This dreamy, surreal mural was painted in 2017 at Pappy’s Market in Oceanside. Visible from the corner of Surfrider Way and Cleveland Street, the artwork, spilling its weirdness, spirituality and symbolism, decorates the south side of the building.
The artist is Elna (@eln4), who is half of the Brothers of Light duo.
The two artists’ distinctive murals have been painted internationally, but primarily in Israel, where they grew up.
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I love these three tile mosaic murals decorating the front of Vons in Coronado! You can spot them as you head down Orange Avenue.
I believe this artwork appeared in conjunction with the recent Vons remodel. The grocery store expanded into the old Cora Mart building space next door.
Several colorful scenes include an abstract Hotel del Coronado and kites in the blue sky, presumably pulling unseen kiteboarders across the ocean.
Who out there knows more about these murals?
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
In 2019, this sculpture of Penelope, from Greek mythology, was placed beside the boardwalk in Coronado Tidelands Park.
The bronze head of Penelope gazes across the water toward the Coronado Bridge and South Bay, as if awaiting the return of her husband Odysseus. Odysseus (the Romans called him Ulysses) was fated to wander from adventure to adventure after the Trojan War.
I guess I hadn’t walked this way for over three years, because I didn’t notice Penelope here before. But I did see this same sculpture many years ago. It stood for a while just north of Seaport Village, where Ruocco Park was eventually developed.
The amazing work of public art was created by artist Michael Stutz in 2009. (Looking at his website, I note he also created the Flame Flower in front of the Westin Gaslamp, which you can see here.)
I love the artist’s representation of Penelope. The mask-like face, gazing out over San Diego Bay, appears windblown but firm. The sculpture evokes human patience, anticipation, nobility…
Weaving by day, Penelope would be forced to choose a……new husband when her tapestry was complete. But all……the while she waited, unraveling her work by night……steadfastly sure of Ulysses’ return.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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Have you seen this interesting public art in Coronado? It was installed earlier this year. You can find it north of the Coronado Community Center, on the walkway beside the Glorietta Bay Marina.
The simple but beautiful bronze sculpture is titled The Knot. It’s by James Albert Wood. Created in 2004, The Knot is described as an artistic portrayal of life’s transitions.
That makes me think. The tying of a knot is a transition, as is the untying of a knot.
The sculpture entices eyes to follow its short length through space. The bending curve is sort of like a journey in life. We are continuously moving and turning, in transition, forming ties with the world around us and with others we meet.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Perhaps you’ve seen the fountain sculpture in Chicano Park. It stands on a colorful tiled base in a splashing basin under the Coronado Bay Bridge, not far from the skatepark. The symbolic public artwork was created by artist Raul Jaquez.
It’s hard not to see the duality in this work of abstract art. On one hand, female; on the other, male. On one side, spiritual calaveras (skeletons) holding a sun with the ollin symbol (representing change); on the other, flesh and blood living people holding a baby.
The unifying symbol appears to be a heart-eagle, ready to be released. The eagle is destined to take flight and rise above all, both the living and dead. At least, that’s my interpretation.
There are a few other sculptures in Chicano Park, but this striking work in the fountain, to me, is the most elaborate and artistically interesting. It is quite beautiful.
Back in 2015 the aging sculpture was restored during a major Chicano Park improvement project.
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I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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A thought-provoking sculpture can be found at Liberty Station in Point Loma. Created by San Diego artist Trevor Amery in 2021, the wood sculpture, Archive and Witness, stands in front of the Dick Laub NTC Command Center.
A nearby sign explains that Archive and Witness takes the form of…a fallen tree in a forest…Through…decomposition and decay, it…provides a home to animals and insects…The fallen tree is not the end of a life cycle; it is a transformation as well as a beginning…
The slab from the dead tree, whose tree rings represent a finished life, seems to pulse outward with abstract rings symbolizing future life. At least, that’s the way I see it.
It was interesting to read that artist Trevor Amery’s father was stationed at the old Naval Training Center San Diego here years ago. The human world, like a forest, is interconnected in surprising ways.
Archive and Witness stands where the Mingei International Museum’s Nikigator sculpture stood while that Balboa Park museum was undergoing its renovation a couple years ago.
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The Clearing, André Derain, circa 1906. Oil on canvas.
The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park has been invaded by wild beasts!
Les Fauves is French for Wild Beasts, and paintings by early 20th century artists known as the Fauves are running rampant in one amazing gallery!
These particular paintings are part of a wider exhibition titled Monet to Matisse: Impressionist Masterpieces from the Bemberg Foundation. I visited the San Diego Museum of Art back in May and blogged about the exhibition here.
During my visit yesterday, my docent friend Catherine took me through several of the museum galleries and explained how Impressionism evolved into Post-Impressionism and other avant-garde movements.
Fauvism was a modern movement that shocked art lovers in France between 1905 and 1908. It was led by Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck.
Looking at these canvases, museum visitors can see how the Fauves loved strong contrasts, saturated colors and bold brush strokes producing abstract, often weirdly unexpected forms.
Trees can appear as gangly streaks of pure color. Thick smudges and dabs of paint create startling still life images and brilliant landscapes.
