EVEN before transit police raided his home and charged him with multiple graffiti train ''taggings'' across Melbourne, Andrew Bourke knew it was time to get a life.

Late into his seven-year frolic he felt ''off''' and lacked motivation as if clinging to a reputation that far exceeded the effort or results.

Street artist Andrew Bourke with one of his works in Prahran. Credit:Jason South

''I guess in the end I'd grown a conscience, got older and I felt like I was pushing my limits for no personal gain,'' he told The Age. The reformed graffiti vandal is now a mentor for disadvantaged youths and the artistic director of a vibrant commercial business, a renowned urban street and ''aerosol artist'' whose clients have included Porsche, Sony and BMW.

But yesterday in Melbourne Magistrates Court, he was the nervous client of barrister Tim Walsh and a defendant pleading guilty to 15 charges of criminal damage.