Speed of Life

 by Gregg Chadwick Anna May Wong 36"x48"oil on linen painting by Gregg Chadwick Ailsa Chang Collection  The groundbreaking Chinese American actress Anna May Wong was born on this day in 1905. My painting ”Anna May Wong” is part of a series of historically inspired artworks on the history of the movie business and Los Angeles,. "Anna May Wong" evokes cinema dreams and societal memories. Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American film star, and the first Asian American actress to gain international recognition. Her acting career went from silent films to talkies, to stage, to radio, and to television. Born in Los Angeles, a few blocks from Chinatown, Anna May Wong's career has been an inspiration for many. My painting was created as an homage to Anna, sourced from numerous photo stills and film clips. I am honored that my painting of Anna May Wong is in the collection of NPR reporter Ailsa Chang. Ailsa's recent report on Anna is a must listen.  #art   #th...

by Gregg Chadwick   Gregg Chadwick Beyond Light 30”x22” monotype on paper 2004 Private Collection, San Francisco, California The Soviet satellite Luna 1 was launched on January 2, 1959. This was the first  artificial object to reach the escape velocity of the Earth and the first to be placed in heliocentric orbit. 64 years later, Luna 1 remains in orbit around the sun. The Luna 1 mission was intended to crash into the moon, but due to a ground control error, the satellite veered off course like a robotic Major Tom. Two months later, the United States launched NASA's Pioneer 4. The space race was on and our night skies would never look the same.  I remember watching the NASA Apollo missions on TVs wheeled into the classroom when I was in elementary school. I was always taken with the wide shots of the crowds outside Cape Kennedy gathered to watch the launch. Now known by its original name of Cape Canaveral, the NASA area was renamed by President Johnson in h...

 by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Ponte del Castelvecchio (Verona) 48"x36"oil on linen   In Japan the first dreams of the New Year, hatsu-yume 初夢, traditionally provide markers for the dreamer's upcoming year.  In that spirit, perhaps the first artwork sold in a new year provides inspiration for the months to come. My painting Ponte del Castelvecchio (Verona) is the first sale of 2023. On this first day of the new year, I am busy packing up my Verona painting for shipment to its new home.  I think back to the genesis of the painting. I was perched above a Renaissance era bridge in Verona watching a light rainfall and the swollen river rushing by. The smell of rain filled the air. Swifts darted across the milky sky. Like gauze stretched across a stage set, the mix of rain, bus exhaust, and a distant sun breaking through the mist cloaked the moment in a spell of timelessness. I thought of the late Russian emigre writer Joseph Brodsky and his idea that water is th...

  Gregg Chadwick New York Stories (Five Minutes to Midnight) 30"x 40" oil on linen  Happy New Year! 明けましておめでとうございます Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu In my painting "New York Stories" it’s five minutes to midnight. Waiting for 2022 to move into 2023 like the hands of a clock spinning into the next hour, figures move around the iconic Grand Central clock like foxes huddling beneath a tree in Andō Hiroshige's "New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Ōji" It’s raining this New Year’s Eve in Santa Monica. I’m listening to a recording of a 10,000-member choir in Japan singing “Ode to Joy” in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Enthusiasm for Beethoven is particularly strong in Japan. Every year in December, singers gather in a concert hall in Osaka to sing the final chorus from Beethoven's Ninth. Gregg Chadwick Passing View of Shohei Bridge  30"x24" oil on linen 1990 Again , my thoughts trace a circuit from this moment back to an earlier New Yea...

Eddie Vedder honors @U2 at the Kennedy Center #KCHonors via @CBS

  Puccini 6"x6"oil on panel 2019 by Gregg Chadwick (Private Collection, Denver, Colorado) Today we celebrate the birthday of opera composer Giacomo Puccini, born  #onthisday  in 1858. Known for "La Boheme", "Tosca", "Madama Butterfly", and "Turandot", Puccini's operas continue to inspire. I painted this small oil on panel painting of Puccini for a solo exhibition of opera inspired artworks at the Central City Opera in the summer of 2019. That year and also in 2007, I created a series of paintings that were commissioned by the  @ccityopera  to be used as keynote images for each of their productions during the summer season. It was a marvelous project to work on and I loved spending time in Colorado with the entire Central City team. Great music and great camaraderie! Thank you Central City Opera! #puccini   #centralcity   #Colorado   #Opera   #classicalmusic   #art

Watch Live: President Zelenskyy of Ukraine delivers remarks to a Joint Meeting of Congress: https://t.co/A7o1XmV2xu — Senate Democrats (@SenateDems) December 22, 2022 President Zelensky received a standing ovation before he began his speech to Congress. “Slava Ukraini!” Glory to Ukraine! members of Congress shouted out. “Heroyam Slava!”  Glory to heroes! he responded.   President Zelensky concluded his address by unfurling a battle flag given to him by soldiers on the front line in Bakhmut, Ukraine and then gifted the flag to the United States.  “This flag is a symbol of our victory...We stand, we fight, and we will win because we are united. Ukraine, America, and the entire free world."

