Beaded Pink Rose, Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”

Langston Hughes

I’ve just finished an acrylics on canvas and will show you the whole piece in the next few days. Today (while listening to the pitter patter of the drops) I am prepping another hand-painted tile.

I snapped this photo a week ago during a down-pour in Half Moon Bay. Thirsty lilies in a nest opening their mouths like baby birds don’t you think?

Watery reflections in the neighborhood. I am going to try to get out when the rain stops today to get some photos of rainbows. I have not had my camera with me the last three storms and missed them all.

Soft Lullaby, Speaking Rain; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Tunnel Vision; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

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Remember, the light at the end of the tunnel may be you.”

Aerosmith

I mentioned the other day that I would tell you a bit about Baker-Barry Tunnel….

Formerly a military tunnel connecting Fort Baker and Fort Cronkhite, the half-mile Baker-Barry Tunnel serves as an important gateway to the Marin Headlands (part of the greater Golden Gate National Recreation Area ).

The narrow tunnel has one lane for vehicles, but has bike lanes in both directions. It is closed to pedestrians. The traffic signal alternates every 5 minute to allow the opposing direction of vehicle traffic to proceed. Bikes may proceed at any time, and a flashing beacon can be activated by cyclists to warn motorists that there are bikes in the tunnel

The tunnel gives cyclists a relatively level alternative to a hilly overland route, and provides access to features of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area such as the Point Bonita Lighthouse, the Marine Mammal Center, and Fort Cronkhite (location map).

A reversible lane (called a counterflow lane or contraflow lane in transport engineeringnomenclature) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions.

When you emerge from the tunnel this is one of the first buildings you see. No frogs were harmed at any point in our trip.

Bird on a pole; Fort Cronkhite in the background; home to Headlands Center for the Arts, perfectly situated for exploring both natural and urban environments.

I loved this biki team logo; in the shape of a sugarskull.

The end of a another sunny weekend, rain moving in tomorrow. Back to the salt mines.

What’s On My Desk. Acrylic on canvas.

DEtail of Hear Me Bench in San Mateo; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

e.e. cummings

Do you remember studying Anyone lived in a pretty how town in school? It exemplifies the busy life that humans live and their inability to focus on the little things in life.

Of course I had to go and search out an example of ee cummings as a painter…

“Less well-known, however, are Cummings’ achievements as a visual artist and the extent to which they express in an entirely different medium the same aesthetic principles and rigorous artistic intelligence that inform his poetry. Cummings viewed himself as much a painter as a poet, as evidenced by the enormous amount of time and energy he devoted to this lesser-known half of his “twin obsession.” Not only did Cummings spend a greater portion of his time painting than writing, he also produced thousands of pages of carefully thought-out notes concerning his own aesthetics of painting: color-theory, analysis of the human form, the “intelligence” of painting, reflections on the Masters, etc…. www.eecummingsart.com

When Cummings died in 1962, he left to his estate a large oeuvre of visual art, including oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings. The current collection comprises the bulk of the material he left at his death–a large number of pieces representing the width and breadth of Cummings’ visual output. Included are landscape, travels, portraits (… more)

I’ve Read Of Bravery print now available.

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Creativity takes courage.

Henri Matisse

Remember when I used to do blogtipping? When I first began blogging I was introduced to the idea of blogtipping, and I learned there was a tradition pointing readers to other blogs you like. Many fellow bloggers were kind enough to tip people to my blog, and I’ve done it several times – although not for quite a while.

Perhaps the tradition has moved to  Facebook or Twitter ? I’m on Twitter but prefer writing and reading blogs (not limited by 140 characters!)

So; here are a five blogs I’ve recently popped into my Google Reader. Because my theme today is “bravery”; I have chose ones I think to use brave subject matter and worth reading, I hope you agree.

The Flog; launched in 2005 by Fette as a way to connect with the flourishing art scene of Los Angeles and to promote the work of the artists working there. Fette live in Berlin, and sometimes in Los Angeles. She runs fette’s gallery and takes photographs.

Conscientious; Jörg Colberg’s weblog about fine-art photography (and more). Some strong content.

Zoe Strauss; photographs – many quite brave.

Lunch Bunch; wo friends that get together once a week to create home-made meal packages to pass out to the homeless of Los Angeles, CA.

art or idiocy; Erik Wenzel; art… or not so much?

Three prints exhibited at 3 Bees Coffee House • March 1 – April 1, 2010 • 224 East 3rd Avenue; San Mateo, CA 94401 (Directions and map)