It's my 38th day in Paris, time to share some lovely art with my readers

Posted from my other blog: oldguyinparis.blogspot.com

"After a chance meeting yesterday with amazing French artists Jean-Loup Msika and Loulou Tayeb, I asked both if they would send me samples of their work and allow me to share them on this blog. They kindly agreed so here is their work and their contact info:

Painter and sculpture Jean-Loup Msika is first up:"

You can see more examples of his work - and contact him via his Facebook page HERE

Below is Loulou Tayeb's portrait of the American painter Beauford Delaney:

How to make a time capsule

Ever wanted to make a 100+ year time capsule? Recently I've given it some thought and I must admit that the list of stuff I'd include becomes longer every day... here's what's on my list so far.

. My trusty - and already ancient - flip cell phone
. A DVD that contains an Excel spreadsheet of my family tree and family photos
. A love letter to my children
. A love letter to my grandchildren
. A pair of my cuff links
. My tattered Boy Scout leader shirt
. A DVD of the Wizard of Oz (because it pretty well sums up everything anyone needs to know about life and loving)
. A DVD compilation of protest and civil rights songs from the '60
. An IWC wrist watch)
. A recent selfie of me and my wonderful wife
. A copy of the Sunday New York Times (minus the annoying advertising inserts)

.... and the list continues to grow.

What about you? What would you put in your time capsule? Here are some tips from the
 New York Times
.

J.M.W. Turner - amazing painter

"The Sun of Venice Going to Sea" - 1843 

"In this picture, Venice slips into the distance behind a fishing boat setting out dawn. Its crew seems unable, as Turner wrote, of a "demon in grim repose" who "expects his evening prey."

.... Art Gallery of Ontario

Happy Birthday Pablo Picasso

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso, also known as Pablo Picasso ⁽25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973), was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright who spent most of his adult life in France. As one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore.

..... Wikipedia

"The Journey to Zyg and Mila Ramsay - Interrupted @3:04"

"The Journey to Zyg and Mila Ramsay - Interrupted @ 3:04"

N gauge track and cars - multidimensional - mounted to black felt and encased in a dark brown wood, glass-faced frame - 21 x 10 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches

"If my ship sails from sight, it doesn't mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends."

.... John Enoch Powell, British politician, classical scholar, linguist, and poet.

 

Lovely photos of ugly architecture

"Photographer Phil Burrowes found himself commissioned by NCP (National Car Parks) to produce images of 20 of their car parks across the country.

Burrowes spent three weeks of long days photographing these often overlooked pieces of architecture.

"I wanted to capture the scale of the car parks, to evoke a sense of awe," he told BBC News.

To see more examples of Phil Burrowes photography, check out his WEBSITE

Brilliant street photography by Mario Macilau

"Mario Macilau was 14 and living on the streets of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, when he got his hands on a camera. He taught himself to use it - and 12 years later he was holding a solo exhibition in Lisbon. Here he explains how he snapped his way out of poverty.".... BBC News

And check out his website HERE

Ten life lessons the Wizard of Oz taught me

1. Never allow bullies to push me, or my dog, around
2. If my path is noble, good people will help me along the way
3. Things are often not what they seem
4. People are often not what they seem
5. I am already braver, and smarter, and more loving than I can imagine
6. It is more important for me to act to protect my family than it is for my family to understand those acts
7. Don't let other people set my goals
8. Colour doesn't matter - in horses or people
9. No Great and Powerful Oz is going to take care of me in this life so I need to try harder/be smarter
10. There's no place like home

Hey Banksy lovers - check out his new exhibit

This is way beyond cool (if there is such a thing). Check it out Dismaland Bemusement Park if you happen to be in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. The exhibit runs from Aug. 22 until Sept. 27. If Arthur Schopenhauer was still alive, I'm sure that he would be Dismaland's first visitor.

Read the story on CTV News

"Incarcerated Flowers" - Dominion Securities

Dominion Securities building - Toronto - today

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them."

.... Henri Matisse, painter

Cool! A reverse grafitti mural

"Working together with the advertising agency Scholz & Friends, artist Przemek “Trust” Truscinski and a team of skilled people from Good Looking Studio, the PGE Polish Energy Group commissioned the large mural, to be made using ‘reverse graffiti’, which creates an image by washing away layers of dirt."

Read the story in the Contemporist

Portal to Sanctuary

Sir Daniel Wilson residences - University of Toronto - today

A train and the sun for Zyg Ramsay

Mount Cheops from Rogers Pass By William Brymner, 1899, oil and graphite on canvas

"Dedicated to my grandson Zyg just because he loves trains and the sun".... Grandfather (A.G.)

Yosemite Valley by Albert Buerstadt, 1868, oil on canvas

"Untitled" - amazing art by the Z'otz* Collectve

Don Valley Trail - Broadview Bridge - house paint on concrete - L-R: Nahum and Ilyana

"Nahúm Flores, Erik Jerezano, and Ilyana Martínez are Z’otz* Collective, formed in Toronto in 2004. The group meets weekly to collaborate on multi-media works, which include drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and site–specific drawing installations. Their quirky and often outrageous images explore, with humour, ideas of transition, displacement, containment and evolution. Their stories depict totemic mystical creatures and hybrid beasts that portray visual synonyms to tell complex and surrealistic tales.
 
Through the wording of their titles, the Collective give hints to the tales contained within them, but leave space for the viewer to invent his or her own stories or concepts. In this way, the viewer is part of the collaborative process."

.... zotzcollective.blogspot.com

Lovely handwoven light fixture

NESTLED by Jana Osterman  - Evergreen Brickworks - Toronto

"Jana Osterman, a Toronto resident, was born in Slovenia. She studied in Ljubljana at Secondary school for design and photography, Royal Academy of Art in The Hague - Holland - graphic design and typography, and continued studies in printmaking at Filton College, Bristol, England.

Since 2000, she has continuously worked as an artist, fabricator and collaborator with Cobalt fabrication company, working on a variety of public art projects, exhibits and interactive exhibitions, and her own artwork."

.... www.janosterman.com

3:04 - courtesy of Michelle Ramsay

Streetcar tunnel - Toronto - this morning 

"Windows of sorrow and revenge"

4:38 pm - today 

A tree awaits spring

Sierra Gundy Park - today

Union Station renovation

Photo by Me

"Union Station is the primary railway station and intercity transportation facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Front Street West, on the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in downtown Toronto. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the train shed and trackage is owned by the commuter rail operator GO Transit. Union Station has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada since 1975, and a Heritage Railway Station since 1989.

This station is the busiest transportation facility in Canada, serving over 250,000 passengers a day. This is partly due to its position at the centre of Canada's busiest inter-city rail service area, the "The Corridor", which stretches from Quebec City in the east to Windsor in the west. More than half of all Canadian intercity passengers travel by way of Union Station.

.... Wikipedia

"3:04 - Fractured Foot"

"3:04 - Fractured Foot" - mixed media - aluminum armature, wire mesh, quart watch. Clay base, rectangular and varnished, 6 1/2" x 4" x 2" high. Overall dimensions: width (diagonally)=13", height (including base)=18"... $21,302