Sam Playing Drums

I decided to capture this point in Sam's drumming.  After about a month of lessons at Alta Loma Music, he's progressed to the point where he can actually play a simple tune like Alice In Chains' "Would".  We ended up moving the drums, all the amps and guitars to the living room and will probably keep it there for a while until we get the spare bedroom downstairs all soundproofed.  Sam's always had a good aptitude for music and seems to get it naturally.  I just hope he keeps this up and maybe he and JJ (and maybe me) can form a band someday.  

2012 Painting

I didn't execute a single painting in 2011 but just finished this one on a four-panel canvas last night.  Is this a trend for 2012 or will this be my one and last painting of the year?

Stingray Project Update 1/12/12

The Corvette finally got new wheels this week.  I got some replica Chevy rally wheels from Eckler's and had the rims painted Can-Am white at Avalon Collision in Rancho Cucamonga.  The period correct color for the rims is gray but I thought a matching color to the body would work better aesthetically.  To finish the retro look, I put them on a set of Firestone Firehawk radial tires.  This should be the last of the exterior work on the car.  The next focus is the interior upholstery and carpeting.  To think it took over 10 years to get the car to this point is frustrating but I'm finally there.  And by the way, this 69 Stingray is now officially named "Betty".  Vroom vroom.  For comparison purposes, this is what Betty looked like a little over a year ago as I rolled her out of the driveway in our Pasadena house.

Overheard At Starbucks (1/6/12 1030am)

At the Starbucks on Day Creek Blvd and Highland Ave today, it took me long enough to put 2 packets of sugar and cream in my decaf iced Americano to take note of this male in his early 20s recounting his New Year's Eve to another male and a female.

"I was mixing all sorts a drinks, you know.  I was kinda hangin' out cause all the old people went home early.  Then I was singing that song, you know, that lang syne, the one like Star Spangled Banner, you know...so yeah, I kinda started the new year right, you know."

A few things came to mind besides wishing I had a tape recorder to capture his monologue.  First, I wonder if I am the "old people" who goes home early.  Not sure what early is these days anyway.  Second, I never thought Auld Lang Syne even remotely resembles our national anthem.  Either he is tone-deaf or just haven't heard either song enough to tell any melodic or harmonic distinction.  And speaking of starting the year right, I rode 1500 miles last year on my bike without a single flat.  And today, my first ride of 2012, I flatted on my way out, thankfully, less than a mile away from home.

Rediscovering Music

When the kids started taking bass and drum lessons in November last year, I knew that not only was an opportunity for them to learn new instruments, but also a chance for me to get back into playing guitar.  The last couple years, I tried hard to pick up the acoustic or electric but it was just to much of a time commitment that conflicted with work (and last year, cycling).  Good thing, both my kids share the same musical taste, more or less, as me.  That means they wanted to learn Radiohead, Pearl Jam, U2, Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd etc. -- stuff I pretty much know already but haven't played in years (but thanks to the internet, I can look up any song in seconds).  And most importantly, I'm playing all my guitars again from the Taylor acoustics to the Strat to the classical guitar.  Thinking back, the kids are about the same age I was when I learned to play the guitar and although I haven't played much lately, my guitars are always there like old friends waiting to be reacquainted.  With all of 2012 in front of us, I'm forecasting a fairly music-heavy year of lessons, jamming, recitals and a few concerts for the year.

Reflections And Formed Patterns

I took several of these Fuji Instax instant photos on Christmas eve and had them sitting in the studio table the following morning.  As I rolled out of bed, I noticed the morning sun's reflection on the wavy surface of each glossy instant print.  I took the camera (other, digital) and after playing around with the exposure settings, I was finally able to capture the patterns that I'm hoping will become the basis of a new drawing series for 2012.  What looks like diffraction patterns are in reality, just simple rays of light that can be traced geometrically, as they filter through the east-facing window blinds and reflect on the print surface.

Weegee In Los Angeles (Pacific Standard Time #7)

My seventh Pacific Standard Time visit was to MOCA Grand Ave yesterday, New Year's Eve.  It was one of those quick hour and a half visits because every LA institution closed at 3pm on the last day of the year.  I got there around 130pm just enough to ingest what the photographer Weegee (Usher Fellig) produced in his 4 years (1947-1951) in Los Angeles.  What the exhibit gave me more than anything is an appreciation for what we have today in compared to life in the late 40s.  Some quick thoughts as I was going from gallery to gallery:
1) Has there ever been a photographer who worked in Los Angeles who didn't take pictures of celebrities?  Bet Weegee would have done the Kardashians if he were alive today.
2) I wonder how Weegee would have appreciated Photoshop?  Several galleries showed his analog manipulation of images to produce more interesting composites except he used a variety of techniques primarily special lenses, filters, etc.
3) Whatever happened to all those men's magazines from the 50s?  The print sizes of those rags were such that they fit in a man's inside jacket pocket, somewhere between the size of an iPad and an iPhone.
4) I need to get a copy of Weegee's New York (1948) -- a movie that was shown but restored to opening day quality.
5) I still find it a real stretch to consider tabloid photography as art.  It's like saying TMZ is eligible for a Pulitzer prize.  Either way, who am I to decide what is or isn't art.
6) Now, I'm really curious how his work before and after working in LA looked like.  It would be interesting to contrast his work and see if it got better or worse.  Working in LA has that effect on anybody who has spent any extended period of time here.  Could be the filthy air or dirty sex or abundance of celebrities or some combination thereof.