This wonderful mural depicting life, sunshine and landmarks in Oceanside can be found at the SALT Apartments at 311 N. Cleveland Street. It was created by well-known abstract artist Lee Calderon.
I see the Oceanside Pier, a surfer, the harbor lighthouse, and Mission San Luis Rey. And many bright, vibrant colors!
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A very fine exhibition of American art from around the time of the Great Depression is now on view at the Oceanside Museum of Art.
Art for the People: WPA-Era Paintings from the Dijkstra Collection contains works that were created between the 1920s and the end of World War II. Many pieces by California artists are included, including San Diego’s own Charles Reiffel. The paintings are often dark, with images of poverty, violence and barren places. But there are glimpses of beauty, too, and of life’s striving, and inextinguishable humanity.
According to one sign: “Names for this art have ranged from Regionalism and American Scene Painting to Social Realism and American Expressionism.” I’m by no means an art expert, but I can tell you these diverse works are emotionally stirring. The artists, through the lens of their own experience, sought to capture true things from a difficult period of American history.
Enjoy a visit to the Oceanside Museum of Art no later than November 5, 2023. You’ll see how extraordinary this special exhibition is. It was organized by the Crocker Art Museum, Oceanside Museum of Art, and The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens.
Hooverville on East Tenth Street, Louis Ribak, circa 1940. In the late 1930s, Ribak worked on several murals for the Works Progress Administration.The Hex Sign, Lancaster County, PA, Ernest Fiene, 1936.Harlem Cows, Jan Matulka, circa 1924. The depiction of cows evidences the artist’s exposure to Cubism.A Vale in Death Valley, Helen Forbes, 1939. The artist during the WPA era produced murals for post offices in Susanville, Merced and Monrovia, California.Worker and Machine, Hugo Gellert, 1928. The artist focused on the struggles of the working class. He was an illustrator for The New Yorker and New York Times.
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Herb “The Mechanic” stands in Escondido by an old-fashioned gas pump gazing out at passing traffic. Herb’s smile is permanent–because it’s made of bronze!
This nostalgic sculpture was a Public Art Project completed in 2007, commissioned by the City of Escondido. The artists are T.J. Dixon and James Nelson. Their extraordinary work seems to be everywhere I walk around San Diego! Find more photographs of sculptures created by T.J. Dixon and James Nelson by clicking here.
Visit the artist website here and see a whole lot more!
Would you like to make an “appointment” with The Mechanic? Drive past 1404 South Escondido Boulevard and keep your eyes open for a friendly smile!
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
For much of the 20th century, Naval Training Center San Diego was the place where Navy recruits learned what their new life at sea would be like.
Today, NTC Liberty Station occupies those old Navy buildings and barracks. The popular San Diego destination contains museums, artist studios, shops, offices, restaurants . . . and thought-provoking installations of public art.
A Dime to Call Home is sculptural art that I photographed during my last visit. The unusual art, made of cement, soft clothing and nautical rope, is located near some archways along Liberty Station’s North Promenade. It was created by artist Michele Montjoy of Oceanside, California, and installed in 2019.
A nearby sign explains:
Using sculptural forms reminiscent of sea bags and nautical rope, A Dime to Call Home is a conversation about the shifts of identity, location and routine that recruits encounter when they enter the military, as well as the connection they have to their family, home and previous life.
I took several photographs.
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Those who approach the Imperial Beach Pier through nearby Portwood Pier Plaza might notice patterned glass tiles on curving, low beachside walls. Illuminations is the title of this colorful mosaic artwork, commissioned by the San Diego Unified Port District. The beautiful public art was created by artist Mary Lynn Dominguez in 1999.
Twenty four years later some of the tiles are damaged or missing, but the overall effect remains vibrant and cheerful. During my visit to Imperial Beach yesterday, I bent down to take several photographs of Illuminations. Then I sat down on a bench and gazed out at the ocean.
A couple years ago I posted a blog about the surfboard benches that fill Portwood Pier Plaza. You can see some of the tiles in those photos.
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
A very big, very fun outdoor mural is gradually being painted on the east side of La Bella Cafe & Games in Chula Vista!
Check it out!
I believe several artists are involved in this project.
On the smaller perpendicular wall, more fun imagery was painted a while back by artist Shirish Villaseñor. For a better look at that section of the artwork, click here and view the first two photographs.
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
The 27th Annual Exhibition of 7 Printmakers has opened in San Diego. The public is invited to enjoy the work of seven master printmakers inside Gallery 21 at Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center. The free exhibition will be short-lived, however. Make sure to see it by September 25, 2023.
