This is a great place to find inexpensive gifts and support local artists…read more
It's very conveniently located on the corner of Ray St. next to other cool art shops and galleries on what has become one of the most popular art districts in San Diego.
I guess they have one night a month when they close off the street and have an art night. I've heard that's a lot of fun, with hundreds of people meandering from shop to shop.
It's impossible to go in this shop without finding SOMETHING you like at a price that, at least until Brandon becomes better known, is practically free for the price of the materials.
Many of Brandon's drawings and photos are professionally mounted in complex, multiple frames that would cost you more than the price he's asking for the local- themed artwork.
The ones I remember most are great, often panoramic images he's taken from popular places around southern California... For example, interesting fish-eye panoramas from beneath some of the piers of southern California (eg. Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Huntington, etc.), sunsets along the coast, the San Diego skyline, and of course, his different 'signs' from around the San Diego area... Hillcrest, North Park, etc. I think you can see most of those on his website and facebook pages.
Prices I would expect to see between $200 - $1000 for artwork, he's priced at more like $40 to $200. Unbelievable.
If you support local artists at ALL, you'll certainly find SOMEthing you like at a price less than you'd expect to pay in a local art gallery.
There are even prints and post cards that you can't find elsewhere for under $5.
Christmas and birthdays? This is the place to come because of the huge choice of things for $50 and less. Friends and visitors would love almost anything in the shop to take home as memories of San Diego.
As close as I was to almost buying several of the southern California glass & wood framed structures he was selling, I ended up buying one of a panoramic view he had taken of the Himalaya mountains he had taken while living in Asia last year.
Some of his most interesting prints, drawings and photos are of Thailand, Vietnam and Nepal. Lots of those are stand alone conversation pieces that would fit almost any interior decor.
So, whether you want something local for your office or home, or something a little more exotic, there's probably some, under-priced drawing, print, or photo that you'll want to take with you to support a local artist.
Brandon has a formal graduate education in architecture, and this gallery may just be a temporary step for him, so you'd better get down to the gallery soon because he might not be there forever.
One of the most interesting series he's done is black & white ink sketches of the skylines of San Diego.
Those are special and show off his architectural background.
In fact, I heard he's currently working on building plans for someone's house.
If you need an architect to design your southern California home, you might sit down and see if Brandon can do your blueprints.
Some of the local businesses have seen his drawings and commissioned drawings of their buildings, patios, restaurants, etc. Some of that work is in watercolors, which really give them a lot of artistic flair and color.
If you're a business owner and love your business, you might talk to Brandon about the custom artwork you can commission him to do at a very reasonable price because he's doing it more for the experience than for the profit.
What makes this location especially interesting is that it's one of those shared gallery spaces, so the large gallery has works by two or three other artists as well, including jewelry.
My next time in San Diego, I definitely plan to stop by again and see what new work is in the gallery. It's the kind of place you can go back to many times and see different things every time.
I hope I can make it back soon for one of the art nights they have once a month. If I lived in San Diego, I'm sure I'd stop into this gallery several times a month.
