The 81st Oscars

There is dancing in the streets of Mumbai as "Slumdog Millionaire" wins Best Picture, along with eight other wins, including Best Director. The stage design, by the same architect who did the Kodak theater, barely holds the happy winners.  

Kate Winslet listens to hear if she has won the coveted Best Actress oscar for "The Reader."  The voters of the Academy probably took into account her performance in this year's "Revolutionary Road" as well...a double "whammy."

Even  the sardonic Sean Penn can crack a very big  smile when hearing he has won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Harvey Milk. 

I wish I knew  how I took this multiple photograph of Penelope Cruz accepting the Best Supporting Actress award?  I loved her zany portrayal of a genius artist in "Vicky Christina Barcelona." 

Keith Ledger's family accepted his posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of the Joker in  "The Dark Knight" on behalf of his baby daughter, Mathilda.

Is it possible to be more like a movie star than Angelina Jolie in the newly-formatted show which entertained, but could benefit from some more editing?

Pink Roses Everywhere I Look

Happy Valentine's Day

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This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Valentine's Day in only two days

It is with a proud heart that we announce that we are great grandparents again!

The Malibu Florist allows me to take photographs in their sumptuous shop.  This toy woodie station wagon, flanked by orchids and a painting of the pier seemed appropriate to help announce the birth of a new son in Georgia.

 

His name is Camden, and is the new member of the family of Hannah, Alex and his big sister, Chloe.  

And, in Oregon, a precious little girl named Chloe has been born to her parents, Emily and Justin.

Picturesque Skies Come from the Rains

The Song of the Lark

Willa Cather's, "The Song of the Lark," will now be included as one of my ten favorite novels.  The poetry of the writing, the development of the characters, the insights into the making of an artist; I wanted to read every word.  The main character had to come to terms with knowing herself to achieve the greatness within her.  Cather had to have done that, too.  

Here Comes the Rain

We always wondered why "beautiful" was described as, "not a cloud in the sky"?  

Love swimming in the rain...this morning the bubbles and drops on the water's surface greeted me. Showering outdoors doubles the pleasure.  

Warming up in the jacuzzi makes it all possible.

Los Angeles Art Show

My friend Chris and I would have had to travel all over the world to see the dazzling array of art we saw this weekend at the Los Angeles Art Show.  We were "oohing" and "aahing" at the beauty of from more than 135 prominent galleries.   We art lovers were the beneficiary of this confusing weekend as they claimed a new location and, yet, there was another show in town with a similar name, Art LA.  Such a thrill to see all of this before it is purchased by collectors or museums.  

Another Southern California artist, Ron Davis, took our eye with his "Bridge Through Frame."  More and more I am noticing a painterly quality appearing in his originally optical and geometric art.   My guess is that this artist could  hold a brush in his hand only so long before the freedom of the automatic gestures emerged.   

I have been going to Chicago for almost 15 years to see the same art I saw here this weekend and always there was the sheer beauty of the art of Joseph Raffael.  This "Blossoms and Sky" could have been from the artist's photographs at our Huntington Gardens in San Marino (Dick took me there for one of our first dates).  He states in his autobiography that he received a flowering cherry tree in memory of his son.   What a privilege to have seen his art all these years.  

Remember those ceramic Chinese babies?  The Luo Brothers have created "Welcome Welcome" out of materials using current  technologies.  It is obvious that as China opens up the artists will comment on advertising, consumption and commercialism.  The show had more art by Chinese artists for sale than I have ever seen.

One of the only Abstract Expressionists working in the Los Angeles area during the time of the New York School, Emerson Woeffler created this juicy painting and called it "Chicago."  He headed the painting department at the Otis School of Art and Design.   I always felt a great appreciation for his work not knowing the connections as I studied special painting there and have for several years been a member of THE GROUP.

THE GROUP is a support organization of the school.  Each year we donate a substantial sum for multiple student scholarships, contributing to the college building fund and underwriting the yearly publication of the Master of Fine Arts catalogue.  

Seeing William Adolphe Bourguereau's "Alma Parens (The Motherland)" makes me think of the work of Southern California artist, Mark Ryden.  This spectacular painting by the French Academic painter was created more than 130 years ago.  Mark Ryden currently works near Pasadena where I saw his amazing work in total at the Pasadena Museum of California Art.