In a strange way the dreamlike effect is similar to the gauzy, delicate work of the Impressionists. The viewer feels the momentary impression of a place or object. But these particular dreams are quite vivid!
The more I looked at these unique works, the more I appreciated the artistry and visionary genius of the Wild Beasts.
Head down to the San Diego Museum of Art and experience this famous artwork with your own eyes!
Monet to Matisse: Impressionist Masterpieces from the Bemberg Foundation was to end in August, but it has been extended through October 10, 2022.
The Gulf, Henri Manguin, circa 1920. Oil on canvas.Still Life with Fish, Maurice de Vlaminck. Oil on canvas.View of Chatou, Maurice de Vlaminck, circa 1907. Oil on canvas.
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There’s a sculpture garden open to the public in La Jolla that’s very easy to miss.
Large numbers of tourists, walking along the Pacific Ocean, south of Children’s Pool near Cuvier Park, pass this sculpture garden without even realizing it.
This park-like space isn’t readily noticed from Coast Boulevard. Curious eyes might observe an unusual sculpture made of many boats mounted on the building behind it. That building is home to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego!
Look for the gate in my upcoming photographs. Walk through it and up the curving path. You’re now in the museum’s Sue K. and Charles C. Edwards Sculpture Garden. See what your eyes will see.
My own eyes saw these particular sculptures months ago. Yes, these images have been lingering in my computer for much too long. While I’m self-isolating recovering from mild COVID-19, I’m finally getting around to posting them!
Whether these same pieces are on display right now, I don’t know. Over the years, I’ve noticed that some of the outdoor sculptures in MCASD’s collection are shifted from place to place.
Ready for our walk? Here we go!
Niagara, Alexis Smith, 1985. NOTHING IN THE WORLD COULD KEEP IT FROM GOING OVER THE EDGE… (Marilyn Monroe starred in the film Niagara.)Monument to a Bear, Erika Rothenberg, 2002-2003. Glass-reinforced concrete over steel, bronze plaque.Froebel’s Blocks, Richard Fleischner, 1983. Limestone.Spanish Fan, Robert Irwin, 1995. Steel and glass.
If you’re curious about that mural in the distance, you can see more of it here.
Pleasure Point, Nancy Rubins, 2006. Nautical vessels, stainless steel, and stainless steel wire.Crossroads, originally sited at the border crossing of US/MEXICO in Tijuana/San Diego, Marcos Ramirez ERRE, 2003. Aluminum, automotive paint, wood, and vinyl.
If you want to see quotes by artists written on the opposite side of these directional signs, click here!
Garden Installation (Displaced Person), Vito Acconci, 1987. Concrete, stones, dirt and grass.Pasta, Mark di Suvero, 1975. COR-TEN steel.Long Yellow Hose, Gabriel Orozco, 1996. Plastic watering hoses.Maria Walks Amid the Thorns, Anselm Kiefer, 2008. Lead books and NATO razor wire.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
If you’ve ever driven past the Buggy Bath Car Wash in Linda Vista, you might’ve seen this cool abstract mural that looks like a bird in flight. It’s titled Linda Vista Messenger of Love and Light.
The complex, spiritual artwork was painted in 2014 by San Diego artist Gibran Isaias Lopez, aka Isaias Crow. Over the years, I’ve photographed a variety of his murals. Click here if you’d like to see them again.
Here’s a great local article concerning the Linda Vista Messenger of Love and Light!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Dance Break Oaxaca, by Linda Anderson. Cotton, bamboo batting, textile paints, thread.
I headed to Escondido today to experience an incredible art exhibition on its final day.
Surface, Substance, Structure featured work by artists who belong to the guild California Fibers. Dozens of amazing pieces filled the galleries at the Museum of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
The thing about fibers is they curl and intersect and tangle and twist and naturally form beautiful complexity, even if you must look closely.
I was completely amazed by the creativity of these regional fiber artists. Innovative quilts, wire sculptures, baskets, fabric portraits and constructions–there seemed no end to the artistry their hands could produce.
Well, the exhibition is now over, so this blog is a bit late in coming. But you might be awed, or even inspired, by some of the pieces I photographed…
Surprising fabric creations awaited around every corner!Visitors to the museum were encouraged to feel the texture of these fiber art samples.SoCal Mama, by Kathy Nida. Commercial and hand-dyed fabric.Earth Vessel, by Brecia Kravolic-Logan. Reed, paper, patinaed copper, beach glass, driftwood stand, twined, glazed, netted.Small Wonders, by Charlotte Bird. Art quilt. (Microbes remain, even after a good washing!)Exploring Too, by Peggy Wiedemann. Pine needles, Irish waxed linen.Styling, by Peggy Wiedemann. Pine needles, waxed linen, rag cordage from India, old metal wheels, glass beads.Time Warp, by Lydia Tjioe Hall. Steel wire, waxed linen, cast bronze.LAVAfolds, by Cameron Taylor-Brown. Weaving photographic transfer, quilting, embroidery.Wandering the City, by Debby Weiss. Cotton, stitching, applique.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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