The art on display is extraordinary. You’ll observe pieces created using several different processes of printmaking. There’s the woodcut, wood-engraving, collograph, etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint, lithograph and serigraph.
All of these many, often complicated printing techniques boggled my mind, even as friendly artist Angelika Villagrana provided a detailed explanation of various processes.
The seven artists with fine work on display are: Raymond Brownfield, Jacqueline Dotson, Igor Koutsenko, Kathleen McCord, Sfona Pelah, Julianne Ricksecker and Angelika Villagrana. They’ve been exhibiting together for many years now!
If you’re looking to purchase some very fine art, swing on by. There’s much that you can choose from.
An opening reception will be held in Gallery 21 this coming Sunday, September 17, from 4 – 7 pm.
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
This cool mural was painted several months ago in a North Park alley during the North Park Music Fest. The large mural, titled Racing Thoughts, was created by Carly Ealey and Christoper Konecki. Their awesome street art is all over San Diego.
Racing Thoughts can be viewed from the sidewalk on the north side of University Avenue, just west of 30th Street. It’s directly opposite that fierce panda mural which I observed in the same alley a couple weeks ago.
Capturing a single image of the long mural was impractical, given the narrow alley, so you’ll have to visualize the mural’s entirety from multiple photographs:
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
This afternoon a wonderful event in downtown Escondido celebrated the debut of new public art. The 2023 season of the Esco Alley Art project unveiled twelve colorful new murals by local artists! These new outdoor murals can be found in the alley just south of Grand Avenue, between Juniper and Kalmia Streets.
A good crowd turned out to see the new artwork and meet the artists. Many activities were enjoyed by families, including a photo booth, music and a kids art station. The event also celebrated Escondido Mayor Dane White’s birthday!
It was thrilling to see so many people excited by these new additions to the long alley. Earlier seasons of Esco Alley Art placed dozens of other murals in the same alley, starting two blocks to the west of these. Unfortunately, the murals of the 2021 season will soon be removed, as the renovation of a building at that location gets underway.
I learned all of the artwork is donated freely to the Esco Alley Art project by the artists. The murals depict many different subjects, reflecting the diversity of Escondido itself. In this one magical alley the visions of many inspired people come together.
There are plans for many new seasons of art, with future murals perhaps filling other alleys!
Learn about all of the murals created so far by checking out the Esco Alley Art gallery page here. Better yet, head to downtown Escondido to experience all of this amazing creativity with your own eyes!
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
A lively, joyful celebration of Ukrainian culture was held today in San Diego. The House of Ukraine’s big Ukrainian Festival drew an enthusiastic crowd to the International Cottages in Balboa Park!
Several artists on the lawn smiled and showed their art for sale. A couple of booths raised money for charitable causes. Much of the money raised during the festival would go toward providing relief to war-torn Ukraine.
After grabbing authentic Ukrainian food, such as kovbasa sandwiches and varenyky, families sat on the lawn and watched folk dancing and listened to traditional music.
I took these photographs…
A big crowd gathered at Balboa Park’s International Cottages for the House of Ukraine’s 2023 lawn program.Sales of treats at one table raised money for the Ukrainian School of San Diego.Two smiling artists were selling great artwork with a Ukraine theme.Cheerful artwork by Svitlana Ivasyuk includes sunflowers.Fun artwork by Orysya Barua includes traditional Ukrainian dress.
The next two people you see were raising money to help Ukraine during its present difficulties.
On the left is Daniel Bondarenko, who was promoting Healing Scalpel. The organization is sending medical supplies to Ukrainian field hospitals during the war.
On the right is artist Kateryna Marchuk. Sales of her art go to emergency supplies for Ukraine. Check out her fine art here.
People walk around the House of Ukraine cottage.Signs around the cottage concern the invasion of Ukraine and the defense of Freedom.A big line waits to purchase Ukrainian food during the festival.Lots of tasty items on the menu!Some crafts and souvenirs for sale. Money raised helps Ukraine.House of Ukraine’s rock band u3zubmusic performs before the 2 o’clock cultural program begins.Chamber Music Ensemble of the University of San Diego performs the Ukrainian National Anthem and other traditional songs on stage.Here come the folk dancers! They are the Chervona Kalyna Ukrainian Dance Group out of Los Angeles.Performing a joyful Welcoming Dance.A hospitable welcome includes a big loaf of bread!Young people dressed as Cossacks arrive.Ukrainians love dancing!The audience is then treated to traditional Bandura music.Soulful singing during the 2023 Ukrainian Festival in San Diego!
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Cool San Diego Sights! 