Tag: artists

Mural in San Diego Waterfront Park stairwell.

On the south side of San Diego’s popular Waterfront Park, a stairwell descends to an underground parking lot. This colorful mural greets people as they begin to descend the stairs.

The public art, dated 2014, is a photo reproduction on aluminum of San Diego-based contemporary artist Allison Renshaw‘s original painting Last Call, which is on display inside the nearby County Administration Building.

As the artist’s website explains: Allison’s work offers multiple perspectives, discordant vocabularies, and malleable boundaries. Her art is informed by particles of our urban and natural landscape along with culture found in the everyday…

I can’t believe it took me 11 years to finally share a good photograph of this eye-catching art. Back in 2014, I posted a blog documenting opening day at Waterfront Park, and you can get a glimpse of the mural in one of those photographs!

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Four historic 1915 murals in Balboa Park.

Renowned artist Carlos Vierra painted six murals of Mayan cities for the 1915 Panama–California Exposition in San Diego’s Balboa Park.

Today, inside Balboa Park’s Museum of Us (formerly called the Museum of Man), visitors can view reproductions of four murals.

The Museum of Us is housed in the historic California Building. In 1915 the building was home to the San Diego Museum. “The Story of Man Through the Ages” was the San Diego Museum’s exhibit during the Panama-California Exposition, and featured the six original Vierra murals.

Should you step into the Museum of Us, you can find two of the reproduced murals on the ground floor, in the large central atrium, hung on the wall on either side of the main entrance. Two additional murals can be viewed in a gallery on the second floor directly above.

The two ground floor murals depict the ruins of prehistoric Chichén Itzá in Yucatán, Mexico.

My first pair of photographs (above) show one mural on the ground floor. As a sign explains: Central to this painting is the round building, known as the Caracol, which functioned as an observatory. Behind it lies the ballcourt, the largest such ritual playing field in Mesoamerica. To the right is the sacred cenote, the well of sacrifice.

The second pair of photographs (below) show the mural to the right of it. These murals depict the Maya architectural style known as Puuc, that prevailed from about 600 AD to 900 AD.

Decorating a gallery wall on the second floor, the two additional Vierra murals illustrate the ancient cities of Palenque and Tikal…

UPDATE!

I’ve since learned two more Vierra murals can be viewed in the museum. I’ll go in search of them next time I visit the Museum of Us, and post those photos in an update!

ANOTHER UPDATE!

Here they are…

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Fine sculptures at the Valencia Park Library.

Seven very fine sculptures, each belonging to the San Diego Civic Art Collection, are located inside the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library. I discovered them last weekend when I visited the library to experience a Black History Month event.

The bronze sculptures, most of them gilded and painted, were all created by Ed Dwight, an artist who resides in Denver, Colorado. The largest work, depicting Malcolm X, stands near the center of the library.

The other half dozen sculptures honor legendary American jazz musicians. They are displayed in cases inside the library’s community room. Their titles are: Eubie’s Boogie, Jazz Guitar, Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, and Miles Davis.

The artist has a remarkable and rather unexpected background! As search results from the San Diego Civic Art website explain:

Dwight was the first African American to be trained as an astronaut. Dwight began his career as an artist after many years working in various fields including the military, engineering, and real estate. His first important commission was a sculpture of Colorado’s first black Lieutenant Governor, George Brown, in 1974. Since then, he has been prolific in creating homages to the most significant contributions of black culture to American history. His work has focused on the history of jazz and its significant figures, as well as civil rights activists and African American pioneers…

It was difficult taking good photographs with reflections on the glass cases creating interference. I encourage everyone to check out the above link and see good images of all seven sculptures, or, better yet, head over to the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library and begin your own exploration!

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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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Fantastic creation appears in San Diego artist’s window!

What is it?

A weird glowing jellyfish–perhaps giving birth? A wildly creative lamp? Some alien creature from the planet Pandora? A dream-thing resplendent with arcane symbols?

As I walked in darkness this morning through downtown San Diego, a very strange, seemingly living thing caught my eye. It was shining in the studio window of artist James Watts!

How would you describe it?

Check out James Watts’ Instagram page here!

PLAY IT AND LEAVE IT

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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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San Diego’s favorite player greets motorists!

San Diego’s all-time favorite player, Padres baseball legend Tony Gwynn, greets motorists driving into downtown from State Route 94!

This amazing mural of Tony Gwynn was painted last year in East Village, at F Street and 16th Avenue, by Ground Floor Murals. A Jamul Casino billboard next to it proclaims: Here’s to SD’s favorite player.

Signe Ditona and Paul Jimenez of Ground Floor Murals have painted many amazing Padres player murals all around San Diego. In the past I’ve documented two more of their Tony Gwynn murals. See those photos here and 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.

Feel free to share this!

Award-winning artist Clay Harris exhibits in Balboa Park!

