North Hills : Public Art to Replace Vandals’ Spray Paint

For years, the San Diego Freeway’s Plummer Street underpass in North Hills hasn’t been much to look at, just a dim, gray tunnel occasionally marred by the spray-paint scrawls of graffiti vandals.

In a little more than six weeks, however, the public space will be transformed into a brilliant tableau of desert flora and fauna, a project that has drawn together an artist, the Los Angeles Police Department, an anti-crime organization and an eager group of volunteers from a nearby school.

“I’ve done large pieces but nothing ever this large,” said artist Candice O’Campo, a graduate student at Cal State Northridge who is supervising the work of students from Sepulveda Middle School. “They’re so sweet and enthusiastic. It’s very moving.”

Last week, the group began applying the first coats of paint for two 7-by-144-foot murals, using a series of grids to reproduce O’Campo’s design of a desert mountain range at sunset.

“The texture of the wall is very challenging,” she said, referring to the concrete’s pebbled surface. “They have to scrub the paint in.”

Born 2 1/2 years ago of an idea from the LAPD’s Devonshire Division Community Police Advisory Board, the project’s goal is to create attractive works of public art to enhance neighborhoods and reduce graffiti, Officer Les Lovatt said.

When finished in late May, the mural will be sealed with a protective wax coating that will allow graffiti to be removed without damaging the artwork. In the meantime, police will keep a close eye on the concrete canvases to prevent vandals from destroying the work in progress.

Funding for the $6,000 project has come from a variety of sources, including Valley-based Mad About Rising Crime, City Councilman Richard Alarcon’s office and the police advisory board.

Anthony Paniagua, a 12-year-old aspiring comic book artist, described it as an opportunity to show the community the positive talents that many young people possess, that often go unseen by older audiences.

“It looks a lot nicer than ruining your property,” he said.