I found this new mural on the side of my local Trader Joe's store. I always wondered what he looked like. I'd say he's quite eclectic driving that strange contraption. It looks like he's headed for somewhere tropical. There was no signature but I'm assuming it was commissioned by the store. I think it's kind of cute and perfect for an equally eclectic store. I wonder if it was painted during the pandemic. I see that Joe is wearing a mask.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
I have some stray photos today. They have been bouncing around in my photo files for a while so I thought it was time to give them a showing. First up, a row of pretty blue pots hosting some straggled palms.
Here is someone who has found some humor in the fact that his car is dented.
Some cute little kitties that I found hanging around on a gift shop shelf. That one peeking in from the side reminded me a lot of a cat I once had.
A cave-man style wine rack that was spotted inside a restaurant.
And lastly, some shaggy looking owls that were decorating an Anthropologie store in Scottsdale. Just another random assortment of observations I've made along the way.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. It features artifacts from around the world.
Nature is the ultimate creator of beauty. I love stopping to admire what she has to offer like these pretty, reddish leaves glowing in the late afternoon sun.
Or the beauty of some dried leaves holding on to the bitter end.
Even a tiny little plant placed on a cafe table.
They are all worthy of second look or a photograph.
I found this shop at the Town & Country Shopping center with a prominent name of TBC. Then I realized that the name was actually "To Be Continued". What a clever name for a used or second-hand clothing store. I haven't been inside yet. I will have to check it out.
While I'm on the subject of life imitating art, I decided to post this photo that has been in my files for several years. My sister Judy took this several years ago when she visited Phoenix and we went to the Heard Museum. She spotted this lady sitting on the bench and almost mimicking the statue behind her.
The statue is called "Window to the Past" by Native American sculptor Roxanne Swentzell.
I wonder if my sister remembers this photo.
When I was getting ready to leave the Phoenix Art Museum last week, I saw this young man sitting near the gift shop and reading a book.
The sight of the man reading a book immediately made me think of this painting that I posted a photo of back in 2019. The pose is exactly the same, the setting is just different.
I decided this scene needed an artistic look too!
A day at the art museum gets my creative juices flowing!
There was something about this little family group that made me think they looked like a piece of art. The way they were positioned looked to me like they might be posing for a painting. I saw them when I was at the Phoenix Art Museum a week ago and I couldn't help getting a photo.
I tried to think of an actual painting it resembled but this was the closest I could come. It's a bit different with all women but it does have that same relaxed family look to it.
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I decided to do some editing and turn this little group into an actual art piece. Tomorrow I'll show you another scene at the art museum that inspired me.
I found this mural recently on the side of an office building on Thomas Road. I couldn't find a signature for the mural and I tried to determine why it was painted there. The building is occupied by several law firms all specializing in family law but that didn't seem to fit the mural. Finally I saw that an organization called Candelen had offices there. They are described as an association for supportive child care services for parents and professionals in child care and early education. That seems to fit the mural better than the law firms.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
When I was at the Phoenix Art Museum at the end of December, I found this "sculpture" in the contemporary art gallery. It was created by Jeff Colson, a California-based artist. It's called "Shelf" and is a proposed gift to the museum. (The link takes you to the Google image page for the artist. You can see that he is well known for putting together this kind of sculpture.)
Seeing that sculpture inspired me to photograph the closet self in the room I use as an office. I never thought the clutter of my office closet could be considered artistic. 😁
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. A visit to Tucson is in order.
I took a late afternoon walk at the Desert Botanical Garden on Thursday and I was greeted by this welcoming sign. I know it wasn't there for me but it made me smile anyway.
The winter sun was so low in the sky that I wished I had worn a hat or a visor. The light made for bright spots and deep shadows in all my photos.
I've posted photos of this glass art installation at the Heard Museum in the past. I'm posting photos of it again today to mark the passing of its creator, Tony Jojoba. I recently heard that he had passed away in late December. His artistic talent will be missed.
I learned when reading his biography that he had worked with Dale Chihuly, the famous glass artist and that Chihuly had nothing but praise for Jojola's talent.
This piece is called "Indigenous Evolution." The artist's statement about the piece reads "The fence speaks to the endurance of our culture. It's about going through boundaries; it symbolizes our persistent existence." He has created things that will be admired and loved many, many years into the future.
A few days ago I mentioned how impressed I was with the way the curators at the Phoenix Art Museum move different piece around to give it a totally different perspective. Here is one that has recently been moved.
Cornelia Parker's piece called "Mass (Colder, Darker, Matter)" has been located in its own little corner on the third floor for many years. Now it is on display on the first floor right in the middle of the gallery. Now visitors can walk all the way around it and examine all those floating bits of charred wood.
