HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Belvedere St in Cole Valley

It's a dark alley one doesn't want to be kept out of...

but it is the place for trick or treating

The street is 101 % bonafide Hollywood- like prop for Dracula

or the  Night of the Living Dead

It is closed off to traffic just for the night... 

to allow children and adults to be like real 

children in dressing and carefree behavior. After all

the adults waited many years to be like

kids

Halloween in economic significance means consumption

and spending, boosting retail sales

as well as consumer spirit.

It represents ticket sales in costumes and 

hospitality bills.

It ushers and serves as a preview to predicting

the  sales performance of the retail industry

during Christmas

It also helps us to forget

political divisions

and other jokes

happening in our lives

With all these masquerades it's not easy

distinguishing the real ones from

the not so real ones, is it?

With everyone looking happy

who wants to complain?

Enjoy Halloween just like this little cutie pie

waiting for her treat

Belvedere St in the Cole Valley... is San Francisco

That's all folks!

Happy Halloween!

jt

WINDSWEPT RATIONALE

The creative rationale for

WINDSWEPT is a woman in pain...

Obviously an unbearable violent external force

subdues this woman to the point of near disintegration.

Trina has chosen to leave the cause of pain as a 

mystery. It can be strong wind or atomic radiation

that exerts so much impact to her

physical composition that

she's entering the stage of particle breakdown.

There are three interesting elements to this

concept...

first. the mysterious external force

which is inflicting pain and suffering;

second , the woman who is the vehicle of this

pain causing force, whose physicality by nature

is fragile 

thirdly, the visual rendering that justifies

the use of wire principally necessary

to evoke the emotion of pain 

and the illusion of disintegration.

I like the concept because it delivers the artist's 

intended message in a 

unified way.

My side comment to play the devil's advocate position:

Is she perhaps in hell like Dante's Inferno?

that's all for now folks!

I'm gonna run to get my late dinner.

today being the end of the month

it's Halloween night

and I'll head up to Belvedere St in Cole Valley

to document their way of jolly celebration

adults and children alike.

AWOOOOHH!!!!!

i'll be in touch so you be in touch.

jt

WINDSWEPT

TRINA FERNANDEZ  with a captivating smile

from across the Pacific ocean

up north in the Philippine islands...
creative minds abound with vigor

and fresh sensitivities and irresistible

beauties....

I have not seen her other artworks for 

PEBS (Pigment, Easel and Brush Society)

OPEN STUDIO

but WINDSWEPT wire sculpture is definitely a woman whose hair

as the title suggests is windswept but for what reason? 

Is she goofing with the wind like in Marilyn Monroe's 

notorious windswept skirt? 

Does the movie, " the 7 year itch", ring a bell? 

I don't have an idea yet on the creative rationale behind

the piece but i'll update you on Trina's

concept as soon as I hear from her.

Suffice it to say that she's one hell of an artist

that you'd want to meet at the OPEN STUDIO

in December tentatively scheduled at the Manor

hotel in camp John Hay in Baguio. We have not heard

from the hotel management yet on their decision.

In the meantime, have breakfast with me

toasted english muffins with unsalted sardines, grilled mushroom, 

tomatoes,

onions and French press cordillera mountain coffee.

catch you later folks!

jt

MARIA'S 2ND SOLO SHOW IN THE PHILIPPINES

Fluidity at the Gallery 9 

it's a red letter day for November 12 in Mega mall- A at 6pm the

gallery has an opening reception for Maria's 2nd solo exhibit.

Maria painted with us 2 christmases ago in San Francisco. Her artworks are as beautiful

as her charm.

She's been burning the midnight oil all through the months that i've not heard from her.

And the reason is simple. She works quietly to churn out a lot of artworks for this

exhibit. So enjoy the cheese and wine and the lovely artworks folks!

i'll be in touch so you be in touch.

jt

PSYCHEDELIC MIND

Phoebe Osborne is in SF

...close to a year of stay in London but she's back to her hometown to do research on 

psychedelic drugs for 3 months...Welcome back!

I met Phoebe in a cafe at Golden Gate and Larkin while i was enjoying my arabic

coffee.  She's a choreographer/dancer and doing a "dance" or physical motion interpretation and

response to the recorded LSD experiences of the people she interviews. She plans to create

a two hour dance concert out of these recorded interviews.

Afterwards i went over to the SF conservatory of music to check out the recitals.

Then proceeded to take the subway M train to Stonestown galleria...

where I was enticed by Loreta at Godiva chocolatier to have one for the
road rum truffle
she doesn't take "NO" for an answer ... so there goes my $2.50. But it's
worth every penny.

I'll catch you guys later.

jt

FALL IS DEFINITE

It's Halloween folks

No one can help us despite my strong petition to postpone Halloween cause I can't stand

the cold weather... even the President is unable to do that.. but mind you, it has its own rewards. 

When costumes are disappearing from their hangers in the shops around town

and lovely costumed ladies start appearing on the screens of your eyes don't change

your channels. It's not your eye glasses either. It's Halloween !

That can also be confirmed by the dropping of temperatures to where one starts 

the layering business.

