New Downtown Murals Celebrate San Diego

Ten new murals at Horton Plaza were created by contest winners

 Ten murals now on display in front of Horton Plaza show off reasons why millions love San Diego.

Artists painted the murals on the temporary wall surrounding the park’s expansion project after winning a contest sponsored by NBC 7 and Westfield Horton Plaza.

Each artist had to submit artwork that answered the question: Why I Love San Diego.

The colorful art shows a distinctly San Diego theme, highlighting the surf and sun.

“I think it’s pretty cool that our artwork will actually be up on Broadway,” said artist Sara Ritchie, a fourth grader.

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Each artist had to submit a sketch of the artwork, and judges picked the top ten winners. Their drawings then had to go from paper to a 6 by 10-foot piece of canvas.

The artists started painting on July 14 and had until Aug. 1 to finish.

“I have a combination of collages of the cityscape, the hills, the Coronado Bridge and underwater scenes,” said artist Charlene Mosely, 24, a Fine Arts Major at SDSU.

“We’re very coastal, and then we have a history that includes missions and El Camino Real,” said 15-year-old artist Josh Tremain, whose work includes a mermaid.

On Thursday, the artists gathered to see their work on display for the first time, some looking on with a self-critical eye.

“I’m pretty happy with it,” said Tremain. “It’s kind of the first time I’ve ever painted, so it’s kind of a challenge, I guess. Now that I see it up, I see a lot of things wrong with it.

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Others couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces.

“There’s always some things that if I could paint on and on and on I would add to it and fix up a little, but I liked how it turned out.”

The projects can be seen along Broadway between Broadway Circle and 4th Avenue.

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