Tag: art

San Diego artist invites you into his Portal to Heaven!

San Diego artist James E. Watts will be hosting an art show inside his downtown studio this coming Sunday, September 22, 2024. Visitors will have the opportunity to be transported by his wonderful Portal to Heaven!

I swung by his studio this morning and was able to sneak a look at his completed Portal to Heaven project myself.

An astonishing wall appears like a puzzle piece sky full of clouds. Each of the 105 hand sewn clouds, he explains, gather and radiate orgone life energy like a battery! Stand at the heavenly portal and feel its energy!

I blogged about this ambitious project last December. You can read more about it here.

After James showed me the amazing Portal to Heaven, I turned about and saw how he’s creating bunches of apples. They’re in groups of five. He calls them all together the Gates of Hell!

The apples are of different sizes, just as sins are. Would you take a bite of these apples? Perhaps a little one?

James Watts’ studio never ceases to amaze me. Creativity fills it wall to wall, and every time I visit it seems there’s a new, fantastic project.

James loves ideas, theories, philosophy, literature . . . different ways of seeing this world. With his art he inspires, teaches. He explained during our talk today that he’s a teacher without a classroom.

You’ll note he also has a big smile.

Next he showed me what he called a sense board. This particular work of art, which is titled Six Senses, actively interacts with a person using sound, smell, touch, taste, sight and intuition! Should you attend his art show next Sunday, perhaps you can try it out!

Interested, yet?

James E. Watts will host the 100 Clouds 100 Apples art show this coming Sunday, from 12 to 8 pm. His studio is located in the heart of downtown at 1046 Seventh Avenue.

Lovers of art just might find heaven!

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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.

New murals on 800 Broadway building!

This morning, during a downtown San Diego walk, I spotted two huge new murals! They’re on the north side of the 800 Broadway high-rise, which has been under construction for some time. The tall building, when completed, will offer apartments with great city views.

People strolling down the sidewalk will have great views, too–of these big, super colorful murals!

I presently know nothing about the artwork. Should I find out more, I’ll provide an update. If you know something, feel free to leave a comment below!

On the Eighth Avenue side:

And on the Ninth Avenue side:

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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 X.

Painting beautiful street art in Hillcrest!

Many electrical boxes in Hillcrest are being painted this summer with beautiful new street art. I happened upon three artists today working on a box on University Avenue!

I’ve learned this latest explosion of Hillcrest street art is another project of the Hillcrest Business Association. Volunteer artists are adding more life and color to this already dynamic San Diego community!

Upon speaking to the three artists, I learned they’ll be covering this entire box with their beautiful work. And I learned they are helping to restore historic murals in Chicano Park!

Awesome!

Ni La Muerte Nos Separa. Not even death separates us.

A beautiful sun and moon rise together on the side of an electrical box in Hillcrest!

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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 X.

Man of the Crowd at San Diego Museum of Art.

Extraordinary photographs by preeminent mid-20th century photographer Garry Winogrand are currently on display at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.

Images of people in the act of being very human line the walls of the museum’s free-to-the-public Galleries 14 and 15. The exhibition is titled Garry Winogrand: Man of the Crowd.

Yes, there are photographs of celebrities and social activism, but images of ordinary people on the street are perhaps more interesting. Moments captured spontaneously in different settings show unexpected contrasts, humor, pathos, and quirks of human nature. These often surprising photos reveal truths about life and living.

Nowadays, in our brave new world of social media and smartphones, most photos seem taken to gain self-centered attention. It’s refreshing to view extraordinary photographs that are dedicated to investigating this captivating world that is all around us.

I took my own photos from a video in the exhibition, where Garry Winogrand provides his thoughts on photography. (That explains the subtitles.)

Garry Winogrand: Man of the Crowd will be on view through January 12, 2025. The free exhibition can be accessed through a door next to Panama 66 that leads to museum restrooms. Look for the following sign:

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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 X.

An eruption of Blue at the Timken Museum!

It’s like a volcano erupting with the deepest blue! That was my first impression of two large monochromatic blue drawings at the Timken Museum of Art. They are part of this summer’s exhibition In Blue Time by the Timken’s most recent Artist-in-Residence Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio.

Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio is originally from Mexico. While living in Mexico City, she became fascinated by that city’s many murals.

Her large works of art are certainly eye-catching. Perhaps you remember her gigantic COVID mural on the side of the tall Bread and Salt building in Logan Heights, easily seen when driving back to San Diego over the Coronado Bridge. I posted photos of that mural back in 2021 here.

Much of Tatiana’s work has a cloud-like appearance–cloudy and nebulous, like memory. She has stated, per the museum website: “Memory is written once, then rewritten, manipulated, reinvented and recreated. Each time we reach for a memory it becomes something else. Forgetting is the distance from our past, the nebulous blue horizon of a memory standing at the edge allowing us to continuously reshape who we are.“

In the Timken’s temporary Exhibition Gallery, you’ll also find a recent large-scale drawing, created in collaboration with musical composer Stefan Cwik and inspired by the concept of time. It’s in my final photograph.

There are more of her works to see, too, plus you can add to the blueness! A community mural that anyone can help create awaits those who feel inspired. It’s entirely in blue!

In Blue Time is only on view for another two and a half weeks, through September 29, 2024.

The Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park is free and full of masterpieces by old masters. Nowhere else in San Diego will you find a painting by Rembrandt!

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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 X.

Restoring the Tony Gwynn sculpture at Waterfront Park!

Did you know there’s a sculpture of Tony Gwynn in Waterfront Park, just south of San Diego’s County Administration Building?

The sculpture, created by world-famous artist Niki de Saint Phalle, is titled #19 Baseball Player. The mosaic sculpture debuted nine years ago, and I was there for the ceremony. You can see those photographs by clicking here.

When I walked through Waterfront Park early this morning, I noticed the fun sculpture depicting Mr. Padre holding a baseball bat was being restored.

According to a sign, the work is being done by Lech Juretko. He operates Art Mosaic Inc. in Santee. For eight years he was an assistant to Niki de Saint Phalle, helping to produce 100 of her works!

Lech now works with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation, and has done restoration work on Niki’s fun Nikigator (in front of the Mingei International Museum) and her epic, mind-blowing Queen Califia’s Magical Circle (at Kit Carson Park in Escondido).

To read a great article about Lech meeting Niki and his subsequent experiences, click here!

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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 X.

Hand Drawn Sculpture by artist Ken Kelleher.

It looks like a huge, three-dimensional blue squiggle, doesn’t it?

This twisty sculpture, by artist Ken Kelleher, is called Hand Drawn Sculpture. It’s located at the new Research and Development District (RaDD) complex on downtown San Diego’s waterfront.

Among RaDD’s five buildings, one can glimpse all sorts of public art: both sculptures and murals. I took some photos of the art that wasn’t fenced off during construction earlier this year, but I knew next to nothing about any of it.

Well, plaques have appeared near some artworks that are currently accessible to the public. Interesting information is provided about both art and artist.

I took these photographs this morning.

The abstract Hand Drawn Sculpture, according to its plaque, was created in 2023. It blurs the lines between two and three-dimensional art forms by merging the fluid, gestural lines of drawing with the tangible presence of sculpture…

Pretend the blue lines have no depth and were drawn on flat paper. Seen from different angles, the sculpture assumes different forms.

What do you see?

Very cool!

Look for more photos and descriptions of public art at RaDD in future blog posts!

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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 X.

Amazing chalk art in front of Timken Museum!

Take a look at this amazing chalk art! It was created in San Diego’s Balboa Park about a week ago. Still in good condition, the artwork can be found directly in front of the Timken Museum of Art.

The chalk art replicates Equestrian Portrait of Prince Tommaso of Savoy-Carignan, a fantastic painting by Kehinde Wiley.

Until recently, Wiley’s painting could be viewed inside one of Timken’s galleries. It was displayed among major works by old masters. Wiley’s painting is inspired by Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck’s equestrian portrait from 1634-35 depicting Italian military commander.

The chalk art was created by Erick Toussaint (@sidewalk_chalk_dad). You might remember his other work in front of the Timken in past years.

I’ll soon be blogging about the Timken’s newest exhibition, In Blue Time, so stay tuned!

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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 X.

The Art of Navigation at the Maritime Museum.

Those who are fascinated by tall ships, exploration and the evolution of technology don’t want to miss a great new exhibit at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. It’s titled the Art of Navigation.

Visitors to the exhibit learn how navigators have used maps, charts and a variety of tools to find their way across the oceans and through dangerous waters. The extensive displays include some exceptionally rare antiques. Old instruments that can be viewed include an astrolabe, backstaff, nocturnal, traverse board, chip log and reel, hand-held telescope, cross-staff, quadrant, taffrail log, navigation slate and more! These instruments might seem primitive when compared with modern technology, but ship’s captains successfully sailed around the planet with the information they provided.

Personally, I like to read nautical stories set during the Age of Sail. As I read I’ll come across the names of these instruments, and at times puzzle over their application. The descriptive Art of Navigation exhibit brings helps to bring those adventurous old stories to life!

The exhibit also includes beautiful paintings and model ships, and even a display directly related to the Maritime Museum’s famous Star of India!

The Art of Navigation is free with museum admission. As advertised, it does indeed turn intellect, math, nature and science into beauty!

Micronesian stick chart, used by the indigenous island peoples of the Pacific to navigate across great distances of open water.

Henricus Hondius. Polus Antarcticus. Map of Dutch discoveries published in Amsterdam, 1638.

Benjamin King Backstaff (also known as Davis Quadrant), Newport, Rhode Island, 1764. Used by Colonial American navigators.

Replica of 19th century chip log and reel. Used to estimate the speed of a ship through water.

Log of Euterpe, a historic ship later known as Star of India.

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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 X.

Beautiful art outside La Jolla Community Center!

Very beautiful artwork can be seen just outside the entrance of the La Jolla Community Center. Tile panels on either side of the front door and tile work on a nearby bench depict La Jolla’s stunning coastal scenery.

I took these photographs during a walk a couple weekends ago when the center happened to be closed. I’m very curious who the artist might be.

I believe the work was done back in 2012–part of a larger building renovation. If you know more about this wonderful art outside the community center’s entrance, please leave a comment below!

Enjoy these photos, which I edited slightly using increased contrast and sharpness to bring out the colors and details.

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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 X.