Tag: creativity

Debut of new Esco Alley Art murals in Escondido!

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)!

More fun photographs along 30th Street!

North Park in San Diego is a place where you can find all sorts of colorful signs and street art. I took these fun photographs several days ago during a walk up 30th Street, from University Avenue to El Cajon Boulevard.

It had been a long time since I passed this way. All of the sights you see here were new to my camera.

Enjoy!

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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)!

North Park kids create community art!

Look what I discovered on Sunday while walking down University Avenue in North Park. Community artwork created by local kids!

This colorful mural can be found on the north side of University, behind the 30th Street bus stop. A banner strung above it proclaims: Community art brought to you by the children of North Park. North Park Music Fest. North Park Main Street.

I suspect the artwork was painted by kids during the music festival this year, which I missed. The date in one corner seems to confirm this.

If anyone out there knows more about this fun mural, please leave a comment!

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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)!

Painting a fierce panda mural in North Park!

A very cool mural is now being painted on one side of the Shank & Bône Vietnamese restaurant in North Park! Up on a cherry picker, Thao Huynh French of Mindful Murals was spray painting bold color around two large, very fierce panda bears! She saw me and waved!

You’ve seen Mindful Murals artwork on my blog several times over the years. It’s always great and often inspirational!

I learned this awesome panda art got started about a week ago. It’s a collaboration with Los Angeles artist Aaron Martin.

As we spoke for a moment, Thao (@thaofrenchart) explained that the adjoining mural LAHAINA LOVELETTER, depicting a rooster, was by her partner in art Kolten French (@koltenfrench)!

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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)!

Ten year anniversary of Cool San Diego Sights!

WordPress notified me just now that my blog Cool San Diego Sights is celebrating its 10 year anniversary today.

Ten years? Good grief! That means I’m already ten years older!

It’s been fun so far. Hopefully there’s much more to come!

Back when I started Cool San Diego Sights, I didn’t imagine these posts I publish in my spare time, using photographs taken with a rather old camera, could end up on popular news apps like Google News and Newsbreak. Believe me, if you’ve discovered my posts in those places and wonder how they possibly rate as news articles, don’t ask me. As I understand it, it’s all determined by mysterious algorithms. Take my blog for what it is. A curious guy walking around San Diego taking photos!

But what a wonderful opportunity to express my love for my city.

And a great opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting people, too!

Perhaps I’m most thankful that Cool San Diego Sights has allowed many people to discover my Short Stories by Richard website. As a consequence, my short story One Thousand Likes is now included in a 12th Grade textbook, and part of at least one English Literature course at a major international university.

Ten years ago I had no conception such a thing might happen. If there’s a lesson here, it’s that persistence can pay off. Never lose hope!

Once again, thanks to those of you who swing by Cool San Diego Sights from time to time for a few moments of enjoyment. I keep learning new things. I hope you make a few fun discoveries, too!

Onward!

Richard

P.S. I spied a mysterious garden today in a very unexpected place. That’s coming up!

More fun sculptures in downtown Vista!

Last week I enjoyed a fine walk through downtown Vista, in San Diego’s North County.

As I moseyed about, I was pleased to discover a bunch of fun sculptures that were new to me! I found these works of public art in spots where past sculptures stood several years ago.

(I noticed these pieces are available for purchase. Contact the City of Vista if you’re interested.)

The streets of downtown Vista are so alive with public art that it’s a joy to wander about and stumble upon fresh surprises!

This is what I found…

Faces in All Sorts of Places by Isabella Bowman.

Cactus Love by Noe Estrada.

Deep Roots by Alex Gall.

Colorful Season by Norberto Estrada.

Octo by Sergey Gornushkin.

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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!

More creative, colorful Murals of La Jolla!

The thirteen-year-old Murals of La Jolla project is in constant flux. Older murals vanish, amazing new murals suddenly appear on buildings, along streets, in alleys. According to the official website there are currently 16 murals on view and the project has commissioned 45 artworks to date.

During my walk through the Village of La Jolla a couple of weeks ago, I spotted some murals that I hadn’t previously seen or photographed.

Here they are!

Ocean Front Property in Arizona, Rosson Crow, 2022.

The Scripps Gill Loggia, Rex Southwick, 2023.

Ebony on Draper and Girard, June Edmonds, 2021.

Paintings Are People Too, Monique van Genderen, 2020.

Eclipse (Playtime), Isaac Julien, 2020.

Resurgence, Chitra Ganesh, 2022.

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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!

Chalk art at Chula Vista Lemon Festival!

What would the annual Lemon Festival in Chula Vista be without some fun chalk art!

Four great works of chalk art were being created this afternoon as I walked down downtown Chula Vista’s Third Avenue. Of course, the central theme of this very creative artwork was . . . lemons!

Seeing the world through lemon colored glasses? By Cecelia Linayao.

City of Chula Vista logo with lemons by Brenda Mora and Jessie Reyes.

That’s one way to slice a lemon! By Eric Arcala.

Mario and Luigi carry lemons by MEGnificent.

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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!

Painting a lemon tree mural in Chula Vista!

Look who was painting a very sweet lemon tree mural in downtown Chula Vista today!

Signe Ditona and Paul Jimenez of Ground Floor Murals were creating a cool mural on Third Avenue during the annual Lemon Festival!

Have you seen any of the awesome San Diego Padres baseball player murals around the city? The same couple!

The self-trained artists really got going during the COVID pandemic. Their story is very inspirational. Read it 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!

America connects in amazing Escondido tile mosaic!

Earlier this year, stunning public art debuted in Escondido. You can find this tile mosaic mural near Maple Street Plaza, on an outdoor wall west of the John Paul the Great Catholic University building.

The amazing “America Connects West Region Mural Mosaic” unites small works of tile art painted by over 1500 participants, ages 7 to 97, representing America’s Western States.

According to the official website, Mural Mosaic’s Global Roots is a unique initiative that aims to bring people from around the world together through the power of art. Each collaborative Mural Mosaic production invites people from communities everywhere to connect and celebrate their unity through their diverse expressions of art. With each tile placed in a mural, Global Roots is reconnecting the world through the joy of art – one tile, one mural mosaic, one country at a time.

Not only is this a very cool concept, but the finished Global Roots murals, which often depict beautiful trees and landscapes, are spectacular!

This particular West Region project was finished in collaboration with Esco Alley Art in Escondido. You can see other Esco Alley Art murals here and here.

I took these photographs yesterday…

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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!