3516. Dean Lane skate park (396)

Not much lasts for long in the street art world, especially in Dean Lane, and the Acer One piece featured in the previous blog post was overpainted with this brash piece from Lee Roy, who has unleashed his energy and desire to cover Bristol in paint in recent weeks.

Lee Roy, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Lee Roy, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

Although Lee Roy is an established writer in Bristol, I have only recently started to post his work, probably because it is impossible to ignore at the moment. His style is interesting, with irregular and unusually shaped letters, but his fills are very nice indeed, if a little understated in this piece. I love the touch ‘Need Photos’ in the top right corner – well here they are.

This wall has since been overpainted by Mudra yesterday, but he decided to keep the little ‘Need Photos’ message in there.

3515. Dean Lane skate park (395)

Acer One has been out and about smashing it recently, usually in collaborative pieces or painting alongside friends, in this case he painted the letters ACER adjacent to a Benjimagnetic piece.

Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Acer One, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

What I really like about ACER One’s pieces is that from close up they are very difficult to decipher, but as you retreat, your eyes begin to piece together the patterns into letters. You can play a game with yourself with this picture… if you look at the magenta and gold bits, they take on abstract shapes, and it becomes almost impossible to see the letters – weird. I like that he obviously uses a mask of some kind to get these perfectly straight lines. A fine, warm piece from Acer One.

3513. Dean Lane skate park (394)

More great work from Benjimagnetic who is on fire these days, this time with a nice piece of heavily disguised writing at Dean Lane. This one was painted alongside Acer One who also seems to have had a new lease of life in recent weeks.

Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Benjimagnetic, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

Benjimagnetic has used his favourite colour palette of reds, purples and blues, but rather than spelling BEN as is usual he has spelt something else here. My usual uselessness at reading his writing means that I can’t tell you what this says… it starts with a T but I lose it after that. Whatever it says, it is still a fine piece.

3508. Brunel Way bridge (92)

I don’t get to see nearly enough work from Piro, he tends to paint in some secret abandoned building locations in the Stroud Area which I have never been to. Just occasionally though he paints in Bristol and this was part of a long collaborative wall from a few weeks ago.

Piro, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021
Piro, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2021

His style is most akin to Epok, who he often paints alongside and did so again on this occasion. These highly designed letters spell out PIRO, although I cannot be entirely certain. The combination of straight lines, curves and colours is beautifully put together and has a touch of Art Deco influence about it.

3507. Dean Lane skate park (393)

Aah, the familiar and comforting letters spelling TES from Slim Pickings (as I call him) in Dean Lane. When all else around us is in utter chaos and flux, it is nice to have constants like this to ground us for a while, albeit a fleeting moment.

Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Slim Pickings, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

This is a big TES and very nicely done. Just two colours with a little bit of white 3D accent work demonstrate the confidence and skill of the artist. No need to embellish the work, although embellishment is always great too, don’t get me wrong. A strong and knowing piece.

3505. Dean Lane skate park (392)

It’s official, Hemper is on fire at the moment and having as productive a time of it as any that I can remember. I wonder if the ongoing lockdown situation has freed up some artists to paint walls more often than they normally would, and other ones to become almost invisible over the last year or so.

Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Hemper, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

I think that Hemper has a very good eye for colour combinations and the purple and green combinations in this piece work fantastically well. Spelling out HEMS, the letters alternate between the two main colours, but each letter is uniquely fashioned and filled. Another outstanding piece of graffiti writing from this master.

3501. M32 roundabout J3 (283)

There are two excellent calligraphy writers in Bristol who stand out and who throw paint at walls on a fairly regular basis. One of them is Todoaciem and the other Stivs – this is a fine piece from the latter.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2021
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2021

I like the way that Stivs has slotted this piece of writing into a rather slim piece of wall, where the embankment rises up to the main roundabout road. The writing that spells out STIVS y nicely constructed, and as well as the regular and disciplined lines, he has also incorporated some embellishment and drips which always adds kudos to a piece. Nicely sited, beautifully painted, great work from Stivs.

3499. M32 Roundabout J3 (282)

Yet another debut artist for Natural Adventures in 2021 – they just keep coming. Lee Roy has been writing for a while, but a recent spate of pieces in Bristol has drawn him to my attention and his unique style is worthy of representation on this blog as part of the vast spectrum of talent in the city.

Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2021
Lee Roy, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2021

His work is loud and overt and easy to read. This is a bold statement – Lee Roy was here. His letters are framed within a bounded black background and are in an interesting font that is rather forgiving of irregularity. The fills are intricate and fun which grow on you the more you look at them. Lee Roy describes himself as a ‘lazy writer’ which I think is a little bit too modest and self deprecatory. Look out for more coming soon.

3498. Dean Lane skate park (390)

Unheralded and therefore unexpected, was this sumptuous recent piece from Inkie in Dean Lane. On his own Instagram feed Inkie describes this piece as a ‘Wildstyle painting in Boogie Down Bristol for new @sam_krats & @mc_craig_g NYC track ‘Culture’ coming soon’. So that gives us a little clue to what the writing says – CULTURE.

Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

Inkie paints quite a few of these music-linked pieces, and I am never quite sure if they are commissions or simply promoting music for his friends. In a way I don’t really care what his motivation is, more the high quality of his outstanding artwork – years of hard graft and huge talent make this stuff look quite easy, the sign of a master at work.

3497. Dean Lane skate park (389)

Being in the right place at the right time is a big part of photographing street/graffiti art. Mostly you get to see a finished piece as a fait accompli, admire/critique it, photograph it and then be on your merry way. Sometimes though you get lucky and catch the artist(s) at work and I did just that as Ryder and T-Rex were just finishing off this curved wall piece at Dean Lane.

Ryder, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
Ryder, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

Both were in great form and thrilled to be able to paint together while their little one was having a sleep. Opportunities to paint together have been few and far between in recent months, so this was a treat. Ryder has painted a wibbly green piece with reference to James Bond, with the words ‘007 shaken not stirred’.

T-Rex, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021
T-Rex, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2021

I spent quite a while chatting (socially-distanced of course) with T-Rex, which was fun, as I have only spoken briefly with her before. Here she painted an outstanding example of her trademark dinosaur in pink – she must be able to do these in her sleep. She let me into a little secret, that she struggles to write the letter ‘J’ and that Ryder helped her with the ‘J’ in Jack – we had been talking about the J in Scooj, which prompted the confession. Best of all I got to see the little one when she woke up. A happy family outing.