The Grand Budapest Hotel

I don't go to the movies too often anymore.  I really love going (especially by myself) but I just can't find the right space of time to go; hardly ever.  But, every now and again, I feel compelled to drop everything, grab a secret stash of treats, a cozy sweater, and head to the movie theater.

This time it was for The Grand Budapest Hotel.  And good god. I sat until the end of the credits and thought about the meticulously pitch-perfect frames.  All of them.  They were like individually orchestrated pieces of art.  The color palette alone blew my mind, but so did the well-cast characters, the movement, the story.  It charmed me.  

Damn, Wes Anderson sure did master this one.  Have you seen it?  What did you think?

[the grand budapest hotel]

The Work of / Vivian Maier

Once, a little while back, I was in the gift shop of an art museum and I overheard a woman telling another woman at the counter that she is "tired of street photography".  She felt it was "overdone and not art".  I suggested she check out Vivian Maier's photography, to which she replied that she's sure it wouldn't intrigue her.  She ended the conversation there.  Too bad, I thought.  Too bad.  What remarkable and engaging art she is missing out on...

Vivian Maier, a nanny for much of her adult life, was not officially discovered until after her death about five or so years ago when storage items were auctioned off and came under the care of an archivist, John Maloof- a filmmaker and photographer- who discovered Maier’s work in 2007 and was the first to bring her work to the public and promote it.  Aren't we lucky for that? 

 Here's a self-portrait.  I love the kids in this shot.

Her story is somehow both quietly and boldly present.  Maloof has admirably worked extensively to piece together the bits of her life, collected here and there.  It's a momentous achievement and I am so hopeful that the woman from that art museum gift shop has since decided to have a peek. 

[More on Vivian Maier here.]

Local Love / Art Essentials

Every town needs an art store.  A good one.  And this one, Art Essentials, is just across the street from Sebastian's shop - which makes trips there easy peasy.  But I go to + love this place for

 these reasons... the color, the peeps, and the materials (of course).

Want to delve more into your own artistry?

Lots to get you motivated here...

Art Essentials

32 East Victoria Street

Santa Barbara, California

805.965.5456

More Local Love HERE!

Visual History

 This books looks curious + fascinating and being a lover of these sorts of things, I think it's next up on my book list.  Got any favorite books lately?

+Plus+ Enter to win our GIVEAWAY HERE!

Source: betterworldbooks.com via Catherine on Pinterest