open house

Come on in for a look inside

'IN THIS HOUSE'

to be released July 2007

sketch-iness

Meet the girls...I call them "Uneven Sisters...









This is my latest muse...sketching...














I've always wanted to sketch...














Give my Dad a pencil and he could sketch anything...











It was so cool...











I've been taking my sketchbook and graphite pencils
everywhere...










and I sketch whenever I can...








So that's what I've been up to lately...
hanging out with the girls...

unspoken narratives

Last night I went to the exhibit opening of my dear friend CW Slade. "Unspoken Narratives" is at McLean Gallery in Malibu, and if you find yourself in that neck of the woods, drop on by for a look into CW's mystical world. Or take a look at the gallery site, it's not up on CW's site yet.
This piece on the left was one of my favorites.

Here's my lil sports fan Peyton. Becca bought her a Laker jersey.

Peyton gets the funniest look on her face when she is having her picture taken...she lays down and closes her eyes like she's embarressed...but then she's up again and off and playing.


Will post some art in the next couple of days. Till then...go Lakers!

a visit to the grind house

How fabulous is this outsider art! This stenciled lady is painted on the wall next to the Beverly Cinema where we went last night. I wonder if it was one whole stencil spray painted on the wall...However it was done, this life sized lady is wonderful...I just had to take a picture of her to share. Can you dig it Sarah...maven of Stenciling?

The Queen is painted high up near the roof...The Queens of Hollywood...only in LA!


So what were we doing at the Beverly Theatre? Last night we were all invited to Quintin Tarentino's Grindhouse Festival 2007. Why? Because my ex Brother-In-Law Richard Compton wrote and directed two of Quintin's favorite pics for the festival "Macon County Line" and "Return To Macon County Line". These flicks were two of Richy's first movies he directed in what has become a long line of credits..."Return to Macon County Line" starred two, then unknown actors, Don Johnson and Nick Nolte. They had great chemistry together, and watching this movie was totally entertaining. I'm so glad Richy invited us.
Here's a picture of my arbor in bloom...just in time for Easter.

Hope the Easter Bunny is good to you all...

the secret garden

perhaps it is not so secret...I had a potager garden on my list of things to get done...and today was the day to do it.
What is a potager garden you ask?

A potager garden is a French method of creating ornamental vegetable or kitchen gardens. Often flowers (edible and non-edible) and herbs are planted with the vegetables to enhance the beauty. The goal is to make the function of providing food aesthetically pleasing. Plants are chosen as much for their functionality as for their color and form.

So I started with some galvanized tubs, bags of soil and a trip to the Descanso Gardens Plant sale.
Becca said she wanted to help me so while she went and put the music on, I did some hard labor.

We set about planting the herbs and veggies to the sounds of Sting, Sarah, Billy and Paul on a truly beautiful LA day.

Becca confided in me that she had always wanted to plant a secret garden after she had read the book of the same name.

...hours passed...
"My garden of pots is like some living diary, a collection of occasions, memories, places and friendships." Sara Midda


And so in this little corner, this little corner of my backyard, a garden grows.

I have Buddha to watch over my tea herbs.
Now we will sit and wait and see what Spring will bring.

whack!

What the heck is that a picture of you say?
Well, yesterday I am sitting having lunch with my son when WHACK!..."What the heck was that?"
Seems a tree branch flew straight down and hit my car windshield and cracked my window. Not only that, it hit with such a force that it cracked my dashboard as well...bummer.
All I can say is...I'm glad no one was sitting in the car when it happened...or that the branch didn't hit some unsuspecting person walking by, for that I am grateful... Instead...it hit my car...and now she has to be towed away...and fixed....
Life is... curious...

I'm making some art for a couple of art projects. That's keeping me busy and at home. Here's a sneak preview...

I happened to watch "Top Design" late last night...and if anyone happens to want to know the color of that beautiful blue paint Matt used it was "White Smoke" Pratt & Lambert Exterior flat finish. It is such an amazing color, it makes me want to paint something in it.

