Photos: Hundreds of graffiti artists make pilgrimage to St. Louis’ Paint Louis festival

Hundreds of artists from across the United States have made their annual pilgrimage to St. Louis for the city’s graffiti festival along the Mississippi Riverfront. Paint Louis was founded in 1997 as an annual graffiti and music festival, attracting artists to display their work using both spray and liquid paint. Matt Minetta, a 44-year-old artist who made the over 20-hour trek to Missouri for the event, stood triumphantly on a cherry red platform as he outlined portions of his mural titled “SAD.” He said he started on his creative endeavors more seriously while in prison, but now he sees art as a “free form of self-expression” along with his career as a tattoo artist. Jason “Killer Napkins” Spencer is a St. Louis-based artist also participating in the festival. After studying fine art at a local college, Spencer explains he has worked in mixed media with the goal of “combining the cute and the horrific.” Spencer said he wanted to take a lighthearted approach to his mural this year and is working on a piece that answers the question: “What would a monster look like if they went on vacation?” Paint Louis runs on the Mississippi River through Sunday. A full...