Tag: art

Hubbell’s colorful Bird of Paradise in Carlsbad!

Renowned local artist James Hubbell produced numerous works of public art throughout San Diego County. In Carlsbad, his colorful Bird of Paradise mosaic can be enjoyed at the corner of Carlsbad Boulevard and Carlsbad Village Drive.

Bird of Paradise was commissioned by the City of Carlsbad in 1989 for the Art in Public Places Program. The circular mosaic is composed of small ceramic tiles, which together form an almost 15-foot-diameter medallion.

Those walking past the major intersection near the historic Twin Inns building, at one end of the Carlsbad gateway sign, need merely look down toward their feet.

In years past I had vaguely observed this artwork. Until I noted the nearby plaque yesterday, I hadn’t realized the beautiful mosaic was created by Hubbell. So I paused to take a much closer look!

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New year brings fresh art to Oceanside’s Artist Alley!

The many small murals painted on a low wall in Oceanside’s Artist Alley change from time to time. The alley is like a living thing!

I was told by a shopkeeper that some of the murals you see in today’s photos were painted during the recent holidays. Other artwork was created early this year.

Oceanside’s unique Artist Alley is located directly south of the city library and civic center, on the other side of Pier View Way. It’s the home of many cool, artsy specialty shops.

If you’d like to learn more about Artist Alley, and see how this wall of murals appeared four years ago, click here.

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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 X.

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Two wonderful murals in Carlsbad about childhood!

These two wonderful murals in Carlsbad are a bit hidden. They can be found in a parking lot behind 2801 Roosevelt Street. Both concern dreams, and play, and the joys of childhood.

I found these two murals by sheer chance as I wandered about Carlsbad this morning. Going off the beaten path is often rewarding.

The first mural is somewhat faded. It’s titled Waiting For Dreamland. The artists are Ron Juncal and Phyllis Swanson. The artwork was sponsored by New Village Arts and the Matt McLaughlin Fund of the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation. Sadly, the artist website it refers to is no longer active.

The second mural was painted on another wall by the same parking lot. It was created by Mr. Snyder (@SnyderArt), who teaches art at Valley Middle School in Carlsbad.

He painted this wonderful art in 2014. Two children at the beach pull a wagon and fly a kite…

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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 X.

Thank you for sharing!

Statue of San Diego de Alcalá at USD.

A statue depicting San Diego de Alcalá stands in a beautiful garden near the center of the Catholic University of San Diego.

San Diego de Alcalá (also known as Saint Didacus and Diego de San Nicolás) is the patron saint of USD, not to mention the Franciscan missionary and saint after which San Diego was named.

In 1542 explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo named our city’s bay San Miguel.

Sixty years later, when Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno sailed into our bay on November 10, 1602, he named it San Diego, which was also the name of his flagship. He put San Diego on his map. That name stuck.

I took photographs of the San Diego de Alcalá statue several months ago, when I visited USD’s Arts and Culture Festival. (Yes, I’m finally posting these photos!)

The bronze sculpture stands in Plaza de San Diego next to the Maher fountain. According to this, it was moved there in 2017 from the entrance of Copley Library.

I know nothing more about the statue. When was it created? By whom? If you know anything more about it, your comment would be very welcome!

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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 X.

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Mysterious sculpture at Hollister and Conifer!

Do you know anything about this mysterious sculpture in San Diego’s South Bay, at the intersection of Hollister Street and Conifer Avenue? It’s a few blocks north of the Palm Avenue trolley station.

I haven’t walked this way in a long time, so I don’t know when the sculpture appeared. I took these photos last weekend.

Who created this fun artwork? Why are farewells painted in various languages? Why, on its back, is there a seemingly contradictory message Please No Art?

Two yellow hands on the mysterious sculpture appear to be cleaning while splashing drops of water. Could this have been a sign that once stood at the exit of a carwash? I’m racking my brain for an explanation.

Leave a comment if you happen to know anything!

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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 X.

Thank you for sharing!

Final two murals at Walkway of the Stars in La Mesa!

Last year, when I visited The Walkway of the Stars in La Mesa, two of eight murals had yet to be painted. I checked out the alley-like pocket park again yesterday and discovered that the final murals, which honor community volunteers, have been finished!

If you’d like to see all of the amazing murals with your own eyes, you can find The Walkway of the Stars in downtown La Mesa between the Allison Avenue municipal parking lot and La Mesa Boulevard.

