The streets of the Carlsbad Village have seen a variety of community projects by Carlsbad artist Bryan Snyder over the past 6 years including scavenger hunts, collage projects, public interaction art shows and many other art happenings, but Carlsbad is not the only place Snyder takes his community building ideas.

On the weekend of May 10th, Snyder was invited to conduct a community art project over a 2 day period at Camp Hess Kramer during a Bat Mitzvah snug tightly within the Malibu Hills.

Snyder and the Miller family collaborated on ideas, ultimately deciding on a project that would be created by each guest during the weekend celebration.

Each of the 200 guests were introduced to Snyder, the design outlined on the canvas and the overall project that was going to eventually follow them around the camp for the next few days.

The project was prepped with an image chosen by the Miller Family of a traditional Jewish dance. Snyder introduced the project to each guest and explained how each member of the event would help fill the outlined design with color using nothing but magazine tear outs.”

A schedule and camp map guided Snyder, his canvas, his bucket of glue and his box of magazines around the camp with collage stops everywhere from the main dining hall to the outside lawn.

Crowds of all ages tore through dozens of magazines in search of the perfect color that would fill the awaiting colorless gap on the canvas. Others stood back with watchful eyes.

At each round of collaging, Snyder excitedly explained that one day the finished canvas would radiate with color in the home of a grown woman reminding not only of this joyous ceremony, but of all the family, friends and loved ones that participated in the creation of the artwork and the ultimate celebration of the event.

A special thanks to Camp Hess Kramer, the Miller family and all the participants over the weekend long project!

Contact theartist@snyderartdesign.com for community art project inquiries.

See the work of Carlsbad based artist Bryan Snyder along with many LA artists!

The Sunset Strip animated with vegan supporters and beer drinkers as the 4th Annual Vegan Beer and Food festival kicked off at the The Roxy on Saturday May 4th in The Roxy Sunset Strip parking lot.

Festival attendees enjoyed samples of beer from the nearly 2 dozen exhibiting micro breweries. Vegan food was offered through out the day from a number of food trucks and stationary booths. The surrounding Los Angeles buildings echoed with local musical talent and the sun beat down with relentless aggression.

Just within the Sunset Blvd. entrance and atop a slight incline, Southern California based street artist SNYDER exhibited his ‘Doodle’ character, a character he has been drawing since childhood, but only added to his professional body of artwork in the past 2 years, during a live painting exhibition. SNYDER covered a large 8ft. x 24ft. wall in a slightly abstract arrangement of gesturally painted Doodle characters intertwined in bright red paint strokes.

“To celebrate Keith Haring’s birthday, I approached the mural as he would have,” Snyder explains. “Once I started, I didn’t stop until 5 hours later when the mural was finished. I didn’t know what I as going to paint until I finished a quick sketch. The focus of the piece was on visual balance.”

Ethos Gallery located on Melrose Ave. sponsored the live painting exhibition and inspired festival attendees to add to the creative atmosphere by doodling their own creation with chalk on the asphalt at the base of the mural.

The sun beat down hard, but the large festival attendance remained cool with tasty beer, music, art and food as another highly enjoyable and successful Vegan Beer and Food Fest presented by The Roxy rolled on into the memory books.

Congratulations to The Roxy and crew for the successful event!

As of late more street art and graffiti have been popping up around the Carlsbad Village and surrounding areas. It still seams a bit odd, but a bit of creativity sure does make those daily commutes a bit more colorful.

Have you noticed any expressions on the local walls?

Each year starting in May and rolling into June, the Carlsbad Village coast becomes engulfed with the thick “May Gray” and “June Gloom”. The sky becomes dull and the annual wave of village visitors stare skyward in search for the Sunny North San Diego weather.

The sky is not the only congestion noticed each year. The Carlsbad ocean just beyond the crashing swell becomes thick with coastal kelp beds due to oceanographic upwelling that delivers the cool nutrient-rich water that kelp beds thrive on.

Have you seen/smelled the thick mass of the Carlsbad kelp beds?

WHAT: Susanna and the Troublemakers vintage country
WHERE: Coyote Bar and Grill in the Carlsbad Village (map)
WHEN: Sunday April 28th – 2PM-4:30

Susanna will be performing with Adrian Demain and Sharon Shufelt.

See you there!

What inspired this mural? How did you chose the words?
This mural was commissioned by New Village Arts and the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation to celebrate the vibrant and growing art community in Carlsbad. The piece is a reflection on the growing creative community of Carlsbad. A nameless brick mason hunched over, hard at work creating a vibrant wall, one brick at a time. The mason represents the effort of both the artists and the philanthropic efforts of those who are funding these public projects. The wall itself, eternally a “work in progress” represents Carlsbad in its current state- growing, vibrant, unique. The words that make up the piece are the words that represent Carlsbad (to me). I asked several locals what Carlsbad meant to them. I asked them if they had to summarize it in one word what word would it be. The collection of words that make up the mural are, for the most part, the most common words supplied by the community.

How did you go about planning this mural?
My only requirement with the mural was that the design was something I had not previously created. There were a few different elements that went into the planning of this mural: Design: After thinking about the project, and what I wanted this mural to represent Color: I spent an evening researching my favorite street art pieces, particularly the most colorful pieces I could find, and assembled a palate of colors. Video: Perhaps the biggest difference with this piece compared to traditional canvas work is the method I used to record it. It just so happened that this project lined up with the opportunity to create content using the new HTC One. I decided to try and shoot the entire time lapse video using nothing more than the phone.

What was your experience painting in the Carlsbad Village?
I didn’t know what to expect painting on location. I assumed the wall was a tad “off the beaten path” so to speak. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Between all three days I spent painting there was never more than a half hour that went by without someone stopping to look at the wall, talk about the project, or snap a quick photo. Even people who did not stop made a point to toss a nod or a quick thumbs up my way as the design came together.

What is your goal with this piece?
My goal with the piece was to create something vibrant, something eye catching, something unique. Carlsbad is an amazing town. I feel this piece fits in with the local community because it’s unique, a little quirky, and fun. I want it to brighten people’s day. Plain and simple.

The artistic culture of the Carlsbad Village has grown in the past 5 years. What do you enjoy about it and in what ways do you feel it can improve?
I love the creative community in Carlsbad Village. I had no idea when I moved here there was such a unique art culture with strong contenders in both the “traditional art” and “street art” scenes all mixed into one vibrant community. As for improvements, I would like to see a lot more of the younger local talent putting work on display. I love seeing new work from Snyder or Viz make the rounds, but I know there’s got to be a ton of new talent out there who have yet to take the effort and get work on display somewhere. I always look to places like Vinaka Cafe and Relm Wine Bar for up and coming artists. With that said, I see every business that still doesn’t have local art on their wall as an opportunity for someone new to come in and put work on display.

See this mural in person at 2680 State Street. (map)

Click HERE to learn more about Tekst Art!

WHAT: Village Scavenger Hunt
WHERE: Pick up clues at the Cbad Village Theatre 3PM (map)

Click HERE for more info!

Two friends, one who looks to simply live off the fatta’ the lan and the other with witty intellect and the wholehearted desire to find a better future for him and his best friend, explore the sleepy surroundings of their new Village by the Sea.

Though they enjoy their new home, these two stay close to their car knowing that the unsuspected can always send them back on the road.

Carlsbad is known as a pretty mellow place. The Village is sleepy. The beaches are relaxing and the people are kind.

If there ever is a time when our Village by the Sea gets a bit chaotic, it is during the Summer months when the annual wave of tourists crashes upon our shore.

Carlsbad locals welcome these visitors, but also make it clear that those who lack kindness aren’t invited.