Tag: murals

Beautiful mural in a Paradise Hills alley!

While walking down Reo Drive in Paradise Hills yesterday, I was surprised to discover this extraordinary mural in a nearby alley. It’s painted on a wall half a block to the east, at Albemarle Street.

The street art is filled with spiritual imagery. There’s a ruby heart aflame, nature’s starlit beauty, and a Frida Kahlo among tropical green leaves. That might be her monkey in a palm tree, too!

According to the signature, the mural was created by Shirish Villaseñor and Isabel Garcia of Arte Atolondrada, whose work I’ve enjoyed over the years. I met Shirish a couple years ago. She was part of a team working with Mario Torero to restore the Civil Rights mural in Logan Heights. You can see those photographs here!

I found more of their beautiful work a couple blocks away, but I’ll be posting those pics later.

Meanwhile, look…

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Photos of art outside 6 Grados Coffee!

Check out these photographs of cool art outside 6 Grados Coffee in Paradise Hills!

I was walking down Reo Drive today when the above mural caught my attention. Then, as I walked around 6 Grados Coffee, I discovered more great artwork! There was a painted cargo container in back and even a SpongeBob trashcan!

I learned that the above mural was painted very recently by @Dentlok, and I noticed that some of the colorful art on the container is by ShoLove, whose work around San Diego I’ve enjoyed in the past…

I found many more incredible murals during today’s walk along Reo Drive, so stay tuned!

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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!

New art arrives at 47th Street trolley station!

The 47th Street station of the San Diego Trolley has newly painted public art! A mural along a low wall beside one platform is the work of San Diego artist Maxx Moses.

I stepped off the Orange Line today and took photographs of the cool new artwork!

According to this article, the long mural you are looking at is titled Seamless. Its theme is human connectivity through transit. I see that differently colored patterns combine and link to one another.

I’m not sure whether this artwork is completed. I’ll swing by during a future city adventure to see what might develop.

You can experience more art by Maxx Moses at three other San Diego Trolley stations, here and here and 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!

So Good on an East Village wall!

Drive west down Market Street into downtown San Diego and you’ll probably see this mural. SO GOOD it proclaims!

The mural is located at 17th Street, just west of Interstate 5, at the edge of the East Village neighborhood. Very sadly, homeless people are often camped in front of it.

Yesterday morning there was a relatively unobstructed view of the mural, so I captured these photos. I noticed that written in the mural are the words: “Art by Channin Fulton and United By Design” and “A Good Measure project Sponsored by Mingei International Museum” and “Special Thanks: EVArts and Sherwin Williams.”

I found a page concerning the project here, which describes the “mural for San Diego’s creative community in the East Village area.”

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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!

Healthy food, art and books in National City!

Healthy food, art and books are easily accessible to residents in National City’s Old Town neighborhood. Take a look!

During my incredible tour around National City last month, Patty Corona of Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center showed me how positive changes have come to a community that has been historically underserved.

Many liquor stores in National City now offer fresh fruits and vegetables, thanks to students at San Diego State University who operate nonprofit BrightSide Produce Distribution. National City residents who rely on fast food restaurants, or who have difficulty traveling to distant supermarkets, are able to purchase fresh produce within several blocks of their home. The availability of fruits and vegetables at many corner liquor stores has made it easier for lower-income residents to find healthy, nutritious food.

In the case of Big B Market & Deli in National City’s Old Town neighborhood, not only are fresh veges available, but a whole lot of inspiring art has been installed around the building! Mosaics on planters and walls and a very colorful mural were all created with the help of A Reason To Survive (ARTS), an organization in National City that uplifts and inspires at-risk youth.

And there’s a cheerful little free library box outside the store that promotes literacy, too!

At the corner of 16th Street and Coolidge Avenue, many good things are in reach for body, mind and soul!

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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!

Crazy cool mural in an Ocean Beach alley!

Here are my photographs from the mural in an Ocean Beach alley that I mentioned about a week ago!

While I was walking along Bacon Street, I thought I saw what appeared to be colorful graffiti down an alley. So I checked it out.

