Comic-Con Museum offers fun at home!

Are the kids bored being stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic? Are you bored?

The Comic-Con Museum has created something enjoyable for everyone to do! They’ve produced their first Fun Book!

Fun Book #1 has pages to color, instructions on how to draw a cute cartoon character, word puzzles and other activities! Download the .pdf here and print it out!

The Comic-Con Museum has launched a web page called Comic-Con Museum@Home, where all sorts of cool stuff will be appearing in the future, including lots of exclusive videos. Check it out here!

Like many of you, I’m really going to miss Comic-Con this summer, which was cancelled for the first time in 50 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. But time flies and next year will be here before we know it.

And the Comic-Con Museum still plans a Grand Opening in 2021!

I can’t wait!

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!

How to help local artists during the pandemic.

Many neighbors are being damaged financially by the coronavirus pandemic. Many have lost jobs or work reduced hours. Many don’t know how they’ll continue to cope with everyday expenses. Many worthy organizations are also suffering. The future for all remains uncertain.

In San Diego County, artists and organizations that rely on income produced by their creativity have been hit very hard. The San Diego Arts + Culture Challenge Fund exists to provide a lifeline for these people.

According to The San Diego Foundation donation page, which raises funds to help those caught in these circumstances: “Undertaken as a collaborative effort to support San Diego’s creative sector, the Fund is being launched by a cohort of local leaders and advocates committed to the health and recovery of the sector, including The San Diego Foundation, Clare Rose Foundation, San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition, and the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.”

Please visit the donation page here to learn how you can help.

Another very colorful mural in Barrio Logan!

This morning I headed from downtown to Barrio Logan, as you might have read in my previous blog post. As I walked along National Avenue and crossed Sigsbee Street, I happened to turn my eyes toward a nearby alley.

And look what I spotted painted on a long fence! Check out this very colorful mural!

I believe the mural, which appears to depict a dream full of symbolism, was recently created by Jessica Petrikowski, a Chicana artist in San Diego.

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!

Cool photographs from museums around San Diego!

Museums around San Diego are currently closed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. So I thought you might enjoy exploring a collection of cool photographs from a wide variety of local museums!

Following are 41 links to blogs documenting past visits to museums, exhibitions and museum-like places that I found particularly interesting.

Hopefully you’ll be inspired to check out many of San Diego’s unique and amazing cultural attractions once the pandemic subsides and our world returns to normal!

Click the following links to see lots of cool photographs!

Visit a world-class map museum in La Jolla!

Art from the Mingei at Central Library gallery!

Photos of San Diego and Arizona Railway centennial!

History of IDW at San Diego Comic Art Gallery.

Joan Embery’s My Animal World at Bonita Museum.

Creativity at a museum helps to mend lives.

History of firefighting at San Diego Firehouse Museum.

San Diego’s early history at the Serra Museum.

Freedom Bell at Balboa Park’s Veterans Museum.

Little Italy’s history, culture at Amici House.

Quilters look to the stars for inspiration!

Threads of the Past: Living history in Old Town.

Amazing animal bronzes at San Diego Museum of Art!

A look inside the Portuguese Historical Center.

Art and architecture at La Jolla’s Athenaeum.

History at the Los Peñasquitos adobe ranch house.

Photos aboard historic steam ferryboat Berkeley.

Photos of National City Depot museum and streetcars!

Starfleet Museum’s future Picard exhibit in San Diego!

Fun art outside The New Children’s Museum!

A visit to the Air and Space Museum Annex!

Photos inside America’s most haunted Whaley House!

Steampunk vehicles exhibited in Balboa Park!

Photos of National City’s Heritage Square and Brick Row.

San Diego history at Old Town’s Wells Fargo museum.

The Art of Shag at the Comic-Con Museum!

Cold War history: How one man stopped World War III.

Planes and people on USS Midway’s flight deck.

Photos inside a World War II bunker on Point Loma.

Historical exhibit at Women’s Museum of California.

Historical exhibit features archives at City Hall.

Baseball history at San Diego Padres Hall of Fame.

Museum celebrates diversity in American baseball.

Paintings by Kadir Nelson exhibited in San Diego.

Rare cars, antiques at a surprising museum!

A visit to the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum.

History inside the William Heath Davis House.

Cool poster designs at SDSU Downtown Gallery!

Photos inside the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum.

Architecture and light at Timken Museum of Art.

Rare exhibition of Modern Masters from Latin America.

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.

Even in dark times, light persists.

The photographs in my previous blog post show how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting life in San Diego. But they do not reflect all that I saw during my walk today.

I also saw beauty, optimism, creativity, hope.

Even in times that are dark, light persists.

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!

Make art or make a difference.

Make art or make a difference. I saw those words this morning as I walked past the window of James Watts’ downtown art studio.

Several faces were also peering from the window.

I was fortunate to meet this renowned local artist and explore his absolutely incredible studio a couple years ago.

If you’d like to have a peek inside James Watts’ creative wonderland, you can revisit my old blog post by clicking 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 cool mural walk in Pacific Beach!

One of many cool works of art a group learns about during a guided mural walk in Pacific Beach.
One of many great works of art a group learns about during a guided mural walk in Pacific Beach.

Today I was lucky to go on a really cool guided mural walk in Pacific Beach! The tour was led by Leslie Dufour of beautifulPB, which is a volunteer organization formed by PB residents and businesses who are working to create a sustainably beautiful Pacific Beach. You can learn more about beautifulPB by visiting their website here.

