Quiche, Kiwi, and Blueberries.
Lunch Today, at Home
Hollyhock House and a Studio Opening
Yesterday was great! I had a party downtown in the evening, so I went into LA a little early and spent some time up at Hollyhock House. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1919, and built on the top of a hill in Los Feliz, it’s spectacular. The house was commissioned by an heiress named Aline Barnsdall, who was a bit of a rebel – in a good way! Her dream was to create an art complex with a couple of theaters, and studios for potters and painters and all kinds of other artisans, plus a school for her young daughter to play and learn and grow. So she bought this large hill – Olive Hill – in Eastern Hollywood, and hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design it all. Most of the project was never completed – but the main residence was – Hollyhock House, named after the design motif Wright employed throughout the house, based on Miss Barnsdall’s favorite flower.
I first discovered the house back in the early 1990’s and I’ve brought many friends to tour it over the years. It feels like this private, special place, sort of hidden away in plain site, in the middle of the city. The view of the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign can’t be beat – especially if you’re on the roof of Hollyhock House. And in the other direction is all of downtown. It’s amazing at sunset.
The house itself is concrete and leaded glass and the abstracted Hollyhock motif shows up in all sorts of interesting and imaginative ways. I remember reading long ago that FLW choose olive as the main color for the house, since Olive Hill was of course covered in olive trees at the time. He intended the walls to be the color of the underside of the leaves, and the main accent to be the darker green color of the top of the leaves. It’s a beautiful thought! And the violet and the white in the leaded windows are in reference to the colors of the Hollyhock flower. Then as a further accent, the windows were rimmed in wood painted gold. In 1994 the house was damaged in the Northridge Earthquake – and I remember cracks in the walls, and scaffolding around the house for years afterward. And then as repairs were made, the city choose what I call “parks and recreation green” as the accent color for the house – you know, the bright green paint they always use on picnic benches in national parks. Almost a kelly green? Totally wrong and garish-looking on Hollyhock House. Thankfully it’s been replaced by a much more authentic olive green since then!
It had been a while since I’d been up to Hollyhock House. It’s one of my favorite places on earth and one of the all-time top ten homes in LA, and one of the top ten Frank Lloyd Wright homes – so very very special – but I realized I hadn’t been in a couple years, so I was glad when I found myself with an extra hour in LA on an unexpectedly beautiful balmy day, right at sunset. And the house hasn’t changed. It’s still the most peaceful, pleasant, blissful spot in the city. There’s also an art museum on the property and they do a lot of art education – it’s a real asset to the community. To me it’s the best part of LA – truly!
Then after Hollyhock House, I headed downtown for a friend’s BIG studio opening. I’m incredibly happy for and jealous of Rob and his girlfriend Vanessa. They’re getting to live the fantasy life of many many artists – a huge vintage loft in the old Southern California Edison building, circa 1903, in The Brewery Art Colony. It’s the kind of place you see in the movies when the character is a hip, successful artist. In fact, right after they took possession, CSI: Miami shot an episode in their space – it’s that cool!
Here’s a few links if you’re curious…
http://www.robgreer.com/blog/2009/01/los-angeles-wedding-photographer-party/
http://www.robgreer.com/blog/2008/11/csi-miami-selects-our-studio-2/
And a super cool video of the party, shot by Tony Bisson! I make a quick appearance at about the 2.5 minute mark…
http://vimeo.com/2864594
Desirous of everything at the same time…
Mad to live.
Mad to talk.
Desirous of everything at the same time.
Never saying a commonplace thing.
But burn, burn, burning…
And everyone goes “Awww!”
Sounds like a blueprint for a life worth living.
Here’s the quote…
“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!'” – Jack Kerouac, On the Road
LA Guns at Brixton South Bay, in Redondo Beach
I got to start 2009 off right with a concert!
The venue was a small club in Redondo Beach called Brixton South Bay, the band was LA Guns, and I got to meetup with some old friends and meet some new ones. It was a fun night!
It was the first time the band had played together in a couple of months, and they sounded good. I think it’s safe to say that I got a little spoiled this summer and early fall – I got to see them in concert five or six times – but that was months ago, and I guess I missed them, because I really really enjoyed the show.
This particular venue wasn’t that exciting, but it did have some cool lights, so it was a fun show to shoot. I got a shot with Marty Casey and Tracii Guns bathed in orange light from one side and violet from the other. I call that RBL light, for obvious reasons, and it’s rare to see it, but always beautiful! But my favorite shots from the night may be the solo shots of Jeremy Guns and Alec Bauer.
