Not an Oil Painting: Flowering Tree in The Rain (All Photos By Gail)
We haven’t had much of a winter in NYC, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to spring! In fact, the siting of 14th street’s first flowering tree of the season made me think back to May of 2019, when my pal Jamie and I made plans to attend the annual Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakura Matsuri) at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The fact that it happened to be pouring down rain that day did not dampen our adventurous spirits! Continue reading Ten Flowers Photographed in the Rain→
Like most still lifes, Tom Wesselmann’s Still Life #57 (1969–70) presents a number of ordinary objects — including an orange, a bouquet of flowers, a light switch, a radio, and a checked tablecloth. The artist spent three years developing this monumental work. The “main difficulty . . . and the one that took so long to resolve, was cropping or not cropping the radio,” he said. “I wanted to crop it to keep it more in a painting reference rather than something like a stage set.”
Photographed in the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.
On my last full day in California, I spent a couple of late afternoon hours strolling through the very beautiful Descanso Gardens, a 150-acre botanical garden located in the La Cañada Flintridge area of Los Angeles. The daylight was already starting to fade, but I got some good shots of the many varieties of gorgeous flowers that are still blooming even in late December. Enjoy!
Descanso is well-known for their signature pink Camellias, of which there are numerous varieties.
Of course, I love anything that is pink. This one has a tiny wound on one petal, but its beauty is unspoiled.
You would almost think you are in Hawaii when you see flowers like this!
For the Holiday season, Descanso hosts a special evening event called Enchanted Forest of Light, which competes with the numerous Chinese Lantern Festivals going on at the LA Zoo, the LA Arboretum, and elsewhere. This prismatic star is just one of the many added features that help to transform the nighttime garden into fantasy wonderland for this always sold-out event!
I’m guessing that this prism is illuminated from within once the sun sets.
While the beds are not necessarily lush at this time of year, the Roses are still in bloom and looking good!
I love how the petals of this delicate pink bloom are almost translucent.
This flower is called an African Daisy.
These Yellow Snapdragons have a tiny visitor!
Yellow Chrysanthemums!
Red Thistles – gorgeous!
Daffodils!
I don’t know the proper name of this tropical-looking plant with its tiny pink berries, but I have seen one like it at the NYBG in the Bronx.
Purple Irises!
Descanso Gardens is Located at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011.
