I Don't Really Know What I've Gotten Myself Into, But It Looks Fun!

So I promised a post about Venice sometime soon, and this one is set in Dogtown, through and through.

Recently, I decided to set some personal goals for myself. The first one was to get involved in some kind of community service, and the second one was to more seriously pursue creative activities.

Well, I've managed to get started on the first one, and next week I'll start tutoring high schoolers at a juvenile detention facility (yikes), but more on that later.

I was a little bit at a loss for where to begin on my second goal though, so it was fate when I got invited to the Venice Art Crawl a few weeks ago. The VAC is a monthly art show that is put on by a collection of businesses, restaurants, and galleries in Venice to show case local artists, musicians, poets and other creatives. The Venice Art Crawl has only been around for a year, but it is a fantastic monthly event, and it really brings the Venice community together. As you can see from the pictures below, I had a blast, and decided that this might be a great avenue to get involved in the art scene.

So after a little research on the magical interwebs, I found a potluck/ mixer for the Venice Art Crawl planning committee.

So last night, armed with a home made bruschetta and a bottle of wine, I timidly made my way to a swanky little rooftop in Venice, where I met lots of nice people, drank several glasses of wine, and in under 2 hours, secured a spot in this month's Venice Art Crawl.

That's right, I'm showing in an Art Crawl, next Thursday. My head is still spinning. I think that the people at the mixer must have really liked the bruschetta, or the spinach dip that my friend  Lauren brought, because they didn't even ask to me see my paintings, and offered me a gallery space on the spot.

The best part is, the swanky little rooftop where the mixer was, is actually where I get to show my paintings, along with two other artists next week. So here's it comes, my shameless self-promotion, because this is in fact, my blog.

Please, please come to my show. It would mean the world to me. In case that's not enough, here are some other good reasons:

1. My show is at Venice Breeze Suites, which is a vacation rental property. It's beautiful. The sunset view from this rooftop is to die for.

2. There will be lots of other good artists there, and art is good for the soul. Plus, people will be impressed when you tell them you are "a patron of the arts."

3. I promised the property manager I'd make bruschetta again. You can have some too.

4. It's free. You aren't going to find anything else more fun AND free to do next Thursday night.

5. I'll probably throw in some wine. Trust me,  it'll help you better appreciate the art.

6. You read my blog, and therefore, I assume you kind of love me, and you'll (hopefully) like my work.


Okay, I'll stop the list and just give you the details. Hope to see you next week!

xo, Beach City Girl

P.S. for more information  (and pictures!) about the VAC, check out these links: http://www.veniceartcrawl.com/  and  http://www.venicepaparazzi.com/

My New Favorite Plaything.

Anyone who read my most recent post prior to this one probably knows the depth of despair that I was wallowing in due to finding out that I will never be able to own my own petite lap giraffe as a pet, but as a reader of my blog, you should also know that I am prone to extreme highs and lows. Which is why I have completely forgotten about lap giraffes, pets, and sadness, and now want to rave about my new toy. 

It's called picnik.com

Despite what you're thinking, it's not a website for packing tasty outdoor treats; no, it's so much more exciting than that. It's FREE photo editing tools that are on the internet. If you're wondering why I'm excited about this, then it's clearly because you haven't had the experience of thinking to yourself "Hmm, it might be kind of cool to have Photoshop on my computer so that I can touch up some of those pictures I wanted to put on my blog.", and then found out that the latest version of Photoshop costs a whopping $400. Furthermore, if you're like me, and your computer is a Dell-o-saurus Rex, it would probably crash if you put Photoshop on it. Picnik erases that problem, because not only is it all online, it also stores your pictures, and all of the edits you make to each picture on your account. Did I mention it's free?  It's literally God's gift to bloggers. 

