CARMEL VALLEY — Prolific San Diego County muralist Hanna Daley has allowed millions of people to enjoy free public art through her murals on the outside of commercial buildings and structures.
Now, she is offering the opportunity to enjoy her art in a more personal way, giving away 10 of her works in a holiday giveaway in collaboration with local businesses.
From Dec. 5-14, Daly will have one painting available each day for giveaway at a different local San Diego County business, from South County to North County and beyond. Daly will post at noon each day on Instagram (@hannasmurals) to announce the business where one of her works will be available, and whoever gets there first can claim it.
Daly said she had already set a goal to give away 20 paintings in 2025 to celebrate 20 years in business. For the final 10 paintings, she decided to do a fun, scavenger-hunt-style event that would also involve local businesses.
“After especially the holidays, where it’s like, buy, buy, buy, Black Friday, I thought, ‘I want to do something that’s outside this capitalism, spreading joy,’” Daly said. “I realized, I honestly get more joy from giving this stuff away than selling it.”
While she focuses mainly on murals, Daly began working on individual paintings after getting a studio space a few years ago. Most of her works feature animals in bright, eclectic colors, painted on canvas, and she also creates paintings on vinyl records.
Most of the paintings being given away — generally around two-by-two feet in size and worth thousands of dollars — include animal subjects like a toucan, cheetah, panda, or shark, an ocean scene, or a recreation of musical album covers.
Each day of the giveaway, Daly will also post on Instagram to tease which painting will be available the next day, along with hints about which part of the county it’s in.
“Even if it’s not something you super want, it’s something you could give as a gift,” she said. “I love the idea of art being really accessible.”
Daly lives in Carmel Valley and has completed over 1,500 murals through her company, Hanna’s Murals, over the past two decades. Her work can be found on the exteriors of commercial buildings, schools, and other buildings and structures in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Carmel Del Mar, San Diego, La Jolla, and beyond.
