Carlsbad Art and Culture

On Saturday, February 17th, Burrito Art painted the 40th mural on the Carlsbad Art Wall.

On August 3–4, Ukrainian-born artist Anna Pearson painted her mural titled Focal Point on the Carlsbad Art Wall at Señor Grubby’s in the Carlsbad Village.

Pearson attempts to tell the story of a lost and lonely Ukrainian girls who eventually found her place and purpose using the lines of nature as her artistic tools.

“This mural is my Focal point where all elements and aspects converge, but at the same time it’s YOUR focal point too,” Pearson says. “I wanted for everyone to interact with my design that twists and dances around the viewers, wrapping them into an infinite loop. There is no beginning or end to so many things, like life itself or creativity, but there is a moment in it for everyone to be in the center, to be in the focus, YOUR moment to shine.”

On Monday, July 17, Bryan Snyder finished a new 26′ x 11′ mural at the Village Animal Hospital in the Carlsbad Village.

This mural pays tribute to the Carlsbad community, its devoted pet parents and their beloved furry companions. It celebrates the profound connection between humans and animals, as well as the invaluable role of veterinarians in enhancing and nurturing this bond.

8+ years and 36 murals later, it was finally my turn to paint the Carlsbad Art Wall. I’ve collaborated on this wall in the past with Sean Dominguez, Alex Gall, Visit Carlsbad and friends and family of Jack Munday, but never have I painted the wall independently.

I originally created the ‘Dripping Boy’ design for installing in the streets, which I ended up doing as close as here in Carlsbad and as far as Australia, as well as on canvas, stickers, prints, etc. Why revisit the same design so often over nearly 20 years?

Almost all my art is driven by memories. My goal with Doodle is to resurface long forgotten, yet recognizable, childhood memories which I call ‘reminiscent pop art’. As a kid growing up in Carlsbad, I spent a lot of time on the beach. The Point was our beach, but we bounced down to Turnarounds (we called it Driftwood) and everywhere in between. Dripping a castle on the beach has always been a vivid memory that I cherish as it represents time with family, carefree hours connected with nature and memories of a more simple time.

In addition to resurfacing memories, my art aims to connect community and help develop culture. Many of us who live, work or visit Carlsbad have dripped a castle on the local coast. This design encourages all passersby to resurface their own memory and share it with a friend, family member or stranger… ultimately creating a chain of shared experiences—or culture.

As you look at ‘Dripping Boy’ on the Carlsbad Art Wall, notice the bright and overlapping colors hidden within the midtones of the graphics. Let the colors resurface your own memory. As Doodle drips these overlapping colors onto his sand castle, reflect on your own colorful story. Reminisce about a life that was a bit more random like a wind blown beach ball bouncing down the summer sand, or as adventurous as a meandering sailboat at open sea.

Instagram: SnyderArt

snyderartdesign.com

After the tragic death of Jack Munday, his family set out in search of a creative way to celebrate and remember Jack’s life. A phone will local Carlsbad artist Bryan Snyder resulted in many conversations over the next year. Snyder learned Jack’s story and presented a number of creative options including bike racks, murals and sculptures—ultimately deciding on a creative bench reflecting the colors and the organic form of a wave.

Snyder sourced local mason Jeff Vaughn who shared the team’s excitement of producing something creative. Vaughn, Snyder and the Munday family began sharing ideas around March 2021. By the beginning of April, the team finalized the bench design concept and Vaughn began cement production.

“It’s made out of concrete and steel and formed with masonite,” Vaughn explained. “It’s all one uniform piece of concrete with some foam blocks to reduce the weight.”

While Vaughn continued the masonry production through April, Snyder began his research on mosaic art production. He met with a variety of ceramic tile and glass artists to learn the media options since he had never worked in mosaic art form prior to this memorial. Ultimately, he choose ceramic tile as the medium and began sourcing materials from local manufactures and retailers, as well as shipments from Mexico.

“My biggest hurdle was the learning process,” Snyder said. I had absolutely no experience in mosaic art. I didn’t know if I was going to use glass or ceramic, where to get supplies, what tools to use, how to cut, adhere and grout. Luckily I have hunger for learning. After three weeks of online research, meetings with multiple ceramic and glass artists and many visits to local manufactures, I jump in.”

Creating the illusion of a curved surfaced was important to Snyder. To help envision the best way to accomplish this, Snyder created a miniature model. By painting the model, he learned how to angle the tile pieces and arrange the blue values, to create the desired illusion.

“The tile color arrangement was important, but I quickly learned the angles of the tiles were crucial in creating the illusion, Snyder said. “The tile angle on the wave’s right side shoulder angle to the right. As your eyes move to the middle of the bench, you will notice the tiles rotate to a vertical angle. Moving toward the left into the wave’s barrel, the tiles continue angling to the left following the contour of the wave. I also experimented with the size of the ceramic pieces. Your eye is drawn deep into the barrel by the smaller pieces which create a sense of depth.”

On June 7, the bench was delivered to Snyder’s Carlsbad Village based studio where he would spend the next 45 days hand cutting and adhering hundreds of ceramic tile pieces to the curvy front wall of the bench.

On August 7, 2021, Jack’s finished public art memorial bench was installed on the north shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon’s west basin. A gathering of 50+ family and friends celebrated the unveiling.

Thank you to everyone who shared your mosaic knowledge. Without your guidance, this would not have been possible. A special thanks to Jeff Vaughn for pushing yourself and producing a masterpiece, to Lisa and Samantha from the Agua Hedionda Lagoon foundation for helping source the perfect location, and to the Munday family for entrusting us to create your vision for Jack.

On August 7, 2021, the Jack Munday public art memorial bench was installed on the shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

The Munday family reached out to local artist Bryan Snyder of Snyder Art with a request to design a creative memorial in Jack’s name. After five months of production, the bench was unveiled to 75+ family and friends.

Mason work by Jeff Vaughn
Mosaic by Bryan Snyder

On July 27, after four days of painting, Carlsbad local artists Bryan Snyder and Sean Dominguez finished two large-scale murals at the Village Lofts mixed-use property on Carlsbad Village Drive.

The Lofts contacted Snyder with their desire to bring local art into their project. They also inquired about opportunities of supporting the local art community outside of their project.

Over two months and many site visits, Snyder and the Lofts team collaborated on creative ideas to infuse art into their site. Snyder was tasked with taking the Lofts vision and transforming it into two large-scale murals.

“The goal of the two murals was to visually reflect the Lofts theme and color palette while also leading guests and residents to the south west corner of the street-level garage where restaurants and the leasing office are located, Snyder said. “I hired Sean Dominguez to paint the largest wall in his classic surf style while I focused on a separate Carlsbad-themed mural.”

Snyder has worked with a variety of developers in the Carlsbad Village in attempt to start the conversation about adding art to the project in the early stages rather than trying to squeeze in art after-the-fact.

“This project is a perfect example of a local artist and a developer working proactively to infuse art into the project from the beginning, Snyder said. “The Lofts team understood the value of supporting the local community.”

The Lofts open to the public Aug. 6, 2021 and welcome the local community to visit the murals, take photos and celebrated local art.