I used a wide angle lens almost exclusively that night – and I really pushed the colors and textures – so the images are a little different, and a little out there – but I think they’re fun!
Oh, and the poster for the event featured one of my images!
And finally four-fifths of the band in the greenroom before the show with Darryl Boyd who owns Rock-n-Roll GangStar Apparel.
Edited to Add: A pop culture blog called Icon vs. Icon, recently named LA Guns one of the top Live Acts of 2008, and they used one of my images to accompany the article. It’s a live shot from Yucaipa, back in September. I really do love to see my images turn up in the press, when I’m not expecting it. It’s like an Easter Egg Hunt!
http://www.iconvsicon.com/2008/12/27/the-best-live-performances-of-2008-revealed/
Happy New Year!
“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical and expecting more than others think is possible. BELIEVE BIG.” – Anonymous
As satisfying as 2008 was, I am so ready for 2009!
Artistically, the past year was amazing – I love my body of work from 2008. I shot some images that will be among my favorites forever. Iconic, beautiful, powerful images that I fall in love with every time I see them. That’s what I hope for every day, and it was gratifying to find so much of that particular kind of satisfaction in one year. It was just a great year!
And 2009 is looking even better, if that’s possible, and I believe it is. I believe in believing big – even if it is a bit of a twister to say and even twistier to comprehend. But try…
On Twitter | 2008
Merry Christmas, 2008
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MaO34xRtvwo
Merry Christmas Everyone! One of my favorite musicians, JD Fortune, just posted an acoustic version of Silent Night that is simple and honest and really beautiful. It’s the perfect thing to listen to on this Christmas Eve!
The coming year should be fabulous for JD – he has a solo album coming out in early 2009 – and there are rumors that he may tour. I hope so! But I absolutely love that with all that going on, he made a simple recording with just him and a guitar and a favorite Christmas carol, and posted it today. Just very, very cool!
I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!
I’m back! I think…
Getting “snowed in” sounds so romantic – staying inside by the fire with a good book, drinking hot chocolate. No work, no school, no modern world. Sounds fun! And in a way it is, but it’s also a lot of cold hard work. By the third day with no electricity, one more trip out to get firewood, just gets old. Do you have any idea how much wood it takes to heat a house with a wood stove and a fireplace, when it’s 22° outside? And when that wood is at the end of long walkway, and buried under three feet of snow, it’s a lot of work!
And there’s the darkness. This time of year the sun goes down so early and comes up so late – and with only firelight, and one dim lantern, there’s not much you can do. We played Scrabble – a lot of Scrabble! And went to bed early, and slept late. But fourteen or fifteen hours of darkness is a long, long time. Especially by the third night.
The power came on suddenly at 1:30AM last night, then flickered out, then came back on for good at 2:30AM. I’ve never been so happy to see the lights come on!
This is the view from the house, about midway through the second storm, soon after the power went out. Down by the garage there’s a big bump in the snow – that’s my car. As more snow fell it became even less recognizable.
The view from the front porch, also on the Wednesday. There’s no denying that it’s beautiful!
And this is what it looked like today! Bright blue sky, lots of sun, and lots of icicles as the snow on the roof began to melt.
As the sun heated things up, the trees began to shed their load of snow. In fact, it was hazardous to walk under them since you could get dumped with slushy snow at any moment. But it was worth it to get to see some green again!
We’re supposed to have two more days of warm weather and sun – so hopefully the ice and snow will melt off the walkways and we can dig out the wood pile and my car before the next storm – which is supposedly coming on Monday. I am definitely hoping for rain that day, instead of snow – and that’s a possibility – but if it does end up snowing, I just hope for a light dusting this time. I can hope! And I really really hope the power stays on. It’s amazing how great heat and hot water and hot food are! I’m not ready to go back to the romantic pioneer days again quite yet…
Ryan Star at Anthology, San Diego
Here’s the slideshow from Ryan Star’s performance at the VIP pre-party for the Sophie @ 103.7’s Green Christmas Event.
http://www.rockbandlounge.com/news/2008-12-ryan-star/
And I have more coming from this show – including more of Ryan – plus all the other artists who played that night!
Bright Blue Sky and a Warm Sun
Much better! Bright blue sky and a warm sun. It’s up to 37° and there’s a constant drip, drip, drip as the snow melts off the tree branches.
My car is totally covered – if you didn’t know, you’d never guess there was a vehicle under that particular mound of snow.
They’re predicting rain or snow tonight, and then more snow tomorrow, so it’s not over yet, but I am definitely enjoying this little break and some bright pretty sun shining through. I love the way the light reflects off the snow – it’s so bright and beautiful! Reminds me of the beach…