Matt Hernandez stands in the 700 block of Gaviota Avenue, gesturing to murals he painted over graffiti-marred residential walls, garage doors and Dumpsters.
His serene underwater images -- fish, rays, sea stars and plant life -- contrast with what he once painted on walls.
"I used to do it on the illegal side of the law, and I went to prison for that," the 28-year-old reformed tagger says. "Now I am getting paid to do it."
Hernandez works in maintenance and remodeling for Choices Recovery Services, which treats alcoholics, drug addicts and those suffering from mental disabilities in 10 residential centers citywide. Three years sober, Hernandez is also former Choices client.
A couple of years ago, Sean Zullo, Choices director, asked Hernandez to paint over graffiti on and near Choices properties located between Fourth and 10th streets and Alamitos and Cherry avenues.
Zullo emphasizes art therapy and neighborhood beautification, believing they have a positive effect on those in recovery and in the community's in which they are trying to reintegrate.
"Since we want to view ourselves as a community resource, as well as a community partner, it's really important," Zullo says.
Neighbors who have seen Hernandez's work have asked for murals to cover the tagging on their garages and walls. He's done their walls at no charge.
"We've seen a lot of what they've done," says Ramon Aguilar, field deputy for 2nd District Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal. "They look much improved over what they had before. We definitely want to see more public artwork, and they've promised to do the maintenance and upkeep."
Hernandez does not always choose conventional surfaces. He painted Choices' youth-outreach trailer with cityscape images of downtown buildings and the Walter Pyramid at Cal State Long Beach. He sprayed seascapes on utility boxes, including a few on Seventh Street, that once swam in graffiti.
He and Zullo, however, have decided not to paint over graffiti on any additional utility boxes because they could not get permission.
Hernandez's seascapes are inspired by the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Wyland murals on the Long Beach Arena and the city's coastal location. He paints the occasional jungle scene.
"I learned on my own," says Hernandez, who has not had any formal art training. "My mother was an artist, so I guess it runs in the family."
"He took the art of the tag and made it legit," says Janice Harris, art director at Choices. "He truly did."
Harris says she believes that the combination of artwork and community service can be key to helping substance abusers recover.
On a tour of Hernandez's murals, most of which are in the 2nd District, it is clear that neighborhood taggers leave his work alone.
Hernandez says that taggers can tell by his style and other cues that he used to be one of them and have a respect for his work.
As an example, he stops by a blue and white mural in the deeply cracked and heavily littered alley between Walnut and Gaviota avenues.
"Choices 2007" appears in angular street script. The periphery of the mural had been tagged, but not the main images.
Other nearby walls have not fared as well.
