LA has a new mural masterpiece, with a message.
“We live in a land that has all these wild animals that should be embraced more and p22 is just a great example of that,” Paul Jimenez with Ground Floor Murals, said.
Jimenez kinda fell into graffiti art after losing his job during COVID.
“I was getting unemployment for the first time ever, bought some spray paint, started practicing and it tumbled and two years later here we are,” Jimenez said.
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It turned into a business, and his work was seen up and down the state of California.
You might recognize one of the late Kobe Bryant here in LA.
But a lot of his work has focused on wildlife.
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“I’m a big animal lover, lover of indigenous wildlife. So when I heard the news,I had been following P-22 for a while and thought it was an awesome story and that la was so into this wild animal and it felt really good. so when I heard he died, I just had to go up there,” Jimenez said.
Up there was Griffith Park where this weekend hikers honored the mountain cat – and when Jimenez started seeking out a place for his vision.
“I looked for walls I liked a lot, a café at the park, anytime I saw a nice wall I'd ask if I could paint one and they thought the idea was awesome but no one had the permission,” Jimenez said.
That’s when he reached out to social media and got a response from the restoration church of LA in East LA.
And the wall outside the sanctuary became this work of art.
With eyes that pierce that soul, the artist hopes will burn action into those willing to save wildlife.
“When people see that mural of P-22 I want them to see just how bad ass he is. He's done so much for wildlife and California and people should know who he was and what he did,” Jimenez said.
