Surfing Madonna Taken Down

Almost as quickly as she came into the lives of Encinitans, the Surfing Madonna has gone.

Mark Patterson, the artist who created the popular but illegal “Surfing Madonna” on Encinitas Boulevard, removed the mosaic Wednesday evening, following an with the city announced just one day earlier. 

The agreement stated that Patterson would take the art down and reimburse all municipal costs, while the city acknowledged the artist’s ownership of the work and his preference to relocate it within Encinitas.

Traffic on Encinitas Boulevard was shut down between Coast Highway 101 and Vulcan Avenue for nearly two hours during the removal process.

The 10-foot-square stained-glass mosaic depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe riding a surfboard, with the words “Save the Ocean” running down the left side, appeared two months ago under a railroad crossing.

While city officials said it was installed illegally and defaced public property, the mural quickly gained a following because of its artistic quality and pro-environmental message.   

Hundreds have come to see the controversial artwork, and a Twitter account and Facebook support page have even been created in its name.