Event

Book Launch, Signing and Guided Tour

Save Our Heritage Organisation kicks off its yearlong centennial celebration of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition by releasing its latest publication, The Art Traveler Guide: A Portrait of Balboa Park (Our Heritage Press, 2015). The artist RD Riccoboni will be on hand for a book signing and guided tour. The book is available for pre-purchase, and will be available for purchase at SOHO's Museum Shop at the Marston House Museum & Garden in Balboa Park, as well as at all SOHO Museum Shops.

This unique 56-page booklet on historic Balboa Park is richly illustrated with vivid paintings by acclaimed San Diego artist RD Riccoboni. A longtime historic preservationist and founder of Beacon Artworks Gallery in Old Town, San Diego, Riccoboni calls himself "The Art Traveler" because he paints historic buildings and sites wherever he goes to promote and "preserve" them. Riccoboni also views himself as "a cultural heritage storyteller in paint."

The Art Traveler Guide: A Portrait of Balboa Park displays Riccoboni's brilliantly colored paintings of the park's historic landmarks on nearly every page. The self-taught artist paints in an Impressionist, plein-air style, often using bold, Expressionist colors. Riccoboni's effervescent portrayal of Balboa Park buildings and gardens, arcades and fountains, reflects his passion for this internationally renowned place that civic visionaries developed for huge international expositions in 1915 and 1935. The book is designed for walking tours, including disabled access at all stops, or as a handsome history-and-art portfolio that is also a valuable reference.

For more information about purchasing the guide, call SOHO at (619) 297-9327, or visit SOHOsandiego.org. Additional exhibitions and events SOHO has planned for the 1915 Exposition's Centennial year may also be found on the web site as well as a separate calendar SOHO is keeping of 2015 heritage-based community events for other organizations.