PATTERNS AND TONES

"Day of the Dead on Olvera Street No. 1" 2015 Last year I observed Dia de los Muertos on Olvera Street, the oldest part of downtown Los Angeles. The home made alters constructed featured framed photographs of loved ones decorated with candles, papel picado and flowers. Offerings of sugar skulls, breaded bones and water where carefully laid in out  to nourish their departed souls . Although they were remembering their dearly departed, the mood of the celebration was anything but somber. The mariachi band in the square's rotunda kept the beat for the dancers who's faces were painted like fanciful calaveras. Traditionally, Mexican and Aztec cultures used to wear skeleton masks. The more modern approach is now see in the painted faces. I was fortunate enough to befriend a family that were elegantly dressed for the occasion and they agreed to pose for me in the Avila Adobe, the oldest residence still standing in LA. Its thick 3 foot adobe brick walls, tar sealed ...

"Her Majesty's Sticky Wicket Croquet Club No. 1" 2016 It was a late summer's afternoon when Lady Christiane Cegavske paid us a visit. It had been some time since last we met and when I saw her raven hair, and her wry smile - I knew she hadn't changed a bit. Years before she left Los Angeles, Christiane had gathered a group of croquet enthusiasts and had inaugurated Her Majesty's Sticky Wicket Croquet Club. The games were usually played on rough terrain and preferably up hill in an unorthodox pattern. Wikipedia states that "in the game of croquet , the phrase "sticky wicket" may refer to a hoop (wicket) that is difficult for a ball to go through because of the narrowness of the opening. This usage is confined to the United States." And in true form, each sticky wicket in  Her Majesty's Sticky Wicket Croquet Club  was strategically placed in a most difficult spot and bent into its proper shape. Along with Lady Cegavske, who hers...

The Flakes live at Pickwick Gardens I'm a huge FLAKES FAN! These guys are like family to me and it was a thrill to see them do their stuff all over again a few months back. At the Pickwick Gardens in lovely Burbank, CA, The Real Boss Hoss rolled out another great show with an amazing line up including the amazing vocal stylings of  Tiny & Mary , instrumental magicians Mercury Futuregrade, SpongeBob himself: Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas and East LA 1960's Garage Rockers The Premiers ! Front man Peepin' John McDonald was in fine form as was drummer extraordinaire Russell Quan . Guitarist Greg Fenwick and JT on bass kept the goof balls jumping, while Sir Brett Stillo showed us all how it's was really done. I was recently able to pull out a slim interview with these flakey fellows. A few of the members filled in the blanks but overall these FLAKES stayed true to their name. You can catch them doing an amazing cover of "You're Gonna Miss Me...

4th of July in Bungay,  2016 I look at my daughter constantly. She is my visual nectar and my thirst to observer and take in her essence is never satiated. As a photographer I have taken many, many photographs of her likeness but none have capture the details up close in quite the same way. There is an intimacy that is lost in a single portrait. So I decided to construct an image I felt emphasized and exaggerated each detail I lingered on. By employing my weaving technique, I started with a portrait I recently took of her on the 4th of July.  This year, we found ourselves visiting a friend in Bungay,  a market town in the English countryside of Suffolk.  There were no celebrations of course and her lovely  red, white and blue dress, with its stars and stripes, did not register with the local townsfolk.  Spending any holiday abroad feels different. But spending  a very American holiday in  the United ...

Julie Green "Pie" 2014 from Asia Muka: A Day in the Life of a Rock n' Roller 24 x 20" archival pigment print © Julie Green I have a piece in the upcoming exhibition "Alimento" at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles in the Shatto Chapel in DTLA. Please join me on Friday, October 7th for the opening reception from 7-9pm. The Spanish word “alimento” can be translated simply as “food,” but it is much more than that when First Church and Art Division launch its second show this fall! Alimento speaks to the essence of food, to its soul, and how beautiful it can be to share the exquisite experience of meals with friends.  Curated by Joan Agajanian Quinn , with assistance from Scott Colglazier and Dan McCleary , the exhibit will feature art by many of the students of Art Division as well as several well-known artists including Frank Gehry, David Hockney, George Legrady, Ed Ruscha, and Wayne Thiebaud. The exhibit opens October 7 in Shatt...