Tag: artists

Ancient gods on a storm cloud descend in San Diego!

Ancient gods Zeus and Neptune, in a peculiar combination, have descended on a storm cloud into 21st century San Diego!

Yes, mythical deities can now be observed hovering above Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park. Lightning is striking beneath their cloud, so those walking around the art center’s outdoor patio should take care!

This monumental sculpture was erected in Balboa Park a few days ago. The artist is Sergey Gornushkin, president of the San Diego Sculptors Guild, which is headquartered in a corner of Spanish Village.

“The Tempest” is the title of the contemporary sculpture. It appeared at 2024 Burning Man.

“The Tempest” has its roots in a Shakespearian play that is based on these three principles: freedom, empathy and forgiveness, and nature versus nurture. At Burning Man its aluminum lightning bolts combined with an interactive sound and visual system designed to give the viewer a full immersive experience of a thunderstorm.

Here’s Sergey Gornushkin’s website. If you’ve ever visited the sculpture court in Spanish Village, you’ve no doubt seen other fantastic pieces that he has created.

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Even more colorful murals in Leucadia!

Leucadia, a neighborhood in north coastal Encinitas, overflows with street art along its beachy Coast Highway. Here are even more examples!

I’m afraid this post is a couple months overdue. I took these photographs during a walk in early June. These colorful murals along North Coast Highway 101 were either relatively new, or I simply hadn’t noticed them during previous walks.

Anyway, check out this great artwork! Read the photo captions for a little more info…

A colorful tropical mural by artist Kevin Anderson on south side of Leucadia Barber Shop.
This fun mural at Mothership was created by artist Kenton Hoppas.
I spotted this butterfly during my Leucadia walk up North Coast Highway 101.
A colorful aquatic mural on south side of Just Peachy Market front entrance.
Harvesting fresh produce. Mural on north side of Just Peachy Market front entrance by @wyns_art in 2023.
A cool mural dazzles the eyes at the Leucadia Donut Shoppe. It’s titled Seaside Daze, by Taylor Chapin in 2022.

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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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A surprising art gallery in Oceanside!

There’s an art gallery in Oceanside that you might not know. I stumbled upon it by sheer coincidence the other day.

This surprising art gallery is located inside the historic Sunshine Brooks Theater building, the home of the Oceanside Theatre Company. Very fine works by regional artists hang in the lobby and down a hallway.

The current exhibition of the Brooks Theater Gallery is Black Perspectives 2. The exhibition’s inspiration was the arrival of Juneteenth. This theatre webpage explains that the gallery features previous exhibitors and new POC artists sharing their vision of Black history, culture, family and community.

Incidentally, these fine art pieces are for sale. You can support the artists!

The exhibitions in the gallery change fairly often. Next time you pass by the Sunshine Brooks Theater in downtown Oceanside, why not step through the door as I did and take a peek. You might be surprised!

A few more examples in the gallery…

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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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Miss Mary Project’s amazing piano in Oceanside!

Look what I discovered today in Oceanside!

I was walking along Coast Highway after the big Oceanside Independence Parade when I noticed an absolutely amazing piano in front of the Sunshine Brooks Theater building. I had stumbled upon the Miss Mary Project!

The piano, named Miss Mary, was recently painted by artist and arts advocate BJ Lane. Its new permanent home is the Sunshine Brooks Theater, home of the Oceanside Theatre Company.

Anybody walking along the sidewalk was invited to play the beautiful piano. How could anyone possibly resist?

The Miss Mary Project was initiated by the daughter-in-law of the piano’s beloved namesake, whose spirit lives on. You can find more about the project by reading various blog posts here.

You’ll learn that BJ Lane, as she carefully painted, was thinking about movement, music, and the energy of the performers that will eventually emerge on Miss Mary’s panels.

Also: At its heart, The Miss Mary Project is more than a painted piano. It’s a gathering place for purpose, restoration, and connection.

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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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Summer Solstice Exhibit showcases artists at Liberty Station.

Some fine art can be enjoyed by those visiting Liberty Station in Point Loma. Eight artists who work out of studios at Liberty Station are exhibiting canvases that celebrate San Diego and our local fishing industry.

Most of the displayed pieces can be purchased. They’re all quite good, too.

The Summer Solstice Exhibit can be found in the lobby of the Dick Laub NTC Command Center building and runs May to July 2025.

While you’re at Liberty Station, just roam around. There’s so much to see and do!

(While wandering about today, I discovered a little-seen mosaic from Liberty Station’s history as Naval Training Center San Diego. I’ll blog about that next!)

