A few vulgar, silly rhymes, a few expletives, a few initials--all were once spray-painted underneath the Hamilton Street bridge along the Santa Ana River trail.
But now the wall is adorned by a huge mural of a roller-blader stopping on a dime, with sun and waves in the background, thanks to 20 art students from Century High School in Santa Ana who felt like burning off a little artistic energy.
Their art teacher, Ross McElfresh, sketched the mural and helped paint it over three consecutive Saturdays. A ceremony was held last week to celebrate its completion under Operation Clean Slate.
The county Environmental Management Agency provided bright orange traffic cones to forewarn bikers that artists were at work, and sandbags to keep the river from reaching the precious paint during high tides.