And last but not least......my beautiful little Lily of the Valley bloomed this week on my window sill...a harbinger that spring is indeed on it's way...

astounding planet earth

Has anyone been watching "Planet Earth"? The series started on Sunday, March 25th on the Discovery Channel. It is truly astounding. I am totally in awe of the footage that was obtained for this series...I believe it continues to play at different times and channels (check your local listings). Check out their website when you get a chance it's full of information and photographs. (I even got caught up in the game they have on there where you send your crews into these remote locations and see if you can bring them in under budget.) I can't wait to see the other episodes. I highly recommend it...
It is certainly a reminder of how small our world around us is and how amazing and diverse planet earth really is.

EXOTIC PARROT -SHOT AT SANTA ANA ZOO

this and that...

I came across this picture recently. Dig my retro look as Martin Milner saves me from the bad guys. Remember the shag haircut? It's always fun when I happen upon these old pictures from my show biz past. I'll see what else I can dig up.


When you get a chance check out my art pal Sarah Fishburn's new, updated and improved website. http://www.sarahfishburn.com
I enjoyed putting Sarah's site together for her and looking at her body of work. Sarah and I are very excited about our book "In This House" being printed as I write this. It won't be long now.

Working on a couple of projects. I'll post them as I get farther along.

Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible.
I think it's in my basement... let me go upstairs and check.
M. C. Escher

Slainte!

Happy St Patrick' Day!

This token is one of my favorite things. A clover captured between two pieces of glass, so simply beautiful. Thanks Cinnia...Seemed most appropriate for this bright and sunny St. Patrick's Day.
Spring is truly on it's way.

My friend Judy sent me her favorite toast:

MAY THOSE THAT LOVE US, LOVE US.

AND THOSE THAT DON'T, MAY GOD TURN THEIR HEARTS.

BUT IF HE CANNOT TURN THEIR HEARTS,

MAY HE TURN THEIR ANKLES,

SO WE WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR LIMPING!!

Those Irish have a wicked sense of humor!
Slainte (SLAWN-che) is an Irish toast -- "To you health!"
When you click glasses today...say it loud and clear.

a hero comes along

This is sort of a Summer into Fall picture, but the word to interpret was Goldenrod. This is what that word looks like to me. It feels good to get back in the art chair again...(figuratively speaking) often I stand...
I am on the last legs now of my second book "Mixed Emulsions". In the meantime I have so much to catch up on that has gone to wayside this past year while I was busy writing. And here it is March already. I have a list as long as my arm of this and that...like cleaning out my closet...planting my potager garden, painting the dining room...all on that list of things to do that I write at the beginning of each year.
Not lofty goals, just reasonable ones that I pretty much attain if I set my mind to it.

Yesterday morning, while the clocks were moving forward 1 hour...I was heading out to KCET to give the 'Hero in Education' award to a worthy winner on The Big Spin... the lottery show. The winner was Ann Brigden, for creating the Peacemakers in Carson schools. She has created a program to give kids the tools to deal with bullies, cruelty and violence. I was proud to give her an award for her dedicated work.

Ann Brigdon recieves her award

It was nostalgic for me to be back on the KCET studio lot. It had been many years, but still they have maintained the look and the history of the studio. They have updated the stages, but the dressing rooms felt like I was walking into a time capsule. I had been there before, though it would be hard to pinpoint when. Maybe there was a game show, or talk show I had filmed there years before. Anyway, it felt like putting on a comfy pair of old slippers.

It's like: never relax, never take that breath, never stop to get that drink of water. You know you can always smell roses when you're running with them in your hand.
Garth Brooks

cap-turing vegas

There's an article in the brand new issue of "Belle Armoire" magazine on my cap-tured images in jewelry and trinkets. TARTX aka Tiffini Electra X makes them out of bottlecaps using my images. Tiffini does an amazing job and I just love the way they look. You can see and even order them by going to the Pasticcio Bizarre on my website.

This last weekend my brother Chris and I went to visit my parents at their home in Las Vegas. We set them up on their brand new computer, made our way around the glittering city and played some Bingo. I got an neck ache because they called the numbers so fast and I had so many cards. I have yet to yell BINGO!

Noteworthy: You can take strange pictures when you do it at arms length.

I have switched over to the NEW and improved Blogger. It was supposed to be painless...but alas it was not. Hope it all works ok.

Here's 2 pages from a Soulful Journey.