Chocolate Brown Bedroom

I just finished painting one of the walls in my NY bedroom chocolate brown!

It was fun at first; I felt like I was painting with a big, melted Hershey bar. Halfway through, my friend Gregg stopped over to "help" and upon seeing it through his eyes, I felt my Hershey bar wall was an absolute disaster. (Straight guys just don't get it.) Like any artist vision, it must play out completely as we envision it in our minds, before others may understand, if they ever do. Well, the end result is I love the warmth and character it adds to my room. And as you can see, Maggie likes it, too.

Miuccia Prada

I have recently become quite fascinated with Miuccia Prada, or Mrs Prada as her staff calls her, or Miu Miu, her nickname. One of the things that I find the most interesting is the overall evolution of her career. She was born in Milan, the granddaughter of Prada founder, Mario Prada. But work in the family's luggage shop she would not, at least not until after her Political Science PhD, mime study, and communist party rallies (dressed in Yves St Laurent; an early display of her affection for contraries!). In 1978, she reluctantly took the reigns of Prada with her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, and has grown the brand into an international fashion leader by injecting her particular and unusual aesthetic into the veins of the brand. In 1992, she founded Miu Miu, the edgier, younger extension of the Miuccia Prada aesthetic, which shows in Paris, unlike Prada, which shows in Milan. The evolution continues with the establishment of the Prada Foundation, her non-profit organization dedicated to bringing an audience to contemporary art. I love that Mrs Prada finds progress in doing things differently; going against the obvious to innovate. It is said that she will pick a fabric in a color she hates and relishes in the joy of creating something beautiful from it.

One of my favorite looks from Prada S/S 10 shown yesterday in Milan (I love, love, love the red lips):

Lawrence Alma-Tadema's Spring

My latest visit to The Getty Museum allowed me the pleasure of discovering Spring, an oil painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Set in ancient Rome, the painting brings to life the Victorian tradition of sending children out to the fields to collect flowers for a May Day celebration. Like all of Alma-Tadema's paintings, he depicts ancient Roman and Greek life with astounding detail. Taking over four years to complete, Spring tells a moving story with Alma-Tedema's use of bronze sculpture, clothing, musical instruments, and the incredible faces (which are said to be those of some of his family and friends), all with his trademark backdrop of marbled interiors and a languid Italian sky. The depth and detail was awe inspiring to me, so much that I typed his name into my blackberry; I had to know more. Alma-Tadema's life long fascination and study of the ancient world made him an expert of Classical antiquities, and his paintings have inspired many set designers in Hollywood, including Oscar-winning Gladiator, and The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

The view of The Getty Museum from the gardens has similar elements to a Alma-Tadema painting.