Tag: art

Beautiful mural at Palomar College Escondido Education Center.

Renowned artist and illustrator Rafael Lopez painted this very colorful mural in Escondido during the summer. You might recognize his abstract style. The inspirational mural greets students arriving at the Palomar College Escondido Education Center.

(I took a long walk through Escondido early this morning . . . then Oceanside around noontime! I discovered all sorts of great street art and public art during my adventures. Stay tuned!)

The story behind this beautiful Rafael Lopez mural can be found in this article. I didn’t know the school has a comet as its mascot!

I like how images of life, growth and reaching skyward are important elements of the design.

If you love this artwork, you might want to check out other Rafael Lopez murals around San Diego. You can find many of them documented in past blog posts by clicking here.

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Exhibition by San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild.

An excellent exhibition by members of the San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild is now showing inside Gallery 21 at Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center.

The exhibition, curated by Alex DeCosta of the Hyde Art Gallery, features fine works by some of our city’s most outstanding artists. These eclectic pieces, all of which are for sale, would be valuable additions to any art collection.

I wandered into Gallery 21 late this afternoon and enjoyed viewing all the artwork. I took a few photographs so you get an idea of what you’ll find when you visit.

Make sure to swing by in the next few days. The 2024 SMMAAG Membership Exhibition will be on view in person through December 2, 2024. If you can’t make it by then, view the exhibition online here until the end of the year.

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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!

Spanish Village in Balboa Park readies for holidays!

Many of the studios in Spanish Village Art Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park are ready for the holiday season! Other artist studios will be getting ready soon!

I walked through Spanish Village late this afternoon and found wreaths, ornaments, and other fun decorations inside studios, on doors and in windows!

Need a unique Christmas gift for a special person? This is the perfect destination!

Peeking into Studio 41 the day before Thanksgiving.

Come on into Studio 34.

Wreath near art outside Studio 23, Southwestern Artists Association.

Santa says Believe when you step into Glass Blowing Studio 19.

Holiday wreath on yellow door of Studio 18, the Spanish Village office.

Wreath and silver stockings hang on door of Studio 10.

Welcome to a snowy forest scene.

At Studio 6, which jolly old elf is the REAL Santa Claus?

A beautiful little Christmas tree in Studio 2.

Studio 2 has several white snowy wreaths with red cardinals!

Come visit colorful Spanish Village Art Center during the holidays. Make sure to drop by during December Nights!

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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!

San Diego Padres: LFGSD in North Park!

LFGSD!

The San Diego Padres almost won it all last Major League Baseball season. They nearly took down the Dodgers. The Padres should remain awesome for many seasons to come. A new mural in North Park roots on the team. Let’s F-ing Go San Diego!

The spray painted artwork, which appears like neon at the corner of University Avenue and 30th Street, takes its inspiration from an exclamation made by Padres player Jorge Alfaro back in 2022. The impassioned expression has taken on a life of its own. LFGSD!

This cool art was created a couple months ago by muralists Carly Ealey (@carlyealey) and Christopher Konecki (@konecki_art).

Check it out!

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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!

Cool mural in Hillcrest celebrates San Diego!

Have you seen this very cool mural in Hillcrest? It’s painted around a corner of the California Bank & Trust building at 3737 5th Avenue, a bit away from the street. I hadn’t noticed it until my most recent walk through the neighborhood, about a week ago.

The artwork celebrates San Diego!

Images in the mural include the downtown San Diego skyline (including the El Cortez and Coronado Bay Bridge), Balboa Park’s iconic California Tower and Cabrillo Bridge, the San Diego Zoo, Mission San Diego de Alcala, and the Hillcrest landmark sign!

The art was created by @AustinGosswiller and @JackStrickerArt. Looking at the latter’s Instagram page, it appears to have been painted in 2023.

Awesome!

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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!

Modern Day Artist appears in San Diego!

A successful artist these days must wear many hats, and keep working at their art around the clock. That appears to be an important message in the recently painted Modern Day Artist mural in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood.

