Tag: quotes

100 Scrolls and artist James Watts!

San Diego artist James Watts (@jewattso), whose fantastic studio is located downtown, is a creative dynamo. Even as he continues to work on his 100 Paintings project, he has begun to produce 100 Scrolls!

His scrolls are painted on fabric and utilize wood sticks he’s found, cut to size and sanded smooth. Unroll the scrolls and you’ll likely find something mysterious, symbolic, humorous or wise. (Possibly all four!) The art of James Watts often concerns aspects of mythology, religion or literature.

The scroll in my first photograph refers to two other works he has created, the Portal to Heaven and the Gates of Hell. Apple and cloud are accompanied by the words: It was not always like this. Seems everything changed with one bite of the forbidden fruit.

The next scroll in unrolled:

If only they knew.

The next scroll, filled with writing, was used by the artist for practice:

…we laughed and cried Oh what a night Who is to know the reason, the whys, the whats, the meaning of it all. To Love is to Love well…

As you can see, some images are created using sumi-e, which is Japanese ink painting.

We are all Broken. We must mend Ourselves.

What is understood Does not need to Be Explained.

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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 X.

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Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson in Logan Heights!

The other day I took photos of a cool mural in Logan Heights that shows legendary boxers Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. It’s painted at the corner of Imperial Avenue and 27th Street.

Ali’s famous quote “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” is written above the boxers. Tyson’s quote “I’m a dreamer. I have to dream and reach for the stars…” appears, too, along with an image of one of his tigers.

I didn’t realize it until I did some searching on the internet, but San Diego’s own Archie Moore boxed Muhammad Ali (when he was known as Cassius Clay) back in 1962. You can read a Wikipedia article about the event here.

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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.

Feel free to share!

Two wise plaques overlook La Jolla beauty.

Two plaques can be found at an ocean overlook in La Jolla, midway between La Jolla Cove and the Children’s Pool.

After viewing the beautiful surf and rocks below, eyes might read the wise quotes on these plaques, which are embedded in the low stone and abalone shell wall.

Treat Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was lent to you by your children. –Anonymous

We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give. –Winston Churchill

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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)!

A morning walk along MLK Promenade.

Today, January 15th, is Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

As the sun rose early this morning, I strolled along Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade in downtown San Diego. A few other walkers were out, too.

I photographed public art along the linear park that honors a great civil rights hero. (You can see more of the three sculptures here and here and here.)

Many famous and thought-provoking MLK quotes are engraved along the pathway. I randomly aimed my camera at two. (See more of the quotes here.)

I started near the intersection of Harbor Drive and Market Street, headed southeast past the newly renovated Children’s Park, then concluded my walk at the Convention Center trolley station.

Just a few photos…

Shedding the Cloak, by artists Jerry Dumlao, Mary Lynn Dominguez, and Tama Dumlao.

DREAM, by artist Roberto Salas.

Breaking of the Chains, by artist Melvin Edwards.

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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)!

Hidden public art in Mission Hills!

There’s an installation of public art in Mission Hills that’s easily overlooked. The art is titled Guard Posts. Redwood posts wrapped with copper stand at the side of the road where Goldfinch Street turns west and becomes Lewis Street. Engraved in copper are words that describe the canyon beyond the guard posts.

Why do I call this public art hidden? Not only are the posts inconspicuous from a distance, but some of the art is actually hidden in the branches of nearby vegetation.

Local artists Richard Keely and Maidie Morris finished the Guard Posts in 1994. You can see how time and weather have altered the artwork–made the copper appear more natural.

Most of the words atop these posts were contributed by members of the Mission Hills community. I did my best to transcribe…

HAWKS AND FALCONS FLYING OVER AT VARIOUS TIMES OF THE DAY, THE CANYONS ARE AN UNBELIEVABLE ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM ON THEIR OWN… MISSION HILLS RESIDENT

WE HEARD OF PEOPLE LIVING DOWN IN THIS CANYON… MISSION HILLS RESIDENT

IN THE SPRING EVERY SIDE OF THE CANYON IS SO DIFERENT. JUST LIKE A PALETTE. MISSION HILLS RESIDENT

CANYONS, WHERE THEY SLIP APART LIKE FINGERS, ACT JUST LIKE A CHIMNEY. WE DON’T WANT TO… CANYON FIRE EVER (I can’t make out some of the words. If you know the full text, please leave a comment!)

