5033. Dean Lane skate park (567)

Dibz, Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Dibz, Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

Three of Bristol’s best artists have come together to paint this outstanding collaboration in Dean Lane. Dibz, Rusk and Shade One are not strangers to this wall, but they have absolutely smashed it on this occasion, in a touching tribute to Shimmer (Shimz).

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

On the left is a gorgeously perfect chrome piece by Dibz, which could equally well spell DIBZ or SHIMZ (I wonder if the ambiguity was deliberate). Everything about this is on-point, and there is a rather nice little SHIMZ shout-out in the top left.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

Rusk and Shade One have been busy in this spot lately, and I think this is the third collaboration they have enjoyed this year. I don’t really need to tell you how much I admire Rusk’s work. He is one of the most meticulous artists in Bristol, and will always strive to ensure his work is flawless. There is a lovely yellow pattern in this piece that flow seamlessly across the letters.

Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

Finally, the portrait piece on the right by Shade One is, I assume, depicting Shimmer, as the Shimz RIP in the top corner would suggest. The greyscale photorealistic portrait is one of Shade One’s best to date, and the bar is pretty high. The collaboration is a fabulous one, and it will be a brave person indeed who is the first to paint over it.

Dibz, Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023
Dibz, Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2023

4971. Dean Lane skate park (560)

Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

Well, Rusk and Shade One have done it again with this collaboration and completely blown me away. This is their second recent collaboration in this spot, and with any luck, there will be more to follow. The writing and character formula seems to work so very well with these two, and although there is no crossover of style, there is something complementary about the two pieces.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

To the left is some very tidy writing from Rusk, which stands proud from the wall with some clever fills, shading and shadows. There is a kind of metallic feel to these letters which are filled exquisitely.

Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2022

To the right is the Shade One portrait of a woman, but I am not too sure who the subject is. With each new piece, Shade One is gently transitioning from a cartoon style to something more photorealistic, and I have to say that I am loving it. Another terrific collaboration from these two.

4908. Dean Lane skate park (553)

Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Rusk and Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

This is an absolutely stunning collaborative wall by Rusk and Shade One, and is a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

The Rusk writing on the left spells out STONE, in magnificent blue letters with a regal shiny gold 3D drop shadow to die for. Perfectly written and presented, why would I expect anything less from Rusk?

Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022
Shade One, Dean Lane, Bristol, December 2022

The awesome portrait of Chadwick Boseman by Shade One captures a fabulous sideways glance which really catches the eye. Shade One’s work has gone stratospheric of late, moving from the cartoon or figurative style into a more photorealistic style. A very fine collaboration indeed.

4820. St Werburghs tunnel (319)

Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

A graffiti writer, whose work I simply don’t get to see enough of, is Rusk. I think this is mainly due to the fact that he paints a lot of walls I simply don’t get to see. When he paints in the more regular spots, there is a good chance I’ll get to see his work, and there are plenty of examples in this gallery. The problem is he likes to paint in different and unusual places, so I have to resort to his Instagram stream to enjoy much of his work.

Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022
Rusk, St Werburghs, Bristol, November 2022

This is a lovely piece painted in the tunnel for Bnie’s birthday paint jam is a beauty. The letters spelling RUSK are beautifully proportioned, but it is the fill that steals the day. A graded horizontal colour transition with stripes of adjacent colours thrown into the mix. The yellow/orange transition reminds me of the colour swirl in marbles… is that just me? This is another fine example of Rusk’s great writing.

4695. Dean Lane skate park (525)

Rusk and Zesk, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022
Rusk and Zesk, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022

This is an outstanding collaborative piece from Rusk and Zesk. Zesk was one of the first artists I wrote about on Natural Adventures, probably because he had painted a piece on the wall of a pub very close to my place of work. At the time I thought he was a regular artist in Bristol, but in reality I have only seen a handful of his pieces. I believe he lives a very long way away. It would seem that he is a pal of Rusk’s, as they did a couple of collaborations in what must have been a recent visit to Brisl by Zesk.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022

The artists have switched things up a bit, with each writing the other’s name, which in reality isn’t too much of a challenge as they share two letters in the right place. On the left is Rusk writing ZESK. I rarely have anything other than praise and admiration for Rusk’s work, and that hasn’t changed here. Tight and on-point.

Zesk, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022
Zesk, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2022

Zesk’s RUSK is an absolute delight and introduces his magic, glitery touch which makes his work stand out. The background stars are particularly pleasing. You’ve got to love that ‘R’ as well. Magnificent.

4669. Sparke Evans Park (53)

Rusk, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Rusk, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

After what seems like a very long absence, Upfest apart, Rusk has been hitting Bristol pretty hard lately, perhaps encouraged by his pal Zesk, who has been visiting and with whom he has painted a couple of collaborative walls. Anything that gets Rusk out painting has to be good.

Rusk, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022
Rusk, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, August 2022

This is an unusual and really rather beautifully designed piece from the writer. Spelling our RUSK in ‘ribbon’ letters and augmented with an abstract pink accent line, there is a great sense of proportion, colour tones and overall freshness that makes this piece an absolute classic. Not edgy, not rough and ready, but intelligent, well-thought-out and artistic. This is a next-level piece from Rusk (in my view).

4413. Dean Lane skate park (488)

It has been waaay too long waiting for this absolute stunner from Rusk, who seems to have gone to ground in recent months. What a way to return to the walls of Bristol, with this magnificent and rather unusual anamorphic piece.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2022

Spelling out RUSK, the letters are made up of a ribbon or tape which is coloured blue on one side and pink on the other. All very skilfully done, and if you take a closer look, the ribbon has some arrows and bars decorating it. Set on a ‘wallpaper’ background with clouds, this is a truly excellent piece, not that I would expect anything less from Rusk. Welcome back.

3652. Brunel Way (98)

This piece has quenched my thirst a little. Over the last year I haven’t seen too many Rusk pieces, and although he was never a ‘once a week’ artist, I would expect to see more from him in a normal year. Of course this is not a normal anything.

Rusk, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021
Rusk, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2021

This is quite a large burner, on a wall I hate to photograph because of the light reflections and poor light quality. Rusk has written a beautifully finished intertwining set of letters with magnificent fills along with a bonus character of Mighty Mouse, although he has swapped his customary red cape for a blue one. Really nice stuff from Rusk.

3426. Dean Lane skate park (380)

This container in Dean Lane seems to have been around forever. I’m really not sure what it contains or why it is there, but it is a surface to paint and that is what matters. The quality of graffiti and street art on this container can be very variable so it is nice when a really good piece like this one from Rusk comes along.

Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021
Rusk, Dean Lane, Bristol, January 2021

Rusk is an artist/writer whose work I never tire of and who doesn’t paint as much as I’d like him to, although he tends to paint in places that are sometimes out of the way and I don’t get to see those ones. This is a straightforward RUSKI in horizontal graded blues with some nice bubbles in black white and blue. The quality of the lines and fills is of a high standard, which on the uneven face of the container can’t be easy. This is what great graffiti writing looks like.

3375. M32 roundabout J3 (270)

My heart sings when I find a new Rusk piece, especially when I discover it without knowing about it in advance. It feels like quite a long time since I last saw one of his pieces of graffiti writing so this was a real bonus.

Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020
Rusk, M32 roundabout, Bristol, December 2020

The colour scheme in this one works incredibly in my view with the green matched with the yellow and oranges, and the way he has integrated them is so easy on the eye. Surprisingly, the pink and black 3D shadow works really well too – who’d have thought? Some expert white highlights and blue drips finish the piece nicely.  A pleasure.