A few more pieces in the Summer Solstice Exhibit…

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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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Rio welcomes beachgoers in Solana Beach!

Rio stands near the corner of Solana Vista Drive and Pacific Avenue in Solana Beach. The girl in a bikini welcomes beachgoers heading to the stairs that descend to Tide Park Beach.

Rio is a bronze sculpture by artist Richard Harmetz. The statue is part of Solana Beach’s permanent Public Art Collection. Learn more about it on the artist’s website here.

The sculpture is based on actual beachgoer Paola, a free spirit on the beach in San Diego, a native of Brazil who modeled for the artwork but departed and never saw it finished.

I almost didn’t see this public art as I walked around Solana Beach the other day. It stands a short distance from the beach access pathway.

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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.

Feel free to share!

Exhibition of Japanese ink painting in Balboa Park!

In San Diego? Would you like to watch skilled artists create Japanese ink paintings? Would you like to learn this traditional Japanese art?

Head over to Balboa Park tomorrow, Sunday, June 22, 2025, when the 22nd Annual Art Exhibition by Friends of Sumi-e resumes in Room 101 of the Casa del Prado!

I swung by today. I love the simple elegance of this unique art form, and whenever I see there’s an exhibition of Japanese brush painting (called sumi-e or suiboku-ga) in Balboa Park, I can’t miss it.

The participating members of Friends of Sumi-e are always delighted to demonstrate their craft. Today Gaye Lingley showed me how to create an orchid. Here she is, near some of her exhibited artwork:

And here she is creating the orchid. She told me learning Japanese ink painting is never ending. I thought: isn’t that true of any art form?

The orchid is finished. A few strokes of the brush have created depth and subtlety:

Meanwhile, instructor Naoko Ozaki was holding a demonstration across the room….

You can see how, six years ago, Naoko created an incredibly beautiful flower here.

Interested in Japanese brush painting? Want to learn how to do it? Check out the Friends of Sumi-e website here!

Some of the beautiful work on display this weekend:

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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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Meowseum of Fine A(rt) comes to San Diego!

The Meowseum of Fine A(rt) has brought a purrfectly wonderful exhibit to San Diego. Visitors to the San Diego County Fair have the rare opportunity to view amazing masterpieces inside the Pets Rock Live on Tour theme exhibit!

A sign near the famous paintings explains: In The Meowseum of Fine A(rt), explore a sweeping retrospective of feline creativity–from purr-impressionist masterpieces to post-litterbox minimalism. This groundbreaking exhibit showcases how cats have redefined the art world through disruption, lounging, and high-concept box installations. Each work captures the eternal struggle between the feline spirit and the constraints of the hooman-designed world.

Examples of the stunning artwork that visitors will gaze upon…

Girl with a Purrl Earring, by Johan Vermeower.
Mewna Lisa, by Leanardough da Vinci.
The Meow, by Ed-purred Meow-nch.
Vincent Van Grrr (Self-Pawtrait)
Cubist Cat Cuddles, by Pawblo Picatso.
Sunpurrs, by Vincent Van Gough-Away-I’m-Napping.
The Kibble Kiss, by Gustav Klimpt.

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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.

Feel free to share!

Pets in fine art at San Diego County Fair!

A popular attraction at the San Diego County Fair is the Exhibition of Fine Art on the first floor of Grandstand East. The fair’s theme in 2025 is our love for pets, so it isn’t surprising many of the fine art entries depict beloved animals.

The exhibition is extensive and broken up into many categories based on media and subject matter. Artists who’ve submitted their work, hoping for a blue ribbon, are from many walks of life all around San Diego County. When I checked out the exhibition, I couldn’t help noticing pets were a common subject, and not just dogs and cats. I saw rabbits, parrots and other critters!

There are pet portraits, pets painted humorously, pet abstracts! If you have a pet or simply love animals, the art will definitely put a smile on your face.

I photographed random examples that I really like…

Look who I met as I left the fine art exhibit. Woof and Meow!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Pet chalk art at San Diego County Fair!

Three panels of awesome chalk art welcome people arriving at Grandstand East during the 2025 San Diego County Fair. The theme of the fair this year is “Summer Pet-Tacular” and images of dogs, cats and other non-human friends are all over the Del Mar Fairgrounds!

Stay tuned for the next day or two. I’ll be sharing fun photos of pet art that I found and like! Other stuff, too!

First, check out this incredible chalk art!

Three dogs ride a roller coaster at the San Diego County Fair. Chalk art by Meg and Toni Canilang.
A party hat cat! Chalk art by Katie Bush.
Two friends among flowers. Chalk art by Maribeth McFaul.

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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.

Feel free to share!