Trina's page of Blogginess

I'm the first to admit that I'm a big geek when it comes to seeing any archived Disney production art. Most of my knowledge of it comes from when I used to work at the vintage animation gallery, and also from when I was an animation student. My fascination of it goes much further though - I've loved looking at it since I was a young kid. Always thought it was some of the most beautiful and "alive" art I'd ever seen. I also love seeing any old photos of footage of the early days of Disney - whether it be the man, the park, or old films.

I remembering hearing about this sometime ago, but I had no idea how far along it had gotten, or when it was planning on opening.

Opening date is October 1st!

The Walt Disney Family Museum

The website is up, but doesn't have much information yet. I'm curious to see what the permanent exhibit it, what's on the calendar, etc.,

It looks like it's going to be a really great museum. I'm looking forward to visiting!

Labels: art, pop culture, san francisco

Mykail is here for a quick visit! That always makes me happy. :)

He came in Thursday, spent the day with my parents, then took BART to SF this morning. We met in Union Square, had a big breakfast/lunch at Lori's Diner downtown, then took MUNI home.

There wasn't anything in particular that Mykail wanted to do in SF, so we opted for just hanging out at home. We were in the backyard, when I remembered that I had the perfect project for the two of us to do together:

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had gone to IKEA and bought these very cool self-adhesive wall decorations that I wanted to use in my cabana. The designs come in cut-out pieces, on four sheets, like stickers, only they don't stick permanently. They have designs that they suggest, or you can just get creative and make your own. It's a bit of an intimidating process, and I was waiting to get some opinions before getting started. Mykail, who is one of the most creative people I know, was the perfect person to create my wall art with me!

We spent about 4 hours working on the project together. We started by using one of the design samples, but eventually branched out (no pun intended!) and improvised, and created our own.

I'm super happy with how it turned out! I think it's just soooo cute!

I chose this design because I loved the idea of having a tree inside my cabana, bringing the outside into the inside. :) You can see that I also did that with the chair that I chose for the space as well.

Here's a photo of the completed project:


...and here's another one with Mykail!



Thanks, Misha Mouse! I couldn't have done it without you, and I love that you have a permanent presence in my cabana. :)

Labels: art, friends

What a great afternoon!

Andrew, Barry and I met for lunch at the Metreon, had carrot cake at Just Desserts (yum!), then went to watch Coraline in 3D at the theater.

The movie was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed the story well enough, but what really kept me compelled was the artistry of the animation and the quality of the 3D.

For those who may not know: Coraline is not a computer animated film. Nope - this is old-school stop-motion animation. The kind with models and armatures. Like those old holiday specials (Rudolph, Frosty, etc., ) from the 70s, or more recently, like Nightmare Before Christmas.

The animation is simply superb. As a former animation student, I know what can go into the simplest of stop-motion animation projects, so this really blew my mind.

Seeing it in 3D was also fantastic. Digital 3D. I guess it's becoming a popular thing, as we saw 2 other movie previews for films coming out this year also in Digital 3D.

After the movie, Andrew and I walked over to the Cartoon Art Museum. I had seen that they have a "Art of Coraline" exhibit that is only running through this Sunday, February 15th.

The exhibit was also fantastic. They had a lot of pre-production art (character model sheets, story boards, etc.,) as well as several models. One of my favorite parts of the exhibit was a section that showed Coraline's tiny hand-knit clothing, her wigs, and several interchangeable eyebrow and mouth expressions. Great stuff for animation geeks!

If you have a chance to see the movie, I highly recommend seeing it in 3D.
If you happen to be in SF this weekend, try to drop by the Cartoon Art Museum to see the exhibit.

Labels: art, friends

I went to the de Young Museum on Friday afternoon with Kathy, my parents, my sister and Graham to see The Dale Chihuly Exhibit.

I've seen a few Chihuly pieces at various museums before, but none of those smaller, individual pieces could prepare me for this exhibit. I was overwhelmed by it! Seriously, we all gasped in amazement as we entered each room.

Chihuly's pieces are so amazing - the colors, the size, the creativity. It was truly inspiring.

If you are in the area and have a chance to see this exhibit, I highly recommend seeing it. It's here until September 28th. It seems to sell out quickly, so I'd recommend buying tickets early. You won't be disappointed.