 These two shoppers on Powell and Geary by Macy's are looking for warm sweaters
and fleece jackets. They're my fellow artists Ramon, a painter and Oat, a fashion designer.

The leaves of trees start changing their colors too. And the trees shed their leaves to where
you'd think the city didn't take care of the water bills.

The fall fashion is here and everyone is anxious to see themselves wrapped in stylish
warm clothing.

After the shopping we decided to get warm Thai food on Powell for dinner.

In the meantime, the previous night

Bianca of Bloom ladies apparel served

as PEBS wardrobe advisor. She made recommendations
for Cass's 70's as well as gypsyish costumes.

Bundle yourselves and stay warm!

By the way, someone from Montenegro has caught our blog's radar.
Welcome! Hope you're enjoying the postings.

i'll be in touch so you be in touch.

jt

FRIDAY AT DE YOUNG MUSEUM

Socialization Hour

Every Friday night till 8:45pm is socials

night at the De Young Museum. There is 

simple and modest festivity with a 4 piece

band playing jazz and chamber music.

Unwinding from a busy week of work or

no work at all, as it is in my case is the main agenda. Great wine, music and 

meeting people. 

Tonight i met Eva Evans with whom i shared a table is with Grey AdvertisingAgency in Manhattan, NY, She has her office in Southern California as the agency's creative director. She said she'd be fooling around with painting very soon herself so i shook her hand warmly to welcome her entry
to fine art. Please let us know when you're exhibiting so I can corral a community of artist-friends
to support you. 

The place as usual is fully packed with a gentle crowd

eagerly enjoying the uplifting music.

Meanwhile at the cafe this couple across our table

caught Eva's attention

She's the creative director so i'll give her the benefit of the doubt

that a picture is worth a thousand words.

So when weekend is at hand folks i don't have to tell you...

do it the San Franciscan way.

Before I went to the De Young I met up with a fellow

Bay area artist, Jose Segura at the Rouge et Blanc

bar and restaurant for a glass of Tintonegro red wine and cheese bread.

He is a free lance illustrator and a fine art painter. I have not seen him for many years

and so we had catching up as usual.

That's all for now folks!!!

I'll be in touch so you be in touch!

jt

ANOTHER DAY ON THE PLANET

Commune with Nature 2/?

The game of golf is a great invention of humanity

for it allows one to enjoy his natural environment and
his fellow human beings.

It is a game that's played for a variety of reasons.
Problematic people do it to sort out sometimes the difficult
realities of life,'business professionals to close a business deal,
artists/ musicians/writers to meditate,  others to get together

with friends or families and build up memories. 

It's also a form of exercise.

The culture of golfers is one of fairness and the

social manners fostered are skewed toward

gentleness. 

So when one  wants to get away from some

social negative experiences and vibrations or wants to
simply appreciate nature one finds golf very calming and
rewarding to the spirit.

I've played with a diversity of people. Women and men
of all ages and races. And at the end of the day we know
we have experienced patience, humility, humor and
great sportsmanship.

that's all for now.

I'll be in touch so you be in touch!!

We've heard from Sonja Moeller who is now enjoying the

warm weather down in San Diego. She's been driving a lot of miles.

She might even do a cross country which i would say is exciting

though I have not done it myself.

Sonja 

p.s. Tomorrow is Friday at the De Young Museum Cafe.

If i get to go there you'll hear the culture of the cafe crowd

from me.

jt 

ANOTHER DAY ON THE PLANET

Commune with Nature 1/?

When the day is warm enough to have a round of golf

at Sharp Park one can expect any or all of these to happen.

This is the place where there's plenty of nature. The hawks,

wood peckers, coots,  skunks, blue cranes,

foxes, deers and the blackbirds share this piece of land by the

pacific coastline in Pacifica.

On a warm day the scandalous wood peckers start pounding tree trunks 

like carpenters hitting nails creating crackling sounds that echo between 5th and 6th
holes encouraging double and triple bogeys on the long par 3. I swear i can
commission Robin Hood or William Tell to humble this bird at least while I'm
on the putting green.

The skunks, foxes, coots, blackbirds, squirrels and hawks share the 14th through 16th holes.

The coots are busy looking for worms and litter the fairways with their droppings

,

while the squirrels climb  golf bags in search of something to munch. The foxes
are semi tamed and will approach you for a morsel of 3 day old bread you managed
to scrounged while hurrying to catch your tee time.
Walt Whitman would love this piece of real estate property without a doubt.

The hawks have a nasty habit of dropping on you should you decide to stand still
under the dead barren tree they've chosen as their high rise condo.

The skunks, everyone knows you can't fool around with them, but you may
watch the whole family take their sweet time crossing the 13th fairway
as if it were full moon.

The poor blue cranes are slow to take off so the foxes sometimes have
a great feast. The following day you'll find feathers and skeletons on 13th hole.

Except for my miserable game things naturally beautiful pass this side of the
planet. And all in a day's work.

catch you later folks

jt

A HACKER'S JOY

Simple Pleasures

Life is not really complicated if you come to think of

it. Often it is characterized and lined with pleasant and unpleasant

experiences. It's a cycle of this and that... appearing in every stage

of life. It starts when you're born and ends when you die. In between

you have years in the kindergarten, elementary, high school, college,

getting employed or running a business, middle age and then your twilight

zone.

