5513. Dean Lane skate park (638)

Chill,Fade/Face 1st, Soap and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Chill,Fade/Face 1st, Soap and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

This is a wonderful collaborative wall from the PWA crew from a little while back, and includes a subsequently added piece from Fade, which is both good and bad. Good in that his work is always great and bad because he painted over Face 1st’s section before I had had a chance to see it. This wall has played host to some outstanding collaborations this year, of which this is one.

Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Chill, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

The left-hand-side bookend is by Chill, and sets the tone (for those of us who view things from left to right), of the collaboration which has a theme relating to bed time and sleep. Chill’s wonderful character, complete with night cap and a five o’clock shadow, is holding a candle, all looking a little Dickensian to me.

Fade/Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Fade/Face 1st, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

Next up would have been Face 1st’s contribution, which looks like it was the letters FACE, with a frame of disintegrating green gloop. Fade has overwritten the piece with a nice tidy and sharp piece of writing, spelling out FADE. I have to say I was surprised to see this, but perhaps there is a little history there.

Soap, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Soap, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

The third piece, by Soap, looks like a bit of a nightmarish scene, inspired by characters from the cartoon series Adventure Time, I think. I can’t identify the horned character, but the one holding the sword looks like Finn the Human, with a skull face. As with so many of Soap’s pieces, there is a whole story going on here, as well as some perfectly crafted writing, with the letters SOAP.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023

Finally and bookending the collaboration on the right-hand-side is Zake’s sleep-time character also with a night cap, but instead of a candle, the face is holding, with its only arm, a spray can, perhaps for a bit of an evening paint session. As ever, the shading and contrast have created enormous depth to the piece. What a lovely PWA paint jam.

5510. M32 Cycle path (227)

Haka, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, September 2023
Haka, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, September 2023

Haka has had a very busy year with painting walls, although his work rate has dropped a little during late summer, so it was fabulous to find this new piece on the M32 Cycle path recently. This joyful piece combines writing with a children’s picture book character, and this time it is the turn of Mog, the forgetful cat, by Judith Kerr.

Haka, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, September 2023
Haka, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, September 2023

Although this reproduction of Mog is not as faithful as some of Haka’s other picture-book recreations, it is very much recognisable and worked into his own style. There is a lot of joy in the piece, which is brought about by great use of a colourful underlay. The letters are really tight – not always the case with Haka’s writing – and the whole thing is a rather charming (I don’t like using that work because it sounds patronising) work. Great to see.

5509. Cumberland Basin

T-Rex, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023
T-Rex, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023

I am sure that it can be a challenge getting out to paint sometimes for most artists, as real life can change the dynamics and available time and space… things like jobs, family, mental health, other commitments, friendships and so on can slow or even curtail activity. It is great to see that T-Rex and Ryder are still able to hit the occasional wall in spite of having started a family, and are managing to embrace all that they hold dear in balance. I guess that what I am saying is that there are great reasons why we don’t see T-Rex pieces all that often, but it is wonderful when we do.

T-Rex, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023
T-Rex, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, September 2023

This one in Cumberland Basin is a classic piece of T-Rexery, in which she spells out T-REX and adds the head of our friendly dinosaur character to the ‘X’. There is a lightness of touch about her work and her fills are simply superb. I know that T-Rex has done another piece recently, so watch this space, for more dinosaur writing fun.

5506. L Dub (47)

DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023

If you want to see any work by DJ Perks, then a trip to L Dub is an absolute must. There must be at least half a dozen of his pieces up there at any one time, and some in the darker reaches of the tunnel have been there for a very considerable time. I met DJ Perks the day I took this photograph, and he had been having a birthday paint alongside his friend Donz. I was to go on and bump into DJ Perks for the next two days, which just doesn’t happen.

DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, August 2023

This as tidy a piece as you are likely to see anywhere. It pops out from the wall, thanks to some superb but subtle white highlights, and the blue shading around the letter ‘R’ is outstanding.  The fills are beautifully painted and the whole thing is so tight it might burst. DJ Perks must be the most modest graffiti writer in Bristol, but he is fast becoming one of the best.

5505. Brunel Way (229)

Solar, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Solar, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

I really enjoy the work of Solar, and his work feels all the more enigmatic because I have never met him and know practically nothing about him other than his artwork. His lettering verges on anti-style, without going the full hog, it touches on abstract, but not quite.

Solar, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023
Solar, Brunel Way, Bristol, September 2023

It is often the colour palette that first invites you to look closer at Solar’s pieces, and this scorching colour combination has an earthy, lava, fiery feel to it, tempered by the green fragments around the edges. The piece spells out Solar, and by chance the yellow patches reflect the sun splashed dapples of light to the bottom left of the wall. Great stuff from Solar.

