A skirmish over a mural at a Studio City car wash could result in L.A. artists having more leeway to paint murals on businesses’ walls.
The city’s sign ordinance prohibits exterior murals on private property, even including works of art, with permits granted only in special cases. But when city officials cracked down on an unpermitted mural outside the car wash, community members defended the work because it depicted the area’s history.
The Los Angeles City Planning and Arts committees will review the issue Tuesday and could be swayed to draft rules that would allow artistic murals without advertising messages, said Jack McGrath, spokesman for the car wash.
Despite the ordinance, murals are prevalent throughout Los Angeles. One muralist is completing a major project at the garage entrance to the Holiday Inn Express in Hollywood this week.
Amy Koch Johnson is finishing a 60-foot mural depicting nearly a dozen Tinsel Town icons that will greet guests when they enter the hotel’s parking garage.
Koch Johnson, who estimated that she paints close to 30 murals a year, declined to comment on any move to change the ordinance. But for 15 years she’s been a one-woman operation, painting murals and portraits as May Art Inc. in Manhattan Beach. Examples of her murals, which earn her anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000, can be found on the side of Redondo Beach surf shop Dive N’ Surf and Xanadu French Bakery in Malibu.
It can take Koch Johnson several months and thousands of dollars in paint supplies to complete a work. She estimates that she spent close to $3,000 on supplies and gasoline for the Hollywood mural, which has taken her three months to finish.
She said the Hollywood mural is one of the most difficult she’s painted due to the level of detail required. The mural is her first attempt at depicting well-known people – previous pieces have focused on landscapes or objects.
“I never thought I’d paint the stars,” Koch Johnson said. “But I love painting the drama in the characters they play.”
Corey Bouche, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express, said the hotel commissioned the mural on an interior wall to avoid the need for a permit.
“It’s not being shown to the public unless they’re on our property,” he said. “You wouldn’t need a permit for that.”
