Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Procrastination AND insomnia

Ah well. Can't sleep.
More about my West Coast road trip, shall we?




Here's one of my marvelous friends.


I visited Francey whilst in LA.






She lives in a beautiful and weird little house in Glendale.
It's entirely unique.






We've known each other for about 15 years,
and people often confuse one of us with the other...
or they did when we lived in the same town.




Oddly, we've "lived in the same town" on two different continents,
so there've been many opportunities for mistaken identity.
Fortunately, we both live such upright, moral lives
that no incriminating or sordid details were spilled.



You know me: Mrs. Buttoned-Up.




After Francey took me to the Getty,
we zipped over to the Norton Simon Museum.
Of course, you can't take photos inside the galleries,
but once again, the gardens were marvelous.

Look how cleverly the sculptures have been placed
to echo the landscaping.





Or perhaps it's the other way around.




Do you suppose they put in the trees to match the sculptures?




Obviously, what I know about growing trees
you could put on the head of a pin, so...






Apparently someone isn't a big fan of Barbara Hepworth.


Can you tell?






In addition to being a stellar human being,
Francey's also a talented painter.



Here's a painting Francey did of me a few years ago.


Count your lucky stars,
I've spared you the other, a nude.
Because I don't have liability insurance covering accidental blindness for my readers.

Besides, then I'd have to call myself Mrs. Unbuttoned,
and we can't have that.
This is a family blog, folks.




To end on a serene note,
here is Francey's painting of the park at Virginia Water
where she and I used to go walking.



Lovely, isn't it?
Gosh, sometimes I really miss England.





You can see more of Francey's artwork here.


.

11 comments:

Hannah Rose said...

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/none/funny-translation-errors-409263/

mo.stoneskin said...

That crazy little house is incredible. Tell me more. Is it in a village of similar houses or a total random? I'd love to see inside.

expateek said...

mo -- it's pretty much the only one in the neighborhood. It's in Glendale. If you click on the link for the house photo, Francey's written a bit about it on her website. They've actually used it for local filming (it is LA, after all)...

Anonymous said...

Francey IS a talented painter!

I was wondering how you found me, then I saw Mo here...I love that guy.

Jan from the Sushi Bar

expateek said...

JPooh -- Yes, it starts to feel a bit clubby, doesn't it? I'm fairly new to the blogging community, always standing around the edges of the "in" crowd. Thanks for visiting. And yeah, I love Francey's work. I can't even draw a stick guy for hangman!

Pochyemu said...

Yay for 'Vagina Water', which is where I walk Toby alllll the times. In fact, it's my new exercise regimen before graduation.

My friend's sister is a film producer, and they're in the middle of building a huge film set right by that bridge. My friend's not allowed to tell me what the film's about, but it's a horror film involving a huge pirate ship looking thing, apparently!

expateek said...

Oooh, take some photos. Or maybe I should fake-photoshop a pirate ship onto Francey's painting?? I like to keep up with current events. xxx

Vic said...

I love the Norton Simon. Once every few years I'll go there by myself so no one is whining "Can we GO now?" and I can look at everything.

Great painting!

La Belette Rouge said...

When I saw that house I was sure it was in Chicago. I am delighted to discover that fantastic house is here in L.A. LOVE it!!!!!

Something in Francey's lovely portrait of you makes me think of the colours of Lucian Freud only she has a much more loving eye. You look lovely in your painting, as you do in your pictures. :-)

I haven't been to the Norton Simon since a 7th grade field trip.

Madame DeFarge said...

Love the picture of Virginia Water. She is very talented - does she exhibit anywhere?

expateek said...

Vic -- the Norton Simon is like a little jewel in the middle of Pasadena. People in LA are so lucky!

Belette -- thanks for the compliments! You're a sweetie.

Mme DeF -- she has some of her work on her website... I keep trying to get her to exhibit more, but she hasn't since returning to the US. :-(