Labels: art, san francisco

Love this - Sam Francis.

Labels: art, san francisco

This one made me smile. I'm a big fan of Wayne Thiebaud, so it's neat
to see a different interpretation.

Labels: art, san francisco

The idea of this exhibit is just fantastic: artists/florists create a
floral design inspired by specific pieces of art throughout the
museum. I love this one.

Labels: art, san francisco

I'm spending the afternoon at the Bouquets to Art exhibit at the
DeYoung Museum. Amazing! Come see it if you have a chance. March 11-15
only.

Labels: art, san francisco

I wish I could claim credit to this painting, but I can not.

As you may know, I often take a daily walk which always includes walking the parameter of Dolores Park. One of my favorite views of the city is from the top corner: it overlooks the entire park, Dolores Street (with its many palm trees), Mission Dolores, and (best of all) the entire Downtown San Francisco Skyline.

I've always wanted to paint a scene from that view of the park, but frankly, the thought of it always intimidated me.

Yesterday, as I was taking my walk along the park, I noticed a man painting in his van, parked on 20th Street. He had a few of his paintings leaning on the outside of the van. His paintings struck me in a way that few paintings do. He was painting with oil paints on the reverse side of an old window pane - something that I've always been meaning to try. In fact, I have a few great old windows in my basement, just waiting for me to be inspired with an idea. Anyhow, not only did I admire his technique and style, but I was also struck by his composition, use of color and, of course, the subject matter.

He was painting scenes from Dolores Park. I talked with him at length, and learned that he's originally from Kentucky, and drives around to different cities, painting landscapes of them. He came to Dolores Park about a week ago, and just fell in love with it. From what I could tell, he probably had a dozen or more paintings that he was in the process of working on while I was there. He said he's had great success in selling them everyday.

I told him that we San Franciscans are proud of our City, and its views, and that he picked the perfect location to paint from, of, and to sell from. He only had about 4 pieces finished and available for sale yesterday afternoon. I asked if he had any paintings depicting the view from the top corner, and he said he'd been working on some sketches, and would be painting them the next day. He invited me to come back tomorrow (which is now today) to see them.

I was so inspired and excited by his work. I came home with my head full of ideas of new techniques to try. This kind of inspiration doesn't happen to me often, so when it does, it's quite exciting!

I had dinner with my parents and my sister last night, and told them all about the gorgeous paintings I had just seen in the afternoon, and about my excitement of possibly buying one. Dick had been away on business for a few days, and returned home last night. I wanted to bring him to the park to show him the paintings before making that decision on my own.

After a series of crazy events this afternoon (which included driving through the Castro on Pride weekend), we made it over to the park. Duke (the name of the artist) was working on a medium-sized window (30" x 40"), which he showed me. It was exactly what I was looking for: it's a scene from the top corner, showing the park, the palm trees, and the distinct San Francisco Skyline in the back. Dick saw it, and liked it as well, so we put a deposit down, and told him we'd come back later in the day once he was finished painting it.

This painting makes me happy in so many ways. I love its composition, and its vibrant colors. I love that it's a cityscape, but slightly abstracted. I love that it's a view from one of my favorite places in the City. I love that it's painting on an old window frame. And I especially love that we were able to support a local and very talented artist.

I've never bought an original painting from another artist before. Obviously, I love a lot of art, but there are so few pieces that I've seen that I'd actually want to pay money for, and hang in my home. This may sound a bit absurd, considering that I've worked for many years at an art gallery. I think that may be part of it. Through the gallery, and through art school, I've been (happily) exposed to so many wonderful pieces of art. I think this has taught me to learn the distinction between art I like, art I'd like to own, art that personally inspires me, art I'd like to look at every day, and afford ability. (the last one is the one that usually stops me!)

Anyhow, Dick and I just took a jaunt back to the park to pick up our new painting. When I arrived, Duke was back in his van working on his newest piece. He said that the painting that I had put a deposit down on had already attracted a lot of attention. I'm so pleased with the final product, and am happy that I was able to watch him as he was painting it earlier in the day.

I'm really looking forward finding the right spot to hang our new piece of art.

Labels: art, san francisco