I decided it was time for me to go to the dark side… learning Maya.  Here is a room I modeled so far.

… at the LA central library due to rain.  It’s been a while since I participated and it was a lot of fun with good turn out.

the grand rotanda area with Dean Cornwell’s murals.

children’s book area with big lamps and stuffed animals.

– last but not least, the women’s room was really cool.

It was great meeting artists, but also on exhibit at the library was the “world of William Joyce” and “Sketches and drawings of  Neutra”.  Both really inspirational.  To top it off, I went to the opening of “Curiouser and Curiouser: Inspired by ‘Alice In Wonderland” show at Gallery Nucleus with Vivian and Chito.

Her are some of the sketches I did during my stay.  Please check out the rest of the sketches on my “urban sketches” flickr set.

I’ve also uploaded all photos not included on my blog in the New Orleans flickr set

Apart from the cemetaries and architectures, here are some of the things I really liked -

– the street cars – especially the St Charles Street car is so awesome.  You can just ride it and enjoy the Garden District “hood” that it drives through.

– our favorite coffee house is Croissant D’or located at the edge of the Quarter.

– the street musicians are all really talented and a step above any you see in other cities.

last but not least, this is my favorite building in French Quarter -

During my stay, I took the Katrina tour where a bus driver who is a survivor took us all over the city effected by the hurricane.  He told us stories about individual accounts, what happened that day and what people had to go through.  We dove by Lake Pontchartrain, Gentilly, New Orleans East, and the 9th ward.  The proceeds from the tour will be donated  for rebuilding the city.

You can’t go wrong with food out here.  Where ever you go, the dishes were all incredible.  But if you are not a big meat eater, or if you can’t live without brown rice (like myself) it can be a little harsh.

on my last night, we went to eat at the gumbo shop, and went to the Preservation hall to listen to their Jazz band.  It felt like we time traveled back their days.

love these houses!

we went to both St Louis Cemetery #1 and Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District.

Parades, beads, parades, beads.. Parades been going on everyday.  A lot of them ended on the street by our hotel.  And every night, the city does a great job cleaning the streets.  We later found out that Mardi Gras is a lot deeper than partying on Bourbon St and collecting beads.  At the Louisiana State Museum, they have a very comprehensive exhibit on history of Mardi Gras and krewes.  On Fat Tuesday, I headed to the Boubon Street awards to see the people in awesome, some outrageous costumes.  I also saw the Rex parade which is the oldest krewes that’s been around since 1872.

I was really looking forwards to seeing the bayou.  But the day we went out to the swamp, it was in the 40s and even colder out on the water and I didn’t get to go.

Duncan is holding the tour guide’s pet gator.  She was very soft.  We learned a lot about alligators on the boat.

I think what makes a scene so southern is their trees and the combination of it with the architecture.

Spanish moss on wicked oak trees.  so cool

Duncan’s been out in New Orleans working on Green Lantern, so I went to visit him.

I start with the typical airport sketch -

First night at New Orleans, we went to see B 52’s at the house of Blues.  They were awesome!  I’ve only seen them on MTV back in the 90s so it was really something to see them live.

It was rainy and REALLY cold the first several days.   But the whole city was building up to Mardi Gras and people and cops were literally everywhere!

different views of the colorado bridge

very rare Arroyo – when a river actually looks like a river!

felt so good to be painting in oils again!

saturn’s sky sitting by the service area.  The lots are almost empty and the once bustling service area was really quiet.

Wayne Thiebaud: 70 years of Painting

few years ago, I didn’t care much for his paintings.   I can appreciate his works today. Also on view were portraits by Ray Turner.

i was very inspired today.

at Laguna beach