5893. Dean Lane skate park (698)

Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Fade and Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

Probably the most notable ‘high-end’ collaboration partnership of the last twelve months has been that between Fade and Dibz. Shortly after Fade’s return to the UK, he teamed up with Dibz and they haven’t looked back since, turning out outstanding collaborative pieces on an almost weekly basis. For sure, the increased output from Dibz has been incredible, as he had slowed down a bit during the Covid years.

Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Fade, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

On the left Fade has written FADE in fairly soft lilacs with turquoise borders but surrounded them with vibrant bright oranges and yellows, providing contrast and interest. To the right is a character, Son Goku, from the TV series Dragon Ball – I never saw it, perhaps because I was too old, and didn’t have kids (1989-1996). I don’t know who painted the character… it may have been a joint effort.

Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Dibz, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

To the right Dibz has adopted a similar colour scheme, although applied in a different way. Such perfect writing, wonderfully tight as you’d expect. These two continue to smash it with every piece they paint, and it doesn’t look like they will be slowing down any time soon.

5888. Dean Lane skate park (697)

Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

Saor has been dropping some utterly outstanding pieces for such a long while now, that it is far too easy to take them for granted, and this beauty in Dean Lane is another one to come off the production line. Unfortunately, this piece, and others that were painted during the same session, was a little rain-affected, and there are a few unintentional dips knocking around.

Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023
Saor, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2023

The cartoon character, Astro Boy, is one that I can identify because I used to watch it repeatedly with my children when they were younger. The design of the letters SAOR is beyond brilliant, and as ever executed with extraordinary precision. It is interesting to contrast the familiar character with the high design of the letters, confusing the visual narrative a little. Just another wonderful piece from Saor.

5884. Brunel Way (261)

SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

How great it is that ShyHigh and Roo have friends/family in Bristol, because it means that if we get lucky, they swing by to visit and while here, decorate a few walls for us. Their latest visit yielded this exceptional piece from SkyHigh on the fat pillar wall underneath Brunel Way. Roo also painted a few nearby spots (to follow).

SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024
SkyHigh, Brunel Way, Bristol, March 2024

As I would expect, the large piece from SkyHigh is a wonderful mash up of letter styles to create the whole words SKY HIGH. Each letter is perfectly presented, and although discrete, somehow works with the letters adjacent. I love the ‘paper-based’ letters, ‘S’ written on note paper and the ‘i’ written on a ‘Hello my name is’ sticker. Brilliant work from a brilliant and creative writer. Come back soon.

5883. Greenbank (110)

Mind 49, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
Mind 49, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

Mind 49 is establishing himself as something of a new force in Bristol street art and graffiti writing, expanding his range and pushing boundaries with every new piece he creates. He is perhaps better known for his portrait pieces, that seem to capture the subject in an unconventional pose, but he has been working on his writing too recently.

Mind 49, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
Mind 49, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

This recent piece, on the ever-diminishing hoarding which borders the Chocolate Factory development, demonstrates perfectly Mind 49’s writing style. Spelling out MInD, the letters are beautifully filled with a beautifully selected set of soft colours, which abut with one another with lines, stars and circles. Great drop-shadows, borders and decorations finish the job off nicely. We are lucky to have Mind 49 hitting a bit of a purple patch… long may it last.

5882. St Werburghs tunnel (411)

Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

I was fortunate yesterday in being in the right place at the right time and bumped into Inkie, Sepr and Haka who were painting a wall alongside the M32, I think with some links to St Patrick’s Day, or at least that is what Inkie implied. I managed to have a quick chat with Haka who continues to smash it with his writing/character combination pieces, heavily influenced by the picture books in his household.

Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Haka, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

This wonderful piece, painted as part of Ryder’s RAW paint jam, features The Very Busy Spider, created by Eric Carle (author and illustrator of The Hungry Caterpillar).Bookended by the letters HA-KA, the spider is waiting patiently in its web, faithful to the style of the illustrator. A fun piece that sadly didn’t last very long.

