Art Show

Back to the blog. I'm participating this weekend in an art show at Sogno Winery, near Placerville. Going to have wine and vineyard oriented art available, as well as doing quick sketches on site that are also wine oriented. Also plan on doing some pastels. Pray for good weather.

Most work lately has been faux finishes on walls. Nothing really photogenic and news worthy. Do have another home show coming up in Auburn on May 16-18. Come on by if your in the neighborhood. Thinking about offering some fine art at the show, as well as promoting my murals. No decision on that right now, though.

I've been contemplating lately (actually for quite awhile) the possibility of doing some "how-to" videos. Seems there are many sites available for quick, short videos to promote the longer, more detailed videos. The short ones are on free sites, whereas the longer ones would be "for sale". Any thoughts on the subject?

Road Trip '08: Tucson

Tucson is a short drive from Phoenix, about two hours. We drove to Sally's house, who was the organizer of last years rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. She is dating Susanne's 2nd cousin from England, and they spend six months in Tucson and six months in England. Guess I don't need to mention which six months are in England, though Andrew is already over there try to sell a house.

The next day, we all drove down to Tubac, a artist colony south along the Nogales Highway. While browsing in one gallery, we ran across some familar art. Bronze Indian themed on natural stone. Yes, they were Mike's from Phoenix (Goodyear) area. We had lunch at the Longhorn Cafe (see pic).

Next day was a high light of the trip. While in the navy, part of my time was as a flight simulator instructor for basic jet training in Meridian, MS. About a year ago, I was talking with a neighbor's son who is an air force pilot stationed in Tucson and suggested taking a ride in a new simulator for comparison. He said sure, so I contacted him before the trip. Turns out he is a major and fantastic guy. He ran Sally (former Alaskan bush pilot) and myself through a F-16 simulator. What a trip. Flying VFR (visual) all the time instead of IFR (instrument flight rules) as in my past. The images are on all sides, and you could even turn around and see the tail. Though the cockpit is stationery, the sensation with the graphics gives one a feeling of motion. Shot down a tanker (it was one of ours, but when your simulating, who cares) and did a very good landing. In the old days, banking was usually 30 to 45 degrees; the f-16 is 90 degrees. Very fast and manuverable jet. We also went out to the tarmac to check out an actual F-16. Small when compared to the older planes, like an F-14, or even an F-8 from my era.

Later that night, we had dinner with an old friend of mine, Angela. Angela used to live in San Diego and is a friend of mine and my ex-wife's family. That is her with Susanne and me in the picture above.

The next day, we headed home, spending the night back in Vegas. Road Trip "08 was over.

Road Trip '08: Phoenix

After leaving Vegas, we headed south across Hoover Dam and down to Carefree (north east part of Phoenix metro area). In Carefree, we stopped and said hello to Mike and Pam Greenfield. They live in Goodyear, AZ, but were at an art show in Carefree where Mike was selling his bronze sculptures. He specializes in Indian theme bronze incorporated into natural stones, some very large and heavy. The next morning we went to Cosonti, Paolo Soleri studio in Scottsdale, very close to where we were staying. Soleri is a visonary who has been working on a major project near Cordes, Az. It is called Arcosonti, and will be a city of living and working spaces. In both locations, Cosonti and Arcosonti, the artisans make wind bells out of bronze and clay. The sale of the bells are helping finance the ongoing project. It began in the late 60's. I met Paolo at San Diego State in 1970 when he was a guest speaker. I also designed the poster announcing the seminar (think I still have a copy). He lives with his wife at Cosonti. If you ever get a chance to go there, it is a trip. All the buildings are "organic" looking, and are made from earth casting.

Later that day we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. Lots of cactus. That night we went back up to Carefree to have dinner with Mike and Pam, and helped them take down their booth. They are both retired from South Tahoe Middle School.

While in Phoenix, we also visited with my old friend Daryl. He used to help me with the murals and graphics when I was in San Diego, and for awhile we both worked for Frazee Paint at the main office. He lives up on the hill overlooking Phoenix from the south. Great view. He has neon palm trees along the swimming pool which are quite a sight.

Road Trip '08: Las Vegas

Years ago (1975), while working on my master's degree, one of my classes had as a final assignment a project on "symbols". My first thought, for some strange and undetermined reason, was badges. Specifically, "old west" badges usually worn as a symbol of authority on men who were not wearing a uniform. Getting information on badges was a bit of a challenge. There actually wasn't any to speak of. Yet, one day, someone mentioned the Time-Life series of books on the Old West. Turned out, the volume titled "Gunfighters" had a page that showed several great photos of badges. The page was credited to Ron Donoho of Las Vegas. No address or phone number, though. Nothing through information, so I tried a different approach. The librarian for the University of Arizona in Tucson was listed, so I called her. She gave me the name of a retired sheriff and his phone number. Called him, his wife answered and he was up in the mountains writing a book. When he returned, he called me and gave me the name and number of the historian for the Tucson Police Department. He knew Ron and arranged for me to visit him in Las Vegas.

