Goings On

Went to an awesome show in Long Beach on Friday " Long Beach EXPOSED" It was held at the Expo building on Atlantic which used to be an old furniture store now being used by the Arts Council for Long Beach. There's an article and pics over at the LBPost Saturday went to a few places, Sarah Bain Gallery in Anaheim to start the evening.
the Ray Donley show - "Earthly Delights, Fierce Realities" had a reception. The headed further north for "A Night in Fullerton". Lots of stuff going on, the museum was open and had a funny exhibit titled 100 Worst Album Covers. Hibbleton Gallery was open and there were other events happening around the historic downtown as well.

Santa Ana Artists Village

Did the first Saturday thing again at the Santa Ana Art walk. Found a little slide show for those who have never been and would like to see what it looks like. Apparently over at the Yost Theater, "Rocky Horror Picture Show" is running a late show every first Saturday. I used to show that when I was a projectionist at the old Balboa Cinema. I must have seen it over one hundred and fifty times. One gallery worth checking out is Courbet Art Circle. All of the artists there specialize in life portraits, very interesting work. Finalized the evening at Memphis Cafe, I had the down home gumbo.

Laguna Art Walk 8/6/09

Has it been a month already? Checked out the Laguna Art Walk again. Went to Peter Blake Gallery I especially enjoyed the work of Jorg Dubin who also had work at the Laguna Art Museum in their current show WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon. There is an interview with him here.

Thursday July 2nd Laguna Art Walk

Checked out the monthly first Thursday Laguna Beach Art Walk, some very cool shows going on, also went to a party at Chateau-305 for the latest meetup with The Orange County Fine Art Society . Chateau 305 throws art parties to coincide with the artwalk where they showcase up and coming artists. I was very impressed by the work of Paul Brigham at Sue Greenwood Fine Art, I wish I could paint like that! Finished the evening with a lovely dinner at Brussels Bistro, crowded but great food and service.

Fri 6/26/09 Huntington Beach Art Center

Checked out the show "Centered on the Center Show" at the Huntington Beach Art Center, don't ask me why but they always seem to have their openings on Fridays. There was a large amount of work, something like 400 pieces by approximately 200 artists. I'd really believe it, the place was packed. The show was hung salon style and organized within the center by each sub-category of work. In the first room on the left were paintings that fell into the portrait category, some naturalistic or others in done in the now popular lowbrow manner. On the right side were portraits done in a more abstract technique. The second room was divided into landscapes, photography and some mixed media. The final back room was mostly non-objective abstract work or conceptual pieces. Rounding out all three rooms were many plinths displaying various sculptures. Lots of attendees and artists. Nothing in this year's show particularly caught my attention, and it was open to anyone who wanted to hang their work so I'm assuming most of the pieces at the show were predominately offered up by young aspiring art students, local weekend painters or sculptors. Regardless, it has always been fun and interesting each time I've attended the "Centered on the Center" opening receptions.

Losing Another O.C. Gallery

@Space Contemporary Art is closing up. They have invited everyone for a final reception for their last exhibition on Sunday June 28th Sunday 1 – 4pm. They are located in Santa Ana at 2202 North Main Street. Good luck to Jack and Julie in their next endeavor.

Saturday 6/20

Once again the Santiago Art District held their monthly open studio night. Unlike last month parking was OK, we found a space in the train station lot. The first gallery we checked out was
Neue Transit Studio They were showing some very enjoyable new pieces by Aaron Kraten.
The good old Kogi BBQ was there again with a very long line of enthusiasts. Later we bumped into Skeith Dewine, his show "Heroes" was having a closing night reception at Dancing Dog Art Gallery. My sister Nancy came along that evening and we had a great time visiting with Skeith and his friends.