5879. M32 Cycle path (255)

Todoaciem, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Todoaciem, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

There is something visually poetic about great calligraffiti, and whilst not always the easiest on the eye, it somehow feels like it is at the ‘high-brow’ end of graffiti writing. Whatever one’s opinion on the final product, there is a lot of control, discipline and skill required to create a stand-out piece of calligraffiti.

Todoaciem, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Todoaciem, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

Todoaciem is one of two top-class calligraffiti artists in Bristol, and this piece on the M32 Cycle path amply demonstrates his quality. Painting in blue and yellow, a combination he has used to good effect before, Todoaciem has letters that stand out, because of their contrast, the yellow providing a drop shadow for the blue letters. A tidy piece from a skilled writer.

5878. Dean Lane skate park (695)

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

When I think about Hire’s art, I pretty much always visualise it in Dean Lane, and although he has painted other spots in Bristol, it is his favoured spot. This long piece of graffiti writing spells out ODIAH. I am not sure why Hire sometimes writes the word, and I have checked in Google translate that it isn’t a Polish word – something to ask him next time I see him.

Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Hire, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

Hire has prepped the wall nicely in this writing/character combination piece, creating something that is neat, clean and tidy. I suspect that writing on brick walls is a little easier as the uniformity of the letters can be measured on the brick courses, making things easy on the eye. I have no idea what the panda is all about, but it looks a little menacing, with its eye patch (clever) and broken bottle. It is always good to find Hire’s work, always.

5877. St Werburghs tunnel (410)

Lokey, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Lokey, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

A couple of weeks ago, Ryder organised a massive Read and Weep (RAW) paint jam in St Werburghs tunnel, drawing artists from Bristol and beyond, to congregate in the darkness and damp and produce some amazing art in a party atmosphere. One of the artists, who doesn’t paint nearly often enough, was Lokey.

Lokey, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Lokey, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

Lokey has a special place in Bristol graffiti writing, because, other than Zase perhaps, he is the only artist who paints his letters in an anamorphic style. Anamorphic in this sense means that the letters appear to stand out from the wall, almost as if you are looking through 3D glasses. It is on the same spectrum of art as trompe l’oeil, designed to deceive and confuse the eye. Clever stuff, and always very welcome.

5876. Sparke Evans Park (694)

Evey, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024
Evey, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024

This is a really interesting paint jam piece from Evey, celebrating Desi’s and her own birthday a few weeks back. The reason that it is interesting is that Evey has gone with a totally different style of graffiti writing from her comfort zone. This piece is a little bit more ‘hard-core’ and traditional, demonstrating her growing confidence and skills with a spray can.

Evey, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024
Evey, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024

I would say that this is a really great piece of writing, although I feel the bottom half is stronger than the top half, which may have something to do with the colour selections. The bottom half pops, the top half less so. This phenomenon is not peculiar to Evey, I see this in quite a lot of pieces of writing, where the top half drifts a bit. More contrast with the background might do the trick… but what do I know?

5874. Greenbank (108)

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

Laic217 seems to have a plethora of ways to surprise me. Often his pieces appear unannounced, and so discovering them definitely feels special, but what surprised me with this piece is that it immediately took me back to some of the very earliest pieces of his that I started photographing a few years back.

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

The character, for once, not a skull, is wearing a bucket hat with a satanic protection mask strapped to it. To the right of the portrait is a letter ‘L’ for Laic which has been hollowed out and blocked with a deep 3D drop shadow.

Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
Laic217, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

The face, with its harsh features, could only be by Laic217. I don’t know what it is about his style, but it is quite unique. Looking at the close up, it almost looks like it has been painted on a canvas with brushes, and maybe that is what gives Laic217 his uniqueness. This is yet another awesome piece from one of Bristol’s very best street artists.