Reflections in Wolfe Lane!

Wolfe Lane in the city is crazy fabulous after the invasion of street artists last month during Form Public As you enter the lane from Murray St. on the curve of the corner a brilliant explosion of colour by USA artist Maya Hayuk, that's Maya working below left. Rounding the corner the magnificent work of Puerto Rican artist Alexis Diaz that I showed you here and caught in the reflection above a piece by Argentinian artist Hyuro who has another work a little further down the lane, below right.. and that's just the tip of the iceberg! This long weekend we celebrate everything that's good about living in WA, we have much to be thankful for.. hope you have an excellent weekend also, take care and stay safe.. p.s. I always seem to be playing catch up :)

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Ascalon & St. George...

When I updated my camera last year I went with the Olympus OM-D E-M5.. can honestly say that I have no regrets, a sweet gem of a camera, check it out! So much lighter than the Pentax I humfffd around for years! Not an advert for Olympus btw :) just wanted to show you some of the in-camera features like the one above. The Sculpture in front of St. George's Cathedral called 'Ascalon'..  'in Medieval Romance, ‘Ascalon’ is the name of the lance used by St George to slay the dragon. Here, the lance is rendered as a monumental tube that emits a single beam of light into the heavens at night'.. must get back after dark to see that! Some may say it's the easy way out but it is a dramatic sculpture and if you want to highlight that immédiatement, voilà ! Friday oh yay! Enjoy, take care...

 The theme for City Daily Photo bloggers on June 1 is "Zest."

 

Hostel versus hotel?

Backpackers versus hotel.. which do you prefer? Like all big cities Perth has a goodly number of backpacker hostels.. some better than others, I'd advise much research before choosing. The Old Swan Barracks Backpackers Hostel in Northbridge is in the heritage listed 1896 barracks, renovated in 2008 and described now as 'totally geared towards the ongoing comfort of our international visitors'. The reviews vary from 'the BEST hostel ever' to 'it's a hellhole' (that made me smile) and everything in between. If I was 18 and exploring the world I might take a chance but these days it's all about comfort, I'll stick with hotels :) Happy Thursday, take care..

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...

But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red
Cryings not for me
Cause I ain't gonna stop the rain by complaining

 Because I'm free
Nothing's bothering me...

Had a fab time in the city yesterday, it was raining.. more like showers really, was fun watching the umbrellas pop up here.. and there! The little chap above screamed with delight when his mum leaned out into the rain and quickly back in. Cheese toasties and coffee in Tartine Cafe watching people rush by on Wellington St.. perfect kind of morning! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe.. p.s. catch up today!

When is a bench not just a bench!

 
When it evolves from a place to sit.. into a work of art in its own right! I spotted this bench, how could I not.. at the art exhibition I went to a few weekends ago and immediately thought of Malyss who lives in beautiful Nice and delights us not only with her images but her wonderfully poetic descriptions. This bench looks like it's had many layers of colourful paint over the years that have been allowed to weather and peel to perfection, pull it in to see the swan detail on the legs above.. not a bad view over the Swan River below either. Happy Tuesday, take care..

So much more than first meets the eye!

Out in Northbridge looking for more street art created in the Form Public project I came across this work in the Central TAFE area. At first glance it looks like a kaleidoscope of shapes and colours, but if you pull it in you can see much more detail.. I see rifles, pistols, hands behind heads and maybe even the McDonalds logo around the centre (?), what can you see? From the intricate layer on layer design I'd guess it could be stencil art.. may be wrong but feel it's possible this is a kaleidoscope of political protest and intrigue. Not being part of the FP project I had difficulty finding any info on the artist, if any Perthites know more I would love to hear about it.. Hope that you've had or are still having a fab weekend, take care and stay safe..

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A lifesaving cuppa!

Never has the expression 'I'd give my life for a cuppa' been more relevant. Every year around May/June the Cancer Council encourages Australians to put the kettle on, get together with friends and organize a 'biggest morning tea' for exactly that reason, to help save lives. Every year my friend Jenny holds a biggest 'afternoon' tea and delights her guests with scrumptious delicacies both sweet and savoury served on the prettiest china.. yesterday was no exception and although the weather was stormy and bleak 37 ladies gathered together, sipped tea, had fun and by way of raffles and donations raised well over a thousand dollars.. well done ladies and bravo Jenny! Happy weekend, take care and stay safe.. p.s. below Aimee's contribution.. yum!

