The Brothers Bloom

It's official...the next time I fall in love it will be with Adrien Brody. After spending the afternoon seeing the movie called The Brothers Bloom I am totally smitten. In order to survive their upbringing being shuttled from town to town and foster home to foster home the orphaned brothers develop conning scenarios. To make matters worse, they meet a master con artist who creates such a clever pair that it is impossible to keep track of what is real and what isn't real, even for them. Following their complicated schemes isn't important. What is important is that you have fallen in love with these intriguing characters...don't take Adrien Brody...he's mine.

Happy Birthday Betty

Shanghai Girls

I have spent some time in Shanghai and much more in Los Angeles, but I will never see either place the same again after having read Shanghai Girls. The author, Lisa See, again describes the indelible bond between sisters. There couldn't be two more unlikely survivors of the Japanese occupation as these two beautiful sisters. Being surrounded by World War ll, they are faced with incomprehensible circumstances. I will never again visit the Chinatown section of Los Angeles without being touched by the struggle of Pearl and May and others when coming to America.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

It is said that "no one writes letters anymore."  Not so with  the authors Mary Ann Shaffer and her niece Annie Barrows.  In a series of letters the cast of characters  are introduced to us in such a way that they feel like new friends.  The setting is on an island called Guernsey between England and France (so close to France that cars on their highway can be seen on a clear day).  The time is when I was ten years old and the World War II was raging. The Nazis' had occupied this small British Isle.  While trying to survive this five-year-long occupation these people read many books, cared for and about each other and become ingenious in their survival.  As I read this series of letters I was definitely changed, feeling  more intimately involved and wishing to be much more clever and caring myself.

Women in Art

This sketch by Christian Berard  is an original costume design for a Sarah Bernhardt performance at The Comedie Francaise. 

Click on Women in Art to see an amazing video.  

On Location in Malibu 2009

Vic Riebau's "Malibu Creek en route to the Sea," 2009 oil on canvas

Stephen Mirich's "Winter Moonlight," 2009 oil on canvas

Calvin Liang's "Malibu Sunset," 2008 oil on canvas        

This California Art Club exhibition is at the Fredrick R. Weisman Museum at Pepperdine in Malibu through August 9.

Diane's Birthday

It is a sweet tradition that the dancers celebrate each other's birthdays.  Ann made this cake for our dear Diane.

Helio Castroneves

Helio Castroneves, 2007 winner of Dancing With the Stars, described his 3rd win today of the Indy 500 as "simply magical."  Helio's win was the 15th for Roger Penske's race team, who was rewarded for their trust in him in more ways than one.  

Peterson Automotive Museum

This 1925/34 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Aerodynamic Coupe had many owners from Europe to the United States until it came to the Peterson Automotive Museum in 2001.

We were nostalgic when seeing this 1958  Morgan +4 Bustle-Back Roadster just like one we owned. It was such fun driving this car but the suspension was such that it was laughingly said, "to put a piece of tire between your teeth and take off"!

Most automobiles are created by their designers out of clay just like the model displayed.  Knowing that so many things we use in life are first envisioned by an artist confirms my admiration for them.

A Star, er...Two Stars Are Born

American Idol has again found stunning talents.  In the most  scintillating (I didn't want to miss a second of it) television show I can remember, Kris Allen expresses shock at being named the 2009  Idol.  This photo, appearing in this morning's "Los Angeles Times," appropriately  shows the Adam Lambert, the runner-up along with Kris.  

Every Little Step

Do not go to  the documentary movie entitled "Every Little Step" unless:  (1) you are a dancer, (2) you have auditioned for a show or (3) you love the Broadway musical "A Chorus Line," on which it is based.  Without that love and passion you will never understand why it would one would endure so much to be a part of the show's 2006 revival.  

There are many who might fit one or all three of those categories.  After all,  since it opened in 1975 "A Chorus Line" has had more performances than any other musical in Broadway's history.   

Poeny in Love

Was there anything you ever wanted to do that you couldn't do?  Reading "Poeny in Love" shows that the privileges of choice and artistic freedom are to be cherished.  This tale, set inside the framework of a centuries-old opera, will wrench your heart and inspire.  

LA Art Walk

On the second Thursday of every month is the downtown art walk.  It is a  free, self-guided tour of the many galleries and museums enlivening the area with the influx of interested art lovers.   The Museum of Neon Art has relocated there. 

Attending last night made me nostalgic for  the two art districts that I was instrumental in helping to create, the Short North Arts District in Columbus, Ohio, and the South Side in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.   

 

Many wish to know what "painterly" means.  This gorgeous painting of the old Rosslyn Hotel  by 
Carl Ramsey (an artist whose studio I visited in recent years in the very area) personifies the technique.  

   
I was not surprised to see this work by John Baldessari.  Didn't he and his helpers cremate his first paintings as he felt he was only echoing the work of Cezanne?  He is an original, and so are the artists you will find in the area.  

 
By an unknown artist, isn't this the most charming contemporary rendition of a Chinese scroll painting?  The scroll is there, the format is there, but...where is the traditional imagery?

Roses in Bloom

The rose gardens at the Huntington Gardens and Library in Pasadena  are in full bloom.  "Happy Mother's Day" to one and all.