PATTERNS AND TONES

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season! Patterns and Tones will be back in February 2018, just in time to celebrate our 5th year anniversary. All my best to you and yours, Julie Green December 23, 2017

"Zen Sun Shadows No. 1" 2017 Like undulating waves on the surface of a body of water, these stylized sun shadows were composed to emulate nature. Zen gardens started in Kyoto, Japan in the 14th century to imitate the essence of nature and to give the viewer (originally for the head monk of a Buddhist monastery) a view to meditate on. Carefully constructed, the dry landscapes represent water in the meticulusly raked gravel and are usually dotted with three to five rock "islands" giving the "water" a place to radiate out from. I was fortunate to visit the famous 15th century Ryoan-ji Temple garden in Kyoto years ago. I was struck by its simplicity and after meditating on its pristine landscape, felt a very deep sense tranquility and relaxation by its orderly structure. I know many artists who have been drawn to represent their experience at the garden through their work. John Cage was inspired to compose a series of works called "Ryoanji " ...

"Down the Garden Stairs No. 1" 2017 from the Sun Shadow Series  I have always fought against the two dimensionality of photography. I was always trying to expand space within the constructs of the very nature of the medium. But in this Sun Shadow series I've been working on, I've actually embraced it and have been working on ways to actually flatten out perspective within the photograph. In "Down the Garden Stairs" I began looking once again at how graphic hard edge shadows created in the midday sun refract against the linear steps below. Removing color from these images, it flattens the image plane out even more to create a dialogue between just the shapes and the space they occupy. I am continually in awe of  Ruth Bernhard 's 1930 photograph " Lifesavers ", where the objects are transformed by the space and light in which they are arranged. But it's the discovery of the unexpected in the image that rings my bell, especially when...

"Getty Sun Shadows No. 1" 2017 The light at The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles at sunset is spectacular. High on the hilltop of the Santa Monica Mountains in Brentwood, its unobstructed light filters across its expansive travertine plazas and courtyards. The interplay between interior and exterior spaces was expertly choreographed by architect Richard Meier . My fascination with light and shadow continues in this newest installation in my Sun Shadow series. Julie Green December 2, 2017 "Getty Sun Shadows No. 2" 2017 "Getty Sun Shadows No. 3" 2017 "Getty Sun Shadows No. 4" 2017 "Getty Sun Shadows No. 5" 2017

"Beneath the Surface: North York Moors No. 1" 2017 You realize why there are so many writers from the UK when you start walking around the glens, and moors and the wide open spaces that have been inspirational for centuries. You can see how these stories then migrated into the minds the world over. When we stayed with our lovely friends Welly and Rachel up in Rudby, Yarm in North Yorkshire and walked around the Cleveland Hills, my heart quickened its pace when I saw for the first time hillsides covered in heather. As we finished our three mile hike, we walked down into a rushy glen and I saw before my eyes a place I had seen in my dreams. Perhaps illustrated in a Henry Moore novel or my idea of what a picturesque narrow valley in the United Kingdom would look like but there it stood complete with fern and bracken and emerald green leafy trees. A new image appeared in the reflection of the water, this time an extension of the trees around the water, a...

"Beneath the Surface: Norfolk Broads No. 1" 2017 Watching the undulating waters ripple into the reeds as we boated upon the Norfolk Broads in East Anglia this summer put me into a meditative state. The smooth, calm waters where punctuated with Lilly pads and the occasional swan. But what fascinated me was its vast surface mirroring the dramatic sky above. Like a watercolor before my eyes, the quickly changing weather of England in late summer went from blue skies filled with billowing clouds to dark and stormy during our 3 hour tour. Like watching the clouds in the sky, I obsereved their distorted shapes float by as we slowly boated down the Waveney river  and curiously thought about what was hiding in the thicket. This 12th century man made waterway was cultivated for its fossil fuel peat . Over subsequent centuries the channels that were dug out were flooded and became  what is now known as the Norkfolk Broads. The 120 miles of rivers and lakes (known as broads) are...

