Nuestro Pueblo -- Pasadena

June 17, 1938: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo is over, but I’m posting the ones I missed the first time around. For this installment, Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visited Pasadena.

Artist’s Notebook – Brookside Golf Course

Oct. 2, 2009, Brookside Golf Course, Marion Eisenmann

This week, Marion visited a place in Pasadena. She writes: It is a section of the golf course, viewed from the north side of the  Rose Bowl. I walked inside, and sat down in the shade of a tree  overlooking the idyllic scenery with plenty of ducks swimming in the pond, or better phrased a golfer's obstacle. I spotted the location riding my bike a few days ago. I went back today, at the same time,  which allowed me to get a similar morning light situation of the place, I felt very at peace. Note: In case you just tuned in, Marion and I are visiting local landmarks in a project inspired by what Charles Owens and Joe Seewerker did in Nuestro Pueblo. Check back next week for another page from Marion's notebook. By the way, Daily Mirror readers have asked about buying copies of Marion's artwork. Naturally, this is gratifying because I think Marion's work is terrific, and one of my great pleasures is sharing it with readers every week. We have decided that the project is a journey about discovering Los Angeles rather than creating things to sell. Marion is busy with other projects and says she isn't set up to mass-produce prints but would entertain inquiries about specific pieces. For further information, contact Marion directly. Olvera Street, Marion Eisenmann Third Street Promenade, Marion Eisenmann Marion sends word that her two-week class in Plein Air watercolor painting on Saturdays at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens has been so popular that it may be extended if one or two more people sign up. Further information and registration is available at (626) 405-2128.

Nuestro Pueblo

June 15, 1938: The original Nuestro Pueblo features have ended, so I’m going back to pick up the ones I missed previously. For this drawing, Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visited 6162 N. Figueroa. View Larger Map View Larger Map Here's the house!

Artist's Notebook -- Huntington Gardens

The Huntington Gardens by Marion Eisenmann The Huntington Gardens by Marion Eisenmann The Huntington Gardens by Marion Eisenmann

Marion Eisenmann and I were going over some of her recent work and this caught my eye: A page of value studies she did earlier this month at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens to prepare for classes she is giving. These are three of the six studies that were on one page. I always enjoy the time I spend roaming the grounds at the Huntington. My favorite place to watch people is on one of the benches beneath the wisteria on the hill overlooking the Japanese gardens. There are several koi ponds there and I think I have heard people say "Look at those huge fish!" in every language known to mankind. Marion says: I did these value studies instead of preliminary pencil sketches to capture the light of the multiple layers of plants before working in color. I used a brush versus a pencil in order to not get so much into the detail of the scenario in front of me, but focus more on the light situation, contrast and composition. I like the silhouetted and layered feel of these studies, they remind me of little miniature theater stages. Note: In case you just tuned in, Marion and I are visiting local landmarks in a project inspired by what Charles Owens and Joe Seewerker did in Nuestro Pueblo. Check back next week for another page from Marion's notebook. By the way, Daily Mirror readers have asked about buying copies of Marion's artwork. Naturally, this is gratifying because I think Marion's work is terrific, and one of my great pleasures is sharing it with readers every week. We have decided that the project is a journey about discovering Los Angeles rather than creating things to sell. Marion is busy with other projects and says she isn't set up to mass-produce prints but would entertain inquiries about specific pieces. For further information, contact Marion directly.

Artist's Notebook -- Third Street Promenade

Third Street Promenade by Marion Eisenmann, Sept. 4, 2009

Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade awakens a bit at a time in the sweet coolness of a summer morning near the ocean. Along the darkened strip of gleaming glass and steel shops -- Armani Exchange, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Diesel, Urban Outfitters and Foot Locker -- the Starbucks flickers to life. Men with long-handled push brooms sweep the gutters and people selling earrings and jewelry set up their kiosks along the street closed to cars. The outdoor court at Barney's Beanery fills up with the breakfast crowd while the staff of the restaurant up at the corner unfurls white tablecloths with a quick snap and lays down sets of silverware. Some storefronts are still covered with curtains of steel rods. At others, a manager -- hair wet from a morning shower -- stoops to unlock the front door. At still others, clerks gather in small clusters out front and wait, while at one shop, a man taps on the window to be let in. People dressed for the weekend heat stroll by, alone or in pairs. A mother and her young child sit pensively at a fountain shaped like a dinosaur and covered with greenery, like the world's biggest Chia Pet spewing water. The first of the street musicians arrives: a young woman with a guitar who attracts a crowd as she begins singing, her voice floating on the air half a block to the next guitarist. A young man takes out a violin, sets up a music stand and begins playing. Other performers -- displaying their bright pink city permits -- wait in the shade for people to straggle in as a cleaning crew emerges from a store and heads home, wheeling their equipment down the sidewalk as they talk in Spanish. The day has arrived. Marion says: "This was a fun incident. I was looking for some street performance and encountered these two young boys playing flamenco, I was attracted to their music and the 'snappers.' The 'spin & win' in the background* I saw a little bit later, it made the sound of what I thought were Kastagnetten (castanets). Moments later an elderly lady passed the young man with her walking device,  causing a scratchy addition to the BG foley. "Many years ago I saw two black guys there performing tap dance in a hip hop way, super fast. I loved it. Years later I met one of the  brothers in an airplane on the way from Mexico City to L.A. We introduced each other, and I recognized him as the dancer. He now travels, does TV dance competitions and choreographed dance parts for Usher. It's a place with the weirdest and most innovative things before they go mainstream."  Note: In case you just tuned in, Marion and I are visiting local landmarks in a project inspired by what Charles Owens and Joe Seewerker did in Nuestro Pueblo. Check back next week for another page from Marion's notebook. By the way, Daily Mirror readers have asked about buying copies of Marion's artwork. Naturally, this is gratifying because I think Marion's work is terrific, and one of my great pleasures is sharing it with readers every week. We have decided that the project is a journey about discovering Los Angeles rather than creating things to sell. Marion is busy with other projects and says she isn't set up to mass-produce prints but would entertain inquiries about specific pieces. For further information, contact Marion directly. *One store has a roulette wheel offering customers discounts on shoes.

