Graffiti being done by an artist, with spray paint.
Graffiti as art.
Many people see Graffiti only as vandalism and nothing more, but not all of it is. Since the origin of graffiti in the 1970’s New York subways, graffiti has changed and evolved in to an art form. A lot of it is very artistic and elaborate. and it takes a lot of skill to use spray-paint to create images.
Graffiti is different than tagging. Tagging is spraying a simple signature to mark a territory and claim it. Gangs will tag around their neighborhoods. The difference with tagging is that it’s usually not artistic. It’s basically just vandalism. But sometimes is can be creative.
Graffiti on the other hand is a street art. There is thought and creativity that goes into it. You don’t have to go to a gallery, or exhibit to see it. You find it on the streets. It may not always be legal, but as it’s popularity has grown, graffiti has become more accepted, and many cities hire graffiti artists to paint murals.
Graffiti in a local bike shop.
I found this particular work inside a store. On the walls ofCranky’s bike shop in downtown Santa Barbara. The same artist was hired to do
several murals on the side of a road in Los Angeles.
Graffiti can be done on pretty much any surface. Because of its versatility, you will be able to find it in many different places.
Below I have collected some pictures of the
different styles of graffiti.
This is a video of some famous graffiti artist that got hired to do this project. They are given an empty warehouse and unlimited amounts of spray paint. You can see their amazing work in a fast motioned video. They create so many different works, and illustrate a lot of different graffiti styles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv-Do30-P8A
Pretty simple graffiti using shadowing and color.
More intricate design, the outline of a common object with a colorful design inside.
Compilation of different graffiti styles, using a lot of different characters.
Interesting graffiti with many small details.
An alley way in New York city. Every available space is covered in a mix of colorful graffiti and tags.
This is a design done on canvas. unlike street graffiti this piece could be sold as a piece of art.
Graffiti using geometric shapes and sharp corners.
A colorful piece of art featuring a character (chameleon)
This is my favorite image I have included. I think it is a simple, clean design but still attractive and colorful.
The rest of the images I have included are ones that I took while walking around town. in both Santa Barbara and LA. 
around my town.
Snap Crackle Pop 