Signs of San Diego

I love Brandon’s photography and illustrations! We have purchased several pieces over the years from his booths at the Farmers Markets, from his old studio space on Ray Street, as well as really thoughtful custom personalized pieces and frame work.
He created the coolest «scrabble» game board set in individual glass frames which spells out our names (4 family members) — a newer idea he suggested for us. What an awesome idea since we love scrabble! Also, we just did a family photo shoot with him last week. Even with one grumpy child, Brandon was again totally natural, friendly and creative in getting several perfect shots of us down at the Embarcadero.
This artist is one of my absolute favorites to work with because his innovative concepts and unlimited capacity to make fine art so very personal.

In town for a wedding, I visited Brandon’s art booth at the farmer’s market in little Italy. I initially stopped because I really like his sketches and photographs. Then Brandon came up with the idea to sketch the wedding venue (a sketch he hadn’t yet created). A great (and reasonably priced) idea I just couldn’t pass up. I emailed the pic to him and within hours a lovely sketch was done. Brandon even personalized, framed, wrapped and delivered… all within a few days of my order and after I was already back home in Chicago. I’m super impressed with his talent, creativity, speed and professionalism. Thanks Brandon!

When my family realized that my father’s 80^th Birthday and my parent’s 60^th anniversary were coming up this year, we knew it was a unique opportunity to get them something extra special. Having visited Brandon’s Gallery and having already purchased some of his work, we were confident that he was the man to immortalize my parents chunk of real estate on our block. We had high expectations, but artwork turned out better than we could have imagined. The detail level is perfect, and the colors are terrific. I could go on and on, just trust the 5 stars!

Couldn’t be happier with Brandon’s work! He customized a beautiful frame to our exact desires and it came out even better than we expected PLUS it was ready two days early. Highly recommend Brandon for his excellent photos and designs!

I love Brandon’s sketches of iconic San Diego scenes and signs. I first saw his work at the Hillcrest Farmers Market. I have purchased several drawings for myself and for friends as house warming and moving away gifts. Brandon is very easy to work with and he has a lot of other great work. I hope you keep sketching and if you draw the Coronado bridge, new Central library, or end of Point Loma from Coronado, let me know, I’d love to add those to my collection.

Not only is Brandon a talented photography and illustrator, he is an excellent wood worker and framer! His unique frame designs immediately grabbed my attention. I’m an artist myself and Brandon builds custom frames for my work, and I’m never disappointed. Not only is Brandon is easy to work but also produces nothing less than high quality. His creativity, flexibility and genuine character makes him a joy to do business with.

I walked into Brandon’s booth back in September at the Farmer’s Market. His pen and ink drawings were awesome– except one of my favorite places was missing: Encinitas. I asked him if he would draw it and sure enough he did. It took a little time but he didn’t forget. I love the drawing and I can’t wait to see it hanging on the wall.

I met Brandon at the Little Italy Farmer’s Market and really loved his work. After contemplating different ideas, I went with a sign for my bar area. The finished product turned out great! He was able to use some reclaimed wood and match it to another piece I have in the room. He really takes great pride in his work and I would highly recommend him and his work. Being a native of San Diego, I love the connection I have to the various pieces that for many years I have grown up seeing.

I remodeled a small commercial space in North Park and wanted to give the office a professional, but unique flair. Signs of San Diego has photographs from San Diego cut in ways to spell letters. Some letters are easy to place, such as photographs of the letters of the signs of North Park, The Boulevard or Hillcrest. Others are less obvious such as the tile work that spells the letter «T» or the reflection of the sun setting that spells the letter «i.»
Brandon created a great sign with my company’s name. When people walk in, it is a well crafted piece that always leads to a conversation. Since my office is in North Park, I also like that the first letter of the sign, is a picture of one of the letters of the North Park sign.
I had seen Brandon’s unique signs during the last South Park Walkabout in October 2013, and my wife recently stopped by his gallery on Ray Street investigate different designs. I have only been to the Ray Street location, but expect that Signs Of San Diego has a website where you can review available letters.
The normal sign has 10 or fewer letters. My sign has 10 letters on the top and four letters below. Since my sign exceeded the standard size of his frame, Brandon built me a special frame, at no extra cost!
On the back of each photograph Brandon wrote the place at which each of the photographs was taken. I am very pleased with my sign. If you are looking for a creative and unique sign or art for your home or office, I highly recommend Brandon.

My husband and I first met Brandon at farmers market a few years back. We were so inspired by his work that we bought two pieces that day. We we incredibly excited by his vision and perceptive of the city. We have kept in touch over the years, so when it came time to give my husband an anniversary gift I thought of Brandon. He was able to transform a photo of mine into a beautiful watercolor piece. He captured the beauty of this moment and made a truly special and one of a kind piece!

This is a great place to find inexpensive gifts and support local artists.
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 décor.
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.

Brandon is a very talented artist to say the least. His combination of drawing and photography really show Brandon’s ability to capture the beauty of mundane objects (signs, piers, buildings) and bring them into a whole new perspective. I have a little book he made full of San Diego signs and LOVE IT. The detail and craftsmanship in his work sets him apart from the rest.
I will never look at signs of San Diego the same again!