The work of award-winning digital artist Clay Harris will be on exhibit for the next two weeks in San Diego.

Clay’s stunning artwork can be viewed beginning tomorrow (Tuesday, February 25, 2025) in Gallery 21, at the Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park. The exhibition is titled Images from the mind of a Mind Voyager! It will run through March 10.

I stumbled upon Clay today as he was setting up the exhibition. He’s the coolest guy you could ever hope to meet.

After checking out his fantastic images of birds, turtles and other marine life, I paused to learn about his art. The high quality digital art is printed on aluminum, and the process creates an uncanny sense of depth. The pieces I observed shine as if light is being reflected from water.

Clay Harris over the years has had his art displayed at many festivals and in many galleries. So many people have asked that he create large pieces for their homes.

I encourage everyone to head down to Balboa Park and check out this special exhibition. And meet an award-winning artist who will make you smile!

Some examples:

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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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Living Art Experience in Southeast San Diego!

A joyful celebration of culture and history was enjoyed this afternoon in Southeast San Diego. The Friends of the Malcolm X Library: Living Art Experience honored Black History Month with dance, music, poetry, a fashion show, plus local artists and a live painting demonstration. Refreshments were included!

The community room at the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library was filled with energy as the free, family-friendly event got underway. Words from the stage expressed gratitude to our Creator, and the audience was encouraged to remember our ancestors and think of those who would follow us after we leave this world. Lift Every Voice rose from many voices.

A fun fan dance followed! It seems half the room participated!

I enjoyed looking at the art, crafts and clothing displayed at various tables. I took several photographs during this wonderful, very colorful event.

Reginald Green, an instructor for Veterans Art Project (VETART), had a table full of artwork. He works out of VETART’s ceramic and glass studio in Vista.

VETART provides a process-intensive arts encounter proven to help Veterans and Active Duty (some with post-traumatic stress, TBI, and MST) find their voice and work through the life-changing process of transitioning from military to civilian life.

Some more photos…

Christie’s Place was present. As their website states: Love Grows Here.

Christie’s Place is the only agency in San Diego whose mission is dedicated to serving women, children and families whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS.

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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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Cool boardsports murals in North County!

Check out these two cool boardsports murals in San Diego’s North County!

(What are boardsports? Outdoor activities–such as surfing and skateboarding–that use a board as the primary equipment.)

My first few photos show the large mural painted on the front of Status Skateshop in Carlsbad. The artwork was created by Nicholas Danger (@nicholasdanger) in 2022. Yes, skateboarding culture can be a bit wild and crazy!

If you’d like to see a little more of Nicholas Danger, you might enjoy this blog post from almost five years ago.

Next, in Oceanside there’s a collage-like mural that includes both surfing and skateboarding imagery. View it on the side of a building at South Coast Highway and Washington Avenue.

Businesses that make this building home include The James Brand and Insight Tattoo.

I don’t know who created this very colorful mural. If you have any info, please leave a comment…

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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 this!

Three cool murals in South Oceanside!

You might enjoy checking out these photographs of three cool murals in South Oceanside. I saw them about a month ago when I walked up South Coast Highway.

The first celebrates “South O” with a view of the Oceanside Pier (to the north) at sunset. The mural is painted on a side of the building at 1821 S. Coast Highway. The artist is Taylor Gallegos (@taylorgallegosart).

The next mural is tagged #ThePearlofSouthO. It’s another Oceanside Pier at sunset–but more abstract. You can find this work of art at 1745 S. Coast Highway.

Finally, anyone traveling along South Coast Highway has undoubtedly observed the next mural at Sea Hive Marketplace. The address is 1555 S. Coast Highway. It states: Greetings from Oceanside USA!

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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 this!

Dreamscapes of nature’s wonders in San Diego!

Walk through Galleries 14/15 at the San Diego Museum of Art and you might think you’re strolling through a bright dream–a dream of intense beauty that is both real and unreal.

Ruud van Empel: Theatre is an exhibition that opened a little over a week ago at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.

Ruud van Empel is a Dutch photographer and visual artist who makes spectacular digital collages like the ones you see in my photos. He finds beautiful plant forms in nature–in forests, marshes, deserts, and wherever he travels–then digitally combines them into images that look both alien and familiar. To me, the images are of a paradise. He’ll introduce the human form into some of the creations.

When you visit this exhibit, make sure to watch the short film, which describes Ruud van Empel’s creative process. I’m envious. He gets to journey through some of our world’s most amazing natural places while simultaneously creating dreamlike worlds of his own.

If you’d like to view his beautiful worlds, step into the two free combined Galleries 14 and 15. You can access the galleries near the entrance to the courtyard Panama 66 restaurant, located on the west side of Plaza de Panama and the museum. Simply walk through the door that leads to the public restrooms. Ask someone working at Panama 66 if you’re not sure where to go!

Ruud van Empel: Theatre will be on view through July 27, 2025.

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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 this!