Honestly, I could just put a ton of street art photos up as proof that street art is pretty freaking awesome. And don't worry, I will, but I guess I should also write a bit about it as well since this is, you know, a blog.

A Love Affair with Street Art

I know this is just one of those things that people say, but I've been obsessed with street art since way before it started to be cool to like street art. I mean, story of my life, right? I think if you lined up the few things in life that I'm weirdly passionate about, you would find that most of them are currently weirdly trendy. Which is kind of funny, because I wouldn't consider myself to be all that trendy a gal. But what can I say, street art and serial killers are in this season.

Nevertheless, it's 100% true; I fell in love with street art - graffiti, really - as a kid riding the Long Island Railroad back and forth between Massapequa and the big apple. It was pretty much love at first sight. 

What were those weird swirls of colour dotted all along the train tracks? Did it mean something? It certainly looked like words.

Then I found out that graffiti was only the beginning. In fact, it turned out a lot of people don't even like graffiti.

On more than one occasion in my life, I even stumbled into friendships with a few 'taggers' and street artists. Which further introduced me to the world of street art. I totally wanted in, although I have zero art skills, so that was out.

Instead, I settled for travelling in search of the the most colourful cities in the world. As a frequent visitor to Europe, I found there was a growing treasure trove, and often in unexpected places. For example, in 2004, while on holiday with my mother in Basque country, we found ourselves constantly surrounded by street art.

I was fascinated. At one point, I genuinely considered doing a degree focused on the culture of street art (in the end dark tourism won that internal battle).

You get the picture. I'm kind of obsessed.

Enter Jeremy 

Cute, geeky, a face you can't forget and he mentions that he thinks street art is kind of cool. Head. Over. Heels.

Totally kidding, that's definitely not how it went down. But he did express an interest. So when we started our blog, we agreed it was a facet of culture we wouldn't mind writing about and exploring further. It's not like it's torture to try to find epic street art pieces around the world.

And if Jeremy was on the fence before, his mind was totally blown and completely open after the two street art tours in London we took with Dope Art Tours, one in Brixton and one in Shoreditch.

Different forms of street art

Just to clear a few things up, I guess I better clarify these terms.

Tagging

Tagging is the aspect of street art that most people don't like. When people say it ruins the look of a city, this is normally what they're referring to. That, or they're just miserable people (#sorrynotsorry).

Tagging looks like this:

​And it is an incredibly integral part of a street artists' evolution. Why? Well tagging is how a budding street artist:

(a) Practices the craft. Practice makes perfect, right? Your parents tell you this over and over. Well it applies here, as well. Taggers pick a name, be it a nickname or something that just resonates with them and then they start tagging it all over their neighbourhood, learning how different spray paint nozzles handle, how they look. Then they slowly get better, doing more advanced design and colouring. Eventually they're creating beautiful graffiti murals.

(b) Gets their name out there. Not only do taggers tag their own neighbourhood, but the goal is to go 'all city.' Someone who has tagged every (or in a city like London nearly every) neighbourhood at least once is considered to have gone 'all city.' And this earns you massive street cred, mad props and real respect. This is how you get your name out there. Going all city is so important in the street art world, that street artists who have never done so, no matter their talent, are never given the same level of respect within the community.

Graffiti

Graffiti is the awkward cousin of tagging and street art; some people love it and think it is equally beautiful in it's own right, others think it hideous. But again, they're miserable and crotchety and unlikely to ever read this anyway.

Not much to say about graffiti. It's just as important as the others, though. Graffiti is where you really start to develop your unique style as a street artist. It allows for more practice with nozzle pressure, but also with colours. Although tags do have colour, it's normally one or two, whereas graffiti is often a burst of colour. It's also a lot less readable than tags as graffiti artists have created a preferred style of lettering that they use.

Even professional street artists often still dabble in graffiti for the fun of it. And because, once again, practice makes perfect.

Murals

A mural is a piece of artwork painted on a wall. When people think of street art, this is normally what they think of. All [public] murals are street art, but not all street art are murals. 

STREET ART

Technically speaking, it's all street art. If there is a mural on a wall - and it is a public wall, not inside your house - it's street art. Art installations in public parks, street art. Tagging, graffiti, little knitted creatures found lurking in cities - typically near popular street art areas - all fall under the purview of street art. One of our favourite examples of this are the fantastic wooden statues at the Hill of Witches in Lithuania. We're also pretty partial to all the quirky statues in Prague.

