Here’s a much better look at the obelisk in question. (See my last blog post.) It thrusts out of the ground right in front of Horton Plaza, marking the underground entrance to the Lyceum Theater. Animals of the water, land and air, fashioned out of colorful tiles, frolic together in a mosaic beneath a smiling crescent moon!
This playful work of art and the beautiful architecture of the building behind it is just a small hint of the fun that awaits visitors inside the Horton Plaza shopping mall!
In downtown San Diego, on Kettner and A Street not far from Little Italy and the Santa Fe Depot, you might spot this old advertisement painted on a building wall. It promotes Dr. Pepper and Hires Root Beer. According to some googling I’ve done, the colorful artwork was revealed when an adjacent building was demolished. Looks to me like this building was a soda bottling plant years ago.
This large mural on the Arte Building on Sixth Avenue has become iconic in downtown San Diego. It was painted in 1989 by artists Kathleen King and Paul Naton and conveys a strong pro-multicultural message. Time has somewhat faded the once bold mural, but it still catches the attention of those venturing through the heart of the city.
Street art flourishes on the sidewalks of San Diego. Many electrical transformers and utility boxes have been creatively painted to represent colorful scenes both real and imagined. Most have a primitive or folk art vibe. I’ll snap lots of photos for this blog!
Here’s a box downtown at Sixth Avenue and Elm Street that features an airplane and space shuttle zooming above clouds between planet Earth, the Sun and the Moon. At least, that’s what it looks like to me!
Just walking along yesterday, I had to pause for a few moments to enjoy these kids playing string instruments by the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum for the passing Labor Day crowd. San Diego’s Embarcadero usually has a number of fun street performers, especially down by Seaport Village, but they were out in full force for the holiday weekend!
These three kids are talented musicians!
UPDATE!!!
Walking past Seaport Village on a fine Sunday afternoon in March, I happened to see this amazing musical family again! And I learned their official name: the De la Motte Strings! Here’s their Facebook page!
ANOTHER SIGHTING!
AGAIN!
I spotted this growing musical group in Balboa Park in late 2018!
I took this fun photograph near Anthony’s Fishette. A spray paint artist had placed these colorful pieces of artwork out for passersby to admire and hopefully purchase. These appear to be smaller renditions of the more elaborate “space art” productions that I’ve seen in the past. In addition to a few cosmic planets, I see several outlines of the Coronado Bay Bridge, a Buddha, a Mario, a skull and crossbones, and a variety of cool faces.
I really like how these images, weighed down on the sidewalk with small rocks, combine in a fantastic mosaic. The colors are intense and the effect is bold!
UPDATE!
I spotted the same artist displaying his work on some grass near the convention center during 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. I learned his name is William J. Dorsett. Cool guy! Check out his Mind Magick Creations website!
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Take a look at the deliciously, crazily, wonderfully picturesque Studio 13 in Balboa Park’s always surprising and colorful Spanish Village! This quaint little studio is both funky and folksy, a wild mixture of creative artistry!
You know, I wouldn’t mind living in such a happy place. Perhaps in the middle of a green meadow with unicorns grazing nearby…
This morning I took a stroll through Spanish Village on the north end of Balboa Park. Spanish Village is a wonderful, colorful place where many local artists have small studios. Not many people were about yet, just one older gentleman setting up some impressionist paintings in the courtyard. I snapped a number of pics of the motley, surprising studios, and this photograph is pretty striking.
The silvery, sexy mermaid sports a naval cap atop her long hair and stands ready to defend Studio 18!
I love this small bronze sculpture just in front of the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. Because it stands inconspicuously in the seldom-visited northwest corner of the Plaza de Panama, few people ever wander over to look at it. Which is a shame.
This piece of art is titled Youth Taming the Wild (Horse Trainer) and was created by Anna Hyatt Huntington in 1927. She is also responsible for the huge, iconic El Cid statue near the center of the plaza, between the fountain and the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.
I love the expressed energy in this work of art and the careful natural detail. One can see why this fine artist is considered one of the top equestrian sculptors.
When descending Cortez Hill, I often walk south down 8th Avenue past the big colorful banner on the Copley Symphony Hall building. I enjoy the huge, energetic image of Jahja Ling conducting the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
The above photograph was taken from the City College gymnasium on Park Boulevard. It’s a perfect spot to snap pics of downtown skyscrapers looking west.
Cool San Diego Sights! 