malibu

The last time I went to the beach to swim was ages ago; my sister and I decided to enjoy a picnic and boogie boarding in Malibu. Using the Topanga Ave. and maneuvering the zig zags, the beach is not far from the valley. There wasn't any traffic and we got to Malibu in 40 minutes. I never swam in Malibu; I usually hit Zuma or Newport. It was so much fun because the tides were low, and the water was refreshingly cool than the usual ice cold temperature. It was just nice to get away from the heat. I suck at boogie boarding because I can never catch a damn wave and when I do, I crash and land my feet on the rocks. One time I somehow got into a surfer's wave. At least he was cool about it and didn't say a thing. The surfers' in Malibu ride the waves like proffesionals. Hmm.. I should try surfing one of these days. Yes, I got sunburned! The sun hates me.

peacocks

I have been walking around my neighborhood to get some fresh air and a little bit of exercise. I have been talking about these peacocks roaming around Mc Vine St. Everytime I would walk, I would see these peacocks. Isn't strange? Is there an underground peacock farm in Sunland, or have the pets in America have gotten stranger? I don't know if the peacocks are allowed to be household pets, but all I know at least 3 households in that area have peacocks. One day I decided to take my digicam to catch these beautiful birds, and here are my pictures. I didn't know how to make the bird fan out it's tail. I was gonna throw a pebble to see what would happen, but my conscious told me NO because it seemed cruel (it was gonna be a small pebble). Anyways, I think they were scared of me, like "who is this crazy woman taking pictures of me!". One time a peacock was standing on a white picked fence with the sunset as a perfect backdrop and all I can think of is "Damn, wished I had my camera phone!".

basquiat

MOCA is free on Thursdays after 5pm. It was a great excuse to get away from the L.A. heat and see Basquiat's Exhibition. Honestly, I didn't know much about him. I read an article in the Calendar section and became interested in seeing his work.

On my way to MOCA, I noticed a tourist circling Hill and 2nd St. She asked me where the contemporary museum was located. I gladly accompanied her since I was going to the same place. We chatted up a bit, asked her where she was from. She said she is from Barcelona, Spain. I was so giddy to meet the Spainard. I told her how I love Spain and enjoyed experiencing her culture when I was abroad last year. A true Barcelonian (I know it's not a word), raved about how Barcelona has an ocean. They never like Madrid because it's surrounded by terrain. It was a short conversation, but very refreshing to meet a new person, especially a tourist from Spain. She is enjoying her holiday, and is loving California. She is excited about Big Sur this weekend. How lovely.

Isn't the Disney Hall beautiful? I just love this structure.building.sculpture.art. I had the pleasure of making a book in my 3d class when they were constructing this building. I have awesome pictures of the support systems (the skeleton) of Disney Hall. It's so refreshing to walk and just see the environment.

::The Basquiat Exhibition::

Here is a short bio of Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and displayed talent in drawing like every kid. He was not trained in art school, but quickly became prominent in the art scene in New York. He was famous for painting on walls of buildings because he was too poor to buy a canvas. The art fucks thought this media was so revolutionary. Come on, it's called graffiti! Nevertheless, the hipster mingled with various famous artists and even collaborated with Warhol. There was a piece shown at the exhibition of a silkscreened canvas with his paints mixing with Warhols logos of pop culture. Basquiat lived a short life because he died of a drug overdose when he was only 27 ( I know, such a cliche). He mananged to paint 70 paintings and 50 works on paper.

These 3 paintings happen to be my favorites from the show. It showed more of a progressive style and were more captivating than the rest. There was a thought process put in these images, such as references to African masks and the human body. Some of his works had no business to be on a gallery wall. They were obviously scribbles, which were nicely framed and matted (stupid art fucks!). Seeing those scribbles... I rolled my eyes to a seizure! There were plenty of interesting art though, such as the actual doors and windows he painted on were being showcased at the exhibition. I also love how his paintings and drawings were massive. Some paintings were 6 ft. tall canvases which commanded your attention. Overall, it was an artstyfarsty day.

puerto vallarta, mexico

A collage I made from my recent trip in Mexico, June 2005 (just any excuse to get creative). I haven't touched photoshop in months, so it was refreshing to do the collage. I have been drawing here and there, nothing major. My second attempt to draw Bob Marley was such a dissapointment on my part. I saw the first drawing of Bob when I went to Ken's house, and I was stunned how my first drawing came out so much better than my second one. So this means I need to start drawing again and start refreshing my skills. This collage is a start. That reminds me, I still need to finish my scrapbook.