ARTS • Carly Castillon

THE OSIDER MARCH / APRIL 2022

If anybody can capture a moment, it’s plein air painter and portrait artist Carly Castillon.

It’s not just her 23 years of professional painting experience, or the fact that she’s been covered in paint since she was a kid. Carly puts more into her paintings than skill—her fluidity behind every stroke, her attention to detail, and her pure love for what she does brings life to every canvas.

While Carly specializes in portraits and landscapes, she has a particular following in Oceanside for her pet portraits. Take one look and it’s obvious why. She’s mastered the craft of preserving the love we have for our furry friends, capturing every detail and encompassing their personality in a timeless and tear-jerking work of art.

If you’ve ever commissioned a pet portrait by Carly, then you know those heart-swelling feelings. Especially for those whose four-legged family members have passed—one of Carly’s paintings is a token of love that’ll undoubtedly hang on your wall forever.

“My passion has always been oil painting,” said Carly. “People started coming to me wanting a memory of a loved one who had passed or a pet and that’s how the commission started. I realized I really loved being able to give that gift to people and share that with them.”

The passion Carly has for her craft is why people choose her over and over again to capture their fondest moments. She doesn’t shy away from detail, making her representation look strikingly like the real thing.

She includes all those little features that count—whether that’s your father’s quirky crooked smile, the wavy texture of your dog’s fur, or the reflection of the clouds on the sand at low tide. Carly collaborates with her clients, and works with their ideas to create artwork that speaks to their heart and touches their life.

“I just really love doing commission work for people more so than I like doing my own paintings,” Carly said. “It’s just incredibly rewarding.”

Plein Air & Portraits with Carly Castillon

WORDS: SHELBY ROWE PHOTOS: ZACH CORDNER

Carly started her career creating illustrations for children’s books, magazines, and newspapers. She did art shows on the side until she got enough work to pursue her passion full time, making her way to become an award-winning plein air painter and portrait artist.

Carly now spends most of her days doing exactly what she loves— painting commissioned pieces of landscapes, portraits, and pets. She paints all day everyday, and wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love doing portraits, landscapes, and pets because it just keeps it fresh. My focus

isn’t just on one thing,” explained CarIy. “I can go outside and see the beauty of a sunset, or go to the harbor and paint the seals one day, then come home and paint someone’s pet or a family portrait.”

Carly’s studio—positioned in one of the original houses left on Pacific Street with windows facing out to the ocean—is like an artist’s oasis with plenty of natural light, thriving plants, and chests’ full of paint.

An undeniably impressive three-piece landscape of the Oceanside Pier with vibrant orange, pink, and blue sunset hues stood front and center in her studio. It was a commissioned piece for an Oceanside couple that recently moved out-of-state.

“This is from a photo I took a couple months ago of the sunrise, but I thought it’d make a great sunset and it was exactly what they wanted,” Carly said. “I was driving home from the gym with [my husband] and I was like, ‘Stop the car! I need to take a photo. I have to paint this!’”

Watching Carly paint was an unexpected pleasure, and nothing short of amazing. It’s as if her paintbrush is an extension of herself, using her intuition and flow of energy to guide her through each stroke.

She says she usually plays music—anything from Christian rock to The Beastie Boys—to get into a flow state with the painting. For this particular landscape, she’s been listening to classical piano for inspiration.

When I asked her which of her paintings is her favorite, she pointed to an eye-catching and impressively large oil painting in her living room. It’s of her dad while he was battling cancer. She had him pose for her series on the California Missions.

“He was my model for the painting, and after I painted him I just couldn’t sell it,” she said. “I love it. He sits right in my living room. He’s reading. It’s peaceful. I see why people want to commission their loved ones because I love having this painting. It brings me so much happiness.”

