Downtown Los Angeles vu du Getty Museum

The Santa Anna winds and the fires in Malibu

Last week we saw the strangest weather conditions we had ever seen. The santa Anna winds turned Thousand Oaks into this post-apocaliptic planet. The wind started blowing in the night and woke me up. Tree branches rattling against our window kept me awake for hours. The strenghth of the wind was of the kind that would knock my plants out so I went on the terrasse to rescue them and saw nature angry. Tree branches breaking, dust everywhere. How bizarre. I am used to the Mistral, which is a cold wind, which blows in the winter continuously for three, six, or nine days according to the legend, But this one is hot and blows in all directions. The following day a yellow cloud arrived and surrrounded us with more dust coming from the desert this time!!! and then the smell of smoke, and ashes falling on us. It was a Sunday so Stephen and I took a short walk towards the Hill Canyon, but we couldn't go very far, so much dust the visibility was limited. The sky was yellow and the sun had the most unbelievable colour, a blood red luminescent quality. The fire brigade was patrolling every so often.
"Passion weather" said Cyn. What a beautiful description of it.

The wind continued for about four days and the smell of the smoke too. The reports on tv were showing the situation in Malibu and around here, Filmore, in the valleys.

The Getty Museum and Weston

Everytime we go to the Getty Museum it is just an oasis of beauty in the midst of freeways and a huge megaloppolis... How a place this beautiful can have been dreamt by benefactor Paul Getty and architect Richard Meier amazes me. On a hilltop of Santa Monica, this white fortress stands halfway to the eternal blue sky, and the rest of Santa Monica, the Pacific ocean in the distance. Arranged around an atrium, the four buldings, the South, West, North and East wings, hold an unbelievable art collection from around the world.
We went a few times so far and once with, Cyn, who is a fabulous painter. We all loved Weston's photographs. and went again just for that. Black and white ideal pictures from his life in California, his voyages to Mexico, portraits, nudes. They feel so close, so alive!

Two blogs at the same time!

Sorry I have abandoned my blog for a little while, but I am currently volunteering at the Kwan Fong gallery ... blogging and helping out. The gallery is part of the Art department at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. Check the blog here http://blogs.callutheran.edu/gallery/. Feel free to add comments on both blogs, it is easy ... just click on comments after each post.
At the moment there is an artist-in-residence Cyn McCurry, who is from Texas and an amazing painter. This is one of her paintings. At the gallery I interview her, help prepare openings, contact the mailing list, take pictures...perfect for me really!

Today it is her birthday so we are going to the Getty Museum.