Monday, November 30, 2015

Malibu morning picture of the day - Cyber Monday, November 30, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

It's Monday! And now we begin the our descent out of 2015 for the next five weeks. Today is looking very blue. But in LA it's also very cold this morning--low 30s. In parts north in the desert, its in the teens. Guess cold weather has finally arrived.























Yeah, I know. Doesn't look colder than any other day lately which may have been in the 80s. To the left we're seeing the channel between Catalina and Palos Verdes.

Here's some more of the same.

I was running errands in West Hollywood on Saturday on foot and by bus. Apparently tourist souvenirs in WeHo run toward the political. A guy was selling paintings on the sidewalk (for $20 each). I'd rather have a naked Mexican girl on black velvet personally ... hope he sells a few if he's trying to feed his kids. Apparently he thinks Hillary is running for Queen.




I'll give you one more picture I found on the street on Saturday--some social-commentary poster art. I think it's rather apropos for Cyber Monday. What do you think?

Have a wonderful week, all of you.

Love,
Pops





Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Malbu morning picture of the day - Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

It's Wednesday and here's the view on the coast:


















Light clouds hovering over the water of the bay. No second look for today, but leaving yesterday gave us a nice scene as well... bands of deep color and silver seas.

It's the American national family holiday tomorrow, Thanksgiving. Hope you have a nice one. Me? I am going to experiment in cooking a pork roast as a possible entree for my church's 2nd annual Christmas Day Lunch. Never done a pork roast before so it's good to test the process and find out where the pitfalls are.

US 101st Airborne Division patch.svg
Probably one of America's
most beloved and revered
 warrior groups;
just imagine if
they were culturally
appropriated
Image result for redskins
This guy looks like Iron Eyes Cody,
a prominent Italian-American actor
of U.S. PSA commercial fame.
Hey, speaking of Thanksgiving, I decided if I were a Native American guy with a sense of irony, and who opposed the name and mascot of "Redskins" and similar teams, I'd invent myself a fictional sports team called "The 101st Airborne Division" with all the offensive caricature merchandise  I could imagine. I'll have to work on that for Thanksgiving 2016... wait for the press kit (and the lynch mob if I ever gain a respectable following on this blog).

Sorry Street Art Lovers, there will be no Thursday posting--you'll just have to wait. Going Black Friday shopping? Not me! All my Xmas shopping is done. I'm giving Xmas ornaments this year with a monkey-primate theme in honor of the upcoming Year of the Monkey. I did not realize how many designers make monkey Christmas decorations--it's more popular than you would think.

Have a great, nice, long weekend off (those of you who do not work in retail ...).

Love,
Pops

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

"NoHo Zen Girl" and Malibu AM pic of the day - Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

We've got ourselves a cloudy day here on the Tuesday coast.



























We got plenty of breakthrough, giving us sunbeams galore, with an orange creamsicle horizon sky--darn keuhl what?  And a more conventional cloudscape as our second look.

Yep, it's a cold steel blue past the clouds.  Weather reports warns of a cold front coming thru this evening, with winds, low temps, and possibly some rain.

Whatever. They always say "rain" but these days it just means that sidewalks got moistened.


A TUESDAY EXCURSION TO THE "OUT OF BOUNDS GALLERY"

Do you guys remember her? Of course you do! It's the Ballerina of Pepperoni whom I featured on the September 3 blog entry.


Well, I found another commission of this artist whilst I was touring the picturesque neighborhood of North Hollywood this last weekend. We've got her red-headed associate working in an industry closely allied to the pizza delivery industry:

Artist "Jan," Welcome to Zen, paint on botanical pharmacy.





















I'm so glad we scored a maker's mark on this one. Nice to be able to give credit as credit is due. Cute, eye-catching work Jan!


