Local Art Walk

Oceanside Odyssey (in progress)

Jon Hamrick with Hanna Daly, Maxx Moses, Paul Jimenez, Signe Ditona, Mike Smallderakht, 2025

pedestrian tunnel at Tyson St

“Oceanside Odyssey” is an immersive mural experience showcasing Oceanside's native habitat, from the sunset skies to the ocean's depths. The various animals represent the variety of people in Oceanside: local and migrant. Local marine life, including ospreys, dolphins, and whales, adorn the tunnel walls, culminating in a grand display welcoming us to Oceanside California.

“Oceanside Odyssey” invites you to experience the heritage & culture of Oceanside! It’s biodiversity mirrors the artist team’s diverse cultures of Asian, Black, Middle Eastern, Latin, White and LGBTQ:

  • Jon Hamrick, Head of Murals for PB Art District, has painted for celebrities & Wide Open Walls.

  • The prolific Hanna Daly, a Licensed Female Contractor, with 20 years experience, married her wife in Oceanside!

  • Maxx Moses a historical figure in the world of murals, has painted eight San Diego Transit Centers & gained global recognition for 40 years of inspiring communities from South Africa to South America.

  • Paul Jimenez & Signe Ditona skyrocketed to fame overnight after painting Tony Gwyn & Jr Seau. GroundFloor Murals have painted for MrBeast, FazeRug, Padres, Gulls & City of Chula Vista.

  • Mike Smallderakht has painted with Salvatore Torres & his work has been displayed in the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

Presented by North County Transit District and MainStreet Oceanside’s Art That Excites program, funded by a grant through the Caltrans Clean California Local Grant Program.

 

Oceanside Transit Center Parking Garage

Jonny Pucci, 2024

This mural by Jonny Pucci is designed in three distinct yet cohesive sections, embracing the OTC parking structure’s unique facade. “In my mural practice, I always strive to create images that are thoughtful and site-specific by referencing the history and culture of the place and its people,” Pucci emphasizes.

It features a Spanish tile-inspired pattern reflecting Southern California’s decorative tile heritage, a school of tuna symbolizing the region’s fishing industry, and a dynamic 30-foot wave capturing the energy of the Pacific. Rooted in local history and culture, this site-specific artwork reflects the artist’s deep connection to San Diego County. This is the fifth mural in the MainStreet Oceanside Art that Excites program. 

Jonny Pucci’s design was selected by the public as a part of MainStreet Oceanside’s Art that Excites program, which aims to install up to 10 murals in public spaces throughout downtown Oceanside in collaboration with the Oceanside California Cultural District and the City of Oceanside Arts Commission.

The mural at the Oceanside Transit Center Parking Structure is thoughtfully divided into three distinct yet interconnected parts, designed to harmonize with the building’s unique, multi-shaped facade.

Visitors approaching the mural from the northwest corner first encounter a pattern reminiscent of Spanish tile, a nod to the region’s architectural heritage. The design draws inspiration from the original tiles at Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego and incorporates patterns from the original Oceanside train station built in 1946.

As the mural progresses along the exterior staircase, a school of tuna follows the visual line created by the staircase, paying homage to Oceanside’s harbor. “The symbolism of these powerful fish act as a visual reminder of the region’s fishing history,” Pucci notes. The schooling fish appear to take flight towards the upper deck of the parking structure, creating a dynamic sense of movement.

At the far end of the building’s facade, facing the ocean, pedestrians and drivers will find themselves beneath the lip of a massive 30-foot wave, painted with flowing strokes to capture the excitement and energy of the nearby Pacific Ocean. “The loose and energetic paint strokes of the massive wave communicate the energy and excitement of the Pacific Ocean just a few blocks away,” said Pucci.

Installation of the public façade art project began on October 16, 2024, and was completed ahead of schedule on October 23, 2024 at 301 Seagaze Drive. The Oceanside Transit Center Parking Structure mural was funded and supported by the Oceanside California Cultural District (OCCD), MainStreet Oceanside, and the City of Oceanside Arts Commission.

