For the United Valley

 

I discovered a new mural on the back side of the Park Central complex.  It's full of color and features lots of happy faces.

The first time I spotted it, the artist, Liliana Mora was still working on it even though it looked nearly done.

I went back yesterday to have a second look.  The mural was commissioned by the Valley of the Sun United Way who have their offices in that building. It's a lovely way to celebrate the work they do.

Taking part in Monday Murals.

School Cloister

 

I love the symmetry of a nice cloistered walkway so whenever I see one, I try to take photographs that will emphasized those repeating patterns.  The Brophy College Preparatory School has a very nice cloistered walkway.  I stopped there recently to get a few photos.

One photo taken from the outside and another photo taken in the shade of the covered walkway.  

Of course, there are other elements that add to the ambiance of the school.  A nice fountain near the walkway adds the sound of bubbling water.

All those beautiful features are enhanced by an equally lovely bell tower on the top of the building.  This Spanish Colonial Revival styled building has been a landmark on Central Avenue in Phoenix since 1928.  

Bright Colors

 

I saw this Gazania bloom in the front garden of a home when I was on a walk and I couldn't resist a photo.  Such a bright and happy looking flower.  It's welcoming the spring even if the temperatures here are more summer-like than spring-like. This has been an extremely warm winter with temperatures in the 90's these last two days.

Slow Moving Skyscapes

 

While I was in Scottsdale last weekend, I stopped in at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.  The museum was in the midst of an exhibit change so there were only two exhibits on view.  This one is called Pathfinding by artist Evan Roth. It had two components, a slow moving video of sky images and a series of quilts inspired by the sky.  The video was slow paced visions of clouds passing across the sun.  It was quiet and relaxing.

The second piece was a series of quilts all designed with inspirations from sky scenes.  

I only took photos of two of the quilts but they were all interesting to see.  

Art comes at us in many, many ways.

Flowering Trees

 

I was at the Scottsdale Civic Center last weekend where I spotted two trees that were blooming at the moment.  This pink one I believe is called Rosy Trumpet tree.

For this one with the white blooms I used Google to identify it as an Amelanchier.  Google indentification can be hit or miss so if any of you plant experts know better, please let me know.

A Big Announcement & Rain

 

My good friends Julie and Dave hosted a patron's event at their house late Monday afternoon. The event was to announce the new Phoenix Symphony Music Director.  In the top photo we see Peter Kjome, the Symphony CEO and to the left is Paolo Bortolameolli, the new music director. He is a Chilean-Italian conductor who has performed all over the world and will start leading the Phoenix Symphony for the 2026-27 season.

After the announcement, a quartet of symphony musicians started playing some beautiful selections of music for the attendees to enjoy.  

After about 3 minutes of great music, the skies opened up and the rain started pummeling everyone on the patio.  We made a very speedy retreat getting the musicians out of the rain followed by the trays of food that had been placed out for all to enjoy.

The whole change from patio to living room took less than 8 minutes and that beautiful music now filled the house.  After the music ended, everyone retreated to the kitchen to enjoy all the great food that had been rescued from the rain.  It's a good thing that Julie and Dave have a big kitchen.  The event was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in spite of the unusual weather disruption.

Those Hidden Assets

 There are many times when I take a photo thinking I'm looking at a single subject and then when it's downloaded I find something else hidden there.  In the photo above, I found a tiny little insect sitting on the wheat shaft.

On this photo of a jimsonweed bloom, I found a tiny little ant climbing up the shaft coming out of the center of the bloom.  

I took this photo of the Chihuly towers that greet visitors to the Desert Botanical Garden just at dusk.  I thought the dwindling light would make a good background.  But after downloading the photo, I notice and airplane coming in for a landing at Sky Harbor Airport.  Can you see it?  It's just about to go behind the mountain.  

You never know what might be lurking in the background. 

Wet Rocks

 

This is another photo that I found in my "Favorites" file.  I remember when I took this way back in 2013.  It was a rainy day at the Desert Botanical Garden.

This fountain made from a very large stone is surrounded by small stones.  I remember thinking that those stones looked so attractive all shiny and wet.  I especially liked that red one inserted among all the gray.

The fountain usually looks like this when I walk past it.  Those small stones aren't nearly as attractive when they are dry. 