During the walk, I learned that the folks of beautifulPB have a PB Murals program, and they’re looking to add even more public art to their already colorful community.

The murals we saw today were all fantastic, and there were many that I hadn’t seen during my various Pacific Beach walks over the years. We even got to meet one the artists, Kathleen King. She painted an iconic PB mural that you will see in my upcoming photographs, plus the landmark America’s Finest City mural in downtown San Diego!

Today’s amazing tour began in a small courtyard area behind Randall’s Sandals on Garnet Avenue, where we learned from Leslie Dufour about the history of murals, particularly their early 20th century renaissance in Mexico led by artists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. That movement continues to influence muralists today.

After the fascinating presentation our group embarked on a looping walk of perhaps a mile or less. Future walks featuring additional murals are planned!

Thank you to Yerba Mate Bar & Empanadas, where we paused to enjoy some vegan treats that were really delicious! They intend to turn their outdoor courtyard space into a Pacific Beach arts center. Very cool!

Okay, let’s see some photos! Read the captions!

Our group heads through the beautifully painted walkway of Randall's Sandals, where the long mural opens up for all to see.
Our group heads through the beautifully painted walkway of Randall’s Sandals, where the long mural opens up for all to see.
We learn about the history of murals beside the work of muralist Jared Blake Lazar.
We learn about the history of murals beside the work of muralist Jared Blake Lazar.
Mural by @MatthewMillington depicts a very colorful Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent diety of ancient Mesoamerican people.
Mural by @MatthewMillington depicts a very colorful Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent diety of ancient Mesoamerican people.
A mermaid mural by @LovePaperPaint (Katie Gaines) is inspired by the traditional La Sirena image in Mexican Lotería.
A mermaid mural by @LovePaperPaint (Katie Gaines) is inspired by the traditional La Sirena image in Mexican Lotería.
This female superhero mural was painted by artist MDMN (John Moody) during a past San Diego Comic-Con.
This female superhero mural was painted by artist MDMN (John Moody) during a past San Diego Comic-Con.
Our group meets muralist Kathleen King, whose 1988 mural was painted from a 1943 photo of Garnet Avenue, looking west toward Crystal Pier.
Our group meets prolific artist Kathleen King, whose 1988 mural was painted from a 1943 photo of Garnet Avenue, looking west toward Crystal Pier.
Plaque explains the mural depicts the corner of Cass Street and Garnet Avenue as it was in 1943.
Nearby plaque explains this mural depicts the corner of Cass Street and Garnet Avenue as it was in 1943.
The historic brick building in this iconic PB mural still stands at the nearby corner.
The historic brick building in this iconic PB mural still stands on the street corner.
And here is that building!
And here is that building!
A cool John Lennon mural on the side of Five Guys was painted in 2006 by Steve Gorrow, Creative Director of Insight Clothing.
John Lennon with a daisy in his eye. A cool mural on the side of Five Guys that was painted in 2006 by Steve Gorrow, Creative Director of Insight Clothing.
Left part of fantastic shark mural at Even Keel Tattoo, by artists Nate Banuelos and Kyle Walker.
Left side of fantastic shark mural at Even Keel Tattoo, by artists Nate Banuelos and Kyle Walker.
Right side of mural, with many fantastic, romantic, sea-themed elements.
Right side of the same mural, which contains romantic, sea-themed elements.
Learning about one of Pacific Beach's many amazing, colorful murals during a guided walk!
Learning about one of Pacific Beach’s many beautiful, creative murals during a guided walk!

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.

The fun, very fishy Positivitree!

Look what I spotted this evening as I walked through Seaport Village!

A cool sculpture titled Positivitree!

The tree-like thing appeared very peculiar from the distance–almost like fish bones–but as I got nearer I saw all sorts of objects including trashy plastic items had been recycled by the artist to create happy, colorful fish and other marine life! This super creative art features a positive environmental message!

According to a nearby sign, Positivitree was created by Rodney McCoubrey with the Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter.

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!

WonderCon art at the Comic-Con Museum!

Another super cool exhibition opened this evening in Balboa Park at the future home of the Comic-Con Museum!

Sense of Wonder: The Art of WonderCon Anaheim features a gallery full of original artwork used for the covers of WonderCon program books. Many top comic artists have created these covers over the years, and visitors this evening were admiring sketches, thumbnails and finished pieces by the likes of Jim Lee, Dan Jurgens, and many others.

Before everyone filtered into the gallery, the 2020 WonderCon program book cover by artist Jen Bartel, winner in 2019 of an Eisner Award, was revealed: a stunning rendition of Wonder Woman with her golden Lasso of Truth! There was applause all around!

This great exhibition will be open to public on select dates through May 31, 2020.  If you’re in San Diego and love either WonderCon or Comic-Con, or if you have kids who love superheroes–particularly DC characters like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman–don’t miss it!

Follow the Comic-Con Museum’s Facebook page here for more info!

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!

Library honors those who dare to write!

To write a book requires great daring.

An author labors every day, hour, minute, writing, brainstorming, re-writing, doubting, dreaming, despairing, pouring out heart, soul and some of their deepest, most vulnerable thoughts for the entire public to read.

Will the finished words be criticized?

Will the author be ridiculed?

Will all that hard, agonizing work simply be ignored?

During the month of February, the San Diego Central Library is honoring the work of local writers. Books and eBooks that have been published in the past year are on display in the Local Author Showcase. The beautiful books have taken center stage on the first floor of the library for everyone to admire.

Writing is difficult. Writing a book is extremely difficult.

Congratulations to those who dared and succeeded!

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!