5872. Dean Lane skate park (694)

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

It is not often that you find a Fade/Pekoe collaboration, but I have been photographing street art and graffiti writing for long enough to know that you should always expect the unexpected. I wonder whether this was a planned thing or whether they found themselves at the same place at the same time and decided to paint together. I guess I’ll only ever know if I ask them.

Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

Pekoe has smashed it again with this wonderful portrait piece, and there is something about the presentation of her work these days that makes me think she is in a good place emotionally and that it is surfacing in her paintings. The subject has wonderful full lips, dark eyes, hoop earrings and an absence of tears. The decorative shapes help to break the piece up a little and add to it significantly.

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

You simply can’t hold Fade back at the moment – not that you’d want to – and his enthusiasm for painting walls is not only expressed in the quantity of the pieces he paints, but also in the incredibly sharp quality of his work. The letters here are very crisp, the transitions of the fills are exceptional and the 3D drop shadow nicely uniform. Fade comes across as a bit of a perfectionist, which is probably why he enjoys painting with Dibz so much. This is a very nice collaborative wall.

#DFTE

A gallery of short philosophical musings from the creative mind of Bristol’s #DFTE

Instagram: @d.f.t.e

all photographs by Scooj

#DFTE, Dean Lane, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024
#DFTE, Dean Lane, Upfest 24, Bristol, May 2024

#DFTE, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023
#DFTE, Cheltenham Paint Festival, Cheltenham, July 2023

#DFTE, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
#DFTE, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

#DFTE, Weston Wallz,Weston-super-Mare, May 2023
#DFTE, Weston Wallz,Weston-super-Mare, May 2023

#DFTE and Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023
#DFTE and Fishlock, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2023

Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022
Dave Sharp and #DFTE, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, July 2022

#DFTE, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2019
#DFTE, Stokes Croft, Bristol, April 2019

#DFTE, Christmas Steps, Bristol, March 2020
#DFTE, Christmas Steps, Bristol, March 2020

#DFTE, Christmas Steps, Bristol, February 2020
#DFTE, Christmas Steps, Bristol, February 2020

#DFTE, Leonard Lane, Bristol, Jnuary 2020
#DFTE, Leonard Lane, Bristol, Jnuary 2020

#DFTE, Town, Bristol, March 2019
#DFTE, Town, Bristol, March 2019

#DFTE, Town, Bristol, March 2019
#DFTE, Town, Bristol, March 2019

#DFTE, Cumberland Road, Bristol, November 2019
#DFTE, Cumberland Road, Bristol, November 2019

#DFTE, Cumberland Road, Bristol, November 2019
#DFTE, Cumberland Road, Bristol, November 2019

#DFTE, Welshback, Bristol, September 2019
#DFTE, Welshback, Bristol, September 2019

#DFTE, North Street, Bristol, June 2019
#DFTE, North Street, Bristol, June 2019

#DFTE, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019
#DFTE, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019

#DFTE, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019
#DFTE, St Werburghs, Bristol, March 2019

5869. M32 cycle path (254)

Soap, Zake and Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Soap, Zake and Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

Although street art and graffiti can be and is painted at any time of day and on any day, there is definitely a strong pulse of activity on weekends. At times, it can be more difficult for me to get out at the weekend than during he week, which might seem counterintuitive, but there is no rhythm to the weekends, and there is always so much to do. This fabulous PWA collaboration was painted at a weekend, but I didn’t get to see it until the following week on my rounds.

Soap, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Soap, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

This one is a triptych with Soap on the left, Zake in the middle and Face 1st on the right, in the letters – character – letters format so commonly used in collaborations. Soap has painted a beauty, with big letters spelling out his name and a character from the cartoon series Adventure Time (I think) replacing the letter ‘O’. I m not too sure about the the bleeding heart, but I guess there is a story there, conscious or unconscious, somewhere.

Zake, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Zake, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

In the middle is something rather different from Zake. We are used to seeing cartoon-style portraits, full of depth, so this bullet comes as a bit of a surprise. I am guessing that it is the bullet that is causing such carnage running through the whole collaboration.

Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024
Face 1st, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, February 2024

On the right, Face 1st has painted one of his blocky FACE pieces of graffiti writing, with very deep drop shadows and a rather distressed face peering through the ‘A’. There is an indication of trauma here too, continuing the collaboration theme. The crew are carrying on in 2024, where they left off in 2023, and that can only be good news.

5868. Dean Lane skate park (693)

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

It is rare to find a Fade piece these days that is not immediately associated with a piece by Dibz and at times his work can be eclipsed by the overall collaborations they create, so it is great to see a fabulous standalone piece of graffiti writing from Fade, and this is a beauty.

