Tag: urban art

Awesome street art on a little old building.

Elaborate figure's arm embraces a building window. Art by Zio Ziegler.
Elaborate figure’s arm embraces a building window in San Diego. Art by Zio Ziegler.

There’s one little old building in a corner of downtown San Diego that’s very difficult to miss. That’s because it’s loaded with ultra-awesome street art!

These murals are painted on an otherwise unremarkable structure in the East Village neighborhood. The building is occupied by Undisputed Fitness, an establishment where locals train themselves as boxers and MMA fighters. All this artwork is visible near the corner of 16th Street and K Street.

My last blog post concerned a mechanical shark mural. You can see the rear portion of that mural in the final photograph.

Smiling face painted on building wall on 16th Street in East Village.
Smiling face painted on building wall on 16th Street in East Village.
Fantastic composite creature with pink hammerhead cradles a shark.
Fantastic composite creature with wings and pink hammerhead cradles a shark.
Nearby shark art for PangeaSeed's The Great Coast Migration by Rah Akaishi.
Previous pic’s shark art was created for PangeaSeed by Rah Akaishi.
Closet full of clothes opens onto a city sidewalk.
Closet full of clothes opens onto a city sidewalk.
Mr. Padre mural along rooftop honors Tony Gwynn. Art by Wildstyle Technicians.
Mr. Padre mural on rooftop honors baseball legend Tony Gwynn. Art by Wildstyle Technicians.
I Love San Diego cool design is visually complex. Art by Ezra Pirk.
I Love San Diego cool graffiti design is visually complex. Art by Ezra Pirk.
Bold, colorful street art on walls of parking lot behind Undisputed Fitness.
Bold, colorful street art on walls of parking lot behind Undisputed Fitness.

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Cool mechanical shark street mural in East Village!

Cool mechanical shark on parking lot wall behind Undisputed Fitness Center in East Village.
Cool mechanical shark on parking lot wall behind Undisputed Fitness Center in East Village.

A super cool street mural was recently painted in downtown San Diego’s East Village. I checked it out this morning!

Located on a parking lot wall behind Undisputed Fitness, at the corner of 16th Street and K Street, this large work of art really catches your attention and draws you in for a closer examination!

The image of a mechanical shark, operated from the inside by some sinister-looking people, was painted by Sheffield-based muralist Phlegm. I’ve never seen his work before, but apparently he often depicts similarly weird scenes, described as half-childlike, half-menacing. This particular mural was created as an act of “artivism” for PangeaSeed, an international environmental organization whose mission is to help preserve sharks and other marine species, through art and education. Sharks are being maimed and killed in large numbers for their fins, which are cut off the still-living animals and used to make shark fin soup and traditional medical cures in China.

Street artist Phlegm painted this for PangeaSeed’s Sea Walls Murals for Oceans.
Street artist Phlegm painted this unusual shark  for PangeaSeed’s Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans.
Shadowy, mysterious people secretly operate the black and white mechanical shark.
Shadowy, mysterious people secretly operate the black and white mechanical shark.
Phlegm often paints masked figures controlling odd contraptions in this illustrative style.
Phlegm often paints masked figures controlling odd contraptions in this illustrative style.

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Cool street mural celebrates human imagination.

Lizards undergo transformations in a very creative street mural in San Diego.
Lizards undergo transformations in a very creative street mural in San Diego.

Here’s a very cool mural I spotted last weekend after I watched the Boulevard BOO! Parade. I was just walking along through a neighborhood west of San Diego’s College area.

You can find this artwork at the corner of 56th Street and El Cajon Boulevard.

Ant and cacti grown to gigantic proportions beside an ordinary sidewalk.
Ant and cacti grown to gigantic proportions beside an ordinary sidewalk.
Cool urban art attracts the eye and stimulates the mind of those passing by.
Cool urban art attracts the eye and stimulates the mind of those passing by.
Colorful images on a building at 56th and El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego.
Colorful images on a building at 56th Street and El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego.