Friday Nite - Fullerton

Photo from HIBBLETON gallery's photo stream at Flickr. Checked out the opening at Hibbleton Gallery in Fullerton on Friday night with my friend Elvira. They have pics of the reception up on Flickr. Very cool little show, if you want to know more about Hibbleton here is a link to a video explaining what the gallery is about. I especially enjoyed the embroidery pieces done by Reena Makwana from the UK. You can get a closer look at the pieces in the show on her page, or here on her blog. After the gallery we strolled around, I had not visited the area for some time and was surprised at the large number of restaurants and night spots there, I seem to recall it was mostly shops and antique malls. We finally settled on the Roman Cucina restaurant. Nice food and ambiance.

out and about june 6

Checked out Sara Bain Gallery in Anaheim with the new meet up group I signed on with, The Orange County Fine Art Society The gallery was having a reception for their Pamela Wilson show, consisting of nice series of oil paintings, rendered in a photo realistic style while depicting whimsical surrealist narratives. Then swung down to atspace gallery in Santa Ana I was very dismayed to hear it was their last reception. It was one of the few places in Orange County where one could find up and coming contemporary art, so now they join the two other cool galleries that we have recently lost, J. Flynn Gallery and The Office- an Art Space.
Then I finally went down a few miles to the Santa Ana Artists Village, OCCCA has an interesting show up now. I also bought a print at Night Gallery Ceramics, very cool space featuring gothic and dark themed art in a variety of mediums. Looking forward to the upcoming meetups.

Santiago Art District

Went to check out the Santiago Art District in Santa Ana on their third Saturday open studios. Wow, so much going on there, lots of people and parking was a bit complicated. There were various bands playing in the two courtyards, lots of complementary drinks and the Kogi Korean BBQ taco truck was there. Long long line. Skeith De Wine had a solo show at Dancing Dog Art Gallery, fabulous work and it was great to see my old friend Stephanie from the James Iansiti Gallery salon show days. Definitely a fun evening of activity, I plan on getting out there again.

Cool Show at DDR Projects in Long Beach

The Third Sex: Thai Ladyboys New work by Canadian artist Patrick EVOKE

Went to this fantastic show at DDR Projects, a Long Beach gallery that I've only just discovered. Patrick Thompson is an established Canadian artist, his work and installations have been in prominent shows in Europe and Asia as well. For the work in this project, he went to Thailand where he collaborated with a group of "Ladyboys", Thai transvestites. He used a cellophane packing tape method to remove their makeup and re-transfer the strips to combine into portrait collages. The effect makes a striking image, with each one of the thirty-seven portraits unique as a fingerprint. The pieces work on a multitude of levels conceptually and mechanically as pieces of physical art as well. If you don't get a chance to see this show in person, try to make a trip to this gallery sometime in the future, it's well worth it. DDR Projects is on 3403 East Broadway near Redondo, just across the street from and the Reno Room and the Library Coffee House.

Sonja “Suni” McConnell

This obituary was written by my Sister Nancy.

Sonja “Suni” McConnell, longtime
resident of Costa Mesa, passed
away peacefully on Friday, March
6th after a battle with cancer. She
is predeceased by her husband
Bill McConnell, and survived by
her children Michael and Nancy
McConnell and Son-In-Law Lance
Cox, Sisters Thelma Mullins and
Susan Sallee, Brother Rick Huffman,
Father Richard Huffman, and
numerous cousins, nephews and
nieces. She grew up on the beaches of Corona Del Mar, and
graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1954. She
was a devoted wife, mother and daughter to her aging parents
whom she looked after for many years. She was beautiful,
artistic, sensitive, selfless, and pure of heart. She always had
a special connection with children and young people who
thrived from her affection and empathy. Encouraging words,
a generous ear and a humorous outlook could always be found
in her company. “Suni” was truly the embodiment of her
namesake, for not only did she have a light around her – she
was as constant as the Northern Star. We will forever miss her
light and her guidance. The family will be holding a private
memorial at sea.

Hey, it's my myspace page!

http://www.myspace.com/funboy_3_2000