Tag: artists

Art workshop for seniors in Balboa Park!

Do you love to create art? The Senior Lounge in Balboa Park should be your destination every other Saturday! You don’t need to be a senior, either. Anyone age 18+ is welcome to take part in a free Intergenerational Artist Workshop!

I poked my nose into the lounge early this afternoon and found a friendly group of people having a lot of fun being creative. I saw a beautifully crafted flower! A greeting card was about to be made!

Some basic art supplies are available, and of course you can bring your own. Not only is the activity free, but the new friendships are free, too!

I was told this artist workshop is now held every other Saturday, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. It and other activities for seniors around San Diego can be found on the City of San Diego’s AgeWell Services quarterly Newsletter (it used to be called The Scroll).

Find all the information you need by clicking here!

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Marshall Toomey enlivens Oceanside Museum of Art!

There’s an excellent chance you’ve already enjoyed the art of Marshall Toomey. He has worked as a Disney animator, contributing to classic films like The Lion King, Aladdin, Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Visitors to the Oceanside Museum of Art are in for a real treat. In one of the museum’s upstairs galleries, extraordinary paintings by Marshall Toomey (@marshalltoomey) fill the walls with energy and color.

The artist paints from his own life experience. Perhaps that’s why his works are so engaging, so recognizably human. There are dynamic scenes from a barber shop, a church, a family barbeque, a game of dominoes…

As he explains: “My paintings represent moments in time. I aim for realism with incredible vitality–they feel almost alive. I like to paint portraits, animals and food…”

When I look at his paintings, I feel that life, after all, is good. There’s family, play, worship, being together, a bit of craziness, good humor, and a sense of joy.

In a strange way, his images feel timeless. Timeless–in that magical way certain animated movies remain loved by both young and old for many generations. You can see how his style has been, as he explains: “inspired by the masters and by my history as a Disney animator.”

Marshall Toomey: Black Americana is the name of this great exhibition. It continues at the Oceanside Museum of Art through April 13, 2025.

Uncle Junebug’s Bar B Q, Marshall Toomey, 2024. Oil on canvas. (Painting based on an Auguste Renoir painting, Luncheon of the Boating Party.)
A Soothing Game of Dominoes, Marshall Toomey, 2024.

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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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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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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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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.

Thank you for sharing!

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!

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!

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.

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Murals at Solana Beach Gateway Business Center.

You’ve possibly seen these large murals while driving along Interstate 5 at Lomas Santa Fe Drive. The beautiful artwork decorates several walls of the Solana Beach Gateway Business Center.

I took a very long walk through Solana Beach several days ago and made it a point to check these out!

The murals were painted by Encinitas resident Kevin Anderson. They are obviously inspired by local coastal scenes. Looking at the artist signatures, I see they were completed individually over the course of years.

Here’s the artist’s website. You’ve enjoyed photographs of Kevin Anderson’s art previously on Cool San Diego Sights. Here and here and here.

As you approach the Solana Beach Gateway Business Center building via its main driveway, you see this:

The next mural was completed on 9-25-20:

It appears that the next one, with the mermaid, was completed in 2021:

The next one showing a family walking down to the beach was painted in 2022. Is that Fletcher Cove?

I found no date for the last one. It’s my favorite. I see a Coaster train passing under the bridge at Torrey Pines State Beach!

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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!

Meet children’s book illustrators at La Jolla library!

On Sunday, January 5, 2025, the public has the rare opportunity to meet professional children’s book writers and illustrators. The free event takes place in the Community Room of the La Jolla-Riford Library from 3 to 5 pm.

If you can’t make this very special event, swing by La Jolla’s library during its open hours to see artwork by these creators. They’re all members of the San Diego Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Dozens of their pieces are now displayed on the walls of the Community Room.

You can view this wonderful library exhibit, which is titled Stories Imagined, through February 24, 2025. All of the pieces can be purchased, too!

I checked out the imaginative art yesterday and took photos of several pieces I liked…

Orb Weaver’s Tightrope Dance, by Cheryl Boeller.
Beaver Hydrologist, by Michelle McCunney.
Distracted, by Livna Genchel.
Parental Unit (Betty Builds It), by Julie Hampton.

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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!