Celebration of Fine Art

 

I went to the Celebration of Fine Arts yesterday so I could spend some time among the artists and their beautiful works.  I've posted about this show many times before.  It always happens between January and the end of March with artists spending the whole time working and showing their art in the big white tents in north Scottsdale.  Above is the work of Eric Holt a heavy metal sculptor.  Most of his work is on a very large and grand scale but these smaller pieces caught my eye.  

I cropped the top photo a bit so I could show you two of the pieces that have a sort of "other-worldly" look to them.  This one has a title, "Thorn of Crowns".

I didn't see a name for this one. It's quite unusual looking too.  This artist was new to me.  I have more photos from the show.  In the next week or so, I'll show you more from some of the artists I see every year.

The Cascalote Tree

 

I took these photos at the end of December at the Desert Botanical Garden when the cascalote tree that I like so much was in full bloom.  I love to sit at one of the table under the tree and watch the birds and be bees loving all those pretty yellow blooms.  

I also enjoy seeing those yellow blooms against a lovely blue sky.

It's one of those trees that feeds all kinds of needs.  The bees are busy gathering the pollen, the tiny little verdin birds feed on the centers of the blooms and then the larger birds like to gather the blooms that fall to the ground.  It also feeds the human need for spring colors in the winter months.  It serves an abundance of needs.

Flat Top

 

This unusually shaped tree caught my eye recently and I had to turn around and go back to get a photo.  It's so full of green across it's width but I wonder what happened to it's top.  It almost looks like someone shaped it so it would grow this way.  I know that trees come in all shapes and sizes, I've just never seen one shaped quite like this before.

Posterity

 

I saw this shiny new McLaren parked in the valet spot in front of a new fitness center.  Valet's love to park the fancy cars right out front.  I can tell it's new because it still has the temporary license plate on it.

It appears that the car has been named "Posterity 44".  Actually, it turns out that Posterity 44 is a real estate agency.  A profitable one I'm guessing.

Clouds Over Camelback Mountain

 

I noticed all the clouds when I left the house to go to a store so I took this road because I knew it would give me a good view the clouds hovering over the mountains.  We had some wind and rain early last week and as the storm was clearing, we saw great swaths of clouds hanging low in the skies.  I always enjoy a good view of clouds over the mountains.

The Watercolor Treatment

 

I hadn't played around with some of my photo editing tools for quite a long time but this last weekend I decided to see if I could find an interesting photo to play with.  I remembered this photo that I posted at the end of January.  

 It is a good candidate for the watercolor treatment.

Then I tried the same technique with this photo that I posted two weeks ago.  

Of course, I didn't stop with just the watercolor effect.  I tried a few more.  I found this one appealing.

And this one was interesting too.  

I forgot how much fun it is to play with different styles.  I'll have to do that more often.

The Kid in Me

 

I went to Costco Saturday morning and discovered that the "kid" in me was alive and well.  I saw this little Mickey Mouse train set up with lights flashing and music playing and it stopped me in my tracks.  I stood there staring at if for a few minutes before deciding to snap a photo.  I'm sure this is set up to lure parents into buying it for their kids Easter celebrations and I have to admit, it beats a hard-boiled egg.

I'm constantly reminded by my aging joints that the years are piling up so it was great to know that the sight of Micky, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald could still put a smile on my face.

This is Not Sleepy Hollow

 

I would never call my neighborhood a "Sleepy Hollow" but Ichabod Crane showed up nonetheless.  I heard some noise out my window so I stepped out on the balcony to see what was happening.  That's when I spotted "Ichabod Crane".  I've seen many cranes show up around here but this was the very first "Ichabod Crane".  

They need to use cranes when an air conditioning/heat unit needs replacing.  On my building and the building next door, the units are hidden deep in the roof line of the buildings so they can't be seen from the street.

I must say that Ichabod Crane is great name for a crane service.  Very clever.

More Art

 

I have three more pieces from Sunday's art show.  This one is by Travis Ivey and it's called "Home for Chaos".  I liked all the straight lines and colors.

The artist for this one is Nick A Erickson and he calls this one "Carnival Ride".  This one would look good hanging in a bake shop. 

This one is my favorite of these three.  It's called "Bobcat's Burrow" and it was painted by Bethany Stephan.  If you look closely at the bottom of this narrow painting, you will see that bobcat peeking out.

Whimsical Ladies

 

These three paintings are by Gail MacFarland.  I'm not sure why they appealed to me so much.  Maybe it was the creative whimsy about each one. This one is called "Blue Doves in Crimson Leaves".

This one is called "Redhead at the Edge of the River".

This last one is called "Defender III".  They are all mixed media works.  I think that first one is my favorite but they are all interesting to look at. These ladies seem oblivious to the fact that flowers and birds and plants are living in their hair.

One-Day Art Show

 

There was another one-day art exhibit again at Biltmore Fashion Park last weekend.  I made a point of stopping by to take a look at the work.

Nicole Aretakis paints some very realistic scenes.

The show had a good turn out of people to admire the art.  I hope there were a few sales to go with all that admiration.    Tomorrow I'll show you a couple of favorites of mine.

The Singing Dog

 

On Sunday afternoon, I attended a wonderful concert put on by the Arizona Bach Festival.  It took place at All Saints' Episcopal Church in north Phoenix.  While I was waiting for my friends to arrive, I noticed this family sitting in the parking lot area with their dog.  They had a recording playing of some lovely baroque music and their dog was singing along with music.  It was the perfect pre-concert entertainment. 