Going through life as you travel the timeline to twilight a lot of knowledge is

accumulated  either by design or coincidence. Joy, frustrations, failures,

and success in the fields that you've been mount up and then at a certain point 

you begin to realize life is really that simple. Nothing to it. It's short no matter

how long you may have outlived your peers or anybody for that matter.

You start to seek what you've been called for. You may be a carpenter, a doctor,

bus driver, a plumber, a lawyer, a musician, a painter or anything. And when

you've answered your calling you get to sit and relax and are now able to

savor life with a peace of mind.

Now is the time to see life with better enjoyment. Life no longer bores

you even with simple pleasures. Now one becomes like a child again

playful and carefree.

That's why when i'm not doing my art I sit in a cafe and do "people watching".

Sip my coffee, watch beautiful women, listen to the music and the human noise. 

It keeps me alive and kicking. You oughta try it sometime.

that's all folks!

jt

 

DATELINE: N O T H I N G

NOTHING REALLY!

Hello Folks,

From around a few interesting faceless persons who are following

my blog in countries like Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Germany,

Canada and England I wish sometimes that you're just around the corner
that we could say hi and chat on arts or anything under the sun over
a cup of mountain coffee and dessert crepes.

You certainly make my day when I do review my audience.
For these countries appear regularly with that of US and the Philippines.

In San francisco it's so much easier to mingle with almost
anyone in a cafe. The city is populated with neighborly people.
The melting of diversified cultures happens naturally. With of course
blogs here and there the melting is done on a virtual world in a vicarious
manner.

Just the other day Ramon and I got to say hi to Afghan ladies
who were also enjoying the warm Sunday at the conservatory of
flowers. It's pretty common in the bay area to return a courtesy
with strangers and a few kind thoughts before parting.

Elsewhere these kind of gestures are perceived as an invitation
for trouble. In NY, East LA and Makati caution is the word.

I cannot offer a rational explanation why people are inhibited
in these places. Surely they too are kind. Is it because of congestion,
or pollution or the humidity? Or is it the sign of the times?

Anyway, just my observations.

catch you later folks!

jt

STUDIO INTERIOR

PENELOPE'S STUDIO QUICK STUDY

Here is the still life set up at Penelope's studio.

Initially I thought i would just do the still life
but the light source on the left hand corner
which is a window inspired me to paint
the interior instead with the still life in the foreground
of the composition on a 8"x10" format. Took me about
half an hour to finish this painting for the canvas had
already been under painted with cool neutral and substantially
dry that made it easier to lay colors over it with a no. 10
flat brush.

two photos of the painting one in almost monochromatic
and the other in full color close to the original and another
photo of the set up

SUNDAY LOGBOOK

A PAINTING SESSION

At around 3:30 p..m. Ramon and I met up at Penelope's

studio for a chat which later on turned into a short painting session. 

There is a still life set up which i did a painting of

while Ramon and Penelope were doing a portrait of

Maximo Viola, Rizal's friend. FYI Penelope had published
blogs and books about Rizal.

The photo shows Ramon at his easel

while Penelope's image is practically a  silhouette.

Baguio PEBS is short of professional materials

so I've gotten  pledges from Jennifer, Leo's daughter

who's a  SOTA student,  donating 8 packs of assorted

willow charcoals while Penelope will donate a few

easels and portfolios. Ramon's willow charcoal donation

was already used up in the last 3 weeks of sketching

sessions  at the Manor and Tepeyac Hotel. 

I'm also collecting small works from SFPEBS for

a joint Open Studio with BaguioPEBS at the Manor

in December though Manor has not confirmed

to commit their gallery.

That's all folks!!!

jt

SATURDAY LOGBOOK

Music at the Daly City Farmers Market

Today's weather temperature is warm with a little bit of breeze.

I'm pretty sure the golfers and hackers are out there enjoying

nature and their shabby games at Sharp Park golf course.

Over on the other side of the hill the farmers are busy 

helping their customers with their produce as the wrap up

hour is drawing. I got up a little late but caught up with 

them in the last hour and finally got my greens of romaine

lettuce, kale, tomatoes, cucumber and grapes.

Tony is a musician playing classical and singing songs 

about Henry VIII's 2nd wife Anne. This pretty much 

summarizes the first half of the day.

Elsewhere i'm sure women and other shoppers are 

packing the malls for the weekend sale promos.

I'll be in touch and you be in touch.

that's all for now folks!!

jt

MONTARA LIGHT HOUSE

Lighthouses have always been fascinating for some reason.

In the coastal town of Montara south of San Francisco
the light house had become a stop for tourists and whale watchers.

Today I met  Sonja Moeller a charming lady from Germany who's
on tour of the country for 2 months.

Local and international tourists gather and share culture
in this lovely light house spot. It is a place for socialization
amongst people who are totally strangers but share
a common feeling of humanity and love for nature.

Enjoy your stay Sonja!

Sonja and I