So now, credit where credit is due: I found this website through a very cute blog called Kitchen Corners, which is written by an adorable Brazilian mother of two named Damaris. She initially was using Picnik to edit pictures which she then used to make t-shirts for her son's birthday party. Anyway, she's a doll, you can check out her blog here:  http://www.kitchencorners.com/

Without further ado, here's what I've been tinkering with on Picnik, and believe it or not, this is only a small sample of what you can do with the tools and filters they offer. Agh, I'm having way too much fun.

1. Swanky Calabasas birthday parties. Photo cred to the woman who kept bringing us appetizers.

2. The cute people who made me from scratch. Photo credit: Curtis Simpson Photography

3. Da Jabon Market at the Dominican/Haitian border when I visited in 2008.

4. Beach with friends in the Dominican Republic.

5. Busy streets of Monte Cristi.

  

6. B-dub being affectionate at an ice cream shop in DR.

7. Friends at Malibu Family Wines. Photo Credit: Liz Abend (soon to be Navarro!)

8. Roses from my Mom's garden (FYI this was taken on my Blackberry).

9. Droid phones and cuddle buddies. Photo Credit: Sarah D.

10. Co-chairs. Dodgeball. 80's Ladies. Photo Credit: Co-Kelly

New Orleans? Oui, Cher!

I love my job. I meet the nicest, and most interesting people, every single day.
Today, I met with a location scout for a photo shoot, and when I handed him my card, he asked if I was French, and I told him my family on my mother's side is Cajun. He followed up by asking me if I'd ever been to New Orleans, and when I said no, he was genuinely shocked and appalled. He proceeded to tell me all about the beautiful food, art, and music, and how I absolutely must, if it's the last thing I do, go there for a visit.

The more he talked about it, the more I realized that the same things that attracted me to move to Venice, are what's supposedly so great about New Orleans: It's busy and colorful, and so culturally rich and diverse. 

Furthermore, I realized I don't know a lot about my mother's French heritage, so what better way then to do a little digging around and maybe go for a visit.

The more we talked about it, the more I liked the idea, so I've decided that's going to be my next vacation, and I can't wait!

                                           
                                          Laissez le Bon temp rouler (let the good times roll)!

Craving Colors

Maybe it's because of daylight savings time, and the way it's dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home, or maybe it's because I was sick this week and had to stay inside, but I've been craving bright colors. Venice is bursting with colors: the sunsets are gold and gray, the oceans are teal and navy, and don't even get me started on the murals, and the people, the food. I love it. I know I sound like a weird art kid now, but colors make me happy, and as it happens, this craving (and the fact that I've had a really gross cold) led me to hole up in my apartment for some nightly painting sessions lately, and I thought you guys might like a taste.

I've been hesitant to post pictures of my paintings because while I usually think they're not half bad, there's always the slight chance that they resemble something you'd find on Regretsy (as a sidenote,  if you're the crafty-artsy type, you should check out this website, because it is hilarious: "Where DIY meets WTF."). Nevertheless, I digress with the inappropriate side comments, here it is:

I whipped up some abstract thank you notes. Because everyone needs those.

Test painting of a friend and his dogs. By test painting I mean "rough draft I normally wouldn't show you" but hey, everyone has off days. This was my 1st attempt at painting someone I know personally, and I don't feel like I did him justice (sorry, DT) but for the sake of showing the process, I included it.

As you can see, I it's easy for me to get carried away in said process, and before you know it, my tiny apartment becomes an art hurricane that takes up all the floor space. Also note the paint blanket. I absolutely cannot work without it. Did I mention my weird attraction to bright colors?

 

     It's another mini abstract. Okay, I know, you're bored, I'll get to the good stuff. 

This was something I'd been toying with painting for a while, but again, I couldn't get up the courage to paint someone I know personally. Finally, after  the test painting above, I decided to go for it. Let this serve as warning to the rest of my friends: you might end up in a painting so, you should stay on my good side.

And here's a little paint/poetry work in progress.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I'll keep you posted on my creative endeavors. In the meantime, Happy Friday! Go out and paint or draw something this weekend. It's good for your soul.