By Elena Buckley | SDUN Reporter

Danny Griego wanders around Uptown, exploring, then finding, the hidden beauty in the areas deemed old or forgotten. He paints the alleyways you were too scared to walk down, the long abandoned buildings of yesteryear and the bustling street corners San Diegans drive by day-in and day-out. With a stroke of his brush, Griego brings out the liveliness deep within these everyday structures and scenes and provides locals with art that represents the beauty of everyday life in San Diego.

“Things that I’m most fascinated with currently are just places that people walk by every day and don’t give a second look to,” Griego said. “Cool signs also attract my eye, old vintage signs that look dated, tired and old. I like to put those in my paintings.”
Originally from Greeley, Colo., Griego came to Hillcrest 17 years ago to work for The Old Globe Theatre as a scenic artist. He has lived in Hillcrest for most of those years. After spending 10 years working with designers and directors to paint and create scenery, Griego decided to make a career out of doing fine art instead.
“I don’t know, it fires me up to see something visually, like an alleyway or building, and put that on a board or canvas; put your own vision to it, your own twist, and when it comes out the way you want it to—it feels good. It’s a passion,” Griego said.
“Plus, it keeps me out of trouble. I just love it. It’s my first love, really.”
Griego primarily uses oil paints due to their forgiving nature. He said that this particular medium doesn’t dry very fast so you can just scrape off mistakes and start over fresh. In addition to his oil paintings, Griego also does murals, interior painting and design work as well as commissioned work for clients looking for specific portraits or scenes. He also teaches art classes part-time at University of California, San Diego.
Collections of his paintings depicting these cityscapes were recently on display in Hillcrest at Bread & Cie, located at 350 University Ave. It was his third show there. The collection was distinct because the paintings were small scale, showing only a sign, or an isolated piece of wall with just a few inanimate subjects in the foreground. Each detail served as a small glimpse into localized areas of the city.
One of the most recognizable paintings in his current collection is that of the abandoned, and much talked about, Pernicano’s Family Restaurant on Sixth Avenue in Hillcrest. Griego laughed as he mused about the interesting and strange situations going to these places has put him in, especially when discovering the Palm Reader sign in Chula Vista. It’s the subject of one of his more recent paintings.
“When I drive south on the Interstate-5, I always see that sign,” Griego said. “One day I pulled off, had my camera with me and I just photographed it from all these different angles. The woman who owned it got upset. She came out asking, ‘What are you doing here? You’re not one of those reporters again, are you?’” Griego paused, “I don’t know what she meant by that. I said ‘No, no, no I’m an artist. I really like your building. I’m just going to paint it.’ She went back inside but you could see her peeking outside her window.”
It was obvious how much joy he gets from tracking down his subjects, and discovering hidden treasures. He also recalled a story about a man who lives near the Scripps hospital on Washington Street. The resident had a beautiful 1965 boat parked in his driveway that caught Griego’s eye one day.
“It just looked cool parked in his driveway with his house and the palm trees,” Griego explained. “So I set up and started painting it.”
While Griego said that freelance mural work and commissioned paintings keep him busy for the rest of the year, he has hopes of turning his art into a full-time career.
“That’s why I left theater,” Griego said. “I wouldn’t mind combining being a gallery artist and a teacher. It’s just a tough time to do it right now.”
There’s obvious passion and exquisite detail expressed in his work, and as he thought about it, Griego expressed how lucky he is that people enjoy his art just as much as he enjoys creating it.
Griego’s paintings are available for viewing and purchasing online at dannygriegoart.com, and he is represented by the Artisan Collection Gallery of Hillcrest.