Skip to Content

A damaged Santa Barbara mural, hit by tagging vandalism, is repaired by the artist

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A mural on the side of Brownie's market in Santa Barbara, tagged and destroyed recently has now been repaired by the artist.

The site is on the corner of Haley and De La Vina Streets. It features a brown hand and a white hand together, and a quote by Nelson Mandela about teaching love over hate.

Artist Danny Meza created it in 2020 at the request of the building owner.

He came back from San Diego where he lives now, to repair the recent tagging that had white paint over much of the art.

Danny Meza said, "Yeah it sucks. I think murals get hit up and tagged on all the time. No matter what the subject is, for tons of reasons. They don't like the mural they want to vandalize for the sake of it, they don't like the artist that actually did it, stuff like that ."

The mural has been tagged over another time too, and repainted.

Meza says he wanted to preserve the art and the message.

Santa Barbara City Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez met Meza there and thanked him for the commitment. He also gave him a city pin. Longtime westside resident Beebe Longstreet also stopped to make a donation for the paint supplies.

Both Meza and Gutierrez said they would like to see a site where those who want to learn street art or large spray painted projects can have a learning area and even work with mentors. They say it would give them a place for expression and teach a valuable skill.


For more from John, follow him on Twitter below:

Article Topic Follows: Santa Barbara - South County
KEYT
Santa Barbara Murals

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

John Palminteri

John Palminteri is senior reporter for KEYT News Channel 3-12. To learn more about John, click here.

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

News Channel 3-12 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content