Two cool murals in a Normal Heights nook!

There’s a tiny parking nook on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights where new murals often appear. The nook lies between Adams Avenue Tattoo and Bosforo, a Turkish restaurant. (Bosforo’s building used to be home of El Zarape Mexican Cantina).

Over many years I’ve photographed these ever-changing murals. Most or all of the art has been painted, I believe, by graffiti artists Hasler (@hasler_88) and Sharky (@bigchill8825).

Last weekend, as I enjoyed the Adams Avenue Street Fair, I noticed two new murals in this nook. It had been about a year since I last peered into it.

I’m fairly sure the same artists created both of these. Check it out!

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Painting the Merrill Madness mural downtown!

San Diego artist Christopher Konecki was working on painting the new Merrill Madness mural in downtown this morning. The artwork will depict Padres baseball star Jackson Merrill, and will greet fans coming west down Market Street at Eighth Avenue.

The grassroots, fan-funded mural is a collaboration that includes the Merrill Madness Foundation and artist team Christopher Konecki (@konecki_art) and Carly Ealey (@carlyealey). Amazing murals by these artists appear throughout the city. You might recall how they painted two cool Padres murals in North Park. See those photos here and here.

Chris told me this is the fourth day of working on the Merrill Madness mural. It’s huge: four stories high! The mural should be done in a couple of weeks or so.

I’ll provide an update when the artwork is completed.

Looks like it’s gonna be awesome!

UPDATE!

Three days later, much progress has been made!

ANOTHER UPDATE!

And in another three days…

AND FOUR DAYS AFTER THAT…

ONE MORE UPDATE!

It was finally completed!

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The Overthinkers Art Society’s super cool show!

A group of cool creators, including some of San Diego’s top street artists and muralists, came together today in Balboa Park. They displayed and sold their work at The Overthinkers Art Society Pop-up Group Exhibition!

As you might imagine, the event was chill and awesome!

Room 101 in the Casa del Prado was filled with creativity and color, and visitors could meet artists whose work they’ve no doubt seen around the city.

I followed signs to the exhibition and, surprised, wandered among the artists’ tables. I met a few artists whose names I recognized from photographing street art around San Diego. All were super friendly.

How cool is this?

The first table I came to contained the art of Franky Agostino (@3ojos1). It was a preview of the awesomeness to come…

At the next table I met prolific San Diego artist and muralist Maxx Moses!

If you’ve taken the trolley’s Orange Line east of downtown San Diego, you’ve likely seen his incredible work. In fact, his art is all over the place, from Hillcrest to Chula Vista to Encanto to La Mesa and beyond.

If you’d like to see photos of Maxx Moses artwork I’ve taken over the years, click here!

Here’s a bit of his art at today’s pop-up exhibition…

Next up, I met Dave Persue! No doubt you recognize his popular, instantly recognizable creation Bunny Kitty. He smiled for a photo, then took to the stage with his electric guitar.

He’s had murals all around town, too. See some of them by clicking here!

Then I came to the work of another great San Diego muralist: Sharky!

There’s a special little parking nook in Normal Heights where I’ve seen his recurring work, teamed with artist Hasler. Check out a few of those murals here and here and here.

The next photo shows artist Mathew Curran (@mathewcurran) by graffiti art he created in Spain…

I’ve seen the next artist’s street art on electrical boxes around San Diego. Such as here! His super unique work is unmistakable.

His name is Jorge Gutierrez Garcia (@jggart226).

He often paints figures like the ones in the next photo. His work appears to be full of symbolism. He said some people think the figures are aliens, other people see mythological characters.

People are encouraged to use their imagination!

As I walked around, I discovered a big roomful of even more cool art. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this great event!

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.

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A crazy bar mural in Mission Hills!

Question:

In San Diego, what do beer chuggers, extraterrestrials, an octopus, a drunk Swinging Friar and other Bad Friends have in common?

Answer:

They occupy a crazy mural tucked in an alley beside CJ’s Lounge in Mission Hills!

I don’t know who painted the mural or when, but it must illustrate the crazy, good times inside the BEST BAR IN THE WORLD! Because it says so!

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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 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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Cool murals near Encinitas train station!

These two cool murals can be found close to the train station in Encinitas.

One mural, in my first two photographs, is painted on a wall at the Moonlight Marketplace flea market venue, which, when not in use, appears like a dirt lot west of the station platform. The butterfly and face artwork was created by Chloe Becky (@elsiethecowww).

The second mural is in the alley one block directly south of the Encinitas train station. It’s on the back of a building near the corner of Founders Drive and E Street. The smiley face in swirled colors was spray painted by DJ NEFF (@djn3ff) in 2024.

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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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Jaguars and wolves in Chula Vista!

I discovered two very cool murals during my latest walk through Chula Vista!

The first mural promotes Southwestern College and features the stylized head of a Jaguar–the name of Southwestern’s sports teams. A stack of books, a flask, paintbrushes, a drone, and other objects useful in career education also appear in the mural.

The colorful artwork can be spotted on the side of State Farm Insurance at 460 3rd Avenue. Artist signatures and a year indicate the mural was created by Nick McPherson (Nicholas Danger) and Eddy Berducido (@Beavster) in 2024.

The next mural appears to show wolves. The artwork was painted at the north end of a construction fence in front of Chula Vista’s old, closed Vogue Theater.

You might recall other images previously painted on the same fence: the Padres’ Swinging Friar and Chula Vista’s own celebrity superstar Mario Lopez!

I don’t know who painted these two wolves, or when. Within the past year, if I had to guess. Leave a comment if you know more than me!

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.

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Street art at Vision Culture Foundation in National City!

This cool street art painted on a long wall is visible from Highland Avenue at the Vision Culture Foundation in National City. When I recently walked by they appeared to be closed. I paused to take these photographs from the sidewalk just outside their gate entrance.

Here’s the Vision Culture Foundation website. The organization focuses on creative arts, and their center strives to empower and uplift youth and the community. They are a safe space that nurtures goals and dreams.

Check it out!

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.

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The new Padres mural in North Park!

Have you seen the new San Diego Padres mural in North Park? It appeared to have been completed yesterday when I swung by this morning to check it out.

It’s located at 2510 University Avenue on the Western Dental building. Sadly, the community had to raise money for this great mural to replace another Padres mural on University Avenue that had been defaced. You can see photos of that LFGSD mural before it was vandalized by clicking here.

The same artists painted this new, much larger mural: muralists Carly Ealey (@carlyealey) and Christopher Konecki (@konecki_art).

Looks awesome!

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.

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More pop culture street art on Commercial Street!

For many years–as long as I can remember–the north side of the Reliable Pipe Supply lot on San Diego’s Commercial Street has been decorated with street art. Most of the images reference pop culture characters–in particular, comic book superheroes and villains.

When I walked along Commercial Street between National Avenue and 15th Street recently, I noticed much of the artwork changed in 2024. After doing a little research, I see that a variety of San Diego artists came together during San Diego’s Comic-Con to create this street art.

I took these photographs as I walked along.

(This string of pop culture street art is similar to a stretch that was painted a short distance down the road to the east, near the intersection of Commercial Street and 31st Street. You can see those photos, taken in 2018, by clicking here.)

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.

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