For more info about Carly or to commission a painting, contact her directly at carlycastillon.com or on Instagram @artbycarlycastillon

TEN

Things You Didn’t Know About BOXING IN OCEANSIDE

WORDS: KRISTI HAWTHORNE PHOTOS COURTESY OF OCEANSIDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Boxing fans may be interested to learn about the history of the sport and the stories of two early boxers in Oceanside. Fighters in the early twentieth century like Jim Jeffries, Gene Tunney, and Jack Dempsey ignited interest around the country, and filled arenas for both amateur and professional bouts. But shortly after organized matches were brought to Oceanside, boxing was banned here for two decades.

1. John L. Sullivan, a bareknuckle fighter who became the first American heavyweight champion in 1882, may have been the inspiration for Oceanside’s founder Andrew Jackson Myers. Myers, who was known to race a horse or two, was once featured in a local bout. The South Oceanside Diamond announced on August 10, 1888, that Myers would face the “Great Unknown” in a “grand slugging exhibition at the old Pavilion.” Spectators had to pay 50 cents to view the event, which also

Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis and Oceanside's Lee Ramage in 1934.

featured Myers’ son Joseph Myers and Charles Kolb in a bare-knuckle contest. gloves, etc., which will make it very complete. The hall room is used for the purpose.”

3. Aloysius Cloud Thill, also known as “Allie” was one of the first local boxers to box professionally. He was the son of Andrew and Clara Thill who relocated to Southern California, along with younger son Francis around 1910. The elder Thill owned a popular barbershop for years and both he and his son Allie shared the occupation. The Oceanside Blade commented on Thill’s barbershop in 1914: “A. Thill recently placed in front of his tonsorial parlor on Cleveland Street. One of the niftiest barber poles ever seen in these parts, it’s of the rotary kind and when lighted up at night makes a fellow want to get shaved whether he needs it or not.”

Just before his 18th birthday, Allie Thill stepped into the boxing ring. He went by the name of Al Barber. The Oceanside Register

2. Local boxing enthusiasts were likely pleased when in 1908 the Oceanside Blade reported that the “Blake Brothers have fitted up a gymnasium at the Mira Mar hotel for the free use of the young men of the town. The outfit is composed of a turning pole, swinging rings, and trapeze. Some of the citizens intend adding a punching bag, boxing

Battling Doty

shared some of the highlights of Al’s first fight against Fred Fadley on September 29, 1915: “Al Thill Wednesday night won an honor for himself and for Oceanside when be fought Fred Fadley in a four round go at the Field rink in San Diego. Although the fight was a draw, Thill did splendid work and had fearful odds, his opponent being a trained fighter. Thill was supported by a score of local fans, whose voices were heard above the other 800 members of the audience.”

In March of 1916, Allie Thill began training with Frank Fields. Thill and Fred Fadley fought again the following month at Oceanside’s Mildred Hall, but once again the bout ended in a draw. The fight drew over 100 attendees who also saw other matches, one with locals Frank Mebach and William Patton, followed by Joe Lopez, who outboxed the Oklahoma Kid, and then another draw between Windy Briley and Shining Oscar. Al Thill would finally get his first winning decision on April 29th in a four-round match against “Young Sandy.”

On June 10, 1916, Thill as “Al Barber” faced Joe Berry, known as the “Italian Crackerjack” in Oceanside. The Oceanside Register announced the bout touting both fighters: “Berry has a knock-out punch that has set many other fighters to flee and young Barber’s courage in taking him on will win still higher praise among his many local admirers.”

4. At the height of enthusiasm and growing excitement of boxing matches, the Oceanside City Council put an end to any and all future bouts. In July of 1916, they passed Ordinance No. 226 “Prohibiting the Holding of Sparring or Boxing Exhibition for Profit.” The ordinance read “Any person, who, within the corporate limits of the City of Oceanside, California, engages in or instigates, aids, abets or does any act to further any contest, sparring or boxing exhibition between two or more persons, with or without gloves, for prizes, reward or compensation, directly or indirectly, or who charges, receives, accepts, gives, or takes any ticket, token, prize money, or thing of value from any person or persons for the purpose of seeing or witnessing any such contest, sparring or boxing exhibition—shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $300.00 and be imprisoned for a period not to exceed three months or both such fine and imprisonment.”

