The Getty Garden

Mixed media to the max.  One of my favorite things about the Getty Center in Los Angeles is its garden.  Let that sink in a minute, if you know me.  I do not like flowers.  They make me sneeze.  Even when I paint them, I do it in a hurry and then the entire arrangement is banished to the porch.  It's the architecture and sense of space, though, that socks me in the gut in the Getty garden.

The garden architect, Robert Irwin, is (according to the tour) not a plant guy.  He isn't coming at this from a horticulture perspective, but from a fine art perspective of composition - color, texture and line.  His only objective in picking plants was to fit those rules.  I think the garden staff has their hands full keeping it up, but it is definitely worth it, and it changes with the seasons!

One of my favorite things in the garden are the "trees" made out of rebar and capped by bougainvillea.  This is where the chairs are, so they provide much-needed shade.  If you sit below, look up, and squint - this is what you get.

Also, it's almost bokkeh season, so here you are.  This piece is 16 x 20, but I'm making some smaller ones to sell at Jackalope Art Fair in Pasadena in November, stay tuned!  Also, I got to use a champagne cork to trace the circles.  (Ok, it was cava, but still, #artlifegoals.)