And here's a context shot:




Since we have the two together, it's a point of realism to note that the ballerina is NOT rendered chesty as her nurse-cousin here. Dancers are known for not having an ounce of fat on them and are characteristically flat as boards, like triathletes. But a nurse? The double entendre in the profession's name itself is well ... amusing.

Are we not surprised that this is apparently painted by a female? Raise your hand if you are. See!

You can find this red-headed girl somewhere on Lankershim. I'll say no more. I was standing in that parking lot taking pictures no longer than 40 seconds when a big, black security guard the size of a linebacker came out to observe me. People who run those kinds of operations SURE are a nervous lot. They really need to use some of their own product.

That's all for today! Have a great Tuesday.

Love,
Pops

Monday, November 23, 2015

C3PO as Tin Man & Malibu AM Pic of the Day - Monday, November 23, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

Happy Blue Monday to you all!





















If you look carefully, you will see two oil tankers (or maybe they're container vessels) sitting on the horizon this morning. I was outside some yesterday and it was mid-80s, so it felt very summery. That's an LA November for ya. It's not always like that.

Here's a fellow I found on the side of a building in NoHo (North Hollywood); this artist was riffing what would it look like if C3PO had gotten the call-back and part for Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. I wonder if the ending scene where the Tin Man gets his heart would have been more emotional ... who knows?

I won't disclose more about this artwork right now. I promise I'll run the whole wall when I do the "Tuesday Out of Bounds Gallery" offering one of these coming weeks.

NoHo is a lot like East Holly in it's 2nd-class ghetto vibe, but it's been a recognized district for many decades with it's own personality for aeons longer. More to come on that.

It's a short week people--just warning you that there will only be three daily postings ahead of time.


Ah, gotta pay the rent kiddies, so's I gots to run.

Love,
Pops


Friday, November 20, 2015

Malibu morning picture of the day - Friday, November 20, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

It's Friday you all. I hope you have wonderful things planned. And we've got yet another clear blue morning here on the coast.










Oh, hey, for today's picture here's the usual landscape but done with this "panorama" gimmick that  is on my new phone. This is about 250 degrees of turning around for me. I am finding that is feature is particularly helpful if you're taking a picture of a long mural. You will see some of these "pano" shots in the days to come.

And here's a more conventional 2nd look.





















You can see the weather has been warm enough to keep an inversion layer of smog trapped (the red brown border in the haze).

It's been a hectic morning. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Love,
Pops



Thursday, November 19, 2015

iT'S STreeT arT THurSDay SoMeWhere iN LA! with Malibu AM pic of the day - Thursday, November 19, 2015

Dear Street Art Lovers,

Today I am straying from showcasing my immediate neighborhood of East Hollywood because after looking over my inventory, my eye just kept coming back to this mural which is one of my favorites.

Artist "Genetic Wind Songs," Sunny Cornfield of American Dreams, paint on tax office.
























Looks to me like the Corn God needs to pay a visit
to the Coffee God... perk up Buddy!
This was shot while I was out and about this past summer down in the Pico area. Ya gotta love a love a mural that celebrates the Corn God, Albert Einstein and the Atomic Age, Martin Luther King, cala lilies, perhaps Cesar Chavez, and an Asian field hand working in a Rockwell Kent agrarian landscape--all under a blazing sun. Whew! This is just so bright and hopeful. It does my old cynical heart good to look on it in these fierce and awful times we are living through.






I can just imagine the conversation with the artist and commissioner: "So what would you like me to paint?" "Oh, I don't know ... how about Albert Einstein?" "Who?" "But I like corn a lot too. Let's get a cornfield in." OK, one cornfield. Anything else?" "I like MLK too. How about him? ..."







I'm thinking the Corn God in green above is looking a little bored, don't you? The artist who painted this had an overhang on the facade, so he just kept going. If you get up under it you will see this blue face looking down at you.

As I stand back and look at this work, I'd have to say that this artist, at least for this piece, is very much a disciple of Diego Rivera. If it were just a little more stylized and if the he/she had a better control of the drawing, this could look like the kind of thing you'd find on a government building in a western state.