5. Another Oceanside resident who stepped in the ring and went professional was George Webler, better known to boxing fans as “Battling Doty.” Even before a career in boxing, George Webler was known for his fists. William Reid Couts remembered him all too well: “I remember George Webler; [he] was two grades ahead of me. He used to beat me up pretty nearly every day. I always had a girl, you know, and Doty would want

Battling Doty mugshot.

Boxer Lee Ramage Floyd Patterson training in Oceanside for the Ray Harris fight, 1958.

to take her away from me. I remember one time he was on top of me, beating the hell out of me, one of the teachers took him off of me.” By 1922, Webler went from a street fighter to a professional one, using the name of “Battling Doty.” In Oceanside, he was a local favorite and by all accounts, he was a powerful puncher. Webler’s boxing career seesawed with 28 wins, 26 losses, and seven draws. (Stats from boxerlist.com) In 1925, Doty fought seventeen professional matches—winning eleven, five of them consecutively; two ended in a draw. He fought three opponents in just as many days in exhibition fights, which were just as long and grueling. In 1926, his win record was eight out of fifteen, with two draws. In 1927, Webler won just three out of eleven matches and was knocked out twice. His boxing career ended just after five years, but his 61 professional fights, and numerous exhibitions took a toll.

Webler was working as a taxi driver in San Diego in 1928 and 1929. Perhaps his hard drinking caught up with him, along with the many hard punches his embattled body would have taken. Local newspapers circulated the sad story that he attempted to take his life by “inhaling gas in his room at 1334 Front Street.” He was taken by police ambulance and transported to the “psychopathic ward.”

He recovered and was released from the hospital, but his life continued in a downward spiral. In 1930, he was arrested and found guilty of first-degree burglary while in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to one to five years, and sent to San Quentin Prison on November 22nd. Paroled in 1934 and discharged from supervision in 1936, Webler stayed in Northern California after his release. He worked as a shoe shiner along the Embarcadero in the 1940s.

6. The City of Oceanside repealed the ban on boxing in June of 1938. The small town of Encinitas was featuring boxing every Thursday night and proved to be quite popular. Subsequently, Councilmember Ted Holden stated at meeting that he’d been approached by a “responsible party” about holding boxing matches of a “professional character.” City Clerk John Landes informed him of the 1916 ordinance, and an additional 1930 ordinance banning matches except those under the auspices of the American Amateur Union. Rather than amend the previous ordinance, it was suggested a new one altogether and to update others as it was pointed out that there was an ordinance forbidding “a speed of more than eight miles an hour for motor vehicles.”

7. In 1941, Oceanside’s Recreation Park hosted exhibition boxing. On August 29th, the main event featured a three-round battle between locals Johnnie “The Vegetable King” Dominic and “Hit ’Um” Eddie Hubbard.

8. Amateur boxing matches were featured at the Oceanside Athletic Club shortly after it opened in 1949. (Wrestling, however, proved much more popular.) 9. Professional boxer Lee Ramage, a native of San Diego, moved to Oceanside in 1950. In 1931, he was the Light Heavyweight Champion of California, and fought 105 fights over his nine-year profession career. At the peak of his career, he was ranked in the top five of heavyweight boxers. Most notably, he fought Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, TWICE. In his first meeting with Louis in Chicago in 1934, Ramage held his own for seven rounds, but Louis won by TKO. Three months later, they fought again in Los Angeles with the same result. Ramage operated a gas station/grocery store and trailer camp at 1624 South Hill Street (Coast Highway) in the 1950s.

10. Oceanside was thrilled to host Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson in 1958. Patterson stayed at a local hotel and trained at the Beach Community Center for his title bout against Roy Harris. Patterson was accompanied by his trainer and manager—the legendary Cus D’Amato—the same trainer that’d train boxer Mike Tyson years later.