THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY RAN IN THE ART OF STORYTELLING MAGAZINE ISSUE #1.

AEST’s graffiti interest started in a somewhat generic, funny way as he explains with a southern drawl, “Mang, I remember when I was a kid, I used to get my haircut at this barber shop and there was this hip hop, skyline, b-boy character thing they had going on. I never knew who did it, but that was some of the first graffiti I ever saw in person, (laughs) typical skyline hip-hop thing. Other than that, Thrasher magazine. You would always catch graffiti in the background of the skate photos.”

Thrasher magazine. You would always catch graffiti in the background of the skate photos.

AEST has been busy at graffiti since 1994. He got his start in Richmond, Virginia, a relatively small scene compared to the rest of the country, but definitely a scene that pumps out a ton of talent. Writers like ELK, SIGH, PENIS, LYES, and a slew of others, many of whom are members of DOS “Dirty Ol’ South.” “Richmond’s cool, Mang. It’s a small scene that’s definitely not as crazy as places like Chicago. I think the first piece popped up in Richmond in like ’84 or ’86, and it was pretty dead after that until the early 90’s. It doesn’t have as much history as other scenes, but I love it, because that’s where I came from.”

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AEST is the type of writer whose level of talent allows him not to be married to one particular style; the type of writer who takes his surroundings into account when painting. “If I am painting a train line spot, highway, or a freight, then I am going to do some simple legible stuff, but if it’s a wall somewhere where you can take the time to check it out, then I will flex something more complex.” Like many of his other DOS brethren, AEST isn’t much for words and doesn’t have any poetic reasons for painting graffiti. They do it because they are passionate about it. When asked how he would define his style, he said, “It’s a little bit classical I hope, maybe not too crazy, a touch of flair I hope.” And he burst into laughter as he said the word flair. “Shit, man, I don’t know, I just write graffiti.”