Tag: artists

Murals fill Escondido alley with art!

Numerous amazing murals now fill an alley in downtown Escondido. The multi-phase project is called Esco Alley Art, and I had to check it out last weekend!

Artists have painted all sorts of colorful images, which are displayed in an alley just south of Grand Avenue and east of Maple Street. Some of the murals depict Escondido attractions, such as Cruisin’ Grand and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. This expanding outdoor gallery is presented by the Escondido Art Association and the Escondido Downtown Business Association.

Phase II of the project was unveiled a little over a week ago. The vision is to keep adding more art, eventually expanding the outdoor gallery into other alleys!

Learn all about Esco Alley Art on its website here. You can see each mural and read about the artists, many of whom live in Escondido.

I walked along the alley admiring the diverse artwork while snapping these photos…

…

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!

Time (and a cow) flies in Escondido!

A mural featuring all sorts of fantastic Time-related imagery can be found on a wall behind Timekeepers of Escondido, a watch and clock repair shop on Grand Avenue.

I was walking around downtown Escondido, making my way to one particular alley that is filled with art, when I saw this Time Flies mural. It was painted by Zandy Gilmaher in 2014.

Stay tuned for more Escondido art discoveries!

…

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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

More colorful art in downtown Chula Vista!

Last Saturday, as I headed to the Lemon Festival, I walked along downtown Chula Vista’s principal street, Third Avenue. And I spotted all sorts of colorful art that is either fairly new, or that I had missed on previous walks!

The above shark swims directly opposite a cool Manny Machado mural, which has been painted on the north wall of the historic Vogue Theater. For photos of the Manny Machado mural, click here!

The hungry shark and the school of minnows forming the City of Chula Vista logo were painted by Ground Floor Murals.
Colorful graffiti creatures. I believe this is an example of the Horrible Monster Scenes that are painted around San Diego by @barfalamul.
Beer, a hot dog and pretzel painted in front of Tavern at the Vogue by artist Nicholas Danger.
Cheerful bands of color painted at entrance to the ThirdandF building in Chula Vista.
Cool graffiti art near a rooftop includes a walking skull with mohawk!
Person with megaphone announces Upright Citizen Vintage.
Heart Open to the Potential that Exists when I strive to survive. Inspiring words by the door of Rico’s On 3rd, The Salon.

…

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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Hidden public art on a Liberty Station rooftop!

Very few know of this “hidden” public artwork in Point Loma. It can be found on a building’s rooftop at Liberty Station.

In the next photograph you can see green stairs climbing the side of the New Americans Museum. During all of my visits to Liberty Station, I’ve never seen a single person going up them. I myself had thought these stairs to the building’s roof were out of bounds to the public.

Not so!

Head on up, push open the swinging gate, and take a look!

The unique rooftop artwork is composed of colorfully painted skateboards. Appropriately titled Rolling It Forward, the installation was created in 2018 by local artist Jeremy Nuttall of Poway, California. The sculpture, according to a sign represents a boat and rolling waves made entirely of community-painted skateboard decks. It builds on the concept of “pay it forward,” and it required the support and involvement of the community…

The skateboards that compose Rolling It Forward have become weathered by several seasons of rain and sunshine. They are cracked and faded. They are rolling forward through time.

But the creative, often crazy images endure!

…

This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!

Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts.  If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!

To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Completing the new Yu Darvish mural!

This morning I swung through Kearny Mesa again to see how the new Yu Darvish mural in the Convoy District is progressing.

I was excited to find it nearly completed, and I met the muralists, too!

Signe Ditona and Paul Jimenez, the artists of Ground Floor Murals, have painted several awesome Padres baseball murals around San Diego already. And both are super nice!

Check out these photos of their latest Padres mural featuring star pitcher Yu Darvish. It’s on Convoy Street, just south of Engineer Road.

(If you’d like to see an early stage of the mural, you can revisit my blog post from several days ago here.)

…

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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

A gigantic sandcastle in Imperial Beach!

An absolutely gigantic sandcastle is now being built at the foot of the Imperial Beach Pier!

The huge two-stories high sand sculpture, which is being referred to as the Monument Castle, is the centerpiece of this year’s week-long Sun and Sea Festival. Imperial Beach has become Sandcastle City!

The I.B. Posse, a team of local sand artists, began to build the castle a couple days ago. The sand carving will continue through this week.

I intend to swing by again next weekend to check out the finished sandcastle! I’ll post those pics in an update here!

UPDATE!

I swung by the following weekend after the huge sandcastle was completed. I see the I.B. Posse was assisted by the Sand Squirrels, Dan Belcher, Bruce Phillips and Sculpting San Diego.

Wow! Check it out!

…

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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Arts in the Park at Chula Vista’s Lemon Festival!

Chula Vista’s annual Lemon Festival has returned!

This year, the festival is primarily taking place in Memorial Park, where families can enjoy Arts in the Park. A full day of entertainment is scheduled for the big stage, and artist booths abound. The event is produced by the people of OnStage Playhouse, which is a community theatre located in Chula Vista.

I enjoyed the first hour or so of the festival, which included an inspiring dance performance as you’ll see in the upcoming photos!