Ron was a great source of information on badges and the old west in general. He had been a deputy sheriff at the Nevada Test Site, as well as Carson City and Tonapah. He had the most extensive badge and gun collections around. I took several pictures of the badges arranged by jurisdiction (state, local, etc), along with some guns, etc. From these I prepared demonstration boards for the class and received an "A". My research effort was enough for the grade.

I thought of Ron a couple of years ago, and wanted to show him the final boards (yes, I still have them). After searching around on the internet, I found his address and phone. He is listed on the internet, but is not personally on it, nor wants to be. Contacted him and arranged for another visit which he agreed to. Took a few years to do it, but finally did. The man has been in Las Vegas for over fifty years, grew up in Illinois on the Walgreen (Drug) estate where his father was the caretaker. Knew many of the actors and film makers of western movies, and has many guns from that era. Also has badges and guns of several famous lawmen.

Ron is a very interesting fellow. We met with him shortly after arriving in Las Vegas. He is often found at antique gun shows in Las Vegas showing his collections. Some are so valuable he keeps them in a safe, most are in many large diplay cases.

Road Trip '08: Death Valley

This was a photography class through Lake Tahoe Community College. Richard "Dick" Johnson was the instructor, and has taken many classes on the trip. We started out as a class of 8 (in Lake Tahoe), but ended up with only 5 students in the valley. One student stayed in a motel in Beatty, NV which is about 40 miles away from the Furnace Creek Campgrounds. Not a big fan of sleeping on the ground myself, but did it anyway. Dick is also a musician and entertained us with the mandolin around the campfire and an indian flute in in Titus Canyon.

Our first morning was up at 5:15 and out at Zabriskie Point by 6 am for the sunrise. I took my old school Nikon F for black and white film, and the Canon 20D digital for color. Also brought two tripods (one for me, one for Susanne). After I set up the digital, it wouldn't turn down. I had brought three battery packs for it, and had left all back at camp. So I shot B & W that morning. Also, one of the tripods had a 3/8" bolt in it instead of the standard 1/4" bolt. I had modified it a few years ago for another camera. All of the cameras we had took the standard 1/4" bolts. So we were down to one tripod. This was remedied at noon with a visit to the one and only gas station who let me rummage through their old nuts and bolts.

After shooting from the point, we headed into the canyon for a hike to the otherside down on the vally floor. One student didn't do the hike, but met us at the bottom to shuttle some of us back to the cars at the point. After eating lunch and resting, we went out in the afternoon to Hole In The Wall. This is an area about three miles at the end of a dirt road that is an opening between the mountains. Many blooming cacti and a great sunset.

The second day was also an early rise and a 30 mile trip to the Sand Dunes for sunrise. Great photo opportunity. Afterwards, after coffee at Stovepipe Wells, we headed to Ryolite and Beatty. Filled up in Beatty, then headed for Titus Canyon. The fellow staying in Beatty stayed there for the mid afternoon, and two young men in the class were having car trouble, so they headed home from there back to Tahoe. Found out later they got a new heater hose in Beatty, so the trip back was not as stressful. In the afternoon, we went to Twenty Mule Team Canyon for more late sun shots.

The next morning we awoke at a regular time (not o dark thirty), had breakfast and broke camp. We headed for Las Vegas late morning, going through Death Valley Junction and Pahrump. Continued on the next segment.

Road Trip '08: Overview

This was a whirlwind road trip. We started with camping and photography in Death Valley, visiting in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson. The details will follow. The trip was broken up between destinations with Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" on the iPod. It is the unabridged version with over 18 hours. Great (audio) book! Stayed at Hampton Inns when not camping or staying at a private residence.

The price of gas was a bit of a shocker, so I'm sure road trips in general are diminishing. Even heard the motorcycle riders complaining, and they get great mileage. We took the Subaru, so that helped. Overall, though, it was a great trip. Also good weather prevailed everyday.

In retrospect, the camping element should have been separate, unless you plan on camping along the way. The camping equipment takes up a lot of the extra space in the car. But it was fun to do.

The downside of the trip was my will power flying out the window as I drove along and visited. Allow me to take this opportunity to announce I have returned to my diet with a vengance.