Oner

A gallery of graffiti writing from Oner, an artist who decorated the streets of Bristol for a short while in 2018 and 2019.

All photographs by Scooj

Oner, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019
Oner, Lawrence Hill, Bristol, February 2019
Oner, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019
Oner, M32 roundabout, Bristol, January 2019
Oner, New Stadium Road, Bristol, January 2019
Oner, New Stadium Road, Bristol, January 2019
Tasha Bee, Oner, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Tasha Bee, Oner, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Oner, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
Oner, St Werburghs, Bristol, July 2018
Oner, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Oner, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018
Oner, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Oner, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Oner, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Oner, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2018
Oner, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Oner, M32 cycle path, Bristol, May 2018
Oner, Horfield skate park, Bristol, March 2018
Oner, Horfield skate park, Bristol, March 2018
Oner, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2018
Oner, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2018
Oner, M32, Bristol, May 2018
Oner, M32, Bristol, May 2018

5501. Greenbank (96)

Bbygwya (Flux), Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Bbygwya (Flux), Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

More from the RBF Barbie extravaganza, this time from Barbie Bbygwya or Barbie Flux, both of which would make brilliant Barbies in my opinion. I can’t help thinking that Bbygwya probably had to work really hard with this piece, because it really isn’t representative of her style. What it does show, however, is that Bbygwya is very talented and versatile.

Bbygwya (Flux), Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023
Bbygwya (Flux), Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023

The letters are big, bold, and have a 3D drop shadow, and the writing really pops out from the wall. I love the words “this Barbie hates cops”, because it makes me laugh. The little egg is an artefact from an RBF Easter paint jam, which has been pimped with a pink flower and pink handbag, all in the Barbie spirit. I really rate this unusual piece from a lovely artist.

5500. M32 roundabout J3 (510)

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

As I said in the last post, today is a very busy day, so this is a short one. Face 1st for me is one of the most distinctive faces of Bristol street art. His style embodies the city, and is unlike anything I have seen in other parts of the country. I firmly believe that regions of the country have ‘house’ styles, as do different countries, and for me Face 1st is key to the Bristol style.

Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023
Face 1st, M32 roundabout, Bristol, August 2023

This fun piece takes the form of a laughing (toothy) girl with big hair spelling FACE, a meme that Face 1st paints a lot. Fabulous work from the tireless artist, as always.

5499. Dean Land skate park (637)

Jay Kaes, Inkie and Gabs, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Jay Kaes, Inkie and Gabs, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023

I am a little pressed for time this morning, so short posts only today. This is a fabulous graffiti writing masterclass collaboration from Inkie, and two visiting artists either side of his piece from Jay Kaes and Gabs, neither of whom I have come across before.

Jay Kaes, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Jay Kaes, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023

To the left Jay Kaes has written KAES beautifully, with a deep 3D effect. There is s nice little shout out to Bristol too which is a bit of a crowd-pleaser.

Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023

The middle piece will be much more familiar to readers of Natural Adventures, because it is by Bristol stalwart Inkie. There are some great colours in this classic wildstyle writing that is so typical of his work.

Gabs, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023
Gabs, Dean Lane, Bristol, August 2023

Finally to the right, and mimicking the colour palette of Jae Kaes piece, is another fine piece of writing by Gabs, spelling out, yep you guessed it, GABS. The piece came a little bit out of the blue, but when Inkie paints in Bristol it is usually to do something a bit special in collaboration with others.

5498. Cumberland Basin

The Mole, Cumberland Basin. Bristol, August 2023
The Mole, Cumberland Basin. Bristol, August 2023

Inca the Mole, paints from time to time in Bristol, usually with his LRS crew friends, which was the case with this pink and blue piece for Werm’s birthday paint jam. The pink and Blue colour scheme was enthusiastically embraced by all participants in the paint jam, which makes a collaborative wall more of a collaboration as there is a golden thread running through all the pieces.

The Mole, Cumberland Basin. Bristol, August 2023
The Mole, Cumberland Basin. Bristol, August 2023

Sometimes The Mole paints a mole, sometimes he writes Inca, and sometimes he does both. In this case it is the letters, complete with a sensational fill, which he varies with a different pink in the ‘C’, that are the subject of his efforts. The whole piece looks really rather nice and is nestled comfortably on a puffy white cloud. It is obvious that this was a hugely successful paint jam, and I am sure we’ll all be looking forward to something similar next year.