Liberty Station, San Diego
Greetings from US Naval Training Station at Liberty Station. We like San Diego so much, we went back to do a second mural. We painted this postcard mural at Liberty Station, originally built in 1923 as a naval training center. Today, it has been developed to become a community of various residential units and businesses. There are markets and small business vendors with everything you need and want. Not a bad place to work since the people there are extra kind. Maybe it's the So-Cal sunshine that keeps everyone in a great mood.
This mural took 6 days to complete. Scott Andrews of Liberty Station is the man that made it all happen. He saw our Greetings from San Diego mural in North Park and knew it would be a great fit for Liberty Station. Scott, thank you for all the coffees, gifts and coming by every day to see how we were doing!
When we first arrived to the wall, there were some existing vents on the building. Our goal was to paint over them but the staff at Liberty Station was kind enough to replace them with solid boards. In the end, this made a huge difference and resulted in a much cleaner mural. People also don’t realize how much hand painted art can make all the imperfections on irregular wall surfaces disappear like magic.
The Liberty Station complex was a bit confusing since everything looked similar. One of the incentives of the public art was a form of place making by creating local landmarks. The art served the purpose of helping locate where you were. We won’t lie as we got lost ourselves when driving around! Art definitely does a great job of differentiating the area and it made sense since we painted in the arts district. One day, we would love to paint the back side of the building with the back of a postcard design.
Lisa's Grandfather actually served in the US Navy after WWII. It was a meaningful connection to be able to paint a mural with some family history. It was likely that he even trained at this exact training station at one point. In addition, her other grandfather was in the Air Force. He was on the one that inspired her to pick up a camera to shoot. She still shoots with his old passed down Mamiya film camera to this day!
It was a long week painting in the sun. Luckily, it was followed by an amazing, much needed night of relaxation spent at The Pearl Hotel. Thank you so much for offering a room to celebrate the mural completion! If you go - get the Dixie fried damsel cocktail! For the foodies, we highly recommend Northside Shack for Acai Bowls and Ortiz’s Taco Shop for the Californian Burritos. We frequented those restaurants while we painted and always try to go back when we’re in the area to relive the memories.
“Working with Lisa & Victor was an absolute joy! Their passion for creating artwork that not only celebrates rich history, but embraces the experiences of today, was depicted perfectly in the “Greetings from US Naval Training Station” mural. This blend of old authenticity and new spirit was a turning point in the revitalization of our Liberty Station Neighborhood. Their mural has continued to build the Liberty Station legacy as a must see San Diego destination.”
UPDATE: November 2022 / maintenance and addition!
We returned 6 years later (almost to the date) to touch up the mural due to some structural issues on the building. This time, we added a UV clear coat to prevent colors from fading. We also took the opportunity to pain the back of a postcard design on the opposite wall! Check out the new work below:
BEFORE: Some minor structural repairs on the existing mural
AFTER: All fixed up and refreshed!
BEFORE: Back of the building where the US NAVAL mural is located
AFTER: We added the back of a postcard to keep the theme going
Letter Guide:
U – Ingram Plaza
S – Ingram Plaza (cont)
N – USS Recruit
A – Barracks Arcade
V – Liberty Public Market
A – Main Entrance, Gate 1
L – Main Entrance, Gate 1 (cont)
Year: 2016
Mural Size: 15'H x 24'W
Location: 2825 Dewey Rd. San Diego, CA 92106