Perfect Viewing for Gingerbread: Revisiting the 2017 Tour The weather has been perfect this year for touring Sausalito’s new collection of gingerbread houses. A succession of mild sunny days has made it a delight to view the 11th Annual Sausalito Gingerbread House Competition and Tour (sponsored by the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce). I never quite […]
Luchita Hurtado is an amazing twentieth century artist although I’d never heard her name before until recently. Hurtado was too busy making art and living her life to promote her art aggressively. She no doubt suffered as well from the critical neglect bestowed on so many female artists by the sexism of the twentieth century […]
New York in the Summer of Love I was only nine years old and living in New York City during San Francisco’s Summer of Love. What filtered through to me was the wildness and freedom of the 1960s. Central Park in New York during the sixties was a frequent destination for my family. Suddenly the […]
I just saw the most amazing exhibit of ancient Chinese art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties, includes a stunning display of ancient animals, people, and even model houses made of earthenware that were recovered from royal tombs in Western […]
Quilting is considered a craft, but these days it is also most definitely one of the arts. “Out of the Blue,” a show of quilts at the Bay Model in Sausalito, showcases what is best about contemporary quilting. The quilts by the Muir Beach Quilters and Friends have similar artistic qualities to painting: they are […]
Nicholas Coley Art Exhibit: Many artists fall in love with painting because of the sensual qualities of paint. Thickly brushed on oil paint is satisfying to use precisely because it is luxurious. Thick yet malleable, it can be moved around the surface of a canvas easily. The buttery quality of the paint and the richness […]
Celebrating Sculpture: I always enjoy going to the Sausalito Art Festival as an observer rather than an exhibitor and this year I found myself celebrating sculpture instead of painting. There’s something about three dimensional art that just displays better in an outdoor environment. Lifting and Schlepping I’ve tried my hand at outdoor shows and festivals […]
Ed Ruscha: Ed Ruscha developed as an artist in the Pop Art culture of the 1960s along with his better known contemporaries, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Leaving his home state of Oklahoma at 18, Ruscha drove through the Southwest along Route 66. The sights, signs, and scenes of that first journey have shaped his […]
Two Lobbies The red bathroom is what made the strongest impression on me last week when I finally had time to visit the newly reopened San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The expansive new building was designed by the acclaimed firm Snøhetta. The new building joins to the old familiar Mario Botta-designed building which faces […]
I was in New York recently, and had the opportunity to visit the new modern art collection of the Metropolitan Museum which is now housed in the familiar landmark building designed by Marcel Breuer. Once home to the Whitney Museum, the new Met Breuer at 75th Street and Madison Avenue is a great addition to […]