More from the Getty Villa!

It’s one of my favorite places, so on my recent trip to California (my first since the start of Covid in 2020) of course I had to revisit the beautiful Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades. Here are a few random images of art that impressed me inside the building — something different, since I usually focus on the gardens and beautiful views.

An archer made of glazed brick from the reign of Darius I, 522-486 BC. He was one of many decorating the walls of the palace at Susa in Iran. Beautiful colors!

Persian Guard from Persepolis in Iran. 486-465 BC

Awesome and dramatic marble sculpture of Mithras standing on the back of a bull and sacrificing it with a dagger. This Roman sculpture dates from AD 150-200.

Great view of the Outer Peristyle Garden and pool from second floor balcony. It was HOT the day I was there, 95 degrees by noon, and I really wanted to sit in that pool for a while.

The Getty Villa is smaller and more serene than the big Getty Center museum in Los Angeles. Here’s a link to their website for info about visiting. If you’re in the area it’s worth a visit!

Blood on the Blade Cover Reveal

I’m excited to share the cover of the new Sword & Sorcery anthology from Flinch Books! This action-packed cover is by Mark Wheatley. I’m one of ten authors with short stories in the anthology, which will be released later this month. Here is a link to the Flinch Books Facebook page for the full announcement!

Pumpkins Aglow!

A few pictures from the Franklin Park Conservatory’s Pumpkins Aglow! event. We arrived when it was still light but ahead of the rains, so it was a win.

September Flowers

A glimpse of the beautiful, volunteer-planted flowers at the Ohio History Connection this morning. Fall flowers are the best.

New beginnings

Ohio is cold in the winter, muggy and hot in midsummer. But our transitional seasons are beautiful.

Spring is just beginning here. Daffodils are blooming, as well as some early trees. But most things are just beginning: a touch of green dusting a field, buds just thinking about opening on the end of knobby tree branches. There’s a moisture and warmth in the air we haven’t felt here for a while.

I’m hoping this can be a season of new beginnings for the world as well.

We’re not out of this pandemic yet, but if I try I can just see some hope. People are being vaccinated. People are starting to look outward again, when for the last year we have been in a protective, inward-looking mode.

We’re still masking, still being cautious, and hopefully still following advice from health experts about how to keep Covid-19 from spreading. But I hope for everyone’s sake that there is hope just around the corner.

Conservatory Aglow!

Enjoyed a brief, rare outing during this year of the pandemic — outdoor lights at the Franklin Park Conservatory here in Columbus. Here are a few pictures to celebrate!

A Couple of Banksy Images

Saw this article in the Guardian today about how Banksy is occupying himself during the coronavirus lockdown.

It reminded me of our visit to Amsterdam last year, when we saw an exhibition of Banksy works at the Moco museum. (We went there right after our visit to the Van Gogh museum, so it was a huge perspective shift!) These two images particularly stuck with me:

Forgive Us for our Trespassing, Banksy, 2010

Street Art in LA’s Arts District

I’m back from a trip to Los Angeles, tired but without coronavirus I hope (crosses fingers for luck). While there I was lucky enough to go on a DTLA Walking Tour of some of the murals in the LA Arts District. Here are just a few samples I really enjoyed!

Actually, this one is from Santa Monica! It’s by Ruben Rojas and Cloe Hakakian.

Street Art in Portland’s Alberta Arts District

Not very many words in this post — just pictures of awesome street murals in Portland, Oregon’s Alberta Arts District. We visited there last week and were fortunate enough to escape the rain. I’m going to attempt to credit the artists correctly if I can find the info online. There’s a lot more street art in Portland if you ever visit, and even a map online through Portland Street Art Alliance. Enjoy!