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

Painted in greyscale on a black background, the impact of the letters has to be really strong, and it is. Spelling out FADE in  letters that pop out from the wall, especially along the bottom edge. A nice touch is the little black ‘ink’ trail all around the outside of the piece. All in all, a fabulous and rather special piece of graffiti writing.

5867. St Werburghs tunnel (409)

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

A little earlier in the year, Kid Krishna announced his return to the streets after a bit of a quiet period. Since January, he has been super-active and smashing it on walls all over the city, so much so that I am having to consider bunching a few of them together into a single post.

Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024
Kid Krishna, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2024

One of the things that Kid Krishna brings to his pieces is an incredible sense of colour, sometimes subtle and other times overt, but always carefully matched and incorporated. I have been puzzling over the character, and feel like I should know who it is, more than that, he was on some posters which I spotted in Nottingham, or something very similar. It will remain a mystery. This is a lovely fresh piece from Kid Krishna in the tunnel.

5866. M32 roundabout J3 (558)

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024

It was great to catch up with Stivs while he was painting this piece, and it gave me the opportunity to tell him how much I admired his incredible technical skills with creating these amazing calligraffiti letters. Stivs has made a deliberate choice to move back to writing words he used to write before writing Stivs, namely the word KRAP and variants of it. In this case he has written KRAPSTER.

Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024
Stivs, M32 roundabout, Bristol, February 2024

The letters are not only beautifully crafted and proportioned, but they also incorporate four shades of yellow, one for each elevation, which together create the appearance of gold letters and a three-dimensional effect. The letters are set on a contrasting matrix of pink lines and squiggles, which rounds off the whole production nicely. Great piece by Stivs.

5864. Sparke Evans Park (88)

Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024
Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024

It is really good to see how Pekoe’s writing is improving at a terrific rate. I will admit that I was a little sceptical when she started turning her attention to letters, and wasn’t sure that she would be able to pull it off, and I was also worried that it might compromise her wonderful portraits. I needn’t have worried, her writing is great and she is still painting her portrait pieces.

Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024
Pekoe, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, February 2024

This piece, part of a birthday paint jam for Evey and Desi, picks up on the day’s theme which was Pokémon, and a ball features in her letters. Pekoe has included a character from the series/game/cards which I believe is Phantump, and she has included a graffiti crown for good measure. This is a lovely colourful piece which really gets into the spirit of the paint jam.

5863. Dean Lane skate park (692)

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

I am enjoying the regularity with which Biers is turning out his pieces at the moment, with at least one or two each month. The broad format is the same, with his WD40 letters, and a character poking through the ‘0’.

Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024
Biers, Dean Lane, Bristol, February 2024

The character has baffled me a little, and my Google search has yielded nothing, so he will have to remain a mystery. Perhaps the skull next to the character would offer an extra clue, but it is not enough for me. The letters are really clean and tidy, a feature of Biers’ recent work, and the colour palette is lovely, although slightly lost on the pinky background. Perhaps something with a little more contrast might have worked better, but what do I know?

5862. Brunel Way (259)

Zed in the Clouds, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2024
Zed in the Clouds, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2024

These large block letters are something a little different from Zed in the Clouds, an artist who is regrettably underrepresented in Natural Adventures. I have many photographs of his work in my archives, but not a lot have been posted, which is a situation I will try to remedy (it might have to wait until my retirement).

Zed in the Clouds, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2024
Zed in the Clouds, Brunel Way, Bristol, February 2024

Painted alongside his friend Wxttsart (Milk) and in a similar colour scheme, Zed in the Clouds has shaped some monolithic letters, which, with the orange and red border, have a volcanic feel to them. He has added the words ‘sexy typographic creationz’ above the piece, which makes me think he is rather pleased with this piece of writing, and so he should be. It is certainly something a bit different from the artist.

5861. Greenbank (107)

Knife, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
Knife, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

I have a very busy week ahead, so apologise in advance for any disruption to my usual rhythm. I start with a trip to Nottingham today and tomorrow and am in London on Thursday, delivering workshops, which is both time-intensive and exhausting. Managing expectations.

A graffiti writer, who has emerged over the last year or so is Knife, I don’t yet know they are or if they use social media, so for the time being I shall use their writing moniker.

Knife, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024
Knife, Greenbank, Bristol, February 2024

I have seen Knife’s work in quite a few of the spots I visit, and felt it was about time I posted a piece.  I think that Knife paints solo, at least I haven’t yet noticed any patterns of painting with anyone else, which makes me think that the artist is fairly new to Bristol. This is a really nicely executed piece, clean and tidy letters with a straightforward three colour fill, nothing too fancy or pretentious. Even though the wall hasn’t been buffed, the graffiti writing is eye-catching, and this is a solid debut piece (on Natural Adventures) from Knife. Expect more to follow.