The Muse Exhibition

This is a great exhibition at the Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center. Over 30 photographers have photographed the same girl as the artist's muse - yours truly included. The show runs until late June. Well worth a trip to see it.

Funny how this week, in London, the Royals have a wedding, and persist in promoting the lineage of the Prince, while acknowledging the bride's background, while the US president has to show his birth certificate to prove his legitimacy.

Hanging the Pastel Show

Hanging the Pastel Society of Southern California's 2nd Annual Show this morning with Dave Wolfram at the Creative Arts Center in Manhattan Beach. Fifty members work is represented. I have a couple of pieces in, too. The reception is tomorrow evening. Here we go--------

Being an auctioneer at an art event is a blast! My first time (and maybe only time) doing this improv theater, while raising money and playing the gentleman in the green hat against the lady in blue.

However, today is another day and I'm focussing on creating a pastel for the Pastel Society of Southern California's annual show in Manhattan Beach. Deadline is tomorrow. What will I create?

Today we had our 3rd meeting to create an art walk event in Torrance. Our first meeting had almost 30 people at the Torrance Art Museum. Today we had 9. We are expanding our location search from old town Torrance into bigger industrial spaces, partly to include shipping containers to display contemporary art.

Tonight is the closing of the last show at the Zask Gallery in Palos Verdes at its Golden Cove location. There's a wine tasting event, and then a live auction of donated works of art to raise funds for the move into the Peninsular Center. I have donated "A Touch of Fruit".

I am the auctioneer, too.

Mmmmm - should be interesting......

Tribute to Chuck Chambers, Sean Kelly and Russ Urban

Attended a Memorial Service for Chuck Chambers on Torrance Beach yesterday. He, along with two passengers, Russ Urban and Sean Kelly, died last week, when his plane developed engine trouble, and they crash landed near Newport Harbor. There was a huge turnout with much music and many colorful tributes to a remarkable man. A fly-by tribute by the Tiger Squadron flew over in a missing man formation. Russ Urban was a great teacher and taught my son Patrick from an early age. One of Chuck's mottos: "Life is a journey ---- not a destination"

The Mammoth Trip

Back from a great painting trip to Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Lots of photos and painting. Steve Mirich did all the driving -- and the cooking, An amazing feat. What a guy!

My Nikon SLR D100 shutter went out on the journey up. Pulled into Vons in Bishop and bought a Nikon point&shoot COOLPIX L22. I knew I was going to need it.

I also had my Leica M4 (a lovely film dinosaur I bought in the 70's) and my last 2 rolls of Kodachrome, a classic film invented for the intrepid National Geographic photographers to bring back the best photos from the frozen and the fiery ends of nowhere. This film's production has ceased. And December is the last month for developing this great film. I'll post results when I get them back.

Meantime, here's one of the D100 photos, just before it conked out.