Vert pays his bills as a full-time artist (he sells paintings, comic books, and merch) but still films himself painting highway spots in broad daylight. He moved to Oakland nearly 10 years ago to paint and never left.
“There’s the same amount of people doing it in L.A., but in L.A., there’s gangbangers you have to worry about,” Vert said.
Pemex, a retired Oakland graffiti writer who has transitioned to the world of murals, galleries, and tattoos, said the same.
“L.A. is vicious — cutthroat. New York is cutthroat. The Bay Area is a little more relaxed,” he told me over wonton soup at a late-night spot in Chinatown.
Pemex added that regional styles reflect their climates: Bay Area graffiti, he said, is more hip-hop, more old school, “more bits and doo-dads, boom bap shit.” In other words, more similar to the 1970s New York graffiti showcased in documentaries like 1983’s “Style Wars.” But in L.A., angular gang tags mix with Gothic script, and dripping, multicolored letters blend into one another in intricate wildstyles.
Influenced by both scenes, Pemex’s signatures include “Cholo lettering” and cartoonish bubble letters alike. He knows most people will never care to learn these nuances or treat real graffiti as an art form worthy of study.
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