I am not a graffiti artist, and not a real photographer so to speak- I take pictures of what I observe.

I grew up on the East Coast, and felt the need to document street art here in the Bay Area because growing up, I learned a deep appreciation for the evolution of this art form by riding the trains into NYC and watching the colorful walls fly by.

Last time I was in NYC most of the art and heart of the graffiti culture seemed gone or relegated to small, little predetermined areas where artists could paint. The feeling of taking back whole abandoned blocks and neighborhoods that existed in New York in the late 80s and the 90s was gone, transformed by gentrification in the years before 911, then cleansed by Mayor Giuliani in the aftermath.

New York City has now become the worlds biggest Disneyland adventure for the elite. I noticed a lot of the color, in more ways than one, had left the city.

After riding my bike around Oakland for the first time a few years ago, I started realizing something - a brilliant collection of artists taking it to the streets to express themselves. It reminded me of the class struggles I witnessed on the East Coast.

I felt a desire to go out and "hunt" for these spots and artists who were keeping it at the "real" level to show who they were and how they continued to grow this art in the streets as a form of protest and self-expression. One day I made a decision to go out and buy a low-end digital camera to help move the artists expressions along further through what I had been observing.

These pictures are the continuing result of my desire to perpetuate this documentation progress for the artists and future generations of graffiti enthusiasts.