And then.. it rained!

Don't you love the mossy greens and rusty orange colours that manifest on rocks after many years of water coursing over their surface. If there happens to be an autumn leaf flowing by and a strange 'Nemo like' looking reflection centre stage, all the better :). I took these shots yesterday while at Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park saying hello to Mum and Dad, was also drawn to the rustic, gnarly look of the paper bark tree below, how good would it be if we could shed our old skin like that :)

...and then it rained ! It's probable that I enjoyed it more than the Coots ( makes me smile that name) swimming below.. walking in a shower is tres enjoyable after a very long dry spell don't you think! Hope you have a fab weekend, it's going to be wet, wet, wet here in Perth but not cold, looking forward to it! Take care..
   

My contribution to WEEK-END REFLECTIONS 

Freshwater Bay..

Just around the corner from the art show residence on Sunday we stopped by to take some shots in Freshwater Bay, if you zoom in centre of the shot below you can see the distinctive brickwork of the 'Coombe'. Most of the homes along this part of the foreshore are built into limestone cliff, distinctive to this area.. many years ago there were freshwater springs at the base of these cliffs hence the name. There are three yacht clubs in this area all popular venues for weddings and also the answer to the question posed a few days ago.. where to moor your yacht when you live in a four million dollar home :) Happy Friday, take care and stay safe..

Photobomber :)

I apologize straight up for the slightly fuzzy quality of these shots.. long lens, no tripod, bleary eyes :) and it was very early yesterday morning.. but when I downloaded them they made me smile, if they make you smile also my work is done :)

Three patient doves waiting in a row...

Joined by many more waiting to go!

 Getting impatient with this greedy pair...

Next thing you know the galahs are there!

I call them the bossy, the Rainbow Lorikeets (very cute short video).. the bold, the galahs, they are excellent mimics have a look here, we have one in the garden that sounds exactly like me calling P out in his office, you can imagine how confusing that gets :) and lastly the meek, the spotted doves, patiently waiting for the leftovers. I hope they made you smile too, happy Thursday, take care...

Million dollar view...

Literally.. this is a million dollar view! The host venue for the art show on Sunday was a private residence in Mosman Park one of Perth's most exclusive suburbs.. imagine enjoying your morning coffee taking in this view, or stepping down...

 ... to the charming river side arbour below... 

 

It was a little overcast on Sunday but this view would be spectacular whatever the weather n'est pas? (sorry Courtney).. below, glimpses over the Swan River to the city....

 
.. and a last shot looking back as we were leaving.. I don't know very much about the residence other than it is part of a subdivision of a property called the Coombe, is incredibly beautiful and has come a long way from the limestone cave the property was in the 1850's, it's situation now described as 'the incredibly steep and wealthy road known as 'the Coombe'.. still not my preferred choice if I ever win the lotto :) Happy middle of the working week, take care and stay safe...p.s. catch up today!

'Eversiempre' Argentina..

Walking along William St. in Northbridge last week just by chance I looked up and over the tops of the buildings below spotted another in the series of street murals created in and around Perth city during the Form Public project in April. This huge scale work by Argentinian artist Ever is on the opposite end of the Central TAFE building to the Pixel Pancho here.

Titled 'Migration' Eversiempre lists Van Gogh as one of his inspirations, I see evidence of that in this work.. I was happy to catch the gentleman in the shot below to show size perspective but had to smile as he hurried past real quick after noticing the decapitated head, I think I even heard a stifled 'gulp' :) Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe...

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A Celebration of Art Love & Life..

To say that Leanne Pearson (above) is a 'good' artist is a bit like saying Einstein was a little clever :) described as 'artiste extraordinaire' is so much more apt! This is Leanne's first solo exhibition in ten years and apart from some of the commissioned works all of the paintings here have been completed in the last five months.. many of you reading this are artists yourselves and will surely appreciate the play of light that so perfectly captures the glow of warmth on a summers evening in the beach scenes below.. so worth a click to see the details...

 Self portrait with daughter below...

The venue for the art show in Mosman Park was stunning, will show you more of that on Wednesday. After a week of gloomy 'Federal budget' news.. you did vote 'the Abbott' in fellow Aussies, WHAT were you thinking :) it was refreshing to see through the eyes of an artist that the simple pleasures of life will always be free! Hope your week is off to a happy start, take care.....

