Date Night on Foot

We got all dolled up:

And walked over to Centanni Trattoria 1700 Lincoln at Nowita in Venice.

There is always something fun to look at in the neighborhood.
Here is one of my favorites, a totally pique assiette tiled house. This photo shows the front fence:

I always take photos when I pass by. It is constantly evolving.

Our hunger got stronger as we neared our destination...

We were craving this:

Tortino di funghi, eaten on May 20

Not available! Tragic!

So we "settled" for this:

Caponata

Beet salad

Linguine al vongole

Delizioso!

Now Showing @ TAG - Map Art

"Thomas Guide, Page 671, Santa Monica Pier" ©2010 digital collage, 14.5 x 19" framed

This piece is now hanging in the Loft area at TAG Gallery. Since many people from out of town visit Bergamot in the summer, I thought I'd exhibit a souvenir type piece. It will be up for a couple of months - unless it sells!

If you can't make it to Santa Monica this summer, you may also purchase this online at Society6.

I was going to do a whole series like this, but have only done a couple. Went on to other things...

From the Archives: Preserves Portraits, a Series for My Dad

This series of still lifes arose out of my need to honor my father, who passed away in March 1996.

Annually, my parents put up jams, storing them away all year and then distributing them at Christmas.
Dad was the force behind the whole process -- picking the berries, cooking up the sweetness, carefully sealing and labeling the jars.

I decided to paint portraits of the various flavors as I consumed them. The level of the jam goes down over the course of time, taking on more and more of a glow, and I have discovered that the jar is never completely empty.

The entire first set: Orange Marmalade
painted at Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, March 1996

Happy Father's Day, all you dads!

Dave and Carolyn Folk the West Side

"Are you ready to folk, Santa Monica?"
It might not have the same resonance as "Are you ready to rock?" but a talented and entertaining folk duo can now be seen every 2nd Tuesday, 8pm the Unurban in Santa Monica.

Be sure to get there by 8pm - they start on time and the set is short!

Unurban

3301 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405-2115

The next gig will be 7/10.

On the Edge US

Big new project!
I've told some of you about the Big Road Trip that I'm plotting for 2014. I'm calling it "On the Edge" and just now registered the domain on-the-edge.us. After I figure out the "Name Server" stuff, I'll have linkage.

I plan to circumnavigate the US by car on State Highways as close as possible to the perimeter of the contiguous 48 US states. (I might actually have to start earlier, since I want to be in South Carolina in March when my Mom is there). I'm going to crowd fund it on IndieGoGo and need to figure out what kind of artwork I'm going to generate out on the road for donor rewards and such.

The California coast provides a good stretch of highways that are conveniently close to my abode, so I'm using them to perform experiments. Part of my concept is to tape the entire journey out the passenger side window. I obtained a cheap webcam that I can attach to my laptop to directly download the video to my hard drive. I gave it a test run when we drove to Encinitas a few weeks ago.

Reenactment of setup
(hope it's obvious webcam not on!)

On Friday, I was stuck with a long Dr visit wait and took along the laptop to try to see what art I could come up with. I scanned quickly through the footage and found this bit with a slice of the Pacific:

The screen grab from the video

First idea: sketching from screen grab.
Verdict: too drab, needs color.

Next idea: Repaint image in Corel Painter
Verdict: LIKE!
Note to self: next time, attach the Wacom tablet -- finger twiddling on laptop is DIFFICULT

I feel like I'm off to a good start.
Next, I need to spray paint the webcam black to cut down on window reflections and make some kind of rigid platform to hold the laptop. I'll try it out on Oxnard > Santa Monica on PCH/CA 1. Stay tuned!

On the Town in Instagrams

Severo and I had a rare sync in our schedules so we went out.

In the car, heading downtown

The Place: dinner at The Nickel Diner

For me, catfish smothered with pecans, etc
For Severo, Smack n cheese
Verdict: delicious

He's ready to try the entire dessert selection

One of our choices was Root Beer Creme Brulee
I found it too strange, Severo liked it

Iam8bit was hosting the ArtHouse Sketchbook Tour
Here is the instruction card

The line for registering and checking out books

No! Yes! SpyGirl book checked out
(I kept getting this message, later to find it was misshelved)

The stacks

Our first set of books. You get two at a time.

Viewing Robin's book
you can view it here

Scary voodoo heads in the window of Yosmar on Sunset

Freedy Johnston at The Mint

Freedy on the uke

A blinged Lincoln outside the club

The next day, we went down to Encinitas to see Freedy and Cindy Lee Berryhill (and Severo) at a house concert. Altogether, a very fun weekend!