Comic-Con 2023 is almost here! Fun art has begun to appear in the windows of Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, near the San Diego Convention Center!
Shirish Villaseñor (@shirishtheartist) started sketching Super Mario characters on the Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt shop windows today. She’ll be adding color and detail in the days ahead. I’ll post updates as I capture new photos!
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a blockbuster earlier this year, so this artwork outside the world’s most amazing pop culture event is timely! Is that Bowser playing the piano? How many characters do you recognize?
Because Comic-Con is ten days away, my blog will now switch into 100% “Comic-Con mode.” I’ll post photos as I discover new Comic-Con stuff while walking around downtown San Diego.
If Comic-Con isn’t your cup of tea, fear not. More typical Cool San Diego Sights blog posts will resume when the big international event concludes!
UPDATE!
A couple days later, I found Shirish at work!
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I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Over the years, I’ve photographed a variety of outdoor murals in Escondido. During my latest walk through downtown Escondido, I took pictures of more cool murals that I hadn’t previously seen!
All four of these colorful murals can be viewed from the alley between Grand Avenue and East 2nd Avenue, a few steps on either side of Juniper Street. Walk about with curious eyes and you’ll find them, too!
The first mural on the rear of the ArtHatch Arts Complex building appears to be titled Pieces Of Us. It’s by local artist Zane Kingcade, 2014:
On another wall of the same building is a big amazing mural called Seasons of Change. It’s by artist Amanda Lynn, painted in 2016:
The third mural I spotted is on one side of Best Little Hair House, by artist Zane in 2013:
Finally, I really like this fun mural painted on one side of Mexico Lindo restaurant. It appears to be signed Flores:
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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 Twitter!
The Comic-Con Museum in San Diego’s Balboa Park will be opening several new exhibits during the week of Comic-Con 2023!
The exhibit I’m most excited about is titled Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee. The Comic-Con Museum and Kartoon Studios will celebrate 100 amazing years of Stan Lee’s legacy by showcasing rare comic books, original art, and paintings, including some never-seen-before items! One part of the exhibit will feature other co-creators of the Marvel Universe, including legendary artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. You know it’s going to be awesome. ‘Nuff said!
Those attending Comic-Con who love anime and manga shouldn’t miss the Comic-Con Museum’s coming Cowboy Bebop 25th Anniversary Art Exhibition, presented in partnership with Crunchyroll and Mondo, and a special My Hero Academia installation: a Historical Battle in Kamino statue that depicts the epic fight between All Might and All For One.
All three of these new exhibits will open Tuesday, July 18.
By the way, visitors to the museum will also enjoy the currently running Animation Academy – from Pencils to Pixels interactive exhibit. I blogged about it here!
A shuttle bus will be running during Comic-Con between the San Diego Convention Center and the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park, much as it has in recent years. For your ride, you’ll need a museum ticket and Comic-Con badge.
Courtesy Crunchyroll.Courtesy Crunchyroll.
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I’ll be covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
A groundbreaking, free cultural event in City Heights is coming this weekend!
The Columbus Club of San Diego, at 4425 Home Avenue, will host its inaugural art exhibition on Saturday, July 1. A free-style, eclectic collection of work will be on display in the Columbus Hall gallery from 1 pm to 1 am for everyone to enjoy.
Dialogue of Disparate Visions will include the work of artists Jim Bliesner, Spencer Little, Tarrah Aronoskool, Dorothy Annette and Gmonikart.
In addition to this gallery exhibit, the artists will be on site to discuss their emerging installation work on the concept “Beyond the Anthropocene” which is under construction throughout the grounds of Columbus Hall. The installation will include work by noted East Coast artist Lionel Delevingne.
It is hoped that Columbus Hall will evolve into a dynamic City Heights cultural venue. Your attendance at this weekend’s event can help make that positive vision happen!
Here are just a few examples of the art you will experience…
Image courtesy Jim Bliesner.Image courtesy Jim Bliesner.Image courtesy Jim Bliesner.
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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 Twitter!
The subway has a new stop at the San Diego Museum of Art!
Until December 3, 2023, visitors walking through two San Diego Museum of Art galleries will experience the inside of a gritty subway. The New York subway in 1980, that is. Diverse passengers in close contact pass through dimly lit tunnels together in a photographic exhibition that can be interpreted as a metaphor for our life in this world.
The exhibition is titled Bruce Davidson: Subway. The artist, Bruce, spent a full year photographing people on the New York subway. He noted that close contact between strangers could result in surprisingly beautiful moments. Strangers find that they are alike in many ways, sympathize, laugh, learn about each other. Of course, these moments rely on strangers actually talking to one another.
Today, passengers staring at phones safely avoid eye contact on public transit. You can observe this on the San Diego Trolley. By tilting heads downward, passengers easily escape real world uncertainties and personal vulnerability. Does living inside a little screen make people more or less human?
Make Galleries 14/15 your destination at the San Diego Museum of Art. Enter these two free galleries from Panama 66 in the sculpture court. Look for the Subway sign!