But we who love street art love the roughness and the unschooled intensity of imagery of this craft--to say nothing of the unlikely combinations of subject matter.

Here's the context shot:




























Would you go to this tax guy? Not me. I'd go to myself. You should too... but I digress.

AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED SEASCAPE:





















Ah, November is shaping up to be one of the prettiest months for blue this year! I never think that way about it. Some haze on the horizon, but when I pulled up in the parking lot, I could distinctly see the silhouettes of Saddleback and other mountains, as well as the low-lying skyline of Marina Del Rey.

Have a wonderful Thursday people!

Love,
Pops




Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Malibu morning picture of the day - Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

Crisp, clear, and cold for L.A. this morning, ambient temps in the high 40s to low 50s in the early hours.





































We've got some clouds over the ocean today. This cloud almost is looking like a lizard to me.

And here's some more to the west.

I bought this new fancy phone with a supposedly great camera function it. It always wants to give me these lens ghosts as it starts to turn toward the sun. Not as fancy as I hoped, I guess.

Not much to report today because I've been very hard pressed against production deadlines at work. So, just sit back and enjoy the blue. I'll have to deliver some snark some other week.

Love,
Pops


Tuesday, November 17, 2015

"Before we leave 11/11" and Malibu pic of the day - Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

Before we get too far away from Veterans Day, our last patriotic holiday until 4th of July, I wanted to squeeze in this mural from our "Out of Bounds Gallery" (street art which occurs outside of our primary focus of East Hollywood).

Artist "The Seventh Letter" and "A Boosted Artist Content Collaboration," Angels Will Rise, paint on stucco.
























What better image to observe an American day of remembrance than a trio of eagles? This proud and fierce set of birds is to be found on the side of dry cleaners off Melrose in West Hollywood.

Maybe you can make out what the gold lettering says in the upper right--I surely cannot. I did make a "The Seventh Letter" as an artist's name along with the "signature" date of 2007.



Eagle #1
Eagle #2
This mural is quite faded. I've tried to boost some of the color to what I remember it looking like over the years. Even as faded  as it is, there's a lot of color left and when the setting sun hits it becomes quite golden. Most of these are taken in morning light, but the one that shines yellow most brightly was taken as the sun started to die.

If I were to simply redefine the Melrose Ave. corridor as part of East Hollywood, I could keep this blog going for 10 years and not show you every bit of showable street art. It's a popular place for some reason.


Eagle #3

I don't know about you, but Eagle #3 here seems to be a bit worried as he appears to be in backward glance. But that's the job of the rear guard isn't it? Watch the group's back.

I was trying decide if any of this graphic treatment is particularly Latino or Mesoamerican. There does seem to be an Aztec Calendar kind of vibe to the birds. There's no doubt that they do not look tame at all. So, watch out!








And here's as full as you can get.














This used to be very impressive as you drove past. It's still an eye-catcher.

AND NOW BACK TO OUR TUESDAY SEASCAPE




































Another clear blue day swept free of clouds by the Santa Ana winds. A second view in case that wasn't enough for you.

And here is a hummingbird I found at rest, perched on branch, sticking his tongue out. It's hard to see, but it's there.

From eagles to a hummingbird--who says we don't have scope in this blog?




Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Love,
Pops








Monday, November 16, 2015

Malibu morning picture of the day - Monday, November 16, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

It's a new week and here is today's picture.


























No, I am not just posting Friday's picture again. It's a blue on blue day.

Toward the east there were a few clouds on the horizon, but that was about it.





A large cloud loomed over the house last night. Here's that. Paired with the orange street light, this scene almost has the appearance of a fire.

It was a pretty clear night in Hollywood--the crescent moon was out.

I hope you had a restful Sunday. Me? I patched a bunch of holes in the ceiling  yesterday, so my old-man body now has aches and pains. Working above your head is always tiring and taxing.

