Tag: art

World-famous fine art inside the Coronado Library.

Rear view of Mourning Woman, 1966, the last sculpture by Donal Hord, which now is displayed in the Coronado Public Library.
Rear view of Mourning Woman, 1966. This last sculpture by Donal Hord is now displayed inside the Coronado Public Library.

Displayed inside the Coronado Library are many beautiful works of art. Several of these works are important pieces by internationally famous artists.

The two world-renowned artists are Donal Hord and Alfredo Ramos Martinez.

Donal Hord’s iconic sculptures can be found in various places around San Diego. He was one of the artists who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1949.

Alfredo Ramos Martínez is considered to be the Father of Mexican Modernism. He served as the Director of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Mexico City. He was founder of the Open Air (Aire Libre) School of Painting in Mexico. His students included Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueros, and Rufino Tamayo.

I took these photographs a couple weeks ago during a visit to Coronado.

You can learn more about the history of these amazing pieces and other artwork in the library here.

Donal Hord's granite sculpture Mourning Woman stands in the Coronado Library's Spreckels Reading Room. It took ten months to complete.
Donal Hord’s granite sculpture Mourning Woman stands in the Coronado Library’s Spreckels Reading Room. It took ten months to complete.
Tapestry designed by Donal Hord titled Earth Mother or Fruits of the Earth. Woven by Marian Kendall, U. Kelley, and F. Manchester in 1939.
Tapestry designed by Donal Hord titled Earth Mother or Fruits of the Earth. Woven by Marian Kendall, U. Kelley, and F. Manchester in 1939.
Canasta de Flores, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, 1938. The mural, painted for the La Avenida Café, is now located inside the Coronado Public Library.
Canasta de Flores, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, 1938. The mural, painted for the La Avenida Café, is now located inside the Coronado Public Library.
El Dia del Mercado, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, 1938. Fresco originally located at the La Avenida Café, now behind the front desk of the Coronado Library.
El Dia del Mercado, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, 1938. Fresco originally located at the La Avenida Café, now behind the front desk of the Coronado Library.
Section of fine art mural El Dia del Mercado by Alfredo Ramos Martínez inside the Coronado Library.
Section of fine art mural El Dia del Mercado by Alfredo Ramos Martínez.

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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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Rob Prior paints cool mural during Comic-Con!

Comic book artist Rob Prior paints a cool mural inside the Theatre Box in San Diego.
Comic book artist Rob Prior paints an awesome mural inside the Theatre Box in San Diego.

I stepped into the Theatre Box in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter this morning and made a cool discovery! During 2019 Comic-Con, an absolutely awesome mural is being painted on the wall behind the Theatre Box’s grand staircase!

The artist is Rob Prior, a popular comic book artist who has worked for Marvel, DC, Todd McFarlane and Image Comics, as well as video game companies and major advertisers.

Check out this cool artwork! I didn’t go right up and disturb Rob Prior as he worked, but I did manage to photograph some of the characters. I captured Darth Vader and a stormtrooper from Star Wars, Thanos and Black Panther from Marvel Comics, and Wonder Woman from DC Comics. It appears that Marvel’s Deadpool might be part of the mural, too! All of these characters have appeared in recent movies.

I was told that this mural, when completed, will be a permanent decoration at the Theatre Box. Look for it in the lobby at the top of that first flight of stairs!

Rob Prior works on a mural that includes several well-known pop culture characters.
Rob Prior works on a mural that includes several well-known pop culture characters.

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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!

History of IDW at San Diego Comic Art Gallery.

The San Diego Comic Art Gallery at Liberty Station in Point Loma has a current exhibition that might interest those who are attending 2019 Comic-Con. The History of IDW Publishing is now on display in the museum-like gallery, which is located inside of IDW’s San Diego-based corporate headquarters.

The exhibit describes the evolution of IDW and their popular artwork, from the company’s 1999 local inception in Pacific Beach to its very successful present day.

Visitors to the San Diego Comic Art Gallery can enjoy artwork from many diverse IDW projects, including art books like that of Ashley Wood; comic books like 30 Days Of Night, CSI, The Transformers, Star Trek, Locke & Key and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; reprinted material from The Library of American Comics; art magazines like Swallow; and IDW Games.

In addition, one section of IDW’s art gallery contains some of the amazing work of Justin “J-Po” Ponsor, a comic book artist born and raised in San Diego. It’s a fine tribute to a talented colorist who worked on many major series including Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers and Star Wars. He passed away two months ago.

For more information about the San Diego Comic Art Gallery, visit their website here.

The following photos are from the gallery’s wall that pays tribute to Justin Ponsor.

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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!

A warm tribute to Stan Lee at Comic-Con.

As I walked around the San Diego Convention Center late this morning, I came upon an artist painting the windows of the Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt shop in preparation for Comic-Con, which is now only four days away.

The smiling artist had painted a warm tribute to Stan Lee on one window, plus some popular Marvel characters who appeared in Avengers: Endgame.

The artist’s name is Shirish Villasenor. Her Instagram page is @arteatolondrada.

I have loads of 2019 Comic-Con photos coming up!

Stay tuned!

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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!

Wizard of Oz glass panels at Coronado Library.

Five years ago I blogged about the Wizard of Oz festival which was held in Coronado’s Spreckels Park. After checking out the festival, I took three photos of the beautiful Wizard of Oz glass panels inside the Coronado Library, which is located across Orange Avenue from the park.

Last weekend during my visit to Coronado I enjoyed looking at the panels again. I had stepped into the library to photograph pieces of art by two internationally famous artists. (I’ll post those photos at some point in the future, probably after Comic-Con.)

