More from Venice

There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.
~ Edward Abbey

Abbot Kinney Festival in Venice

Went to the Abbot Kinney Festival in Venice yesterday. It was quite the adventure - we took the train and then the bus since they were trying to make it totally "green" this year. I was glad we did thought because parking would have been a nightmare. Saw some very interesting people, unfortunately not the ones we were looking for. A friend who was running one of the booths said she saw Naomi Watts, Rosario Dawson, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan. I'm not sure I believe her. Although it was VERY crowded so I'm sure we easily could have missed them.


Whatever starts in California unfortunately has an inclination to spread.
~ Jimmy Carter

Whisper

I'm down to a whisper
In a daydream on a hill
Shut down to a whisper
Can you hear me still
~ "Whisper", A Fine Frenzy

Emerging

Here is another canvas I just finished. I didn't mention that both of these are 12"x12". I used a photo of a hibiscus that I took at Lowe's a few weeks ago. That's a good place to go to find interesting flowers! :)



Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees.
~ Marcel Proust

Midsummer

It's kind of an odd title for a post after yesterday's, but it is the title of my new piece. I've been working on this for awhile now and I think it's finally done. It's on 1/4 inch MDF instead of canvas which is new for me. I still have to figure out how they'll hang on a wall, but I like the way it looks and it's a lot easier to use than canvas. I added a couple of close-up shots, too, so you can get a look at the texture.



I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania some time of the night,
Lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight
~ Shakespeare, "A Midsummer-Night’s Dream" (2.1.260-5)

Autumnal Equinox

I was trying to figure out the best way to photograph autumn since in this area everything is still green and will probably stay that way for a couple of months. I hope it isn't too morbid, but one of the first things I thought of was a cemetery. I thought if spring is a symbol of re-birth and new things coming, then fall must be a symbol of things dying.

I love cemeteries - so peaceful and calm. I like wandering around wondering about the stories of all the people laid to rest there. I came across a very small one that said "Our Little Sweetheart". A little girl born in 1901 and died in 1904. I looked around for relatives thinking maybe her parents were buried there as well, but I didn't see any. I found a husband and wife buried next to each other. That in itself was not unusual, but the husband had died about 45 years before the wife did. On her tomb was engraved "loving wife of Burt". She had never remarried although she must have been very young when he died. Such fascinating stories.





Autumn wins you best by this its mute
Appeal to sympathy for its decay.
~ Robert Browning

The Lights

You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in.
~ Arlo Guthrie

Hindu Temple

E and I took a side trip on the way home from the beach and stopped at a Hindu temple in Malibu Canyon.

It was intimidating at first walking into a place of worship where we obviously didn't belong.

We walked around for a bit and got permission from the priest to take photos. It is a very peaceful place set there in the hills.

From Delight we came into existence.
In Delight we grow.
At the end of our journey’s close,
Into Delight we retire.
~ Hindu proverb

Malibu

Spent the weekend in Malibu celebrating B's birthday as well as her three cousins. It was pretty overcast so I didn't get too many photos of the beach, but here are a couple. I'll probably post more later in the week.


The loneliness you get by the sea is personal and alive. It doesn't subdue you and make you feel abject. It's stimulating loneliness.
~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The Birthday Girl

Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
~ A.A. Milne

The Quartet

A good friend asked me to take some photos of her string quartet this weekend. It was so much fun to take these as they were rehearsing. Music to take photos by...



Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken. ~ Ludwig van Beethoven

The Praying Mantis

I was watering the flowers on my patio today and came across this guy. I think he was a little irritated that I got him wet. He kept looking at me while I was taking his picture.


If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.
~ Edward O. Wilson

The Hills

It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top.
~ Arnold Bennett

Textures

I decided to start working on integrating textures with my photos. I love the effect of the different layers.

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
~ Pablo Picasso

Chino Bike Ride

Went for a long bike ride on Saturday, at noon, in the hundred degree heat. Probably not the best move on my part. It was a good ride, though, and so nice to feel miles from civilization.


Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.
~ John F. Kennedy