The problem for police is, more than one person could tag under the same moniker — which is one reason Phoenix cops pretty much must catch a graffiti writer in the act to make a prosecution stick.
Asked about the cost of graffiti, Roger Gastman, one of graffiti's biggest boosters, is unapologetic.
Stephen Lemons
Tools of DOSEs trade, a jar of spray-paint tips.
Jamie Peachey
Mad bombers: Outsourced, by Hector Ruiz and DOSE, a 9-by-24-foot diptych, currently hanging in the Phoenix Art Museum as part of its Locals Only show.
House Photos: Bill Timmerman, Timmerman Photography Inc.
Treg Bradleys ultra-modern home in north Scottsdale, designed by architect Michael P. Johnson.
Jamie Peachey
Bradley, with a Ruiz-DOSE collaboration.
Jamie Peachey
Bradley, with a Ruiz-DOSE collaboration.
Jamie Peachey
DOSE busts out a graffiti piece in broad daylight.
Stephen Lemons
DOSEs palette, in the trunk of his ride.
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"Graffiti is vandalism," says Gastman. "Sometimes it looks great, sometimes it's a tag on a stop sign. But at the end of the day, graffiti is vandalism. I'm not going to argue with that fact."
That, he says, is part of what makes it cool and why he admires it.
As far as DOSE goes, he plans to keep doing it. He doesn't want to get arrested for practicing his art, but it's a risk he's willing to take.
"Graffiti is the voice of the streets," DOSE states defiantly, adding, "and I'm going to do it regardless. It's like breathing for me."