It’s easy to miss this colorful public art. It’s on the east side of a building on the 800 block of Washington Street. Those driving east, right past the mural, will likely not see it unless they check their rearview mirror at the right moment.

The cool artwork was created a few months back by Kolten French (@koltenfrench), co-founder of Mindful Murals.

When I learned of the mural about a week ago, I walked from downtown up to Hillcrest to check it out!

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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!

An epic lucha libre match in Hillcrest!

Those who’ve passed through Hillcrest recently might have observed an epic lucha libre wrestling match taking place near the sidewalk. When I walked by last Saturday, a fierce luchador had his opponent in a devastating head lock. Several onlookers were cheering! And a young would-be luchador was standing by, emulating his masked hero!

The big wrestling event, as you might have guessed, is colorfully painted street art. Two electrical boxes have become canvases for the scene!

The artist is Gerardo Meza. Here’s his Instagram page. You’ve quite possibly seen other examples of his work around San Diego, particularly down in San Ysidro near the Mexican border. That’s where I originally discovered some of his very unique street art many years ago.

You, too, can watch this fun lucha libre wrestling on Sixth Avenue, a bit south of Anderson Place!

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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!

Gourd and Basket Guild exhibit at Central Library.

Stunning works of hand made art can be viewed in five glass display cases on the Second Floor of San Diego’s downtown Central Library. As a sign explains, the Misti Washington Gourd and Basket Guild is showcasing the variety of technique and materials used by the guild’s talented artists.

The San Diego group weaves baskets and creates gourd art. It appeared to me that most pieces are composed of natural materials. Looking at these amazing works, I noted that materials include pine needles, cedar, bear grass, reed, willow…

The Misti Washington Gourd and Basket Guild welcomes everyone who might be interested in learning or practicing their craft in a supportive community. Members range from beginners to professionals.

The exhibit will be visible through November, 2024. Check out the exhibit website here.

And if you’d like to read more about the guild, here’s their website.

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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!

A fun gathering place for San Diego crafters!

There’s a very cool place in San Diego where those who love crafting can learn, work, and enjoy the fellowship of others with similar interests.

That place is the San Diego Craft Collective!

I was walking through Liberty Station in Point Loma last weekend when I stumbled upon crafters working outside one building. They were power carving wood and assembling stained glass. When I poked my nose through the open doors of the nearby studio, I was greeted with a smile and shown lots of amazing stuff produced by creative people in the crafting community.

The San Diego Craft Collective has classes and equipment for creative makers of all ages. They have woodworking, clay and glass working areas, and there is bench space where people can work on their unique projects. A room full of sewing machines was very busy when I peeked in.

Walking every which way with my camera, I found macramé, puppets, ceramics, jewelry . . . you name it!

I’ve learned the spacious studio is also a great place to hold a birthday party or special event!

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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!

Tower of Ten Billion Stars stands in San Diego!

A very unique sculpture can now be approached by the public on San Diego’s waterfront. More construction fences have come down at the new Research and Development District (RaDD) complex!

The Tower of Ten Billion Stars is another work of monumental art on what is called the RaDD Artwalk. You can spy the narrow oblong sculpture standing strangely on one end, by looking south from Broadway, east of Harbor Drive.

The creator of this shimmering “tower” is Lindy Lee, a Chinese-Australian artist. As its official description states here, it stands as both a beacon and wayfinder.

Hundreds of small holes in the sculpture’s side allow the passage of bright daylight. The holes shine like visible stars in a silvery sky. They seem to form constellations. Stars–like the North Star–have been wayfinders since ancient times, right?

I’m not sure why it’s a Tower of Ten Billion Stars. There are 100 to 400 billion stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. And there are between 100 billion and 2 trillion galaxies in the Universe.

Perhaps this curving tower is like a tiny, tiny, infinitesimal sliver of the inconceivably vast and mysterious Cosmos.

I walked around the sculpture this evening and took some photographs. I love those reflections of palm trees and nearby tall buildings!

(I also love how “beyond boundaries” can be read nearby. Astronomers can only theorize. The words are actually in reference to a World Design Capital event being held at RaDD.)

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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!