Human beings have been drawing on surfaces for thousands of years, from the walls of caves to the ceilings of chapels. When the work is desired and/or commissioned it’s “art,” but when it’s expressed on public spaces, it’s usually regarded as graffiti.

As they say, art is in the eye of the beholder (and in the case of street art, where an image is painted), but it all leads to questions about the nature of art, who determines what it is, and what it’s not. That said, there is street art that is inspiring, provocative, and yes, beautiful. Needless to say, we like to focus on images of our dog breeds.

Dan Leo is a London born artist based in Ireland whose work is rendered in a style that has heavy line work, pattern elements and is bold in color. Images like this Irish Wolfhound painted on a shutter a year ago to mark the Mendicity rising in Ireland shows the influence of cartoons from the late eighties and mid nineties which Leo cites as having impacting his work.  This image, by the way, is available as a print at the artist’s site.  You can follow Leo on his Facebook page and on Instagram.