SANTA ANA : An Artful Way to Paint Out Graffiti

On a wall once marred by the scrawls of taggers and gang members, Elizabeth Wiley, 10, dabbed red paint onto a mural celebrating Greenville Fundamental School’s cultural diversity.

After coloring within the lines sketched earlier by professional artists, Elizabeth recalled what the wall looked like before painting started in October: “It was horrible. Graffiti just ruined the wall.”

On Monday morning, Elizabeth, her classmates and several Santa Ana police officers gathered to help paint the mural as part of a continuing six-month project aimed at permanently eliminating graffiti from the 500-foot-long expanse bordering the school.

Elizabeth, who wore an oversized shirt as a smock, stepped back to admire her work. She said she was proud to help replace an eyesore with a work of art. “I’m just glad we’re doing this. It feels good.”

Andrew Brown, 7, was thrilled to participate, and he quickly filled in his assigned area with red paint, spattering some on himself in the process. “I like painting a whole bunch. It’s fun because we get our hands dirty,” he said.

School officials and police said they expect graffiti vandals, known as taggers, and gang members to respect the artwork and refrain from scrawling on the wall, a practice that had cost the school about $1,500 a year to keep covering up.

Greenville Principal Melanie Champion said the mural appears to be achieving its intended purpose. Whereas the unpainted portion of the wall has been hit with graffiti since the project began, the part the mural covers has remained untouched.

The mural, called “Together We Win,” depicts a twisting rainbow that stretches the length of the wall and frames children of various ethnic groups playing together in several sports.

Volunteer painters--including parents, school employees, children and police officers--have completed almost half the mural and expect to finish it by March.