Tag: imagination

Cool murals in Logan Heights near Chicano Park.

During a walk in Logan Heights a couple weekends ago I came upon these very cool murals northeast of Chicano Park, on the other side of Interstate 5.

I discovered this artwork as I walked around the old Webers Bakery building, which is now the home of community art gallery and cultural center Bread & Salt. After circling the historic building I returned along Julian Avenue to Cesar E. Chavez Parkway and walked past Calvary Baptist Church and the Revival Time Church of God in Christ.

The first five photos are of two murals on the northwest side of Bread & Salt’s unique old bakery building. You might notice the artist signature Panca, who has exhibited at Bread & Salt.

The following murals are in the alley next to the building…

The next mural, also by Panca, is on the southeast end of the building, where you can find Mujeres Brew House…

Here’s the front entrance to the building that years ago was Webers Bakery…

This graphic ode to the spray paint can is along Julian Avenue, at the north corner of the building…

The next two murals are on the end of one building at the Revival Time Church of God in Christ on Cesar E. Chavez Parkway…

And finally some fun artwork on a nearby electrical box!

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An odd little story about dreams.

Looking roughly northeast as color creeps over the desert below.

A moment ago I published an odd little story. It concerns the nature of dreams.

This tiny work of fiction is titled Their Dream.

Sometimes it seems the world we live in is one never-ending dream. An implausible dream that has somehow turned real.

Read my strange, humorous story by clicking here and decide for yourself!

Meanwhile, have a great weekend!

Richard

A huge collection of street art images!

Do you love to discover new art?

Do you love to turn a street corner and suddenly find an amazing, unexpected mural splashed on a city wall or in a back alley? Or a small creative work painted on an electrical box by a neighborhood artist?

Cool San Diego Sights is now over seven years old. During my walks through San Diego’s diverse communities I’ve taken thousands of photographs of street art. I’ve recorded so many examples that’s it’s difficult to find them all in one place. Unless you visit my street art Pinterest page!

Even if you don’t ordinarily use Pinterest, click here and you’ll see (as of this moment) over 600 selected images of San Diego street art. Click any one of the “pinned” images and you will be presented with a link to my particular blog post featuring that art.

If you are a regular user of Pinterest, you can follow my boards and discover fun new things in San Diego as I walk around taking photos!

The general Pinterest page for Cool San Diego Sights can be found here.

If you simply want to see lots of great street art, click here!

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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!

Escondido community paints street barriers on Grand!

The community of Escondido has come together in the past few weeks to paint about a hundred concrete barriers along Grand Avenue with beautiful, inspiring artwork!

During the COVID-19 pandemic, eateries along Grand Avenue in historic downtown Escondido have been allowed to open outdoor patios on the sidewalk and street. To keep lanes of traffic safely separated from diners, ugly gray concrete barriers were placed along the avenue. But those who love to create art saw numerous blank canvases!

The Beautify Escondido mural project has resulted in numerous colorful works of art that promote love, hope, friendship and community, not to mention businesses along Grand Avenue. I see the Escondido Art Association has been instrumental in coordinating this very cool project.

I must admit, when I last visited Escondido on a Sunday and took photos of the Maple Street Plaza, my brief look at Grand Avenue didn’t do it justice. To my eyes Grand Avenue had appeared quiet, deserted. But had I walked a block or two east into the heart of Escondido’s historic downtown, I would’ve seen many people eating, walking, looking in the windows of antique stores, and enjoying life.

I took additional photos of my adventure on Grand Avenue yesterday, and will share them shortly!

Okay, ready to see lots and lots of awesome artwork?

Here we go!

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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 samples of street art in Normal Heights!

A couple weekends ago, as I walked east down Adams Avenue through the heart of Normal Heights, I took photographs of cool street art that I haven’t previously recorded.

Some of the artwork is newer, some older. What a person might discover in Normal Heights–or any dynamic community–is constantly changing. New art appears in front of your eyes one day, then fades or vanishes.

Cool San Diego Sights now features over 32,000 photographs, and it’s getting harder and harder to remember everything my camera has captured! But I believe the artwork you see here is new to my blog.

So just imagine you’re walking down the sidewalk on another sunny San Diego day, finding more and more colorful street art, making endless discoveries in the city…

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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!

Southeast Art Team beautifies Lincoln Park!

The Southeast Art Team, a group of artists who reside in southeastern San Diego, recently painted very colorful murals in Lincoln Park!

The boarded up old Pete Mayo’s Original Waffleburgers building near the corner of Euclid Avenue and Imperial Avenue has new life–entirely due to the efforts of positive people who love their community.

I walked through the neighborhood today and checked out two cheerful murals on two sides of the now vacant building. (I also spotted more of the team’s street art along Imperial Avenue. Photos to come!)