Lots of family fun can be enjoyed at Arts in the Park during the 2021 Chula Vista Lemon Festival.
Artes en el Parque includes music, dance, and an evening performance by the Fern Street Circus!
A familiar piratical smile. I believe I’ve spotted it during past Comic-Cons!
A smiling mermaid!
Volunteers from Arts in the Park pose for a photo!
Students from Chula Vista Learning Community Charter Middle School were making art! And the community joined them!
Painting our beautiful Earth.
A String of Stories at one of the school’s tables is about Sharing in Community.
Unidos por la paz. United for peace.
I took some photos as I waited in Memorial Park’s amphitheater for the entertainment on stage to begin.
The helpful Honda people came by and offered me a water bottle! Thank you!

Do you know anyone who could use a helping hand? Check out the San Diego Honda Dealers “Random Acts of Helpfulness” web page here. Maybe they’ll provide some assistance! I hope so!

Okay! The program begins with a couple of short speeches…

Ashley Gardner from OnStage Playhouse is introduced. She was instrumental in organizing this great event. Hopefully it becomes a long-lived community summer tradition!

Then the entertainment begins!

An amazing, super positive and energetic hip hop dance group from Steele Canyon High School takes the stage! They’re the Club Groove Dance Team!

…

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!

Painting a Yu Darvish mural in Kearny Mesa!

A new mural of San Diego Padres’ pitcher Yu Darvish is being painted this week in Kearny Mesa!

After work I headed to the wall just south of Convoy Street and Engineer Road to see what progress has been made.

Paul Jimenez and Signe Ditona of Ground Floor Murals weren’t present at the time, but it was cool to see how they planned the mural’s basic shape using fun little shapes, smileys, squiggles and whatnot. Only Yu’s head is materializing so far!

I’ll try to swing by again in the next few days, and if I do I’ll update this post with more photographs!

UPDATE!

I checked out the mural several day later and found it nearly finished. I posted those cool photographs here!

…

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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Ramona’s amazing H.E.A.R.T. murals on Main Street!

Please enjoy these photos of many H.E.A.R.T. murals that can be found in Ramona along the length of Main Street. I happened to see these particular murals during my most recent walk through town.

The Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Mural Project promotes community pride, and entices those driving through this East County town, often on the way to Julian or Anza Borrego, to stop and explore.

According to the Ramona Murals website, the letters in the acronym H.E.A.R.T. stand for Historic and Hiking; Equine; Arts, Antiques and Agriculture; Rural vistas and drives; and Tasting of fine wines. Or perhaps it simply means heart. I prefer the latter.

Photos that I already shared of one multi-panel mural concerning the historical Verlaque Pioneer Store can be found by clicking here.

There are additional murals that I didn’t see, particularly those near the west end of Main Street. You can view those and find a map of all the murals here.

Hiking Mt. Woodson, 2018, artist Rik Erickson.
Ramona Reflections, 2020, artist Gretchen Weidner.
Bandy Blacksmith, 2019, artist Beata Wojcik.
Music Mural, 2014, artist Jason Luper.
Casey Tibbs, 2012, artists John and Jeanne Whalen. Casey Duane Tibbs was a Ramona resident, rodeo performer, stunt man and actor. In 1979 he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
Country Lifestyles, 2017, artist Robert K. Teague.
Lucky Spirit–Charles Lindbergh, 2016, artists John and Jeanne Whalen. Seems familiar? This mural was originally on the commuter building at Lindbergh Field–now called San Diego International Airport.
Old Firehouse, 2017, artist Rik Erickson.
Fire Engine #2 served Ramona as a front-line truck for brush and structure fires…It served for 39 years…
Pioneer Cabin, 2019, artist Rik Erickson.
Grand Kenilworth Inn, 2020, artist Beata Wojcik.
The old Kenilworth Inn opened in Ramona (then called Nuevo) at this location in 1887 as the Ramona Hotel.
Tending the Vineyard, 2017, artist Miguel Angel Godoy.
July 4th 1914 Main Street, 2016, artist Anna Parker.
Historic Commerce, 2014, artists Bob Teague and Mark Martensen.
Ramona Mural, 2020, artists Loretta Alfonsi, Shirley Jones, Sunny Peterson.
Ramona Body & Fender Shop, 2020, artist Daniel Hernandez.

…

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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Mural at Ramona’s old Pioneer Store recalls history.

The Verlaque Pioneer Store in Ramona might be long gone, but the building, which is the oldest in Ramona, remains. A mural on the building’s side depicts goods that might have been stocked in the Pioneer Store from the late 1800’s to 1911.

The mural, painted by San Diego artist Rik Erickson in 2017, is part of the Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Murals Project. It’s just one of many colorful murals that can be found up and down Main Street!

The Verlaque Store was built around 1883. This community gathering place in Ramona’s early history also served as a stage stop, general store and post office. It was frequented by gold miners traveling from San Diego to Julian during the short-lived gold rush. Today it’s a point of historical interest.

Eleven panels painted by the artist include an image of Jeff Verlaque, who succeeded his brother Amos as the Pioneer Store operator. Another panel depicts the store as it might have looked based on a photograph from the 1800’s. You can see the similarity to the building today, which at 629 Main Street is occupied by the wine bar Reds, Whites & Brews.

…

This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!

Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts.  If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!

To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.