'Moronic': Whitehorse mural of skate park 'grandmother' defaced by vandals

Whitehorse's skate park is one of the few places where graffiti artists can legally ply their trade. But what happened at there Tuesday night was "not artful in the least."

That's according to Joe Zucchiatti, president of Whitehorse skateboarder advocacy group The Skate for Life Alliance.

Sometime after 4 p.m. Tuesday, vandals defaced a mural depicting the skate park's caretaker and "grandmother," Amanda Rendell what Zucchiatti called one of the park's "most treasured pieces."

Rendell's smiling face has now been covered over by a sneering yellow monstrosity.

"As we all know, street art can be quite exceptional," said Zucchiatti.

"In this case, it's just kind of moronic."

Zucchiatti said the yellow paint used to vandalize the mural was left at the park by painters who camped there several weeks prior. He said he had left them by the garbage in the hope the city would remove them, but they were never taken.

When he left the park "around 3 or 4" p.m. Tuesday, Zucchiatti said he saw someone arrive and begin spray painting the tarmac and a ramp.

"You don't want to, you know, be shutting people down, because this is one of the few places where you can legally do graffiti art in the Whitehorse area," he said.

He left, and sometime later he believes "some kids evidently found [the cans of paint] and found exactly the wrong thing to do with them."

It's not much of a birthday present for Rendell, who turns 100 this weekend. She's been taking care of the Whitehorse skate park for close to two decades, tidying trash and collecting empty cans, which she returns for charity.

"When that portrait was first painted, she was not terribly happy about it, because she doesn't like being the centre of attention," said Zucchiatti, who said he spoke to Rendell Wednesday morning.

"But she actually said a bad word when she heard it was vandalized. So she must have liked it better than she let on."

Zucchiatti says it's unlikely any of the park's regulars were involved.

The vandal is "obviously not connected to the culture of this park," he said. "Otherwise he would realize that this is, you know, the most respected person who's ever used this park."

"I think it was idiots, basically."

According to Zucchiati, the original artists behind Rendell's mural have agreed to cover up the damage with a new artwork, and regulars of the park are gathering to hold a birthday celebration for Rendell later this month.

"This is a minor blip," said Zucchiati. "I think everybody that's connected with this park really lives by Amanda's example."