This delightfully crazy mural depicting a fisherman off Sunset Cliffs, a guy eating a sandwich while riding a shark, and what appears to be a lobster mariachi, was spray painted on the north side of OB Quik Stop Liquor & Deli. You have to proceed down the alley behind the building to view it.

I saw what might be a signature, but I’m not really sure who created this cool street art. According to Google Street View it has existed for at least a couple years.

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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!

New art is arriving at Euclid trolley station!

Look what I discovered during my travels today! New public artwork is now being painted on two low walls by the trolley station platform at the Euclid Transit Center!

When I saw the distinctive style, I guessed that the artist is Maxx Moses, who has other trolley station murals here and here. When I got home, I found this article confirming my suspicion!

And Maxx Moses will be painting a big wall at the nearby 47th Street trolley station, too! It’s part of a cool MTS project to enliven the Orange Line!

This Euclid Avenue Station art, titled Blossom, will eventually include many painted marigolds. Marigolds represent life’s fragility and spiritual endurance in Mexican culture. You often see these flowers during Dia de los Muertos.

I’ll post updated images at some point in the future!

UPDATE!

I visited the Euclid trolley station again in late February and took some more photos. I’m not sure whether the artwork is finished or still a work in progress…

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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!

It was all a dream in Little Italy!

If you’ve driven north up India Street at Kalmia Street, you might’ve seen three new, very unusual street signs.

Do they indicate motorists are about to leave the Little Italy neighborhood? No. Together in sequence they read: IT WAS ALL A DREAM.

On their other side, the signs declare: WORK IN PROGRESS – YOU ARE HERE – STAY PRESENT.

This raises a difficult question. If the past was all a dream, and people are urged to stay present, what should one do? Avoid a return to dreaming?

Does anyone know who installed this public art? And when? I’ve done some googling, but find nothing but an unhelpful Instagram post. If you have more info about these fun signs, please leave a comment.

By the way, the funky, kitschy zebra stripes-like mural on the side of the El Camino Mexican restaurant that you see in the background was recently painted by Delilah Strukel (@Wanderingdelilah).

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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!

That huge wall of flowers in North Park!

Have you seen that huge wall of colorful flowers in North Park?

I glimpsed the artwork in passing a few days ago, so this morning I got a better look!

The mural, by Hanna of @HannasMurals, was painted last year on the parking lot wall at Dave’s Flower Box. It’s hard to miss these gigantic blooms near the intersection of Texas Street and El Cajon Boulevard.

Check it out!

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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!

Ocean Beach art along Bacon Street!

This set of photos was taken during my Sunday walk along Bacon Street in Ocean Beach. I’ve photographed lots of murals and street art over the years all around OB, but it’s the first time for these.

Ambling casually south down Bacon Street from West Point Loma Boulevard to Newport Avenue, I probably didn’t see everything.

Much of this street art is obviously years old. It presents a laid-back, sometimes mystical, even freaky OB vibe. The ocean, beach and surfing are dominant themes!

If some photos seem oddly framed, nearby parked cars often presented a challenge.

Oh–I also photographed a huge, very colorful mural in an alley during this walk–I’ll post those pics in the next few days!

I’ve included the artists in my captions–if I spotted signatures. (I believe the Ocean Beach mural in the above first photograph might be by San Diego graffiti artist Shark, but I’m not sure.)

If you know more about any of these, leave a comment!

The artist signature appears to be ZORE or ZOKE, 2015.
Mural at OB Suds Car Wash includes dog, Ocean Beach Pier and a scrubbing octopus!
Ocean Beach is known for its many feral parrots.
Beautiful watery scene by artist Isela (Azul) Gutierrez (@azulnomadart).
Art by Simmage Designs (@simmage).
Surfing mural on fence by Katie Gangi.
This cool car, pier and sunset mural, I believe, is by Dentlok Tattoo Arts.
Mustard instead of suntan lotion? A hot dog reclining on the beach. By artist Jack Stricker (@JackStrickerArt), 2018, at the Arizona Cafe.

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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!