 

Nautical Neighbors

Don Myers, 2022

corner of Ditmar St and Mission Ave

Glass mosaic muralist Don Myers installed a glass mosaic mural depicting a community of local sea life below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The 16-by-12-foot mural was installed with glass provided by Oceanside Glass & Tile. The mural was created 2020-2022 via community workshops

Part of the Art That Excites program by MainStreet Oceanside

📸 2022 © Brigid Parsons

 

Yin Yang Dragons

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Gloria Muriel, Matthew Perdoni, 2020

Corner of Horne St and Civic Center Blvd, at 326 N Horne St

“Yin Yang Dragons” by professional muralist Gloria Muriel “expresses self-love and strength. It supports women artists.” The black-and-white mural is Muriel’s first North County mural.

Part of the Art That Excites program by MainStreet Oceanside

📸 2021 © Brigid Parsons

 

La Sagrada Ofrenda

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Isabel Figueroa, also known as “Chavela”, 2020

Corner of Horne St and Civic Center Dr, at 1001 Civic Center Dr

The mural, Isabel Figueroa’s first, is a tribute both to the Pozole Neighborhood, which falls within the boundaries of the Oceanside California Cultural District, as well as to Anita Cruz Romero, who brought the community together in selling her famous pozole, originally a sacred dish of the Aztec gods. Pozolé is a dish created for ceremonies and consumed to nourish the body and soul to give to the gods such as Tlaloc to ensure rich rainfall and a bountiful harvest by sacrificing to Xipe Totec the god of spring and renewal and Chicomecoatl the goddess off maíze. “Each time you eat a bowl of pozolé you are filled with the energy of the hands who harvested and prepared the meal as well as the energy of the gods who sent down the abundance to bring us together. I feel deeply connected to this subject since my grandpa worked in agriculture his whole life and how my aunt and mom cook posole around Christmas time and it brings everyone together. Food is how we share our culture and make memories and that’s what the neighborhood was founded on, a woman’s need for survival carrying generations of struggle and ancestral knowledge to create and bring people together.”

Through a collaborative mentoring opportunity with Dinah Poellnitz, Isabel Figueroa worked with Gloria Muriel whose YinYang Dragons mural is around the corner. This “project came with its own struggles since it was painted almost in protest of the murals being commissioned by the city using artists from other places; as a local, I along with many others felt the city gentrifying and wanting to bring art that just felt generic and underrepresented Oceanside’s diverse culture to cater to its growing tourism.” “What makes me most proud in my artistic journey is that I’ve been lucky enough to make a significant cultural impact in my city by putting up murals that highlight the local culture and that I may have helped the people in my community to feel seen.” “While I was painting my first mural ( La Sagrada Ofrenda) there was a moment when I had stopped to take a breather and I saw a mother and her son, maybe about three or four years old. She was pushing him in his stroller when she stopped to look at the piece and she looked at him then pointed up and said “look, that’s your culture”.

Part of the Art That Excites program by MainStreet Oceanside

📸 2023 © Brigid Parsons (except image with artist)

“The Sacred Offering,” Figueroa's first mural, is a tribute to the women of Oceanside’s Eastside Pozole Neighborhood.

The day Isabel Figueroa completed her mural she walked us through the amazing meaning behind her work. “The mural tells a story about a woman named Anita Cruz Romero who moved to California from Mexico in 1910 and was one of the first residents in the Eastside neighborhood. In order to make more money for herself and her son she began to make and sell pozole; walking around the neighborhood shouting ‘pozole!’ Attracting many people near by they came together as a community and the neighborhood later became known as Eastside Pozole. One hundred years later this is how many locals still refer to the neighborhood as Pozole and this mural is a tribute to that very woman who brought a whole community together with the power of her famous soup. She is depicted pouring the bowl of soup that later extends into a serpent who is an Aztec god by the name of Quetzalcoatl. He is a creator god born of the deities Ometeotl which is the image depicted at the center of the mural. Ometeotl was chosen as a symbol of the good and the bad that happens in the neighborhood as Ometeotl is about duality. The two women on each side represent motherhood, taking care of each other and the wisdom and strength that comes with age. The eagle at the top is representative of Indigenous Mexican roots because the Mexican flag has a golden eagle at the center and the eagle holding a snake is the marker of where the Aztec settled to build their empire.” ⁣- Isabel Figueroa