I think that dog might have been an opera singer in a previous life!

Cactus Flowers

 

I found this mural on the side of a building close to downtown Phoenix.  I didn't see a signature anywhere on it which is rather a shame because it is a stunning piece of art.  Whoever painted it captured those cactus blooms beautifully. 

Taking part in Monday Murals.

P.S. the artist for this is Lauren Lee.  Thank you Dianne for letting me know.

Flowers, Flowers and More Flowers

 

I did something very bold yesterday.  I went to Trader Joe's on a Saturday.  Not just any Saturday but Valentine's Day to boot.

The front of the store was one huge mass of flowers covering the entire sidewalk in front of the store.  And those bouquets were being plucked out of their buckets of water in very rapid succession.  

I did manage to snap a bunch of photos as I walked past the floral frenzy.

I didn't take any home with me.  However if I was going to pick one out, it would have been those lovely roses in the top photo.

Valentine's Day

 

I found this giant heart at Biltmore Fashion Park recently.  I've never seen them put something out for Valentine's Day so it was a nice surprise.

Then, when I was looking for those photos of the iron saguaro I posted yesterday, I came across this photo taken years ago of a heart-shaped bloom on a slipper plant.  We call them slipper plants but their real name is euphorbia lomelii which is a drought resistant plant making it a perfect plant for growing in the desert.  The blooms tend to look like a lady's slipper but this one is a perfect heart.  

Happy Valentine's Day

An Iron Saguaro

 

I took these two photos back in 2014 but they never made it on to my blog.  Last weekend, I walked by this sculpture when I was at the Desert Botanical Garden. It reminded me that I had photos I had taken back when this was new.

The sculpture and the iron box for the tree were created by Jeff Hebets in honor of his cousin Phil Hebets who created the boxing methodology that allowed the salvaging of plants so they could be moved from one location to another.  The saguaro is made from the pick heads used for digging up and salvaging plants.

I took this photo last weekend because I wanted to show how birds have built nests in this iron saguaro.  However, I notice that the nest is almost impossible to see because that boxed tree has grown so much in the past 12 years. 

So that nest might not be visible as I had planned but it gave me an excuse to find the old photos and finally show this great sculpture.

Did Someone Call for a Doctor?

 

I recently spotted this "fellow" standing on the bar at a tiny little cafe. It took me a minute to figure out what it was.  It looks like if you call this doctor, he arrives complete with a bottle of wine.

That's a pretty clever bottle holder.  

Up, Up and Away

 

My car was parked in a parking lot that happened to be across the street from St. Joseph's Hospital when I heard the roar of helicopter blades revving up.  I looked over in time to see one lifting off from the helipad on the Hospital's roof.

I took three photos in rapid succession and caught it on it's way.

It reminded me of the time I spent one night in a hospital for some tests and my room overlooked the heliport on that hospital.  It was a good thing I was only there for one night.  The roar of a helicopter right out your window is pretty loud.

Weekend Recap

 

This last weekend was a busy one for me with that Desert Botanical Garden brunch that I posted about on Saturday morning which was followed by dinner downtown and the symphony that evening.  

Standing on the front patio of Symphony Hall, I snapped this photo of a residential building that looms one block away.  You also can see our Art Deco styled street lamps that can be seen all over downtown.

On Sunday I met friends for lunch at the Phoenix Art Museum before we went to a play at The Phoenix Theatre which is right next door.

I snapped this photo of an ikebana arrangement in the Asian gallery as I passed through to the restaurant.

The play we saw was "Come From Away" which I had seen before several years ago with a broadway cast.  This was a local production and it was every bit as good as the broadway one. 

The play is about the 7,000 people that were stranded in the town of Gander in Newfoundland on 9/11.  It's a heartwarming account of people coming together to help each other in a time of crisis.  It's a great story told in a fun way with humor and heart.

You can read a full synopsis here.

Some Quick Shots

 

Upon a closer look, I see that some of my iPhone shots at the garden on Saturday turned out quite well.

Above, the photo of Papago Buttes framed by some desert plants is display worthy.  

But the one that truly surprised me was this one of a tiny hummingbird.  That's a pretty darn good photo for an iPhone photo.

I like this one of a bee enjoying a pretty desert marigold too.  

I'm always amazed by the quality of iPhone photos these days.

Spring Gathering

 

Yesterday I got to experience the Spring Patron's Breakfast at the Desert Botanical Garden.  My friend Julie is garden patron but she was on her way to the airport for a trip to Venice so she couldn't go this time.

I loved how they decorated some of the tables with these small vases of flowers arranged down the center of the long tables. It certainly gave the place a spring-like atmosphere.

The flowers were too pretty to pass them by.

After the breakfast, I did take a short walk around the garden but since I was there for this event only, I didn't bring my camera.  

I did take some photos with my cell phone and I can pop one or two of them onto the blog sometime soon.

A Home for the Birds

 

When I first saw this birdhouse, I thought it was attached to that saguaro "skeleton" at the front of this house.  Later I saw that it was actually sitting on top of a wooden plank.  

The birdhouse looks like a very roomy, ranch-style house with a nice balcony surrounding it.  The wear on the paint around the opening makes me think it has housed many feathered residents.