PHOTOGENIC TRASH

  When Kris and I go on our periodic "field trips," we usually don't have anything particular in mind.  Kris likes to drive (she's just gotten a new previously-owned VW Beetle with a working A/C!) and I like being a passenger so I can play tourist and take pictures along the way.  We let the Beetle choose where it wants to go.

We're both fascinated with the "moods" that messy places can stir up in us... garages and carports filled with "stuff"... overgrown yards... rusting bikes... furniture... houses worn with time and neglect...  And signs, of course, not all messy; some are just too funny to pass up. 

The sign on the gate says: Beware of chihuahua!

OPEN 

No bulky stuff

We found many interesting garages and carports that we would have loved to get a closer look at, but did not feel comfortable stopping for.  Maybe I should invest in a super fast camera with a powerful zoom lens.  For the moment, though, my little old Canon PowerShot will have to suffice.

A veritable bicycle graveyard.

I counted at least six bicycles in the overgrown weeds.

There were more on the other side of the house.

You wonder why.

 Pigeons and open pigeon cages everywhere.

 Having some fun with pumping up colors.

 An abandoned patriotic chair after the parade

Not really trash, just an interesting old faucet

More journeys to come.

Look for the dispatches of

"Two Broads & a Beetle"

WHERE THE HEART IS

The best part of our apartment is our outdoor lanai dining room.

 The painting on the wall is one I did in Bali.

It's called "How I Plan to Lose Weight."

 The two Balinese figures I found stashed in the back

of a furniture store in Ubud.  Paid $15 for the set.

The shelves were left in a neighboring apartment on the way 

to be dumped.  The realtor was so kind to give them to me.

And yes, that's Phil's new basket ball.

He likes going to the school next door and shoot baskets.

This leather love seat is the best place to be for watching birds, trees, and rain.

The painted metal art piece on the wall was done by Bali trash artist Yansu.

 That was overly optimistic of me to think that I would finish painting 

the recliners last weekend. At the rate I'm going, they may never 

get finished and that's okay. They're functional painted or not.

 Sun in the mouth of the day

Moon in the teeth of the night

Taste everything, they say

Swallow nothing but light

~ Robley Wilson

Far from finished, just starting to get a feel for what the chair wants.

I have some free time next week.  Hope I'll get to paint some more.

MY FUNKY JUNKY ART JOURNAL

This is what I do to clear my head: mindless doodling, gluing, coloring, writing, whatever.  Last week I noticed that I had almost filled up another journal (I usually work on three or four at a time).  That's when my "get-it-done" pusher takes over and I concentrate on filling up every last page.  None of it has to be good.  It just has to be filled up.  Below are some of the pages with found notes.

 I found this in Kapiolani Park.

 This note was taped to the mailbox in the street.

With the mail person's answer.

Lost cat notice with ultra sound images of a bladder

SPECTACULAR SUNSET

After working hard, clearing out the overgrown Malabar spinach, kale, ong choi, and sweet potato leaves from my garden plot, I sat on the lanai, drinking a glass of cool water and watching the birds going through their bedtime preparation, an incredibly busy obsessive-compulsive flying to & fro, chirping like mad activity.

I suddenly noticed the sky starting to flame up between the palm leaves.  Grabbed my camera and started shooting.  Here are the most dramatic shots.  Still, they don't do justice to the evening's brilliant sunset spectacle.

 Zooming into the silhouettes of some Waikiki highrises

PAINTINGS BY JAMIL SUPRIATNA

 JAMIL SUPRIATNA

"Mother and Child"

Oil on canvas, 55" x 39"

 JAMIL SUPRIATNA

"Legong Dancers"

Oil on canvas, 55" x 70"

  JAMIL SUPRIATNA

"Lovers"

Oil on canvas, 15" x 19"

 JAMIL SUPRIATNA

"Gatherer of Beautiful Things" (my name for this painting)

Oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

It took a long time to have these paintings shipped from Bali and it took even longer for me to find someone to prepare them for hanging on the wall (I just shipped the canvasses, not the frames).  More are still coming, including some paintings I did while in Bali.

Jamil Supriatna is a Javanese painter, born in Bogor, who moved to Bali in 1981.  He paints in various styles.  "Legong Dancers," for instance, is much more representative.  Other paintings I've seen by him are way more abstract.  This blog is named after his painting "Sleeping with Snakes" (See picture in right top corner).