Where's my ukelele?

It's a known fact that I tend to be a bit of a hermit in the evenings, although when I do make the effort to go out I absolutely 100% enjoy it, I really should do it more often :) Take last night.. I was asked to go to the marina five minutes from where I live.. was tempted to decline but very glad I didn't because not only did I get some fab reflections but....

..the joint was rockin' :) Seriously who knew that every Friday evening between 5 - 7pm you can come along with your ukelele and jam with the 'Northern Ukeleles' (Nukes), they play music from Buddy Holly to the Beatles and everything in between.. the cafes and restaurants around were packed with diners 'digging the beat'! There's something quite charming about a 'woman of a certain age' in a red beret playing a ukelele n'est pas!

The ukelele player below (centre of the shot) preferred to play along with the group but not actually be amidst the group.. I get that :) How many of you play the ukelele? I've heard it's quite easy, it looks a lot of fun. I hope you have a swinging weekend, take care and stay safe...

See more Weekend Reflections here

Swedish Mothership.. 'conquered by pastry'!

Walking down Fitzgerald St.in Northbridge on Wednesday in search of some of the more elusive murals painted during Form PUBLIC, we came across the over-sized viking head sculpture above.. quelle surprise!  Sitting outside the administration and bakehouse building for Swedish restauranteur Miss Maud previously shown here, looking over to the city that she has for the past 43 years  'conquered by pastry'.. I can't say I love it as much as the aforementioned pastries.. but, it is big :) Is it really Friday already, well for me anyway.. crazy! Have a good one, take care and stay safe...

Baba Yaga Houses...

Well that's one mystery solved.. now we know where those 'square eggs' came from :) Seriously though, as with many of the photos I take of sculptures around Perth, and I'm sure it's the same for you in your city.. when researching, the details can be quite fascinating. This Wiki link to Baba Yaga is just one of many links relating to the fairytale of the witch with a penchant for eating small children. They sit in Museum Park on Aberdeen street and were created by art & design student Marwa Fahmy her inspiration for this piece here. I like them very much they sit perfectly in an area focused on eduction and multiculturalism.. Happy Thursday, take care...

Reaching to the sky...

When he woke up the room looked so funny. The sun was shining into part of it and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window.. what do you think he saw? Why the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a big beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky. 

Some of the older trees at the Perth Zoo, check out this short video, which have been there since the zoo opened in 1898 are so tall with such perfectly spaced branches that you can almost imagine them as natures step-ladder to the clouds. I know.. a touch fanciful, but sometimes you just have to let your imagination fly oui :) Have a wonderful Wednesday, take care and stay safe... p.s. just so you know I've never been inside The Clink, but if anyone is willing to explore with me, I'm ready to go :)

No Photo ID.. No Entry!

Would you go in? Not having been in The Clink but unable to resist taking a shot of this off the wall entrance the venue is reviewed this way.. 'The Clink' sits in between restaurants quietly minding its own business in the day time and not quite doing that come sundown every Thursday through to Sunday'.. and 'really, truthfully, if I'm honest, this is a one star venue. The music is weirdly bad, staff are a touch on the rude side, the cocktails are beyond awful and the decor hasn't been updated since well before I first stepped foot in here thirteen years ago. Yet my friends and I keep coming here. A night here with good mates will constantly give you something to talk about'.. finally, 'the Clink is not at all easy to explain in terms of what a routine night may have in store for you! There is not all that much sitting space which is probably the nightclub's tactful way of saying 'You can sit at home. You came here to dance'! So.. would you go in :) Hope your week is off to a good start, take care...

E.L.K in Wolfe Lane...

If like me you had no idea of the complexity of stencil street art check out this video of Australia's Luke Cornish aka E.L.K creating his portrait of Father Bob Maguire earning him a spot as a finalist in the 2012 Archibald Prize awards, his 2014 entry is my favourite Aussie comedian Will Anderson, it is complete and pretty damn fantastic! Described as 'the father of stencil graffiti' Frenchman Blek le Rat began painting stencils of rats on the street walls of Paris back in 1981, these days it's possible that UK's Banksy may be the most recognizable name in this genre.. I can see why though, with each new piece that E.L.K's star is rapidly rising.. these two can be found in Wolfe Lane. Hope all you mothers out there had or are having a fab day, take care.. 

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