I thought I'd wake up feeling warmer, but no such luck. Winds were blowing in Hollywood 20-20 MPH, but when you got to Beverly Hills they calmed down. The L.A. Basin cityscape is like that. There are so many microclimates in Greater L.A.

Well, I hope you have a great Monday and are off to a good start this week.

Love,
Pops

PS I notice flags were at half-staff at work today. Wow, the first thought I'm thinking', that must be for the people of Beirut or for the many thousands victims of ISIS who have died fleeing Syria. I'll check into it and let you know.




Friday, November 13, 2015

Malibu morning picture of the day - Friday, November 13, 2015

And a happy Friday the 13th to you. If you're an old codger like me, you remember these days because there was a computer virus that made itself known on these days.





























The Santa Ana Winds are a-blowin' and it's absolutely cloudless and dry out here. Don't light a match, whatever you do...

As such there's no point in a second look today. However, as I was a walkin' the street of ol' Weho ta other day, you find random sticker art here and there.

The little ant on the left is a sticker no bigger than an adult's hand.

The one on right is maybe two feet high--and I have NO idea what it's about.

I understand that in the period of German Expressionism, there was much renegade poster art that just got thrown up on public walls. The street art aesthetic definitely has a long and distinguished pedigree indeed.

Anyway, those are a couple of images I share as a parting shot to you this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Love
Pops




Thursday, November 12, 2015

iT'S STreeT arT THurSDay iN eaST HoLLyWooD and Malibu pic of the day - Thursday, November 12, 2015

Dear Street Art Lovers,

We're up a little late, but better late than never. You will remember that last week we had this highly elaborate, keeps-going-and-going Asia-pop, highly decorative, flashy-color imagery at a gas station/car wash. I've got something this week that should be a stark contrast.

Artist "El Cacom(?)," Masquerade Trio, paint on cement.























Left figure
We have a mural with five figures, three of them primary-focus individuals with masks, with two smaller persons of lesser size in the background. These look to me like illustrations that you might find on the cover of The New Yorker magazine--you know, one of the oddball cerebral sort of thingies. Childlike, but not childish. Cute in a way, but also biting, fierce, and creepy.

Center figure
These were taking at gas station, similarly enough to last week, at Vermont and 3rd, sort of in East Hollywood, but sort of in that liminal zone where it starts to morph into "Little Bangladesh." In fact, there's a Pakistani biriyani joint right next to this has makes a great lamb rice dish that will excite your tongue and make it tired for the rest of the night.

Right figure
I found an Indian restaurant to hit before I go to band rehearsal on Tuesday nights. As I have worked my way down everything on their menu, I've decided lamb biriyani is the standard dish by which I will judge eateries that specialize in the cuisine of the subcontinent. According to my brother who had his DNA genealogy tested, we've got a LOT of Indian DNA in our family, but there is nothing in the recent family history to indicate that heritage. As far as we know, the last several known generations were all Chinese or Japanese. Interesting though, but I digress.

These were shot at about 10:30-11 PM at night, so they do have a street-lit eerieness about them. We're still not quite out of the shadow of Halloween, so the person-in-mask motif is still fresh and resonant with us viewers in early November.

And here is the context shot.

These are the guys that nightmares are made of, don't you think? Don't be surprised if they pay you a visit tonight.

In case you were wondering if I missed a posting yesterday? I did. I had to announce a luncheon event in Beverly Hills.  Is there street art in Beverly Hills? Never seen any myself. If you spot any, give me a tip and I'll check it out.




AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED SEASCAPE































A slightly different view today. I had to park at the bottom of the hill and get shuttled up. Yes, the ocean appeared to be blue-on-blue zebra stripes today. Very different.

And here's the view from the lower part of campus overlooking some of the tennis courts, with Point Dume in the background.

That's all I got time for today. We'll see you tomorrow.

Love,
Pops