Surfing Madonna may get new home

ENCINITAS, Calif., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The California artist behind the Surfing Madonna mosaic has received approval to move the work to a new outdoor location.

Mark Patterson, who created the mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe on a surfboard with the message, "Save the Ocean," on a railway underpass in Encinitas, received permission from the city's art commission Monday to move the mosaic to a spot near Moonlight Beach, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

The mosaic has been in storage since city officials ordered its removal from the underpass in late June.

Patterson's relocation proposal must still be approved by the Encinitas City Council and the state government.