Joyeux Noël !

With a little help from Tom and Jerry...

This way out

In the US, streets are so long that usually when you give an address you add the corner street...

Haight-Ashbury is one of these corner street and also a very famous district of San Francisco, historically linked with hippies and big name comedians. 

Not my favorite area of SF at all but somewhere I have to go...

Some of the Victorian houses are amazing for sure!

No thong...

It's almost Christmas, for god's sake, and way too cold for that!
Even on feet.
:)

Old perspectives

I must have walked past these lines a hundred times... Old and dirty and almost invisible!

I remember the art class teaching us how to draw these.
It's a very modern way to look at the city.

In the Mission.

Small Blue Thing

 

This little man is very tiny. 

It's interesting how close-ups distort our perception of reality. The first time I saw the Mona Lisa, I was somewhat disappointed by its size.

Same thing about the Statue of Liberty that stands on the Quai des Etats-Unis in Nice, France... 

;)

Changes! (one year old)

A lot have happened since I started this blog...

This building, for one, is no more.
Many art pieces are long gone too.

The Bay Bridge is now a beautiful pendant to the old red bridge.
The Mission, like so many other districts of the city, is getting gentrified...
Things change. Time flies.

I'm happy to have been part of it.

Prohibited

 

I have only seen 2 signs like this.

This one here in the Mission. And at an Ikea. Possibly in East Palo Alto...

A reminder that many people have guns here.

San Francisco is an American city.

Another Hidden Gem

One of these little murals that defines the Mission.

I was walking with my kid and her friend. We took an unusual route and bam!... We stumbled on that beautiful piece...
Strolling is the key :)
And keeping your eyes open!

Keith Haring and Technology

I find this work of art interesting. The fact that it has been chosen for this exhibition here in San Francisco, in the Silicon valley...

The room it was in was my favorite room.

But I liked the whole exhibition. I was impressed by the choice made by he curators, of the way they choose to set the various pieces.

At the de Young museum.

The Flame

Yet another route and another little art piece that decorates the city...
On our way to Cow Palace, we saw this flame.
I wonder what it stands for.

The area is not very touristic. The gas station nearby does not help but it was unexpected.

Wall Garden

A very tiny yet lovely wall garden.
The only other one I saw was in Paris and was way bigger.

Sunset houses

Everywhere you go in San Francisco, you will see colorful houses.
These ones are in the Sunset.
That day the fog was lifting, letting the sunlight on them.

Santa's here!

A beautiful Christmas decoration.
I can't wait to see them all...

Very apropos today on St Nicholas Day.

Expensive Watch

 

A beautiful watch on top of a pole.

Don't ask me why I like it. I do.

Mona Lisa...

... and her wicked smile.

This one has a Mexican twist. 

(on Haight street, the other side)

The Palace

I don't know what it is with sailboats. They make everything look so much prettier...
Late afternoon by the Bay.

Work in Progress... and it's done!

A few days ago I had the chance to see Shawn Bullen at work...

Very impressive.
And it made me think about street art.

Obviously the project was carefully thought and planned.

What I knew about murals in SF is that, in the Mission, at least, if you do not want your house tagged, having a piece of art helps. But I had assumed something more amateurish. Something like students painting their school, etc.

But of course, being an mural artist is a very serious business. You need the paints, the wall, the equipment, the time... Not to mention the design, the drawing on a small piece of paper of what you are going to enlarge tenfold. The skill, the craftsmanship, the talent...

Wow.
WOW.
Wow.

I spoke with the artist a few days later and got his card. (That's how I got his name). The piece was over but not yet official.

I can't say that I find this artwork pretty. I would certainly not put this on my wall. The details though are worth a visit.
And everything that came before and led to that amazing mural has all my admiration and respect.

in Noe Valley. San Francisco, Ca

Panorama (take #1)

From the top of Corona Heights Park.
My first attempt at panorama with my intelligent phone.
 :)

We walked there for the first time a couple of weeks ago. A guy was flying his massive drone. It was very impressive and was moving so fast I did not manage to take a picture. So I decided to take a panorama view instead...

In terms of symmetry, I certainly did a great job :)

A Wooden Bench

Another unusual route on my way to the de Young got me to this carved bench. Nice.
Behind the Academy of Science.

The Great Dickens Christmas Fair

Last week end we visited the Great Dickens Christmas Fair. A very traditional event for San Franciscans, less known then the Nutcracker or the Beach Blanket Babylon (which we still haven't seen...)

It was really fun!  We went in the morning with friends.

We played games :

 We watched shows :

 We ate an amazing Fish and Chips (the best of the city, probably). And of course we did a little Christmas shopping.

The Fair is incredible. A very professional and very American thing : we paid quite a bit to be allowed to spend even more money inside (our food and our Christmas shopping).

