vacation

Oh!  The luxury of a week off!  My idea of a vacation is either a go-go trip, visiting Rome or New York, or a do-nothing trip that involves lots of down time to read and work on jigsaw puzzles, nap, ride bicycles, and drink!  There were a lot of trashy murder mysteries consumed during this vacation, and a few gems, particularly "a land more kind than home," by Wiley Cash.  It broke my heart.

For you fellow jigsaw puzzle fans, I can't say enough good things about Liberty Puzzles.  They are the old fashioned all wood puzzles and their pieces are cut into unusual and amusing shapes that match the theme of each puzzle. http://www.libertypuzzles.com/

Here's an early morning photo taken along the Truckee River, just south of Lake Tahoe.... a far cry from my messy desk in the gallery!

email

Look what I got in my inbox today...

 East Shore Waters, by Charles Muench, oil 18" x 24"

It's EXCITING when a new show is on the horizon.  Images begin arriving through my email.  I get to view the artists works for the first time.  The thrill of seeing new paintings never wears off.

Today was a bonus day, I not only received images from Charles Muench, for the Gallery's September show, California Gems: Yosemite & Tahoe, but Kathleen Dunphy has started teasing me with a few images for her upcoming solo show, Ebb and Flow: Painting Nature's Rhythms, opening in October.

 Trail's End, by Kathleen Dunphy, oil 40" x 30"

Beautiful!

bing madness

It's cherry time in Lodi! 

Cherries have a short season and they don't hold so you have to eat them, cook with them, or freeze them, immediately.  We were given a large box of cherries by the Costas, whose bings are shipped worldwide, from Japan to the White House.

Even using a cherry pitter, pits manage to sneak through so we not only use the pitter but we cut each cherry open to make sure it's clean.... a lot of work.


The results are worth it.

all in the family

My cousin's high school daughter has started a food blog.  Check out this wonderful banana bread recipe she found in her great grandmother's recipe box. 

Great Grandma's Banana Bread Recipe

I am awed by these enterprising teens who will surely change the world for the better.
Thanks Eliza!

why collect art?

A client recently purchased the painting, "Three Ballerinas" by Peggi Kroll-Roberts, she had seen on the gallery's web page.  I shipped it to her and this is the touching email she followed up with:

  

"It is just everything I hoped for.  It made me weep.

 I chose this painting, Three Ballerinas, in honor of the memory of my sister, Jane.  Jane fell and hit her head while in the hospital where she was undergoing tests.  Her blood was so thin that the hemorrhage in her skull could not be treated, and so she died at age 56, on August 20, 2011.  Jane was not a dancer, but ballet was her passion.  She was extremely knowledgeable, an expert, of ballet and dancers for 40 years.  In 2009, she took me to the Metropolitan Opera in NYC where we saw what was to be the performance of Giselle with Nina Ananiashvili in her last season with the American Ballet Theatre.  It was stunning, as even a neophyte such as I could appreciate.  As we left the Met, one woman said I need never see another performance of Giselle in my life.  We then saw many people from the audience having their picture taken with the poster of Nina advertising Giselle in front of the Met.  The next day the New York Times Published a full page review of the performance we attended that positively glowed and included color photographs of the dancers.  Since that performance I have watched for a painting or sculpture that captured the elusive charm of that experience."

And that is why we collect art.

a few minutes at the Martin Luther King Memorial

california art club

There's nothing quite like cruising down Colorado Boulevard (Pasadena) on a perfect day in sunny California.  That's where I was a week ago, on my way to the Autry Museum in Los Angeles for the California Art Club's annual Gold Medal Show.  I work most weekends and infrequently attend art shows, but this is one I make time for.  The CAC show features many of the finest painters in the state; from both Northern and Southern California. 

The Knowlton Gallery had an amazing number of artists included in the show!  A highlight was seeing Ray Roberts win the Gold Medal, voted on by his peers, for "Crashing Waves at Garrapata."

As in all my travels, I like to seek out cool signage and great places to eat.  This time we found an original, "The Oinkster" in Eagle Rock, and it was packed with people.  In South Pasadena we took the advice posted by another blogger and ate at a fantastic French restaurant, Bistro De La Gare, at 921 Meridian Avenue.  It's a neighborhood place, casual and inexpensive, but they know their food and wines.