CANYONS…WELL. AS A PET SHOP OWNER I CAN SAY THERE’S A LOT OF WILD LIFE DOWN IN THE CANYONS… FOX. SKUNKS. LITTLE CREATURES

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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!

All People Touch the Earth in Normal Heights!

Thirty-year-old public art in Normal Heights still shines with wisdom and love.

All People Touch the Earth is a 310-foot-long entryway and seating wall north of the Adams Elementary joint-use park, at the corner of School Street and Mansfield Street. It was created in 1992 with the help of over 900 community members, including school children, parents, and staff from John Adams Elementary School.

Hand prints and bits of tile and other objects that were placed in wet concrete accompany wise quotes. All float among the planets of our solar system!

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

Love your neighbor as thyself.

He who travels slowly to his destiny arrives whole.

Good Fortune

The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil.

Locks and keys are not made for honest fingers.

All the sounds of earth are like music.

Music is the universal language of mankind.

Colors speak all languages.

Hitch your wagon to a star.

It is there that our hearts are set. In the expanse of the heavens.

He who seeks to understand the universe understands nothing.

For every person who has ever lived there shines a star.

One can see the universe in a grain of sand.

Live long and prosper.

It takes a whole village to educate a child.

Talk does not cook the rice.

It is good to warm one’s self by another’s fire.

Three years old habit lasts till eighty years old.

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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!

John Denver honored on Encinitas plaque.

Head west through Encinitas along J Street. When you reach the end, climb the stairs to the J Street Viewpoint.

You’ll discover beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean, unexpected works of public art . . . and a small plaque.

John Denver

December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997

John Denver, songwriter, singer, actor, humanitarian and an activist for world peace and the environment was a founder of The Hunger Project and Plant-It 2000 which sponsored tree plantings in Encinitas.

“Though the singer is silent, there still is the truth of the song.”

Your friends will always remember you.

“If peace is our vision, let us begin.”

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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!

Imagination and reality on Kettner.

Everything you can imagine is real–on Kettner Boulevard.

This morning I saw this long mural across the street from the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Looking up, I discovered window washers on a downtown building. They appeared to be suspended in a maze of reflecting mirrors.

I imagined eyes looking down from places behind the mirrors, searching the streets of reality below…imagining–

Everything you can imagine is real.

But can everything that is real be imagined?

Incidentally, the mural’s quote is by Picasso. The words, many colors and geometric fragments were painted by @StefanieBalesFineArt.

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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!

An unusual Old Master mural in Normal Heights!

An unusual mural was painted in Normal Heights this year. It can be viewed on Adams Avenue, in a nook where this Prince mural used to be, and across from this Kobe Bryant mural. It was painted by local street artists Hasler and Shark, who also created the nearby Kobe Bryant artwork.

I say this mural is unusual, because street art is usually more like graffiti or contemporary artwork–abstract, extremely bold, and with a typically rebellious vibe. One doesn’t expect to see the recreation of a traditional Old Master painting.

The image that dominates this mural is of Italian artist Caravaggio‘s religious painting Saint Jerome Writing, 1605–1606. Words spray painted in the background are the Caravaggio quote: “All works, no matter what or by whom painted, are nothing but bagatelles and childish trifles unless they are made and painted from life, and there can be nothing better than to follow nature.”

Caravaggio usually painted realistic human forms, with dramatic lighting that emphasized emotion. His very popular work would influence other famous Old Masters like Peter Paul Rubens, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and Rembrandt.

I wonder what Caravaggio would think if he visited San Diego today and looked around. Probably that he’d been transported to an alien world!

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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!

Wisdom speaks from a Mountain View mural.

A mural in San Diego’s Mountain View community speaks to the viewer with many words of wisdom.

Quotes from civil rights leaders and by thoughtful people who never achieved fame have been painted along a low wall. Those who drive or walk by are reminded that peace, freedom and kindness toward all are among our highest aspirations.

We are reminded to remain hopeful and to lead full lives.

The artwork, titled Inspiration Wall, was painted by Rik Erickson of Murals Fantastic. It was commissioned by the City of San Diego Graffiti Division. (Rik Erickson also created the large, very cool Imagine mural in North Park that features the face of John Lennon. It’s a bit hidden in a very narrow alley, but you can see it here.)

The colorful Inspiration Wall is located at the intersection of Ocean View Boulevard and 35th Street, across from the on-ramp to northbound Interstate 15.

I took these photos for you to enjoy…

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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!