Our favourite street artists

Like any normal connoisseur, we have favourites. Here are a few of them. Don't be surprised to find us frequently adding to this list. Sorry, you won't find Banksy on this list. I'm also going to go against my core values and provide you with IG handles where available because street artists need your follows and support way more than influencers.

Phlegm

Phlegm is welsh-born and Sheffield-based. But his work is found all over the world. He is hands down Jeremy's fave street artist. I'm a fan, myself. But if Jeremy could live in a Phlegm drawn world, or a world where only Phlegm pieces existed - but in abundance - he'd be a happy man, indeed.

​Fall in love with Phlegm here and here. Follow him on IG @phlegm_art.

WOSKERSKI

I struggle to pick a favourite, but I think Woskerski might be mine. I love the simplicity of his pieces. I can always recognise a Woskerski, and I love everyone I've come across. The one downside is that as he is London based, and significantly less well known than the others on this list, his stuff doesn't pop up around the world nearly as much as it should. But hey, any excuse to head back to London, right? Sadly his pieces - at least in London - are typically tagged over quite quickly. Perhaps it because he is local and fans know he never never creates the same picture twice (whereas some artists will touch up pieces that have been tagged over). However, this means that you could walk past a Woskerski every week and potentially find something new every time.

​Check out his website for info and commissions, or follow him on IG @woskerski.

ROA

An artist friend once told me that Belgian born ROA is the most famous street artist in the world. I was a little confused because that's obviously Banksy. But when asked to elaborate, he said 'Banksy is for the people, ROA is for the artists.' I think I'd probably still fight him on this one, but I get what he's saying. ROA is famous in artist circles... where it counts more. Or something incredibly pretentious like that. Anyway, I'm a big fan of ROA. Mostly because he's a big fan of animals... and internal organs. Unfortunately, most of my ROA spotting has been internet based, but we did get this beauty in Shoreditch, London (admittedly not my favourite of his).

​ROA is extremely private, but you can find out more about him here or follow him on Facebook.

Otto Schade

Otto Schade is a totally unique street artist from Chile. His work typically has two distinct looks. Either some aspect looks as though it is 'unfurling' OR it is a simple piece encased in a circle. Otto Schade is also one of the few street artists who regularly uses stencils and IS NOT looked down on for doing so as he has earned his reputation.

​Check out more of his work or commission him at his website. Follow him on IG @otto_schade.

James Cochran (Jimmy C) - akajimmyc

akajimmyc has one of the coolest and most distinct styles I've seen. He creates fantastic murals - typically of famous people, or people he knows - out of spray paint blots. Like all street artists, he experiments with other styles, but that is the style he pioneered and is known for. You'll always be able to spot a akajimmyc piece. Although he is from Australia, where he was a key figure in the underground graffiti movement, he is now based in London. But his work can be found all over the world.

​Check out his website to get in touch or hear about upcoming exhibitions. Follow him on IG @akajimmyc.

Vhils

I love that I get to include someone like Portuguese artist Vhils on this list because he is, I feel, the future of street art. Don't get me wrong, murals aren't going away. Thank god. But what Vhils does is truly phenomenal. Although he got his start and made a name for himself as a graffiti artist, his work today is completely different. Vhils carves, drills and even uses explosives to remove chunks of stone to create beautiful 3D murals. But this isn't contemporary art shenanigans where you're supposed to interpret the meaning. 

Honestly, the only way to explain is to show you.

​Please, please, please check out more of his work at his website, or follow him on IG @vhils.

Zabou

My one female contribution (so far), this French born, London-based graphic designer turned street artist, only seems to have come onto the scene in the last few years, but I'm totally in love. Our first introduction to her was a Salvador Dali mural near where we stayed in London this summer. Though sadly we never managed to get a photo of the mural because we got so busy we forgot we hadn't actually taken the photo. We did, however, manage to get a shot of a somewhat creepy Alice in Wonderland piece. More recently, she's done an epic Clockwork Orange mural in London that I'm dying to check out!.

​Check out her website and snag her designs on t-shirts, stickers and more! Follow her on IG @zabourartist

There are literally hundreds of street artists and so many more who deserve to be on this list. But, to avoid spending my entire life on this page, I'll just leave it as is and add to it when I feel the urge. 

If you're looking for more street art inspiration, we would also recommend checking out @notbanskyforum, which is run by a guy called Dean, who is well loved and well respected in the street art world for his efforts in promoting up and coming artists. And, of course, check out our street art articles below!