Ocean Beach artist Celeste Byers recently completed a mural at the soon-to-be-opened Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley. The mural, titled Pacific Shore, consists of abstractions related to beach life in San Diego, including splashing waves, seagulls, palm trees, and the Macrocystis kelp native to our shores.
“I submitted about four ideas, to begin with, and then they chose what they liked the most,” said Byers. “They told me to go in a coastal and beachy direction because they wanted it to have beach vibes. In the corner where my mural is located, there are real palm trees and a pier bar like the OB Pier.”
Originally from OB, the 33-year-old Byers started painting murals in 2009 with her first project coming at the request of her father, Steven Byers, a pilot. She was asked to paint a mural on his airplane hangar, which was a composition of humpback whales wading through kelp beds.
“That was my first step into it and then once I painted that one, I just started getting commissions,” she added.
Photo provided by artist, top photo by Diego Lynch
Since then, Byers has become an award-winning artist completing more than 75 murals worldwide with her work displayed in Mexico, Germany, France, and Hong Kong. She has also received various commendations including the U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition in 2017.
Byers graduated with a BFA in illustration from Art Center College of Design in 2012 and now specializes in large-scale murals like the one she recently completed at Snapdragon. Among the long list of clients, she has done work for are Warner Bros., New York Times, NBC, Amazon, and American Express.
She also teaches an online Domestika course where students learn how to deconstruct images using the principles of observational drawing and turn them into unique compositions full of color and texture in Photoshop.
“I am mostly just inspired by the natural world,” said Byers. “My advice to aspiring artists is to get out there and meet other artists who you respect, who will inspire you, and push you to be better.”
Follow Byers at http://celestebyers.com/ and on Instagram @celestialterrestrial.