The President of the Southeast Art Team is Kim Phillips-Pea. She’s a super positive, energetic community leader whom I met this summer while the team was helping Mario Torero restore his important Civil Rights mural at 32nd Street and Imperial Avenue. You can see photos of that mural being restored here.

If you want to learn more about the Southeast Art Team, and perhaps help them out, check out their website here!

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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!

Urban art at 1835 Creative Studios building.

I took photos of these colorful urban art murals several weeks ago during a walk along Imperial Avenue. They’re spray painted on the 1835 Creative Studios building, at the corner of Imperial and 19th Street, just east of downtown San Diego and Interstate 5.

Sadly, as you can see in a couple photos, many homeless people find refuge in this neighborhood. It’s a grittier part of the city, where one is likely to find all sorts of lively graffiti and urban artwork.

I believe I recognize the unique styles of both the first and last murals–very similar street art can be seen elsewhere in San Diego–but I’m afraid I don’t know the artists. I tried to decipher the signatures, to no avail.

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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!

Fun street art along Black Mountain Road!

During my walk along a stretch of Black Mountain Road in Mira Mesa yesterday I came upon a lot of fun street art!

I found artwork both old and new. I found colorful works of imagination painted by many hands.

Why have we always needed art?

To connect with this great big world, and attempt with eyes and hands to more fully understand it?

To be engaged in the world? To feel productive and alive? To feel pleasure and a sense of personal accomplishment?

To search ourselves? Expand ourselves? Challenge ourselves? Express our desires?

To discover true things about life?

We have always needed art.
We have always needed art.
Electrical box painted with art that seems prehistoric.
Electrical box painted with art that seems prehistoric.
Street art that resembles a Rubik's Cube!
Street art that resembles a Rubik’s Cube!
A very colorful peacock.
A very colorful peacock.
Flowers in a vase.
Flowers in a vase.
Peace on a fence.
Peace on a fence.
Stay fresh.
Stay fresh.
A happy angel.
A happy angel.
Football player runs with the ball.
Football player runs with the ball.
Three parrots.
Three parrots.
Three colorful reptilian creatures.
Three colorful reptilian creatures.
A space station of the future.
A space station of the future.
An enchanted castle, perhaps.
An enchanted castle, perhaps.
Rocket on the gantry, or perhaps a futuristic building.
Rocket on the gantry, or perhaps a futuristic building.
Space monkey eats a banana!
Space monkey eats a banana!

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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!

San Diego students create posters against drugs!

The students at Wangenheim Middle School in Mira Mesa have created posters that tell the truth about the destructive nature of drugs.

I was fortunate today to be walking nearby as members of the Associated Student Body were hanging these very creative anti-drug posters on the school fence facing Black Mountain Road!

And they were happy to pose for a group photo!

It’s Red Ribbon Week, when students in schools across San Diego and the United States engage in an annual drug and violence prevention awareness campaign.

Wangenheim Middle School students and members of the Associated Student Body are involved in all sorts of positive community activities, such as a Thanksgiving food drive. It’s encouraging to know the youth you see in the next photograph are some of our future leaders!

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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 cool murals of Artist Alley in Oceanside!

Artist Alley in Oceanside, California is a very cool “hidden” place that I discovered on Saturday. I was walking near the Oceanside Civic Center when I noticed that colorful mural with the whale you see above. It drew me into the alley!

Artist Alley is located directly across Pier View Way from the Oceanside Public Library and the nearby Civic Center fountain. The alley stretches midway between Freeman Street and North Coast Highway. Step into it and not only will you find all sorts of amazing murals, but there are several artsy specialty shops you’ll want to explore.

I was told by the friendly guy at the Ikigai Artifacts body jewelry store (on the inside walls there are even more awesome murals!) that most of the artwork in Artist Alley was painted in the past year or two. Much of it resulted from a group effort, involving a variety of local artists.

I captioned photos of the larger murals where I ascertained who the artist is.

(My Saturday walk resulted in many more photos, so stay tuned! Upcoming blog posts include a visit to the very cool California Surf Museum!)

Ojos de Picasso (Eyes of Picasso), Mario Torero, 2016.
Ojos de Picasso (Eyes of Picasso), Mario Torero, 2016.
Art near entrance to Ikigai Artifacts by Amber (@_deadcorpse_).
Art near entrance to Ikigai Artifacts by Amber (@_deadcorpse_).
Mural in Oceanside's Artist Alley by Paul Knebels, 2019.
Mural in Oceanside’s Artist Alley by Paul Knebels, 2019.
Mural at entrance to Artist Alley in Oceanside by Marilyn Huerta, and Caymin Charles Ellspermann.
Mural at entrance to Artist Alley in Oceanside by Marilyn Huerta, and Caymin Charles Ellspermann.

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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!