Five years ago I wrote a short story titled One Thousand Likes. It’s about phone addiction and social isolation on a crowded light rail train. Unfortunately, the story resonates more than ever. You can read it and other thought-provoking stories by clicking 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 Twitter!
I must confess that my favorite part of the San Diego County Fair every year is the Design In Wood exhibition of fine woodworking. The amazing creations of woodworkers around the San Diego region always blow my mind!
Check out some of the creations you will see. You’ll find beautifully crafted furniture such as chairs, tables and cabinets. There are extraordinary carved sculptures. There are imaginative works of art made of wood that you can hang on the wall. There are surfboards. There are clocks. There are fantastic guitars. There are elaborate, very detailed model ships. There are wooden toys. There’s even an Addams Family pinball machine made almost entirely of wood!
What’s really cool is that several woodworking organizations from around San Diego County provide expert demonstrations, too. Small items that you can buy for a donation such as spinning tops and writing pens are fashioned while you watch.
Design In Wood is presented in association with the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association. You can find this awesome exhibition at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the Mission Tower next to the Gems and Minerals exhibit.
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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 Twitter!
Should you wander into Grandstand East at the San Diego County Fair, you’ll find yourself surrounded by great paintings and other works of art. There are literally hundreds of pieces in the fair’s Fine Art Exhibit.
Because artists are competing for ribbons, the exhibition has been divided into various categories. One category which really caught my attention is titled Be Bold!
Comic-Con is less than a month away, so an awesome painting of Wonder Woman caught my eye. A nearby representation of the iconic Euclid Tower in City Heights then convinced me to blog a few photos of these Be Bold creations!
Creation, by artist Lydia Twigg.Celtic Horse, by artist Michael Markopoulos.Tower Bar, by artist Sarah Conley.Banje Beach, by artist Rick Lepire.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I’ll be covering Comic-Con again this year. It’s almost here! To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Brilliant! That’s what I thought when I met artist Jeff Daymont and observed his uniquely designed playing cards and original games!
I was walking through the Seaside Pavilion at the San Diego County Fair–you know, where vendors sell unique wares, demonstrating salad choppers and knives that will cut through a brick–when my eyes fell upon an unusual table. That’s a lot of playing cards, I thought. Then I looked more closely…
Jeff has created playing cards that are truly unique. The Kings and Queens illustrated on cards depict actual monarchs, rulers and royalty from world history. Many of the playing cards are also designed to support all sorts of original games, such as Rock, Paper, Scissors, Water and Lizard!
You can see a bunch of games invented so far for the versatile King’s Keys deck by clicking here. If you think up a new game, submit it!
Not only are these playing cards works of art, but I absolutely love the concept that inspired players can dream up new games!
Do you want to check out Jeff Daymont’s very cool playing cards?
A similar game I wrote for the Commodore 64 was titled Super Clue. It can be played freely on your computer right now by visiting the Internet Archive here!
Here’s a screenshot of a new game beginning:
Hints: the characters in Super Clue move about randomly, randomly drop and pick up objects, and can randomly leave clues at each location. There are several possible murder weapons. You can search characters and locations and interrogate the roaming characters. Use objects that you pick up like a magnifier, rope and flashlight. The initial character positions are randomly generated. To make a new move, type in a simple two or three word command. Enter “help” to see which words are recognized. One character is initially designated the murderer. Deduce who it is and make an arrest before midnight, or before there are more victims! I’m very proud of the sound effects I created. Be patient! As the ancient program runs on a computer emulator, every move’s resulting text can be a bit slow to appear, so wait a few seconds. Map out the mansion as you move about. Have fun!
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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 Twitter!
Xebeche the skywhale has soared and swum inland to Escondido. That’s Xebeche hovering by the side of a building.
You can find this colorful sky whale mural near the corner of Grand Avenue and Juniper Street, just south of the 7-Eleven.
The whale’s name is Xebeche. He was created last year by artist Tristan Pittard.
A strange conversation with the skywhale is written on the wall:
What is your name? My name is Nobody. Excuse me? My name is Xebeche. He who talks loud, say nothing. I thought you said your name was Nobody? I prefer to be called Nobody.
I’m just a skywhale, but you, Human, are the caretaker of this world.A peculiar conversation around an impassable doorway.
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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 Twitter!
Greetings From Escondido, The Beautiful Hidden Valley. This cool postcard-like mural was painted a number of years ago, but I photographed it for the first time during my most recent Escondido walk.
The artist is Zane Kingcade. He has painted a number of colorful murals around Escondido.
The “Postcard From Escondido” mural contains images that represent this city in sunny North County. There are oranges, avocados and grapes. There’s the dome of Escondido’s distinctive Civic Center, and a rhinoceros at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. There’s Dixon Lake, a popular fishing spot.
The Spanish word escondido means hidden. Keep your eyes peeled! If you drive west down Valley Parkway, you might spy this easily missed mural on the side of King’s Pawn.
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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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 