WASHINGTON - A battle is brewing in one D.C. neighborhood over a painting on the side of a home. While many view it as a neighborhood nuisance, the homeowner insists her mural is a work of art.

Reactions are mixed when local residents are asked about what they think of the painting.

"I don't like it," said one man.

"I think it's awesome," said another.

"Perhaps it's a lesbian pride thing," suggested one man.

Veronica Jackson, the woman whose house it's painted on says, "It's a boxer girl. It's about strength, it's about creativity..."

Jackson says the painting came to be when artist Lisa Marie Thallhammer received a grant from the city to do a wall mural. "She needed a place. I provided a place and it's been fabulous. I come around the corner to come home at night and boo.. it just makes me feel so good," she said.

Still, some neighbors say they're not thrilled with the artwork. "It borders on graffiti," said Barbara Wilson, a neighbor. "I see it in my kitchen, in my bedroom, in my basement -- it's just in my face."

"Neither the owner nor the artist sees it -- the people on this row see," said Sara Kaufman, a neighbor.

And since taxpayer funds were used to put it up, some are particularly outraged.

"We suddenly saw it one morning and there it is," said Cindy Poss, a neighbor.

Jackson has had to hear about people's issues with the mural face to face sometimes and notes she also has some opinions on the matter.

"Like your gazebo. I don't necessary like it but you put it up and I see it so..." she said.

Neighborhood critics have already held one meeting about the painting with the artist and city officials. They say they plan to have another meeting next Tuesday.

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