Rebecca Noelle is a plein air<\/em> painter, an artist who paints scenes on-site outdoors. Noelle is slated to be one of the artists displaying their creative original artwork during ArtWalk @ Liberty Station Aug. 11-12. The theme for this year\u2019s 13th annual staging of the event at the former Naval Training Center is \u201cConnecting Creative Communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Noelle spent two weeks in late July connecting with creative community arts fans in Normal Heights, as she painted a utility box near the corner of Adams Avenue and Felton Street. She chose to depict scenes in acrylics of nearby landmark buildings and houses, including The Ould Sod Irish pub across the avenue and the Methodist Church farther east. Noelle was one of 16 artists tapped to decorate electrical boxes around the area, through proposal submission to the Normal Heights Urban Art Association, with support from the Adams Avenue Business District.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never felt so appreciated as an artist,\u201d Noelle said. She mentioned people who stopped by her work site daily, including children who enjoyed watching progress on the utility box artwork, especially the small animals Noelle included among the scenes. \u201cThis is a gift, my gift to the community,\u201d Noelle said.<\/p>\n Noelle and her family lived in Downtown\u2019s Little Italy from 2010 through 2015. She taught art classes at Washington Elementary School and at the San Diego Rescue Mission.<\/p>\n Noelle painted outside at Balboa Park locations for two years, and several of those paintings are currently on display at Hotel Solamar in the Downtown Gaslamp District.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I could paint at Balboa Park for the rest of my life,\u201d Noelle said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve barely touched the surface of what can be painted there.\u201d<\/p>\n Art was not Noelle\u2019s first career path, although she began oil painting when she was 15. She took up professional ballroom dancing at 16, touring around the country from her Idyllwild home base. Significant life changes and the need for a fresh start brought Noelle to San Diego, and Noelle\u2019s painter mother suggested, \u201cPick up your paints. This will be good for your soul.\u201d<\/p>\n Noelle recounted that she experienced some nervousness over beginning to paint outdoors in public. \u201cI feel safe now,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I want to branch out from my comfort zone.<\/p>\n \u201cI love plein air <\/em>painting,\u201d Noelle said. \u201cI love being outside in nature amid beautiful things. I love creating something beautiful. That makes people happy. I want to continue to challenge myself, to find balance in life, and to create better art all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Noelle is joining more than 200 local, regional and international professional artists whose artwork will be shown and available for purchase during ArtWalk @ Liberty Station. The free two-day fine arts festival runs from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11, and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 12. Art on display is set to include not only oil paintings like Noelle\u2019s work but also sculpture, glass, photography, wood work, metal work, fine jewelry and multimedia art.<\/p>\n KidsWalk will feature interactive art activities for families. Street food trucks will offer meal options for attendees. Proceeds from a wine and beer pavilion will go to benefit ArtReach, which provides free art classes to over 20,000 students throughout San Diego County.<\/p>\n Festival organizers staged the original ArtWalk in Little Italy 34 years ago, and then expanded by incorporating the late summer show at Point Loma\u2019s Liberty Station 13 years ago.<\/p>\n Arts District of Liberty Station, Ingram Plaza, 2751 Dewey Road. A North County fine art and chalk festival with ArtWalk Carlsbad in scheduled for September. Visit artwalksandiego.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rebecca-Noelle-at-Utility-Box-Art-1.jpg\")
![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Prado-in-the-Rain.jpg\")