Artist's Notebook -- Santa Monica/Malibu

Santa Monica/Malibu by Marion Eisenmann, Aug. 30, 2009

Wildfires burning out of control in the mountains north of the city might be churning clouds of smoke over the simmering Los Angeles Basin, but rather than stay indoors, many people are still heading to the beach. I had an appointment in Santa Monica on Saturday morning at 9, and even at that hour, traffic on the westbound 10 was heavy with vehicles of all kinds carrying a surfboard or two on the roof. I never thought of a shiny, black Lincoln Town Car with vanity plates as a surf wagon, but I saw one with a board on top headed for the coast. My first glimpse of the ocean is always the gray horizon at Pico and Main. Down Main a block or two, I hit the brakes as a young man with a wax-encrusted board darted across the street,  only half-aware of traffic, with his gaze fixed toward the bay. The young woman with him, carrying a mat, trailed a few steps behind. Marion says: The beach was busy, and even here people were still concerned about  the air they are breathing these days. It was really just an escape from smoky Pasadena. By the way, Daily Mirror readers have asked about buying copies of Marion's artwork. Naturally, this is gratifying because I think Marion's work is terrific, and one of my great pleasures is sharing it with readers every week. We have decided that the project is a journey about discovering Los Angeles rather than creating things to sell. Marion is busy with other projects and says she isn't set up to mass-produce prints but would entertain inquiries about specific pieces. For further information, contact Marion directly. Note: In case you just tuned in, Marion and I are visiting local landmarks in a project inspired by what Charles Owens and Joe Seewerker did in Nuestro Pueblo. Check back next week for another page from Marion's notebook.

Nuestro Pueblo -- Ft. Moore Hill

Aug. 28, 1939: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit Ft. Moore Hill for Nuestro Pueblo and The Times writes about Lt. E.O.C. Ord's 1849 survey of the city, giving a history of early street names.

Artist's Notebook -- Olvera Street

Olvera Street by Marion Eisenmann, Aug. 8, 2009

To visit the old Plaza is to stand at the crossroads of the city's past and present -- and maybe even its future. I wonder what the preservationists who envisioned "a Mexican street of yesterday in a city of today" -- like a Colonial Williamsburg with sombreros and castanets -- would think of the crowded sidewalks and live performances with calls of "Viva Mexico!" Talking about Olvera Street is a bit like the old fable of the blind men describing the elephant. To some, it may be the parade of proud parents with their beautifully dressed little girls in their christening outfits headed for church, or perhaps it's the teenagers, in elegant quinceanera outfits, posing for pictures. Maybe it's one of the restaurants, the life-size burro on wheels used in the souvenir photos, people lounging around the bandstand listening to live music, the ringing bells of the pushcart vendors or the booths selling masks, marionettes and miniature guitars. I even found a Frida Kahlo mesh shopping bag for sale at one stall. In writing about the 1920s preservation campaign, led by Christine Sterling, The Times often underscored the contrast between humble, old Olvera Street, "a highway of memories," and the nearby, modern City Hall, dedicated in 1928 and topped by the Lindbergh Beacon. Now, we stand about as far in history from the opening of City Hall as its construction workers did from the time when the American Army occupied the Avila Adobe in 1847. It's an interesting point of departure for a long conversation -- for another time, although I wonder what they'll say about Disney Hall in 80 years.  Marion says: What I liked about drawing this place and spending time there are my personal memories connected with Hispanic culture. Some couples, the ladies in colorful and layered dresses, danced quebrada. People were very friendly and showed interest in what I was doing and how I was doing it, a few homeless people stopped by too, not to leave out the security, who moved out from their shady spots to inquire what I was sketching and what for. I normally don't choose a position in the full sunlight, but I thought where I settled was just right. I put on a spf 50. Note: In case you just tuned in, Marion and I are visiting local landmarks in a project inspired by what Charles Owens and Joe Seewerker did in Nuestro Pueblo. [By the way,  the Plaza was one of their favorite subjects and they did several entries on various buildings]. Check back next week for another page from Marion's notebook. In the meantime, you can contact Marion here.

Artist's Notebook -- Union Station

Union Station by Marion Eisenmann, Aug, 8, 2009

Marion sends her impressions of Union Station, the crossroads for countless travelers since it opened in 1939. Think of how many people have rushed through the station to catch their train -- and how many more have spent tedious hours waiting to leave or anxiously anticipating someone's arrival. The nation no longer travels by rail as it once did, but I still feel a spirit of adventure whenever I see the sign: "TO ALL TRAINS." Marion writes: This place is interesting, what I mean by it are its visuals, sound  and situations. Back in Germany I commuted a lot by train, I am glad I only joined these people on their wait, for a quick sketch, I then took the Metro home. I like the acoustic, the cave-like shelter and cool. Note: In case you just tuned in, Marion and I are visiting local landmarks in a project inspired by what Charles Owens and Joe Seewerker did in Nuestro Pueblo. Check back next week for another page from Marion's notebook. In the meantime, you can contact Marion here.

Nuestro Pueblo

Aug. 14, 1939: The Camino Real bells.