The thing is, as I paused in front of the wonderful Wizard of Oz artwork at the entrance to the children’s room, I suddenly realized I hadn’t posted photos of all the fun scenes. So I will right now!

This colorful Wizard of Oz Children’s Library Entry Portal was created by artist Brenda Smith.

Enjoy!

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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!

Photos of Tanabata Festival in Balboa Park!

Late this afternoon I stepped into the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park to enjoy their first ever Tanabata Festival!

I arrived half an hour before the festival officially opened, and as time progressed more and more people arrived for this joyful summer event. I lingered for a while to enjoy the sights, smells and tastes, and to learn about various aspects of Japanese culture and the Tanabata holiday.

According to the Japanese Friendship Garden website: “Originating from Chinese folklore, Tanabata is a holiday that celebrates the meeting of Orihime and Hikoboshi. Separated by the Milky Way, the stars Orihime and Hikoboshi are able to meet once per year on the seventh day of the seventh month. On Sunday, July 7th, JFG has partnered with the Minatomo Japanese Community to have their inaugural Tanabata Festival in San Diego!”

As I walked randomly about I learned about the Tanabata tradition of tanzaku: wishes are written on small pieces of paper which are then hung with other happy decorations on bamboo. I paused to admire some living moss art–kokedama. I then walked down into the Lower Garden.

Outside the Inamori Pavilion yummy Japanese food was being prepared. Inside the elegant pavilion there was artwork, including some bright, very colorful fluorescent paintings. I caught the first scheduled performance in the pavilion, which was an onigiri (rice ball) preparation demonstration. I was shown how to easily fold a paper flower.

I then headed back to the Upper Garden and listened as Write Out Loud presented a Japanese fairy tale. I paused to admire a bunch of origami artwork that was being created.

Every person I met was smiling.

I hope this is the first of many wonderful Tanabata Festivals at the Japanese Friendship Garden. That is my wish.

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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!

Kids create original Comic-Con book covers!

Today I entered the future Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park to check out PAWmicon! As I walked around, I poked my nose into the gallery where the Cover Story: The Art of Comic-Con 50 exhibit is located, and in one corner I discovered walls full of original art created by kids!

The colorful artwork, often featuring superheroes and pop culture characters, is drawn to resemble the covers of Comic-Con souvenir program books! Some of the designs are super inventive!

These covers that I photographed are just a small fraction of those on display.

Creativity rocks at the Comic-Con Museum!

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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!

Wizard of Oz street art in Coronado!

The Good Witch of the North and The Wicked Witch of the West meet on the yellow brick road, as a balloon flies away in Oz.
The Good Witch of the North and The Wicked Witch of the West meet on the yellow brick road, as a balloon flies away in Oz.

One of the utility boxes painted a few years back for the Art Outside the Box project in Coronado depicts scenes and characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other novels in the popular Oz series by L. Frank Baum.

The happy artwork, which greets those walking down the Orange Avenue sidewalk near the Coronado Library, was painted by local students Eva B., Audrey S., and Sienna F.

L. Frank Baum and Coronado are closely related. The author spent many winters in a house near the famous Hotel del Coronado, whose fantastic architecture is said to be the inspiration for his Emerald City.

You can learn more and see photos of his winter house by clicking here!

Walking past Wizard of Oz street art in Coronado. The title of this public art is Fairy Tale.
Walking past Wizard of Oz street art in Coronado. The title of this public art is Fairy Tale.
Another side of the utility box depicting L. Frank Baum's wonderful land of Oz. The popular author often spent his winters writing in a house in Coronado.
Another side of the utility box depicting L. Frank Baum’s wonderful land of Oz. The popular author often spent his winters writing in a rented house in Coronado.
One of the magical creatures in Oz.
One of the magical creatures in Oz.
Dorothy walks along the yellow brick road as Art Outside the Box.
Dorothy walks along the yellow brick road. A fun work of Art Outside the Box.

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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!

Chuck Jones Gallery readies for Comic-Con!

As I walked down Fifth Avenue through the Gaslamp today, I noticed the Chuck Jones Gallery is now ready for 2019 San Diego Comic-Con!

There’s tons of Marvel artwork right near the entrance, including some awesome pieces by Alex Ross. They’ve got framed prints of classic comic book covers and some stretched canvas, too, which I’m sure will be super popular with fans. Like last year, there’s also cool Star Wars artwork, and lots of fun Looney Tunes stuff, of course!

Here’s the Chuck Jones Gallery’s event page. Creators you can meet at the gallery during 2019 Comic-Con include Simpsons storyboard artist Stephen Reis; Star Wars artists Rodel Gonzalez and Rob Kaz; and Willie Ito, who worked with Golden Age of Animation greats Chuck Jones, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera!

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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!

Creativity at a museum helps to mend lives.

A wonderful new project is underway for the summer at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. To Do: A Mending Project can be enjoyed by the general public at MCASD’s downtown location in their Danah Fayman Gallery, right next to the America Plaza trolley station.

Artists Michelle Montjoy, Anna O’Cain, and Siobhán Arnold offer a unique workshop environment where people in the community can come together, talk, relax, create, and enjoy a tranquil safe space free of the many societal tensions and stresses in our contemporary world. With simple thread divisions are mended, and people feel whole once again.

As I walked into the gallery, the artists were sewing bags, and smiling and enjoying themselves thoroughly. They gave me a friendly welcome!

I poked my nose around and learned that To Do: A Mending Project has its own website, listing a wide range of activities that anyone can join through the summer. There’s the mending of clothes, knitting, poetry collage, yoga exercises, pasta making, a silent reading group, painting, and a whole lot more!

Check out all the activities by clicking here!

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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!