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Cool spray paint street art in University Heights.

Super cool mural in University Heights has colorful butterfly lady as centerpiece.
Super cool mural in University Heights has colorful butterfly lady as centerpiece.

In the past I’ve glimpsed this super cool mural in University Heights, a neighborhood northeast of downtown San Diego. Finally I stopped to photograph it!

The psychedelic spray paint street art is splashed on a wall of a small, local grocery store on Park Boulevard. The images are extremely vivid and look almost brand new. After a close inspection, I noticed the mural is signed: DEXR EYEMAX PERSUE KUYA FIZSIX 2013.

A bit of research on the web uncovered an article about this awesome artwork. The grocery store owner had painted over a rather dull mural that had become very old, when the group of local street artists approached him. The artists asked if they could use his wall to give birth to a unique creation. He said yes!

And to his great delight, this awesome unplanned mural, painted in two days, is what he got!

Smiling heavenly body and other vivid, psychedelic faces and cosmic images.
Smiling sun or moon and other fantastic, psychedelic faces and cosmic images.
This fierce two-faced tree seems ready to spring off the wall!
This fierce two-faced tree seems ready to spring off the wall!
Magical blue gnome and banjo-playing frog are elements in awesome mural.
Magical blue gnome and banjo-playing frog are fun elements in this awesome mural.
Bold spray paint street art enlivens a grocery store on Park Boulevard.
Bold spray paint street art adds color to a small grocery store on Park Boulevard.

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Adventure is out there! It’s a breeze!

Adventure is out there! Just attach a bunch of balloons!
Adventure is out there! Just attach a bunch of balloons!

Okay, here’s a quick pic of some rather simple street art. I saw this colorfully painted utility box while walking up Bankers Hill a few days ago.

I love the symbolism in the image. A riot of small uplifting balloons whisking one’s home and carefully controlled life away on a carefree, restoring breeze was a theme that I really enjoyed in the Pixar movie Up!

Tomorrow I’m planning on a long walk. No telling where my legs will take me!

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More funny Bart Club street art found at SILO.

More Bart Club street art shows up at SILO in Makers Quarter.
More Bart Club street art shows up at SILO in Makers Quarter.

Today I randomly walked past SILO in Makers Quarter in East Village. This downtown San Diego special events venue is chock full of super cool street art murals, as you might have seen in this blog post. Well, I was just walking along, peering through the fence, and… WHAM! More crazy Bart Club street art! It seems to have popped up in various different locations!

Perhaps you’ll recall seeing my first Bart Club discovery here.

Crazy, creative, funny drawings of Bart Simpson on a wall.
Crazy, creative, funny renditions of Bart Simpson on a wall.
Bart seems to transform into anything the human mind can imagine!
Bart Simpson’s head seems to transform into anything the human mind can imagine!
SILO in San Diego's East Village is bursting with colorful street art.
SILO in San Diego’s East Village is bursting with awesome, colorful street art.

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Street art rough sketches on a downtown bridge.

Sketch of female face and buildings on Sixth Avenue bridge above Interstate 5.
Sketch of female face and buildings, on Sixth Avenue bridge above Interstate 5.

Just before sundown yesterday I spotted these small unfinished works of art while I walked over the Sixth Avenue bridge that spans Interstate 5. They were down near the ground right next to the sidewalk, beneath the chain link fence overlooking the freeway.

I wonder who sketched these small scenes. Was it an art student? Are these works in progress? Are they the doodles of some inspired passerby, or a creative homeless person?

Had it not been for my blog and my endless quest for new material, I probably wouldn’t have noticed these faint drawings.

Mysterious unfinished street art of woman holding hamburger.
Mysterious unfinished street art of woman holding hamburger.
Stylish figure on couch with vase seems the work of a practiced artist.
Stylish figure on couch with vase seems the work of a practiced artist.
A miniature horse runs along a sidewalk in downtown San Diego.
A miniature horse runs along a sidewalk in downtown San Diego.

