Bill and Tony's Big Adventure

Here is a little painting based on a photo taken on a recent trip to San Francisco of the Bay Bridge. Oil 8x10 on Ray Mar Linen Panel. The story below has nothing to do with the painting, (except both trips were with Tony,) but I wanted to relate the story while the trip was still fresh in my mind. So photo's for now and paintings in the future.


Sam Hyde Harris
Painting pal Tony Peter's came by on Friday and we hit his gallery and the Sam Hyde Harris show in Pasadena. His gallery Triage was nice enough to give us free passes. The Hyde paintings were great, if uneven with great examples of his many styles and also some bad paintings that I assume were painted while he was drunk as they were not to the level of his best. His was known to hit the bottle and the women.


Close up on a Francis Livingston

Then it was off to the FADA SHOW In Santa Monica. That's were a big grouping of Fine art Dealers from around the county set up displays of the artist they represent. Lots of nice work old and new, the highlight was getting to talk to Ted Mendenhall for quite a long time in the break area. The next day on the way to SLO we got to visit his house and see his Richard Bunkhall originals. Onward to SLO to go to the Just Looking Gallery, my and now Tony's new Gallery.


On the way Tony wanted to check out an old bowling sign in Oxnard and we ending up having one of those magic moments were we discovered this several block area that was built in the fifties all with the same Wagon Wheel theme. A Bowling alley, skate rink, restaurant, hotel, trailer park, market and even some industry in the back of it was the same color and style theme.

We were saddened and elated when we found out it is all slated for the wreaking ball in a matter of months. Sad that it's going, happy we got to shot it before it is gone.

Ralph and Ken at Just looking were understanding about how late we were after explaining about the spontaneous photo shoot and this model shoot we bumped into in Santa Barbra. Tony's had to be pried away with a crow bar.

Van Gogh we had never seen.
We also hit Sullivan Goss and the Santa Barbra art museum. Had a great lunch ant the café behind SG due to good food and a great waitress, but the museum blew as a section was closed that had the Hopper painting we had come to see. On the way home we had to stop for a few nocturnal shots of the Wagon Wheel Alley.
Photo by Tony



The next day we went down to the LA river and I finally got the courage to do what I've been wanting to do for awhile now. Walk the la river itself. We walked 15 blocks of it taking tons of bridge photo's from below, emerging at Washington Blvd in a areas of industry I've never been to after wandering around there for an hour we decided to take a cab back to the car.



All and all a great two days.