Behind it you can see another work by Geny Dignac called "Drawing With Fire". Charred wood and playing with fire, they go together rather well.
I love going to the museum and seeing familiar pieces in a totally different light.
I can always count on a fancy car being parked in front of Capital Grill. This time it was a brand new Rolls Royce. That's the valet standing by it in the photo above. They have a special parking lot but the valet always lets the best cars park in front.
One day over the holidays, I saw this really fancy motorcycle parked in front of a Scottsdale restaurant. That's one of the most unusual looking motorcycles I've ever seen.
Those who have followed my blog for a while know that I love finding ways to create abstract images using my camera. That's exactly what I did on my recent visit to the Phoenix Art Museum. The architecture of the museum is perfect for finding places where abstract images can emerge.
The photo above is a recent attempt. I saw the blocks of color and thought it would made a good image.
The photo to the right puts the spot in perspective. That little corner up on the above floor is what I zeroed in on.
The two colored, plastic panels join the two walls and the 'pink' above the plastic is the painted wall of a gallery.
I saw this mural when I took a walk in Scottsdale over the holidays. Frank & Lupe's Old Mexico is a restaurant in the area. I've eaten there many times but not for two or three years now. Over the past three years, I've found I can't tolerate the "heat" of some Mexican food and this is one that makes it hot.
I don't think I had ever seen this mural on the back of the restaurant before.
This sign made of tiles is on the front of the restaurant.
Don't you just love "Frank's" mustache?
Taking part in Monday Murals.
2008 was seven years before I discovered that I had breast cancer so now this sculpture means a little more to me than when I photographed it all those years ago.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. Travel is a time to indulge.
When I was at the Phoenix Art Museum last week one of the exhibits I enjoyed was a collection of beautiful cloisonné vessels. They were all 19th century pieces and all from Japan.
My favorite was this one with a cityscape look to it. It was so different from all the others.
This one is a little more traditional with a beautiful flower motif.
This third one was described as having a wisteria image.
They were all pretty amazing to see. They were described as being created with fine wires and glass paste. Creating these beauties must take both talent and incredible patience.
My close friends David and Riley have two beautiful dogs who are so much fun to be around. But like most dogs, they are a bit camera shy. They recently sent me this picture that they snapped one afternoon before Alexis (the little one) and Casper figured out they were holding a camera.
I decided that it was a good enough photo to do some artistic editing. My first option was this sketch-like version.
This version gave them a new background and an abstract look.
My favorite of all the edits was this one that gives Alexis and Casper a Kahinde Wiley type of background. It looks like they've been painted by a famous artist.
Last Thursday I was invited to a holiday tea in the dining room of a local catering company that is known for its outstanding food. The place is called Arcadia Farms. They used to have a little cafe but have now confined their services to only catering and special events.
The little dining room where the tea was held was decorated beautifully with the tables all set for the full house of customers that soon arrived. You can see the tiered plate of goodies in the photo to the right.
Before we dug into the plates of goodies, we were served our savory course with little mushroom tarts along with egg salad and chicken salad sandwiches and a little smoked salmon also. It was all very delicious and more filling than it looks. I ended up taking a lot of the sweet treats home. They made nice treats for the next two days.
This photo pretty much sums up the weather this past week between Christmas and New Year. It either rained or it was just overcast, extremely overcast. I was hoping to have the week to get out and get some photos but the weather was not cooperating. I don't want to complain because we can certainly use the rain but it would have been nice to have at least one sunny day.
I took the photo above at the Phoenix Art Museum. The courtyard at the museum looked rather pretty with a glazing of water. Spending a gloomy day inside the art museum seemed like a smart thing to do. I saw lots of new pieces of art and I saw some of my old favorites presented in a completely different context. It made me appreciate the curators who are constantly putting together new ways to view the art.
I found this clever map of the states hanging on a wall at a local restaurant. Someone has taken license plates from all the states and cut them to the actual shape of each state and them placed them in the exact location of each state. Some painstaking work went into putting this together.
After I downloaded the photo I got to wondering that little square was sitting just above Minnesota. So I enlarged it. It looks to me like Jesus is giving his blessing over the whole thing. I wonder who added that little feature.
The first day of every year, City Daily Photo bloggers post their favorite photo from the last year. I chose this one that I posted back in October. This is one of the butterflies at the Desert Botanical Garden that is very hard to photograph because they move so much. When they are sitting on a flower they seem to always be fluttering their wings. I was lucky to get a photo of this one while it was completely still. Butterflies are such magical creatures. They give us hope for a new and better tomorrow.
To see other photos of the year, click here.
I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today. It's a sort of hope for 2023.
