Avatar 12 '09

Avatar Poster

 Bruce I and our friends,  Jim and Becky  Sullivan went to an afternoon matinee of the movie Avatar.

CC, BJ, Becky, Jim

I was expecting a  well thought out cartoon, but was instead stunned by the realism James Cameron has managed to instill reality into the 3d  animated characters.

Everything from their facial expressions,

 to their body movement was flawless.

Even more enchanting was the extra-terrestial planet filled with exotic creatures and floating islands.

I don't think I have ever seen anything quite so  magically beautiful  look so real .

Granted, the plot was a little tires, but that was the only fault I could find with the movie.

In all other ways it is promising to become a classic.

It is certainly one of our top all time favorites.

If the acting and  the cinematography in this film doesn't win an Academy Award, then there is something seriously wrong with the Awards process.

Sherlock 12 '09

We went to see the new Sherlock Homes movie last night and thoroughly enjoyed it .
Kudos to the director for  casting Robert Downey Jr in the Role of Sherlock Homes.  Sherlock Holmes benefits from the elementary appeal of a strong performance by Robert Downey, Jr. He has given  the stuffy old image of Sherlock Homes a much needed update.  Indeed the character now can even be thought of in terms of action, laughs, capers, fun  To see him as Sherlock Holmes now feels natural, inevitable... Elementary, even!

Robert Downey Jr. brings the legendary detective to life as he has never been portrayed before. Jude Law stars as Holmes' trusted colleague, Watson, a doctor and war veteran who is a formidable ally for Sherlock Holmes.

Rachel McAdams stars as Irene Adler, the only woman ever to have bested Holmes and who has maintained a tempestuous relationship with the detective

 Kelly Reilly will play Watson's love interest, Mary.

Mark Strong stars as their mysterious new adversary, Blackwood. 

To summarize the movie's  plot: Just fresh off capturing and witnessing the hanging of Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), an occult serial killer, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law) are stunned to hear rumors that he has resurrected back from the dead and resumed his killing spree. To complicate matters, Watson is planning to get married to pretty Mary Marstan (Kelly Reilly) and move out of good old 221b Baker Street to Holmes great despair. Holmes, hilariously resolved not to let that happen, attempts to sabotage his friend’s proposal while hunting down Lord Blackwood. Holmes perks up considerably though when his tempestuous old love interest, the fetching Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) pops back in town for some mysterious business.

I'm sure that many purists, who know of Homes primarily from earlier film renditions, will take issue with the edgy way Sherlock Homes' character is portrayed. I for one an  glad Ritchie gave a modern face-lift to the character because the original work itself is open to interpretation and I believe this portrayal  would bring a new generation of people to get interested in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work

Brookgreen's Night of a Thousand Candles 12 '09

Once again we are  celebrating the holiday season  by attending Brookgreen Garden's spectacular holiday light show:  Night of A Thousand Candles

BJ 

I firmly believe this is one of the best Holiday light displays in the country

CC in Children's Garden

Lollypop trees in Children's Garden

Every inch of the garden is illuminated

  Even the stars and the moon in the heaven are lit more brightly 

The  Dancing Water Nymph Pond is always my favorite out of doors display

Christmas dinnerware from Attalaya

But the indoor display of local holidays past is interesting as well

The grounds of Brookgreen were once part of a Hunt Club

Happy Channukah 12 '09

Happy Chanukah to you and your loved ones

 From our home to yours

Our Chanukah Bush

Seacoast Artist Guild Fall Show 12 '09

Bruce and I attended the Seacoast Artist Guild's Fall Show and Sale this evening.

It was held in the Art Works Gallery in the Litchfield Exchange Building

 The show was well attended by both artists and art lovers

( especially the refreshment table).

 

I must admit I was impressed with both the quality of the art and how well it was displayed.  This group really sets professional standards for its members

I am glad.  It's nice to see that my  local art community is thriving.

Ashville: Blue Ridge Mountains Fall ' 09

This past  weekend we went to   see the fall change of color in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina.   Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains are a five hour trip from our home. It is far enough away that won't go there and back for a day-trip but close enough that we feel comfortable going there for a two or three day weekend. 

 The Asheville area is one of the top art destinations in the USA, which is good motivation enough for either of us to visit, but add to that the beauty of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains, and we are positively addicted to the area.
 

One Sunday morning we woke up to the Weather Channel showing a picture of the Blue Ridge Mountains in full Fall Color. That did it... Within ten minutes we had grabbed our leather jackets, an extra set of clothing, cameras, and whatever snacks we could stuff in a cooler, and we were off. There are some signs of Fall here in the Low Country but nothing like the show that our Southern mountains put on.  Shortly after we crossed the North Carolina and reached the foothills we began to see color on all sides of us. 

Above and below US Highway 26 Northbound as we entered North Carolina, and the view from our hotel  in  the Biltmore Estates the next morning. 

All along the road were spectacular burst of color.

 We drove as far as Craggy Peak and took a short hike to the top of the mountain. The entire top of the mountain is covered in Rhododendron and Flowering Ashe. 

Below: A tunnel has been cut through the Rhododendron for the trail to the peak. 

Can you imagine how beautiful this hike must be when the Rhododendrons are in bloom?  I can’t wait to see this area in spring

The view from the top was wonderful.  You can see why the mountains are called the Blue Ridges.  What I hadn’t expected was all the contrasting bright red of the Ashe Tree berries.  No wonder they made this area a National Park and the Blue Ridge Highway a National Scenic Road.

Presenting James and Bo Jacobs 11 '09

Congratulations to Jim and Bo Jacobs

Bruce's son Jim married  the love of his life, Bo today

May you live long and prosper together

Plein Air SC style Nov '09

My most recent adventure was in Charleston.  The Charleston Fine Arts Council Designated Nov 5-7th as Fine Arts weekend, and the entire city got in the act with art walks, gala openings in the city's many museums, and auctions to benefit various art causes. I haven't met a single plein air painter since I moved here, so I was very excited to read that the council was sponsoring a PLEIN AIR event in Washington Park.  Boy was I in for a surprise!  Plein Air painting as I know it usually means the artist painting(1) a small landscape or architectural scene(2) that is being looked at on location (3) in a somewhat impressionistic manner (4) to capture a the local color of what is seen. (5) They are almost always small because (6) one is trying to capture the image before the light changes.
In Charleston,  Plein air seems to mean anything that you paint in plain air out of doors. 

  There were people realistically painting remote landscapes from photographs, and creating watercolor seascapes from photographs. 

 

Some of the artists set up still lives complete with settings to direct the light 

 or brought a model and posed her on a bench.   

The participating artists had been invited to donate work towards an auction which raised money for the Charleston high school district art program. 

Much of what was donated were graphics, abstracts, and or decorative art pieces. 

  There were a couple of artists who were trying to paint the local scenery,  

  but I didn't envy them trying to see their subject matter through the crowds.   

 The winning piece of art from the exhibit was what appeared to be a colored photograph of a pelican.  (Even if I am mistaken and it was a incredibly realistic hand rendered pelican... I don't know how it could be called plein air). Oh well, plein air or not, the effort and money went to a good cause, so no complaints.