One More to Celebrate

 

One more artist from the Celebration of Fine Arts.  This time it's Ray Tigerman who paints these southwestern paintings with bold and bright colors.

I remember his paintings from visits to this art show in previous years.  I like his style.

He had one sculpture in his little space that I liked very much.  

There is always a lot of art on display at this annual event.  I also enjoy talking with the artists.  That opportunity makes this event pretty special.

Positioning the Subject

 

I have two more photos from the "Favorites" file today.  This one was taken in May of 2014 when I spotted this cactus with an agave plant situated a few feet away.  I like the way they complimented each other.

Almost exactly a year later in May of 2015, I photographed the same cactus and this time it appeared centered with the agave plant.  The same two plants, just two different perspectives.  Which do you think works best?

Harvesting the Archives

 

The Photo application on my Macbook allows me to mark certain photos as favorites and files them in a "Favorites" folder.  A few days ago, I was wondering what all I had placed in the folder so I decided to have a look.  I found some real beauties that never made it on to the blog.  This one was taken in February of 2015 at the Desert Botanical Garden.

This one is also from the Desert Botanical Garden and it was taken in May of 2015.  A monarch butterfly enjoying a pretty purple flower.

This photo was also at the Desert Botanical Garden.  Obviously I get a lot of my "favorites" from the garden.  This spider lily plant grows out of fountain and I've only caught it in bloom two times.  This photo was taken in September of 2017.

Most of the photos in the favorites album have been posted before but these three never made it onto my blog before.  

Artistic Styles

 

Shannon Leigh has her own very distinctive style of painting her mostly western paintings.  I had to study that one to the right to see the cowgirl emerge.

I really like the style of Martin Blundell's paintings.  All those straight lines stacked up draws my eye into the painting to form such beautiful scenes.

Dale Terbush has a more realistic style to his paintings.  I admired this one with the brilliant sky very much.  By the way, that is the artist busy at work to left in this photo.

Adding a Touch of Humor

 

Bruce Marion is a painter who depicts a variety of wildlife in his paintings. This year he added a touch of humor with these two paintings of Jurassic Cowboys.  It never would have occurred to me to depict a cowboy riding a dinosaur. It looks like a life or death bronco ride to me.

Pete Tillack's paintings always contain something that is a bit out of place.  In the two paintings above  it's furniture placed in odd places.  He added a bit of humor with the small piece to the left of the lower painting.  It professes that "This is Not Art Yet it Has Appeal!"  I've seen that "banana art" joke before but I liked the way he juxtaposed it with his own art.

 This last piece is from artist and sculptor Parker McDonald.  He's added a row of brass song birds perched on a flute.  Very clever since the sound of birds is often depicted by the sound of a flute.

The Paint Carver

 

Brit Hansen is another artist I've admired at the Celebration of Fine Art.  She calls herself a "paint carver" and she explained to me what she does.  She paints a very thick layer of acrylic paint to the canvas and after it dries she carves away layer of the paint giving the remaining layer some texture.  The texture is hard to see in my photographs but it reminds me a bit of the brush strokes you sometimes see on a canvas.

These two paintings of hers really grabbed my attention when I stopped at her space.  And, I'm happy to report that they were purchased by a couple who were leaving the space as I stepped in.  I like knowing they are going to a good home.

Familiar Artists

 

Many of the artists who come to the Celebration of Fine Arts, come every year.  That makes their work very familiar to me.  Above is a painting by Barbara Rudolph.  She mixes a love of birds with a love of literature in her paintings.  She calls this one "Tall Tales Before the Flame Goes Out".  

To the left is a mixed media sculpture by Jeremy Firehammer.  This one has wood and fabric and metal and tiny lights.

Terrell Powell has very colorful paintings as well as a few very whimsical animal sculptures.  I love this polka-dotted moose.  

Seth Fairweather is another mixed media sculptor working with metal and other materials.  He's had sculptures similar to this one at the show before and I've always found them appealing.

Theme Day: White

 

The City Daily Photo Bloggers theme for March 1st is "White".  That's probably a subject that comes easy for all the northern and eastern bloggers who have been buried in snow.  For me, I had to do a bit of digging to find something appropriate.  I found this photo of a giant white rabbit that was part of the Desert Botanical Garden exhibit back in 2019 called "Wild Rising".  I posted the white elephant from that exhibit here.  

To see other depictions of White from around the globe, click here.