Want to see some great innovative art? Then take a stroll through the 700 block alleyway between Ninth and 10th streets SE.

What is this? You might well ask. At first sight it looks like a roll-up-and-over garage door is partially open, giving a tantalizing glimpse of a Porsche.

But get closer. The garage door is firmly closed. You’re looking at an extraordinary mural. The flamboyant scene, cheering-up an otherwise typically unexciting Capitol Hill back-alley, is the work of Mark Walker. The inspiration behind his artistry: longtime Hill residents, Karl and Carrol Kindel.

Porsche enthusiasts, the Kindels decided to pay homage to the first one they owned – and had for 17 years – by commissioning a “trompe l’oeil.” They advertised on Craig’s List, asking for interested muralists to bid for the job. They got several responses, and after studying sketches of what each artist proposed for the garage door, they picked Walker.

A DC native, Walker began his art studies at the Corcoran College of Art and ended with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Arts Institute. He relished the act of bringing the Kindels’ fun idea of alley-art to life. “The thing I enjoyed most about the project was the small, detailed work,” he says. “I enjoy meticulous projects that allow the viewer to see various things, the more they look at my work.”

To ensure a perfect replication of the Kindels’ much-loved Porsche Carrera, Walker, who lives in DC’s Brookland neighborhood, worked from over 30 photographs they have of it. While converting the drab garage door to a colorful mural masterpiece he attracted a lot of attention – and a wide fan base.

“We often saw workers looking and commenting on Mark’s work, until their supervisors came around and told them they needed to resist their art critic roles and get back to their jobs,” Karl laughs.  “Everyone – from garbage collectors to cable contractors, plus our neighbors – was fascinated to see the mural develop. Now it’s finished, they all love it.”

Many who come across it can be seen getting very close, examining every minute aspect. As Carrol says, “You can see in the mural Mark’s sense of humor. It shows up in the way he’s continued the real crack in the cement, outside the garage, into the mural.”

“It was a joy working with Mark,” she adds. “He is not only extremely talented but wonderful to work with. We asked for a ‘trompe l’oeil,’ and that’s exactly what we got. The artistry he used on our garage door is truly ‘fooling to the eye.’”