A TRIP TO VENICE BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Street art is one of my passions and last week I was in Southern California, and while there, I visited one of the places where I grew up, Venice Beach.  What a mecca of fabulous murals, colorful buildings, fun architecture and quirky people!

 
One of my favorite murals, by Cronk.

Mural within a mural....so cool!

 A depiction of Venice as it was in the early days.

 Starry Nights

 Green gone wild!

FAREWELL MY SWEET GIRL

 

Boomer 2.2.96 - 2.15.12

Our hearts are broken, but we will never forget you, our beloved girl.

NEW WORK; NEW ATTITUDE

Untitled 2012-4    18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas

Things seem to be coming together in my painting practice.  The process of painting layer over layer is actually becoming more enjoyable and I am realizing that my process is one of "painting over" so to speak, until there is an end to the "painting over"...if that makes sense at all  :o) ..... I have discovered something about my work that I call "the rhythm".  The "painting over" process is actually a search to find the "rhythm", and when I do finally find this co-called "rhythm", then there seems to be an end in sight to the "painting over".  I'm not sure if any of this makes sense..I am still contemplating it all.....  I also just want to say thanks for all the encouragement I have received from my dear blogger friends....your kind words really mean a lot to me!!! XO

Not Giving Up

 Untitled (2012-1)  14" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas

 I have been painting now for about two years, and I rarely post the fruits of my labor here because I am never happy with the results, and I usually always paint over and over, and over the same canvas.  I have to quell the little voice that says, "just give up, you can't really paint"....and remind myself that it is about the process.  Recently my persistence has been rewarded by small revelations or epiphanies.  Hmm, another epiphany? 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"Bernard" by Cynthia Monica

GONE......But not Forgotten

 Cynthia Monica

I shot this image a few years back in downtown Portland, on Second Street, one of my favorite parts of town.  It had recently rained,  the sun was glimmering off the cars and big rain drops looked like sparkling diamonds.  And, to top it off, there was the mural of Bob Marley!   The composition and the elements of  the black building and the mural,  the red building next door with the funky yellow and red windows, the cars, and the shimmering drops made this one of my favorite personal shots.

You may know where this story is heading... a few days ago I was walking down Second Street expecting to see Bob, and to my utter dismay, the mural had been painted over....what a loss...what a disappointment.....Second Street will never be the same....

de Kooning

Untitled V  1982

Just finished reading, de Kooning: An American Master by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, in preparation for the de Kooning retrospective at MOMA.  It's a great read, I highly recommend it.  I am much more an admirer of his work since reading the book, which is quite comprehensive and really gives one a sense of his life, his struggles, as well as his process and work ethic.  He really did live to paint.  Even as dementia began creeping in, somewhere in the 80's, he continued his daily routine of painting for hours on end, but sadly, by early 1990 he was unable to work, and he passed away in 1997.