OXNARD : Mural at Durley Park Intended as Graffiti Deterrent

At first glance, it looks a whole lot like graffiti.

But, in fact, the new mural at Oxnard’s Durley Park is intended, in part, to be a graffiti deterrent.

The artwork was created earlier this month by 15-year-old Jose Luis Lopez and 16-year-old Francisco Gonzalez, both freshmen at Hueneme High School. In the sharp angles of graffiti-style lettering, it reads: “City of Oxnard Parks & Facilities!!”

Alongside the writing is a drawing of a young man in an orange-and-red-striped sweater and blue hat, making a peace sign.

“There’s a lot of graffiti in the area, and there’s too much violence,” said Jose, who lives several blocks from the park. “We’ll give it a try. Maybe other people will start doing murals instead of crime.”

Durley Park, at Hill and G streets, has been plagued by gang violence and graffiti problems.

“It is one of our worst,” Dean Yamamoto, Oxnard Parks and Recreation Department maintenance supervisor, said of the graffiti. “Years back we tried this at one of our parks, and from what I gather, it helped for a while. People left it alone. But after a while it started to get graffitied, so we painted it over.”

Jose’s mural has gotten good reviews from the folks at the Turning Point Foundation, a social services agency.

“People here think it’s a great thing,” said Mary Lou Angulo, a Turning Point employment specialist. “We hope that maybe the mural will stand out to the people who do the graffiti and the breaking in, that we don’t want any wars.”

Jose has agreed to monitor the mural daily and will paint over graffiti if necessary.

The mural was Jose’s first outdoor artwork, but it wasn’t his first work with a positive message. He recently won the local component of the National Parent Teachers Assn.’s peace poster contest. Jose drew a picture of the Earth, with a crumbling chain around it and a peace sign in the background.

Yamamoto said he will recommend Jose for a mural the Oxnard Parks and Recreation Department is considering for the Wilson Senior Center on North C Street.