7647. Dean Lane skate park (922)

Hire and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Hire and Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

This is a rather fun collaboration between Hire and Zake in Dean Lane. I can’t remember if these two have collaborated before, they probably have, but this is still a bit of a treat from the writer and the character artist.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

On the left, Hire has written his letters in a rather compact block, which is quite unusual, as he typically spreads his letters out a fair bit. The fills of orange and light blue have been nicely done and work surprisingly well together. A deep drop shadow is bordered with a drippy pink line with light highlights woven in.

Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Zake, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

I’m not too sure what to say about Zake’s character piece, as it is all a little bit strange. A bald man with a huge mouth and multiple teeth has a little finger puppet attached to the end of his long tongue. The puppet character, which looks like some kind of lizard monster is spraying pink ‘vomit’ over Hire’s piece, thus creating his drippy pink outline. A great read-across between the two pieces in this collaboration.

7645. Dean Lane skate park (921)

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

Over the last year or so, Cheo seems to have upped his game (if that is at all possible), certainly in the frequency of his wall decorations. Cheo is a very talented artist who has been part of the ‘establishment’ in Bristol, but never lost his contemporary edge, and appears to be equally happy with his commercial work and his ‘graffiti’ art.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

This piece in Dean Lane is in a narrow section and quite difficult to photograph – where would I be without a wide angle facility on my phone? The character in the piece, wearing a LIDL T-shirt has been spraying (one assumes) a CHEO throw up in green and blue. He is holding a spray can out of which a rather surreal scene unfolds… a pink blob character, complete with a plunger stuck to his head and smoking a cigar. What!? Great work from a master craftsman.

7644. Cumberland Basin

Squire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026
Squire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026

There are a great many graffiti writers in Bristol who never make it into the pages of Natural Adventures, either because their work is not very good (in my view) or I don’t really know enough about them to feel confident enough to feature them.

Squire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026
Squire, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026

Happily, although I don’t know anything about Squire, his work attracts me in some way. I think that the word he has chosen is a memorable one and lends itself to writing pretty well. These dark blue letters have been accentuated with a vibrant green/yellow surround and decorative thick blue border. An interesting piece of writing that catches the eye.

7643. Brunel Way (356)

Dibz and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026
Dibz and Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026

Dibz and Fade are cooking on gas, and are churning out some superb pieces with alarming regularity. This particular spot on the side of a wooden constructed half-pipe has become a particular favourite for the pair.

Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026
Dibz, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a big fan of the Asterix series of books (I have them all), so this Dibz piece with Getafix holding up a flask of magic potion is certain to grab my attention. The black writing with its red drop shadow is faultless, but it is the character that wins the day for me.

Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026
Fade, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2026

Fade, who has been almost completely absent over the winter has painted these stunning letters which are just so neat and sharp. Sometimes fancy fills simply aren’t needed. There is a wisp of green fumes and some bubbles that bind the two pieces of wildstyle writing together. Fine stuff.

7642. Dean Lane skate park (920)

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

Biers has definitely come out of his quiet period, where he had temporarily lost his desire to paint, and his RABIES letters are popping up all over the place now. I do miss his little characters that accompanied his previous letter sequences, and I hope that they might come soon with these letters.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

This is a popular little stretch of wall which has quite a high turnover. Biers has painted his RABIES letters with a yellow, green and black fill and deep white drop shadow. The penny has only just dropped that the word RABIES contains (very nearly) the letters BIERS in it, which is perhaps why the letter form looks so familiar. Keep ’em coming.

7641. M32 roundabout J3 (770)

Conrico, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Conrico, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

It is so good to see Conrico firing on all cylinders this year, and I am super-pleased that he has been selected to paint at this year’s Upfest, something I know he has been keen to do for some time. He certainly deserves it.

Conrico, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Conrico, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

This is a bright and cheerful combination piece with a portrait alongside his Conrico letters and GYS (Graveyard Shift crew). The portrait is most beguiling, there is a lot hidden behind those large brown eyes, and I like the positioning of the subject’s hand under her chin. A wonderful piece delivered in his special style.

7639. Cumberland Basin

Whos, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026
Whos, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026

I am absolutely sure that I have seen numerous pieces by Whos over the last year or two, but unable to make out the letters or be sure the writing is his. It is only when he writes clearly, like in this piece, that I can be sure enough to publish his work.

Whos, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026
Whos, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, April 2026

Although this piece is quite conventional, his writing would usually be described as anti-style due to an absence of pattern or form of the letters, where everything is a bit random and spontaneous. The white letters are decorated with some pink stars and a tribute line of “dorns 4 ever”. I certainly need to get better at hunting down and identifying his graffiti writing.

7638. Dean Lane skate park (919)

Dibz, Cheo and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Dibz, Cheo and Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

What pure joy to come across this outstanding production piece by Dibz, Cheo and Soker. For anyone older than me, the piece is inspired by the long-running children’s cartoon Spongebob Squarepants.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

To the left Dibz had filled his outstanding wildstyle writing with the colours of Spongebob’s friend Patrick, the starfish, really cleverly done and as you would expect from Dibz, tight as a nut.

Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Cheo, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

In the middle, Cheo has painted a brilliant rendition of Squidward Tentacles, with a little sea snail on his back. Naturally the character is up to no good with some spray cans, and Cheo has included his signature bee, as you’d expect.

Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026
Soker, Dean Lane, Bristol, April 2026

To the right-hand side of the triptych is another remarkable piece of wildstyle writing from Soker, which has been filled with the colours of the star of the show himself, Spongebob. I love the attention to detail with the inclusion of his little red tie.

In addition to the three main characters, the three artists have added so much detail to the background, creating a masterpiece, which fans of the cartoon would relish. Utterly brilliant and next-level.

7637. River Avon (119)

Asre, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026
Asre, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026

Sometimes when a piece isn’t signed, it can be difficult to identify the artist, but it is usually possible to do a little detective work to establish their identity. For example this piece gives some clues: the letters spell SEAM, but there is no way this is a Seam piece; Seam belongs to a crew that includes Seed, Seam, Asre and Zinso.

Asre, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026
Asre, River Avon, Bristol, April 2026

Seed hasn’t reached these levels yet, so the piece must either be by Zinso or Asre. The giveaway is the bubble surround, and the letter shapes to a certain extent, both of which indicate that this is by Asre. A quick check on Instagram to confirm, and there we have it. I suspect this might have been a birthday tribute to Seam.

7636. M32 roundabout J3 (769)

Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

I think that it is fair to say that Sub is an artist who has grown on me over the last couple of years. At first, I considered his letters too large and uninteresting, but to be fair, he has worked really hard and improves from piece to piece. He is developing his fill skills significantly and is now turning out some fine pieces.

Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026
Sub, M32 roundabout, Bristol, April 2026

It has been great witnessing this improvement, and here, Sub has elaborated on his letters and worked on a shaded midline running through them. This technique is at the heart of calligraffiti, and I think the Sub, in this piece, has made his first flirtations with the style. So much more to come from Sub.