I agree, there’s a place and time for street art. But It’s not just graffiti – it’s an expression. It’s art. It still takes time. It’s still a talent. They’re still artists. And they’re anything but tacky.

A few days ago I ventured into an area of London I had never been to, let alone never even heard of – Shoreditch. Shoreditch neighborhood is the less-visited, more lived-in part of London. You won’t find thousands of tourists, or high-end street shops, but instead you’ll discover dozens of thrift shops (the kind with whole racks of various colored denim vests, rotary phones, 8tracks, and antique, floral china), a much younger demographic, and plenty of authentic Indian and Asian restaurants – not to mention the aforesaid “graffiti.”

These are just a few of the hundreds of paintings and taggings we saw, and let me tell you – they are works of art. It was as if we turned another corner onto a street filled with murals and pieces that would have taken hours and hours to complete. I was surely impressed.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t appreciate this on the side of my house or even my place of work, but in a place like Shoreditch, where it belongs – do your thing, Mr. Unconventional Artist.