“Thanks for Your Help!” by Channin Fulton (@channinfulton)
“Jewel of the Hills” by Nolan Lee (@nolanleeart)

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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 X.

Thank you for sharing!

Sea life mosaics installed at Chula Vista trolley station!

Gorgeous glass mosaics depicting sea life were recently installed at the E Street trolley station in Chula Vista. The artwork was created by Rainforest Art Project (@rainforestartproject). The mosaics are meant to inspire people traveling through San Diego’s South Bay. Eyes are encouraged to look out at the world with a sense of wonder.

The mosaics are part of the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Color the Corridor project. You might recall that a long mural has been painted on a wall just north of the same trolley station. See my blog post concerning that by clicking here.

A short video concerning these new sea life mosaics can be viewed here.

Many of the glass mosaics aren’t readily visible to passengers waiting for a trolley on the E Street station platform. As you can see from my next photograph, most of the fish, whales, birds and turtles overlook Interstate 5 below.

Hopefully drivers whizzing down the busy freeway or heading up the nearby off-ramp observe this incredible public art!

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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 X.

Thank you for sharing!

Library exhibit celebrates Hubbell art in Mexico.

The Otay Mesa-Nestor Library currently has a great exhibit in their community room. Informative displays concern the work of renowned San Diego artist, architectural designer and sculptor James Hubbell in Mexico.

The exhibition, Architecture of Jubilation: Lado a Lado, was supposed to conclude in 2024, but has been extended. A librarian told me they’re hanging onto the exhibit as long as they can!

This afternoon I visited the library and gazed at photographs and descriptions of Hubbell’s amazing, organic architectural work in Mexico, including the elementary school Colegio La Esperanza in Tijuana, which he and thousands of community volunteers built.

Another display concerns his Kuchumaa Passage art park, which honors our region’s native Kumeyaay people. Hubbell, with artist Milenko Matanovic, assisted by more volunteers, created beauty on the grounds of Rancho La Puerta fitness spa and resort in Tecate, Mexico. The community-built art park would lead to the creation of Hubbell’s later Pacific Rim Park projects. (The one on Shelter Island–Pearl of the Pacific–can be seen here.)

Other Hubbell projects covered by the Architecture of Jubilation: Lado a Lado exhibit include the Museo Kumiai in Tecate, and Jardín de los Niños in Tijuana.

As one poster explains: Tijuana and San Diego are important cities that exist side by side, along a border that both divides and connects. James Hubbell honors this contradiction by using his art to bridge the border and build a tapestry of community. Thread by thread, Hubbell invites everyday people from Baja California and San Diego to join him in creating spaces of beauty and importance…

James Hubbell passed away last year, but his work will inspire many people and brighten our world far into the future.

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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 X.

Thank you for sharing!

Historic mural inside La Jolla Post Office!

A stunning mural decorates the lobby of the United States Post Office in La Jolla. The historic mural is titled Scenic View of the Village. Completed in 1936 by renowned artist Belle Baranceanu, the 15′ x 12′ oil on canvas painting depicts part of La Jolla, looking down curvy Hillside Drive toward the Pacific Ocean.

Belle Baranceanu lived much of her life in San Diego. She painted several public murals locally for the Works Progress Administration. A past exhibit at the San Diego History Center celebrated her contributions. See my old post concerning that here. I’ve also photographed her mural The Progress of Man in Balboa Park. You can view it on my now inactive blog “Beautiful Balboa Park” by clicking here.

Baranceanu’s work has been exhibited in many of the nation’s finest museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Institute, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Denver Art Museum.

She produced the La Jolla Post Office mural for the Section of Painting and Sculpture, a New Deal project that added artwork to numerous public buildings.

Would you like to see this beautiful mural with your own eyes? The address and lobby hours of La Jolla’s post office can be found here.

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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 X.

Thank you for sharing!

Solana Beach street art along Lomas Santa Fe.

Enjoy street art that I discovered during a recent walk in Solana Beach down Lomas Santa Fe Drive.

These photos begin near Rios Avenue and proceed east to Solana Hills Drive, a block before Interstate 5.

The Solana Beach mural you see above is on the north side of Minute Shop Liquor. I believe it’s fairly new.

The other street art decorates electrical boxes. To bring out more color, I increased the contrast when I prepared the following images…

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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 X.

Thank you for sharing!