:)

But, it was well worth it. The all included shows were amazing. We met a few performers and they were so very nice.. Teaching our daughter how to do a knot or playing with a home-made rabbit rag with our toddlers during one of the more adult show...

(Thank you).

And of course, there are all the visitors, like us, who came with their own costumes, making the fair even more amazing! (Thank you)

We left early, around 2pm. 

But I have been told the late afternoon fair is somewhat a must...

 

We will go back for sure!

I am Thankful

Today I found out about nuts.

Out of the 5 photographed here, I did not know the Pecan nut in its shell...
I also found out about macadamia and cashew nuts.

The latter do deserve a Google image search.

Naive Art

I saw these painted ladies mural just before I climbed up the hidden stairs of San Francisco so I kinda forgot about them.
But then again.
There's something about this piece.
A Borja Ecce Homo type of a mural I suppose...

Bisons

A little visit to San Francisco bisons...
They're huge.

We almost did not see them as the Rec. people were doing some maintenance work in their paddock and had moved them to another part.
Very worth seeing them.

Street Sign Art

This one is getting old but I still love it.

I remember seeing it for the first time, a few years ago and thinking that it was very clever with that tree and highway nearby...
Last weekend I drove back in that not so wonderful neighborhood, along with my little family, just to take this picture.

No Shame : It's art!

Donald Duck, Cooking Monster and Mickey Mouse smoking...
PBS and Disney must be thrilled!

Pacific View

Going to that part of the city on a sunny day is always a treat.
Look at that amazing view!
I love it.
(near the Legion of Honor)

You've got mail...

A rare sight in this city.
A true (golden) American mail box, approved by the postmaster general. With the little red flag that can go up or down.
The kind you see in movies set in the middle of nowhere...

When it is up, the mailman knows he has to stop to pick up the mail the owners placed in the box to send.

Somebody Loves You

You got to love that city!

Thank you. I do feel that way...

Urban Mushrooms

Somebody thought these little ugly brown things deserves a little color. And transformed this into some unassuming street art.
Love it!

Peekaboo (the beasts you see in Fog city #3)

 

Playful giraffe playing peekaboo with us.

At the San Francisco Zoo. 

One of the many beasts you can see in SF...

Joes

I don't know when this one appeared but once again I have my daughter to thank for that one...

An interesting piece with GI Joes who seem to be, let's say, ... fighting!
It turns so I wish I had google awesome on that page too.
Oh well.

Here's another shot this time with a neighborhood house :

Gated Church?

 

On Haight street, across Buena Vista Park where the bus stops and travelers wait, you can see this building.

I suppose it's a church but I am not so sure :

I have tried to get into the building but the main doors are gated. Other glass doors are guarded by a number code system and when I looked through and waved to the people inside, they beautifully ignored me... Not very Christian, I thought. But maybe they're not.

So I don't know.

Blue and Beige Building

 

This very trite building caught my eye under the stunning blue sky.

And as much as I love Victorian houses, I also like lines.

Near Japantown.

Wave Organ

A beautiful spot at the very end of the Marina. Courtesy of the Exploratorium.
We loved it.
The views were breathtaking. The wave noise interesting.
 

I certainly recommend a visit.

Gorilla (In Memoriam)

That photo was taken a while back when visitors could come very close to the group of gorillas in the SF Zoo.
Since then, for their tranquility, I'm sure, we can only see them through glass windows...

This afternoon I was sorry to hear that one of them died in an accident.

That will certainly not pacify the mixed feelings I have always had when visiting a zoo...

Photo shoot

 

If you ever go to the Palace of Fine Arts on a very sunny day, you might stumble upon a photo shoot. Be it wedding photos or models with fancy dresses...

I like this one. Her mango meringue dress matches the Palace perfectly :)

Dinosaur?

Could also be a dog high on whatever it found on the street...

Although I find this mural distasteful, I can appreciate the art. It's pretty amazing.
Nothing's definite, I guess.

International Orange Triangle

It is always a delight to see the International Orange Bridge... (the official color of the Golden Gate Bridge is international orange)

With the beautiful weather, sailboats were out.
I did what I can with my tiny camera.

Christmas is approaching... So I have hopes!
;)

The (Maps) Wave

In the Haight area.
I was walking in the neighborhood when I saw Stan doing his collage.
Made out of maps, the artist even selected a map of Japan to represent Mount Fuji...

I like the finished piece.

And it's a great way to recycle old paper maps now that we all use Google maps! ;)

(Hokusai painting is one of my favorite ever!)

Duck on North Lake

Last weekend, we went to Golden Gate Park again.
There are still many areas that we haven't explored and North Lake was one of them.

A very peaceful lake with plenty animals to gaze at.

This drake was one of them.

Happy Halloween

 

From San Francisco with fright...

White umbrellas

Long time no see...

Very lovely piece in the Castro Sky.
Thank you.