Carlsbad Art and Culture

Eager artist, bouncy socialites and town drunkards met up for a day and night of creative expression at Hensley’s Flying Elephant Pug & Grill. The dining and billiard room was packed with talent exhibiting acrylic and stencil icons, surreal landscapes, goofy characters, mixed media, simple tryptics and lively pen drawing portraits. A variety of bands filled the opposite dart room with sobering melodies and pounding riffs as paint covered enthusiasts brushed and sprayed color on a band van owned by the San Diego based psychedelic rock band Red Octopus. The bare white van slowly rolled into the fenced off outside area. The worn out emergency break clattered to a grip, inviting hungry artists to erupt in an explosion of creativity and vision, each showcasing their individual style while uniting in a group project. Hats off to Red Octopus for allowing their van to be the night’s main canvas. Large scale canvases lined the edge of the newly decorated van and into the back of the lot where other artists planned and executed their graffiti and illustration influenced pieces.

A culture grows by the creative nutrients of an artistic collective. Today’s gathering was a giant leap in a direction lots of local artists want to see Carlsbad progress towards.

Who was inspired? How many people went home and dug out their supplies and got into a piece with newly found motivation? Lets hear your stories! What were your favorites? Contact the event’s sponsors for artist info.

Thanks again to all who worked so hard putting this event together!

Carlsbadcrawl will be on a short hiatus. Coming soon…Local artist interviews, the Art of the Pit and more…