Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Acer One, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

First off is aclean and ticy ACER from Acer One, with a lovely colour transition from top left to bottom right. The stylised font is accompanied by a trademark shadow, giving the illusion that the letters are standing out from the wall.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

Next up is a wonderful piece of writing from Dibz. I hardly need to say too much about Dibz’ writing that I haven’t said before. Tight and classy – perfection itself really. It is a miracle that something like this is created using spray cans.

Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

Jody has definitely come up trumps with an outstanding Satanic portrait piece, that is as good a character piece that I have seen anywhere this year. There is so much texture and depth in the face, which seems to be bursting through the wall and coming at ya. Just brilliant.

Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023
Turoe, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023

The collaborative wall is rounded off with a superb piece of graffiti writing from Turoe, who doesn’t hit the streets too often these days, but when he does, turns out high quality pieces like this. The black background, blue bubbles and cosmic cloud theme run through all four pieces drawing them together as part of a collaborative presentation. An absolute treat for the people of Bristol.