Join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and me as we hold a joint press conference. https://t.co/O0Rk76qwpd — President Biden (@POTUS) December 21, 2022

The final Jan. 6 committee hearing is today at 1 p.m. EST and will include a vote on criminal recommendations from the Capitol attack. "He is unfit for any office" -- Cheney on Trump Jan 6 committee unanimously agrees to adopt final report including criminal referrals of former President Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/xfhzg9ITxK — Gregg Chadwick (@greggchadwick) December 19, 2022 "To cast a vote in the United States is an act of faith and hope... That faith in our system is the foundation of American democracy. If the faith is broken, so is our democracy. Donald Trump broke that faith. He lost the 2020 election and knew it." -Chair @BennieGThompson — January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 19, 2022 Numerous state and federal courts evaluated and rejected the Trump campaign’s claims of voter fraud, including judges appointed by Trump himself. Many of these courts issued scathing opinions criticizing the lack of evidence that President Trump and his all...

Patti Smith visits the Morning Joe program to discuss "A Book of Days," which collects a calendar year of images and words. Patti discusses how the pandemic brought her to Instagram and how being on Instagram helped lead to her book.

What a sweet moment! 🥹 @POTUS gave @VP Harris the pen he used to sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law. 📸: Kent Nishimura pic.twitter.com/L5mgzDjYR2 — best of kamala harris (@archivekamala) December 13, 2022 It was great to be at the White House to celebrate the Respect for Marriage Act being signed into law by @POTUS ! I’m happy that the hard work and long hours of bipartisan negotiation have finally paid off for the millions of loving same-sex & interracial couples across America. pic.twitter.com/BrnxtnYAxw — Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) December 13, 2022 Who woulda thought the gayest party I’ve ever been to was at the White House? Thank you @POTUS for signing the Respect for Marriage Act! #LoveIsLove 🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/EA1rdoAxXt — Jeremy Moss (@JeremyAllenMoss) December 13, 2022 A beautiful day to witness and celebrate @POTUS signing the Respect for Marriage Act into law! 🏳️‍🌈 A special shout-out to my friend @SenatorBaldwin...

Wonderful journey to Los Angeles Past.  Created by CineClark who writes: "Part 2B of a 12-part 8mm film series on Los Angeles, I found this 8mm gem in a thrift store. I have digitized it and, using the narration sheet that came folded up in the case, narrated this film. I did not change, omit or edit any words from the original narration in order to preserve the integrity of the original film. To skip my intro, jump to the :55 second mark.  * I was struggling on using the possessive or not in the title. Though it is known today in its current location as Angels Flight, I decided to use the apostrophe as it is shown on the wheelhouse sign at the 1:44 mark of this film.  A nice slice of Los Angeles history. Enjoy."

OTD in 1964, John Coltrane and his band recorded "A Love Supreme" in a single session at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs NJ. Here with producer Bob Thiele, saxophonist Archie Shepp (who played on an alternate take that day), and pianist McCoy Tyner. #jazz pic.twitter.com/3DofCDGaxY — Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) December 9, 2022   Bass – Jimmy Garrison Composed By, Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane Drums – Elvin Jones Piano – McCoy Tyner Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder Producer – Bob Thiele Recorded: December 9th, 1964 A1 Part I - Acknowledgement 0:00 A2 Part II - Resolution 7:48 B Part III - Pursuance / Part IV - Psalm 15:14

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Art at the Airport (@artattheairport) Join Gregg Chadwick and over 20 other artists for Art At The Airport’s Open Studios & Holiday Art Sale December 10th, 4-7 pm. Come and enjoy food, drinks, performances by pianist Paul Cornish and the Santa Monica Folklorico Ballet, purchase handmade, artisanal goods by Market Exchange vendor collective and participate in a winter ornament workshop conducted by artist Marcus Kuiland-Nazario. Free to all, please register in advance: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-open-studios-tickets-454587231647 . Art At The Airport is made possible by Art of Recovery, an initiative of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs, santamonica.gov/arts/artofrecovery. To learn about upcoming Art At The Airport events, visit: https://www.artattheairport.org/. Free to all, please register in advance: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-open-studios-tickets-454587231647 . . . #ArtofRecovery   #ArtAtThe...