Artistic adventures in San Francisco, with reckless and stylish abandon!

Photo Safari on the Monterey Peninsula!

Sun, 6 Sep 2015 17:35:56 -0700

This weekend a friend and I went to the Monterey Peninsula. We took our bikes and had great fun riding along 17 Mile Drive one day, then around Pacific Grove and Monterey the next day. We wanted to have fun on the bikes and enjoy the fabulous NoCal summer, but I also took the opportunity to shoot many of the fabulous Monterey Cypress that grace the area. You know, research...

“So this artist walks into a car wash....”

Sun, 19 Jul 2015 02:33:20 -0700

No, seriously... This artist walks into a car wash. Has her Artforum magazine ready for the long wait while her car gets the once-a-decade glamor polish. One hour goes by. The magazine is finished. Evidently the car needs major plastic surgery, so the guys say it will be another hour.

**sigh**... Trying not to get frustrated at the fact I have a gajillion things I would rather be doing than sitting here waiting at the car wash with a digested magazine sitting on the counter in front of me. From behind I hear a soft voice - “Oh, Artforum. That’s a good magazine”. I look up to see a charming lady of Asian decent, clearly also on her Sunday errands, waiting for her car to be washed.

I ask “Are you an artist?” to which she answers “Yes”! Wow. Now that’s fate for you. We strike up a conversation, and before you can snap a chamois, I realize I’m meeting an important professional working artist.

Her name is Shan Shan Sheng. From her website:

“With paintings installed in three of the worlds tallest buildings, as well as other major works of architecture, Shan-Shan Sheng is truly an artists of great accomplishment. From the city where she was born, Shanghai, to an American city known for it’s great architecture, Chicago, to the bi-cultural city of Hong Kong, Sheng is an artist whose universal message is appreciated around the world.”

The second hour went incredibly fast as we chatted about art, travel, earning a living as an artist, and many other things. We whipped out our iPhones to show our mini-digi portfolios.

It was so interesting to hear her wonderful perspectives on public works and commissions, which has generated her impressive success. (I saw her drive off in a black BMW - no starving artist here! ) And what an unexpected treat to meet someone so talented, yet so humble, in the car wash.

The Maker Faire - 2015

Sat, 16 May 2015 00:50:41 -0700

There’s art. There’s craft. There’s industry and technology. And then there’s the Maker Faire. There’s no short hand way to describe the Maker Faire except to say it’s all those and so much more!

One weekend each Spring, the San Mateo Fairgrounds hosts the World’s Series of craft shows. Or is it the Burning Man of art festivals? Or maybe just an orgy of creativity? Well, just have a look at the photos from just a few of this years offerings and you’ll see why it’s a challenge to write about this event, but you’ll also see why I can’t help but try!

There was the rolling cupcake parade:

Happy Arbor Day!

Fri, 24 Apr 2015 08:29:41 -0700

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to talk to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth.”
-- Herman Hesse

Cataract Falls

Sun, 29 Mar 2015 09:22:11 -0700

Ahhhh!! The first hike and picnic of Spring!

Winters in the Bay Area are known to be the rainy season. The rewards you get at the end of the misery are the glorious Spring sunshine, flowers, and waterfalls.

Cataract Falls in Marin County is a great place to enjoy lots of smaller creek falls as well as some spectacular cascades. You can download a map here - Cataract- Map.jpg. We enjoyed the Kent Trail around Alpine Lake, stopping for a leisurely picnic and nap on a little hill by the 2 mile marker.

Easy to see how hikes like these inspire my artwork and love of nature!

La Chandeleur

Mon, 2 Feb 2015 09:09:54 -0800

La Chandleur is France’s version of Candlemas. It is celebrated on February 2nd with, of course, delicious FOOD! In this case, the feast centers around crêpes. From About.com:

“The Catholic holiday of Candlemas, on 2 February, is a feast to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of baby Jesus. In France, this holiday is called la Chandeleur, Fête de la Lumière, or crêpe day.”

Not only do the French eat a lot of crêpes on Chandeleur, but they also do a bit of fortune telling while making them. It is traditional to hold a coin in your writing hand and a crêpe pan in the other, and flip the crêpe into the air. If you manage to catch the crêpe in the pan, your family will be prosperous for the rest of the year.”

We celebrated at the home of my favorite French sisters, Emily and Laetitia LeProust. Emily (featured above) is a fabulous cook, so she was in charge of the fabulous crêpes.

Not only are the LeProusts wonderful hostesses, they are also collectors of my work! You can see “Red Dragon” in the background.

The “Bouquets to Art” exhibition at the De Young Museum, San Francisco

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 10:52:35 -0700

Celebrating it’s 29th anniversary, the Bouquets to Art exhibit is one of the most breathtaking exhibits I’ve had the pleasure to witness. And it happens every year at the De Young Museum right here in SF! Hundreds of floral artists are invited to choose a work of art, and make an arrangement in conjunction with it.

Words of wisdom from SF MOMA

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 23:15:37 -0800

Two choice pieces from our SF Museun Of Modern Art.. Apologies for not crediting the artists here! I’m getting the hang of this blogging biz, and will make sure to get them next time I’m at SF MOMA. Or, if anyone knows, please let me know!

At any rate, I like the theme of speaking about art, the rules of art, playing with the language about art. These were both large scale paintings on canvas.

Claude Monet’s “Water Lillies” at L’Orangerie

Mon, 7 May 2012 23:39:01 -0700

This week I’m visiting Paris with a fellow Artist friend, so of course we have to fit in as many museums and galleries as possible! Last time I was in Paris the Musee de L’Orangerie was closed for renovations, so this time it was hot on the list.

These are among some of the largest works of art in the world. As an artist working in large scale format, these pieces were quite humbling just on their scale alone, to say nothing of Monet’s groundbreaking Impressionist skills. Each tableau is over six and a half feet tall, and range in width from 19.5 to 56 feet long. It’s really quite staggering when you think of the massive studio space it took, the spatial comprehension one has to keep in mind at that scale, and the fact he was painting these very pieces well into his eighties!

The Water Lillies are some of the art worlds most treasured pieces, and there are countless references and observations to be found. My own experience had two distinct parts. There was the moment of standing in each room ( they are in two large oval shaped galleries lit with skylights) where I had the distinct feeling of truly being surrounded by what felt like one singular work of art - one complete vision. Sure, as art lovers living in the 21st century most of us have experienced various installations, happenings and art environments, but when you think of the context of art history these works were created in they are truly remarkable when experienced as they are here.

The second level of discovery is when one looks closely. It’s very common for artists to get quite close to a work of art to see how it’s been made, and of course I had to get right up into these beauties. What I discovered in this perspective was what an amazing abstract artist Monet was! Smaller sections taken out of context provide an wealth of lush depth.

There’s weather in there.

West Marin Review Release Party

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 11:44:44 -0800

I am very proud that three of my calligraphy pieces were chosen for the third issue of West Marin Review. It is an award-winning literary and art journal published by Point Reyes Books, Tomales Bay Library Association, and friends and neighbors. In 2010 the West Marin Review was the only literary and arts journal to merit recognition at the prestigious New York Book Show, and Volume 2 of the Review caught the eye of editors at Marin Magazine, where it was included in Marin Magazine's 2010 Editors' Choice.