Normally, when Haka paints one of his graffiti writing/character combination pieces, I recognise the character from a children’s picture book. This time Haka has stumped me – I am not familiar with any books containing a lizard, and can’t tell you too much more about it.
Some classic HAKA letters sandwich the lizard, although I note that only the right-hand side has been decorated with stars. I wonder if that is an omission, or whether it is the lizard that has emitted the stars from its claw. The lovely piece was difficult to photograph on such a sunny afternoon, something that has been a constant problem during our glorious spring.
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.
I feel that I have almost exhausted superlatives when describing Kosc’s work, and this piece leaves me scratching around for something to say that isn’t already clichéd in some way. How about this: Kosc is a great artist who has painted a fascinating and touching tribute to the American cartoon artist and graffiti-world favourite Vaughn Bode.
Kosc, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2024
The writing alone is worthy of praise, but it is the Cheech Wizard and Lizard characters that augment the letters so well and bring the whole piece alive and straight into the crazy world of Vaughn Bode. Kosc is on a roll and just seems to get better and better, and this is a truly masterful piece.
In the past couple of months, Cheo has hit the accelerator and is painting with the frequency he was before Covid19 struck. Until this summer, he was painting very rarely, and went almost a year without hitting a wall, apart from perhaps the Ropewalk. Now it is quite a different tale and the giant appears to have woken from his slumber.
Cheo, St Werburghs, Bristol, August 2023
This outstanding piece, a tribute to the great Vaughn Bode with Lizard and Screws characters, was created during the recent paint jam in the tunnel, alongside, amongst others, Inkie and Goldie. It was certainly a special day, and I imaging that the pieces will be there for quite some time before getting tagged and eventually overpainted.
Cheo, St Werburghs, Bristol, September 2023
Cheo’s piece is so rich in colours and the depth he has created with shadings is quite remarkable. The characters are snappily dresses and have got to work with spray cans and marker pens to create some of their own street art. This is artwork of the highest calibre, and reminds us of what we have missed during the prolonged hiatus in his work. More to come from Cheo.
Cheo has definitely woken up from a reasonably long quiet period, and it would appear that his friend and painting collaborator Dibz has ha something to do with it, at a guess. The two have combined to create this wonderful picture-frame piece featuring a Vaughn Bode lizard by Cheo and tight writing from Dibz.
Cheo and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
The influence of Vaughn Bode on the graffiti art scene has been quite extraordinary, and continues to be as vibrant now as when the artist himself was alive. Che’s lizard is perfectly drafted with a lot more perspective and depth than some renditions I have seen. The bee, of course, is lovely too. Dibz has gone for some rather more basic writing than we are used to seeing, but it is just so perfectly executed, flawless I would say. This is a very good collaborative wall from two of Bristol’s finest artists.
This fabulous piece on one of my favourite Upfest walls is a great way to round off the first five pieces from Upfest 2022. As you can imagine, there will be hundreds of pieces to post by the time the festival ends, so please bear with me as I try to write about them in batches, alongside all the other wonderful street art that we are blessed to see in Bristol. This is by an artist I haven’t heard of before, Derm, and features what looks like a Vaughn Bode Lizard, an Iconic character in the world of street art.
Derm, Upfest 22, Bristol, May 2022
The lizard in this piece is riding what looks like a half-track motor cycle, complete with flat tyres. A classic cartoon-style piece of urban culture street art that really stands out on this wall. One of the great pleasures of Upfest is being exposed to the talents of new artists from around the country, Europe and the world. A great piece of work.
Brace yourself for a flurry of Sake pieces. Sake is an old-school artist who has been painting since the 1980s in Bristol, but I haven’t ever posted any of his work. I don’t know why – maybe it is because I have never met him before, that is until last week, when I caught up with him twice in St Werburghs tunnel. I told him that I would look through my archives and see if I had any older stuff of his that I could share. He was very pleased to hear this, and is keen to stop for a drink soon to talk about street art – I just need to find some time.
Sake, Dean Lane, Bristol, July 2021
This piece is on the curved wall at Dean Lane and is a repair to a similar piece he painted on this exact wall a few weeks ago and which got badly tagged. I think I have pictures of that original. Alongside his letters ‘SAKE’ is a Vaughn Bodē lizard, which is a favourite character for graffiti artists along with Cheech Wizard. I think this is a theme that I’ll need to investigate further before writing too much about it now, but will return to in future. A very nice wall painted by a decent, if slightly intense, artist.
There are times when you have to just sit down and absorb a piece, to enjoy it to the maximum, and marvel at its splendour. This amazing piece by Sled One is one of those, and I don’t think that anything I write will actually add anything to the majesty of this work.
Sled One, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
The regal character, part of a wider collaboration set on a pink background, is as unsettling as it is crazy. A lizard-like queen with a full set of pearls (is it Queen Victoria?) is holding a sceptre which looks like it has a fly on the end.
Sled One, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
The surreal piece might be political commentary, or it might not, with Sled One it is customary to not really know what is going on. Accepting that there is a great story there somewhere is probably enough and we all have to let our imaginations run wild. I love this a lot.
Natural adventures 