The Painted Sea Lions of San Francisco

Found on Pier 39 on SF: Colorful 6-foot tall fiberglass sea lions as part of Public Art Project. More >>...
Sea Lions in San Francisco/ Painted Sea Lions
Painted Sea Lions

A couple of weeks ago, you saw some artwork on the walls of the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, California. Today, we return there, this time to see the painted sea lions of the Aquarium. If you walk around this popular attraction on Pier 39 you will see a large number of sea lion statues wrapped in a variety of colors, patterns and images, looking like some kind of a community art project.

An art project it is. Called the Sea Lions in San Francisco and conducted by the Aquarium of the Bay, this project is a celebration of the Sea Lions of San Francisco. If you’ve been to Pier 39 in the city you might have seen them hanging around there — by the waters of the San Francisco Bay.

In order to commemorate the sea lions’ 30-year residency in the city by the bay, the Aquarium of the Bay wanted to bring in 30 artists from the SF Bay area and give them an opportunity to exhibit their talent, showcase the Bay Area as well as throw more light on these marine mammals. The art on the 6ft. tall fiberglass sea lions were meant to create awareness about climate, environment and conservation, and also raise funds for Bay Ecotarium, a collection of 6 local organizations.

Sea Lions in San Francisco

It seems like it was in 2019 that the artists painted these figures and that the Painted Sealions did some traveling around in the Bay Area before they were brought back to base, here at the aquarium.

Enjoy a sample of the artwork here:

Painted Sea Lions at the Aquarium of the Bay
Painted Sea Lions at the Aquarium of the Bay – A part of the Seals in San Francisco project.
More about the Sea Lions in San Francisco Art Project
Sea Lions on Pier39, San Francisco. (from the archives)

Linking to–
Monday Mural on Colorful World
&
My Corner of the World

If you missed the murals from the Aquarium–
Marine Creatures of San Francisco Bay
More —
Murals on Tipsy from the TRIP

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Art and Architecture

Dee (Divya): Blogger, Freelance Content Writer & Content Strategist. | πŸ“Έ Loves tripping.πŸ›£ Tipsy from every TRIP!😬🫣 | 🏞Follow > for intoxicating virtual trips!πŸ₯‚πŸ˜‰
14 Comments on this post.
  • Sami
    11 July 2022 at 9:00 am
    Leave a Reply

    The sea lions are beautiful and with such varied art painted in them. Thanks for participating in Monday Murals Dee.
    PS – your link leads back to my mural, not yours. I’ll see if I can enter yours manually, as I’m operating via my cell phone.

    • dNambiar
      11 July 2022 at 1:06 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Oh yes. Absolutely beautiful.
      I’m sorry about the link. I’ve been a careless girl. 😬😁Thank you so much for redoing it for me, Sami.

      And thank you for hosting.
      Have a lovely week. πŸ™‚

  • Bleubeard and Elizabeth
    11 July 2022 at 1:39 pm
    Leave a Reply

    Here in Wichita, KS we have a similar program and project. I absolutely adore your sea lions. They are both beautiful and colorful. I hope they raised awareness and much needed money, too.

    • dNambiar
      11 July 2022 at 2:18 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Oh, nice. I’d love to see the work from that project. Your submission for this week’s MondayMural is attractive, too.

      I’m sure these Sea Lions made some noise 😁 (and hopefully some $$$ too). πŸ™‚
      Thank you, Elizabeth. I hope you are taking care. Get well soon!! πŸ™‚

  • tomthebackroadstraveller
    11 July 2022 at 2:34 pm
    Leave a Reply

    …these are fabulous and appropriate for San Francisco. Years ago we had “Horses on Parade.”

    • dNambiar
      11 July 2022 at 7:09 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Absolutely!
      I just looked up Horses on Parade. What creativity! I read that most of those horses were sold. They must be such prized possessions.

      Thank you Tom. Have a good week. πŸ™‚

  • magiceye
    11 July 2022 at 6:54 pm
    Leave a Reply

    These are so cool!

    • dNambiar
      11 July 2022 at 7:12 pm
      Leave a Reply

      They sure are. Each one is a work of art!
      I love the idea!

      Thank you for stopping by, Magiceye. πŸ™‚

  • Rahul Bhatia
    11 July 2022 at 9:00 pm
    Leave a Reply

    These sea lions are really beautiful.A nice tribute to these amazing creatures

    • dNambiar
      12 July 2022 at 12:28 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Oh yes! This is a great project!
      So colourful, creative and attractive! πŸ™‚

      Thank you Mr. Bhatia for coming to see these painted Sea Lions. πŸ™‚

  • Taken For Granted
    12 July 2022 at 7:11 pm
    Leave a Reply

    What fun to have art Sea Lions, and those animals are perfect for San Francisco, always one of my favorite cities.

    • dNambiar
      13 July 2022 at 10:37 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Oh yes! Grrreat project. And so apt for the city — one of MY favorites, too. πŸ™‚
      Thank you so much for stopping by. πŸ™‚

  • Catching the Light: Pier 39 at Night | Tipsy from the TRIP
    21 January 2023 at 7:35 pm
    Leave a Reply

    […] to see on Pier 39 are: Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze, Aquarium of the Bay & its Painted Seals and the Painted Stairs of Pier […]

  • Love California Mural on Pier 39 | Tipsy from the TRIP
    12 March 2023 at 11:38 pm
    Leave a Reply

    […] see some more art, look out for — The marine creatures on the walls of the Aquarium of the BayThe Painted Seal Lions of San FranciscoThe Coca-Cola Stairs You might also want to see —The Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze […]

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