An unforgettable evening of adventure and philanthropy, benefiting the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association
Link to more information on the Beastly Ball at https://lazoo.org/plan-your-visit/special-experiences/beastly-ball/#auction
Maurice Sendak Where the Wild Things Are Pen and ink and watercolor on paper 1963 Maurice Sendak was an artist in love with the world and with things that go bump in the night. Sendak looked deeply at the world around him. His vision included the visible nature of our existence and the invisible, but no less real, world of dreams. Sendak's beautifully crafted artworks for his books began with simple pencil sketches that were then enlarged and fleshed out with pen and ink which was then layered with glowing watercolor washes. The finished paintings on paper reflect what Dave Eggers described in a Vanity Fair article on Sendak as the "unhinged and chiaroscuro subconscious of a child." Sendak's books and images appealed to readers of all ages. Sendak took the deep mysteries of life head-on and allowed us all to journey to where the wild things are. |
"Yes. I'm not unhappy about becoming old. I'm not unhappy about what must be. It makes me cry only when I see my friends go before me and life is emptied. I don't believe in an afterlife, but I still fully expect to see my brother again. And it's like a dream life. I am reading a biography of Samuel Palmer, which is written by a woman in England. I can't remember her name. And it's sort of how I feel now, when he was just beginning to gain his strength as a creative man and beginning to see nature. But he believed in God, you see, and in heaven, and he believed in hell. Goodness gracious, that must have made life much easier. It's harder for us non believers.But, you know, there's something I'm finding out as I'm aging that I am in love with the world. And I look right now, as we speak together, out my window in my studio and I see my trees and my beautiful, beautiful maples that are hundreds of years old, they're beautiful. And you see I can see how beautiful they are. I can take time to see how beautiful they are. It is a blessing to get old. It is a blessing to find the time to do the things, to read the books, to listen to the music. You know, I don't think I'm rationalizing anything. I really don't. This is all inevitable and I have no control over it."
Maurice Sendak Outside Over There Pen and ink and watercolor on paper 1978 |
Portrait of Maurice Sendak by Annie Leibovitz |
In Hollywood even Mountain Lions become stars. The wild cougar dubbed P-22 by the Park Service roamed Griffith Park for 12 years. After a few scrapes with dogs and humans in December 2022, NPS biologists captured P-22 in the Los Feliz area and transported him to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for a thorough health evaluation. Results showed P-22 had several severe injuries, such as significant trauma to his head, right eye, and internal organs from a suspected vehicle strike, as well as multiple chronic health illnesses, including irreversible kidney disease, chronic weight loss, an extensive parasitic skin infection over his entire body, and localized arthritis. Due to his poor condition, CDFW made the extremely difficult decision to euthanize P-22 on the morning of Dec. 17, 2022.
My gouache and monotype on paper artwork "P-22" was inspired by numerous images of the mountain lion including Steve Winter's photos as well as the big cat paintings of Delacroix and GĂ©ricault.
My Apple algorithm keeps featuring Bob Seger's ode to L.A. - "Hollywood Nights."
I listened to the song as I painted "P-22."
As if in Seger's song and my painting, P-22 slinks across the Hollywood Hills looking down on the lights of L.A.
See this artwork and more at our upcoming evening Open Studio Art at the Airport event on May 13, 2023 from 5-9 PM.
#LosAngeles #ArtOfRecovery #ArtAtTheAirport #CityOfSantaMonica #SantaMonicaArtsCommunity #SantaMonicaArtScene #BuyArtFromArtists #SupportLocalArtists #SantaMonicaArtCollective #SantaMonicaCulturalAffairs #artistssupportingartists
Put on your headphones and listen now -
Nils Lofgren's blistering new song "The Truth Enough” was written in the wake of the January 6th insurrection and “reckons with the ways that misinformation and demagoguery can tear families apart and silo us in our own realities."
One early desert morning, strong coffee in hand, I tuned my Martin D-35 acoustic gifted to me by the great James Caan (bless you Jimmy) to an open G and said ‘write’! Soon the title and main riff were coming through me… “ain’t the truth enough!” Lucky me! I felt I had to go deep and with the global war on women, and man’s deadly epidemic of lies and spin for money and power, I imagined a fierce, loving mother and wife dealing with a husband recently home from the insurrection. (Cindy Mizelle added the woman’s voice with great soul and power here) I felt inspired and a day later this special song was done. Not mean spirited, all truth, harsh reality.
1st single “Ain’t The Truth Enough” out today from upcoming album “Mountains” Honored to be joined by @ringostarrmusic drums, Kevin McCormick bass, @cindymizelle9 vocals. Rest is me. Produced by Nils n Amy @azsweetheart013 enjoy!https://t.co/76QJicng9n pic.twitter.com/BEXssWQMds
— Nils Lofgren (@nilslofgren) May 3, 2023
@nilslofgren Gets A Lift From Ringo Starr, Neil Young, David Crosby On New Solo LP
— Gregg Chadwick 🇺🇦 (@greggchadwick) May 4, 2023
‘Mountains’ will be released on July 21, with first single ‘Ain’t the Truth Enough’ out nowhttps://t.co/6x2l38TdtS