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Random art on the streets of East Village.

Six colorful dog murals on F Street in downtown's East Village.
Six dogs on a colorful mural on F Street in downtown’s East Village.

Here are some photos of outdoor art that I’ve discovered just wandering about the streets of downtown San Diego’s East Village. Enjoy!

Exotic faces, car and flowers along sidewalk in San Diego.
Exotic faces, car and flowers along sidewalk in San Diego.
Utility box dedicated to Tweet Street park.
Utility box dedicated to Tweet Street park.

The park itself is located up on Cortez Hill, just steps from where I live!

Summer swallowed us whole, written randomly on a step.
Summer swallowed us whole, written randomly on a step.
More fun street art in East Village.
More fun street art in East Village.
Cool smile, horn, coffee and heart.
Cool smile, horn, coffee and heart.
Bold graphics on wall of Lucky's tattoo parlor.
Bold graphics on wall of Lucky’s tattoo parlor.
Jumbled, eye-catching mural on a fence on F Street.
Jumbled, eye-catching mural on a fence on F Street.

This fence borders SILO, which contains a ton of awesome street art, which I documented in this blog post.

More artwork along F Street on the fence that borders SILO.
More artwork along F Street on the fence that borders SILO.
More cool street art on F Street in downtown San Diego's East Village.
More cool street art on F Street in downtown San Diego’s East Village.

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Colorful new murals on Horton Plaza Park fence!

SAN DIEGO writ large on fence around Horton Plaza Park's construction site.
SAN DIEGO writ large on fence around Horton Plaza Park’s construction site.

I recently noticed some new murals along Broadway in downtown San Diego, between 3rd and 4th Avenue. They decorate the fence that surrounds the Horton Plaza Park construction site, and replace a number of large historical photographs which I featured in this earlier blog post.

I took these pics at close range from the sidewalk, not wanting to step out into traffic. So I missed a few parts of the creative, colorful artwork.

Part of one new mural along Broadway in downtown San Diego.
Part of one new mural along Broadway in downtown San Diego.
A colorful underwater scene can be glimpsed by passing motorists.
A colorful underwater scene can be glimpsed by passing motorists.
Various surfboards -- one contains an ode to baseball's World Series.
Various surfboards.  One contains an ode to baseball’s World Series.
These murals replaced photographs which showed downtown history.
These murals replaced photographs which showed downtown history.
A fun depiction of San Diego Bay and a red trolley.
A fun depiction of San Diego Bay and a red trolley.
These three happy dogs are sharing a surfboard!
These three happy dogs are sharing a surfboard!
Another interpretation of the San Diego skyline.
Another interpretation of the San Diego skyline.
California girl in cool sunglasses watches a sunset.
California girl in cool sunglasses watches a sunset.
A sexy green-haired mermaid and Mission San Diego!
A sexy green-haired mermaid and Mission San Diego!
Downtown has been encroached by breakers and rocky hills!
Downtown has been encroached by breakers and rocky hills!
Man walks past construction fence surrounding Horton Plaza Park.
Man walks past construction fence surrounding Horton Plaza Park.

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Urban art: The Power of Collective Thought.

Public art on 11th Avenue in San Diego's East Village.
Public art on 11th Avenue in San Diego’s East Village.

Just some cool pics of colorful urban art on a building wall in downtown San Diego’s East Village.

Neighbors painted many colorful tiles for this artistic creation.
Neighbors painted many colorful tiles for this artistic creation.
The artwork was conceived and applied to a building wall in 1999.
The artwork was conceived and applied to a building wall in 1999.
Diverse faces, names and scenes are assembled in a larger design.
Diverse faces, names and scenes are assembled in a larger design.
Hundreds of hand-painted tiles compose the colorful street mosaic.
Hundreds of hand-painted tiles compose the colorful street mosaic.
The Power of Collective Thought from the Urban Art Trail project.
The Power of Collective Thought from the Urban Art Trail project.

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