"Beneath the Surface: Moon Bridge" 2017 The Huntington Library and its 120 acre garden is a botanical delight. I am constantly drawn to the end of the property towards their 9 acres Japanese Garden. The moon bridge, which was commissioned back in 1919 and was built by Toichiro Kawai , is a perfect foil over the koi pond. Its reflections in the water below creates a full circle in the still waters. The koi fish swimming in the pond reminded me of flowing hair beneath the surface. Once again I combined multiple elements to create a new image for this series. Julie Green November 11, 2017

"Beneath the Surface: Self Realization Fellowship  No. 1" 2017 I found myself contemplating shapes and reflections on the surface in various bodies of water this year. From my own backyard pool, where I spent a good deal of the summer working on a series of images which culminated in  "Body Refractions" , I was constantly looking at how water distorted the shadows on the surface and people swimming just beneath the water. On my travels throughout California and England this year, I began documenting small bodies of water (creeks, lakes and ponds) which held my fascination. Their mirrored surfaces and natural shapes captured my imagination. The still water was punctuated with vegetation and animals not seen in my swimming pool. The more I meditated on these peaceful spots the more I began to see forms emerge on the surface and just beneath the water. I wanted to capture these musings photographically and quickly began to sketch ideas of who and what I was imag...

The King of Psych: James Lowe I was in utter disbelief when I recently started talking with the lead singer of my all time favorite Psych band The Electric Prunes !!! James Lowe was as down to earth as it gets and was still as psyched about music and the Prunes as I was. We bonded immediately. I got the nerve up to ask him if he would possibly pose for a photograph that I could include in my Rock 'n' Roll Checkup series I've been doing this month. Lucky for me the stars aligned just right since he happened to be in town and could spare an hour during my lunch break the following day! I've never met a cooler guy and I wasn't surprised... As he pose in the amazing 1963 Thunderbird that was being restored at the auto body shop on Santa Monica Blvd, we chatted away about life, music and art. I'm very honored to say that I met a kindred soul and am happy to present to you all of you wind-up girls and wind-up boys a brief low down on what the King of Psych h...

The Two Tens I recently checked in with one of my favorite local bands  The Two Tens . This year. the dynamic duo of Rikki Styxx and Adam Bones have been very busy indeed completing their Sophomore EP "On Repeat" after completing a US tour with the amazing pop-punk band  The Dollyrots . And they just release a single in time for Halloween called  Looney Bin. You can catch Styxx and Bones performing Halloween night at The Viper Room with the sassy duo out of St. Louis, MO  Bruiser Queen and FEA , a rockin' Chicana led punk raunch band out of San Antonio, TX! Julie Green October 21, 2017 Julie Green: Hey gang, what have you been up to? Rikki Styxx and Adam Bones:  S&B: Didn't you hear? The Two Tens released our 2nd album and we are so extremely proud of it! We signed a record deal with Man Della Records and it was released in August. We also made a few kick ass vids to go along with the release. Yahoo Music premiered "Mean Sprit" recent...

Dr. Frank from The Mr. T Experience I thought it would be a good time of year to check in with some of my favorite musicians out there and who better to start this rock n' roll checkup than with the multi-talented and all around great guy  Frank Portman (AKA Dr. Frank) from the seminal punk rock band  The Mr. T Experience ! Julie Green October 14, 2017 Julie Green: Hey Dr. Frank, what have you been up to this past year? Dr. Frank:  My band released King Dork Approximately the Album, featuring songs from the books, initially as a digital download with the paperback edition of the book. As of just last month we've released a vinyl and CD version as well. We've been doing some live shows as well. We've done some work on organizing the back catalog for possible future re-issues (beginning with the digital Shards compilations of odds and ends that hadn't yet made it to the digital catalog.) And I've been working on a couple of books. JG: ...