Jason Wu for Target

                   Jason Wu hits Target with his scarves and purses on Feb 5. Ladies if this is anything like the day Mulberry hit Target, it will be sold out the first few hours. You need a mini break from Superbowl Sunday. Dash out of the house. I will be there.

         

                    

The Artist

          

The Artist is a great film. I recommend seeing it on the big screen. It is a black and white movie set in the time period of the late 1920s. The handsome George Valentin is a silent film idol who meets Peppy Miller an aspiring actress who is trying to make her way in Hollywood.  A well deserved Golden Globe Award for best musical and well deserved Oscar Nominee. Thumbs up for The Artist.

The Art of the Brow

                                

Eyebrows frame the face. If you do anything ladies, complete the brow. I have a system for my 50 year old brows that I am happy to share. First I use a moisturizer to moisten the area. Next I make the slightly arched shape with a brow pencils and the moisturizer keeps the pencil from dragging your skin around. Then, I fill in the area with brow shadow to shade and define the brow. Lastly is the product above. I use the Bobbi Brown Eye Brow gel to set the art work I did to make the brow. It is a 4 step process and worth every step.

Joe Paterno Passes

         

My Dad really liked Paterno. My Dad got tired of people thinking he was Paterno when he was alive. Joe and my father had the same walk and held their heads in a similar forward flexed position. One time my Dad was in Santa Barbara and a couple yelled hey Joe will ya sign one and he yelled out sure. They were disappointed when they found out he wasn't Joe. Joe Paterno was a legend. He will never be forgotten. We were from Hazleton, Pa, a coal mining town where Penn State Football was the talk of the town.

Sunny Sixteen

These were taken with the sunny 16 rule. If you are shooting ISO 200 film then the exposure will be 1/250 of a second @ f/16. Light meters also assist with measuring light reflected off your subject. Understanding proper exposure will only enhance your photography. The rule works because the light output from the sun is a constant value. These were shot in full sun at f 16  in San Luis Obispo at Vintage, etc., formerly the Nest. We are lucky to have this store to go to to shop in San Luis. The owner Judy Mora and her niece Cherise have helped me find some treasures.

Specialty Flawless Services

I have been a customer of Specialty Color Services for many years. I moved to Central Coast from Santa Barbara 12 years ago and I still do all my development and printing at Color Services. The owners Glen and Gabe and their manager Linda, are very accommodating and smart. I have my 35 mm and 120 film done there and have been satisfied with the quality of their work. I have had enlargements and film developed into prints done by their talented staff and have been very satisfied. We are blessed to have such quality people handling our precious little film.

The Iron Lady

                             

See this one on the big screen. Meryl Streep plays Margaret Thatcher and her performance is riveting. The film drifts back and forth between Thatcher as an old woman and Thatcher rising to power as a young women. The film is moving and the scenes take you to those moments that were memorable to her life. I loved her relationship with her dear husband played by the great Jim Broadbent.

The Official Window Dresser is Pam

These were shot with Portra 120 400 S film in the 42 degree weather in San Luis Obispo at the Hospice  Thrift Store. Pam  McKierman is the store manager and she dresses a new window every month. To stand in front of this art display is exciting. The vintage feel of these Holiday Windows is interesting. I love her cool colors of blues and golds and whites. My interest in not only in the window but the reflections of objects that are behind me. Specialty Color Services is the film lab that does my work for me. The bottom image was developed in a matte finish and then scanned and mounted on 1/4 inch foamcore.

My Saturday Thrift Store Buys

Went over to my favorite new shopping store the Hospice Partners Thrift

Store in San Luis Obispo. The proceeds from the store go to uninsured and under insured hospice patients and their families. It is always nice to see Susan and Kay. Susan was laying out new jewelry for sale and these colorful pins from the 60s caught my eye. They have a new window designed by Pam that is really nice. I was born in 1961 and have a forever connection to the 60s. I will get over there another time to photograph the 1960s window designed by Pam.

RISK ROCKS

              

                  

Here it is letters E through Q different styles on each letter. I think Risk is a true artist. His art career spans 27 years. In High School RISK was one of seven students to receive a scholarship to attend the Pasadena Art Institute. He also studied fine art at USC. He is serious about letter forms.

                  

Limited Edition Letter Prints by RISK

                                              
These are for sale by the Graffiti artist Risk on his online website. Risk is known for bringing graffiti off the streets and into the art galleries. I purchased the letter D, the forth one on the right for Dan, as a Christmas gift. They are giclee prints and are stamped , signed and numbered by Risky. When we opened the print we had to reeducate ourselves to see where the letter D was hiding. Can you find the letters in the Art above? I think they are beautiful. Maybe one day I will get an L? On second thought the L is kinda spooky.

                                                       

Life Drawing

Artists work hard. They go to drawing classes and practice drawing. They lug their supplies around town and haul their stuff in and out of their vehicles. They get models to do 1, 5, 10, and 15 minute poses. The top drawing is a representational drawing and the bottom one is an abstract drawing. It is fascinating seeing what artists do to improve their skill. They work hard.

Jo's Nature Shots

My friend Jo Ann is a great photographer. She does what my teacher Shawn always told me. If ya want to improve your photography practice, practice, practice. Her nature photos remind me of a poem by Stanley Kunitz:

The Round

Light splashed this morning
on the shell-pink anemones
swaying on their tall stems;
down blue-spiked veronica
light flowed in rivulets
over the humps of the honeybees;
this morning I saw light kiss
the silk of roses
in their second flowering,
my late boomers
flushed with their brandy.
a curious gladness shook me.

London Fashion Week

           

                  

         

          

The above photos are from the blogs of Suzie Lau the  Style Bubble  blogger and the blog of my favorite place Mulberry. The great paper glasses are from Mulberry in the Carry on Camping Fun of the Spring/Summer 2012 collection. The great Suzie Lau is with designer Giles Deacon in his East London Atelier for his creations before they hit the runway.  London Fashion Week happens for 2012 Sept of 2011. It is housed in the surrounds of Somerset House in the Heart of London.