Wandering La Jolla: The Murals of La Jolla

I always enjoy taking a group on a walking trip around San Diego.  Over the many years I have been doing this, I've discovered so many little known sites.  The murals of La Jolla is one such site.  If you never look up, as most people don't when they're wandering around a city, you will never see them.  The 13 murals are on the sides of buildings, scattered around La Jolla Village.  On a beautiful fall day Fran and I took a group of 20 women on a wandering trip to view the murals of La Jolla, then lunch on the terrace at George's.  What a perfect day.

After finally rounding up all 21 women at our meeting place in Del Mar, we carpooled to La Jolla.  We met on the corner of Wall St. and Ivanhoe, just steps from our first mural.  Fran and I had previewed the walk a few weeks ago.  It was necessary to map out the best route, to see as many murals as possible.  We saw ten murals, as one has been added since I was last there.  The walk was about 2 miles total, which was a nice warm up for a wonderful lunch.

The concept for the murals began in 2010, when the Arts Council of La Jolla got together.  They decided they wanted to beautify the city, and make art available to everyone, 24/7.  They decided to commission murals to be painted on the sides of privately owned property.  Their first two commissions were painted directly on the walls.  After that they decided it was better to paint them in studio, then transfer them on to vinyl and hang them in a billboard style.  That way they could be moved if necessary, or easily repaired.  So most of the murals are movable.  They have commissioned artists such as Fred Tomaselli, Cathryn Opie, Julian Opie,

 John Baldessarri, and William Wegman, to paint the murals.  Each artist does his own theme, so the style and subject matters are varied.

Since our initial visit several weeks ago, one mural on Prospect has been moved.  In it's place is mural #14, by William Wegman.  He's the famous dog portrait artist, and I love his mural.  It's of a Weimerander breaking through a yellow background.  It's right near the Valencia Hotel.  If you're interested in learning more about the murals and where they are located, go to www.muralsoflajolla.com for background information, maps and pictures.  If you take a walk, be sure to include lunch at George's.  You will not find a better view of La Jolla Cove and the blue Pacific.  We had a wonderful day, made even better by the wonderful group of women who made it so much fun.