The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

A Kind Of Beauty I Can’t Explain

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(Pic #1) Oceanfront property in Santa Barbara County — worth millions.

Shore vs: Street

The views are unspeakably stunning. It’s why the Santa Barbara coast is known as the American Riviera. I get kind of giddy when we drive through its lush landscaped back roads, and get to walk barefoot on the beach. But nothing sends me spinning like the raw, painterly improvisations by local graffiti artists. On this day, less than 50 yards from the crashing waves — I spied a full city block of impromptu abstractions on an abandoned property in Summerland.    (Pics #2 #3 below)

It’s a rush I have trouble explaining to others.

For most, visiting this big bucks zip code, the breathtaking vistas, and sprawling homes are the attraction. For me, it’s the spirit of freedom (and admittedly defiance) that gets my heart pumping.

(Pic #2) Street art on an abandoned property in Summerland.  MY kind of view.

Art: The Power of Distraction

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(Pic #1) “Top Knot” by Josh Kaplan

No spouse ever wants to hear, “Stop what you’re doing! Don’t move” — especially me — saddled with a serious case of life-long Defiance Disorder. (Yes, it’s a thing.)

Even after a 15-hour day at work, Josh drops everything when he sees a moment — a moment to capture wild art in the camera that never leaves his sight. Today, as I stood in the hallway about to make breakfast, he saw some sweet light and creamy colors behind my top knot, and had to shoot it. No hesitation, no question. Documented in an instant. And it’s a beauty.

The New Me

It’s why I’m making (albeit tardy) a New Year’s Resolution to embrace the distraction. I’m committing to acknowledge the art in front of me. Appreciate it and document it. I can’t count the number of times I get distracted during the day — in the middle of a writing project — and I’ll suddenly feel compelled to dive deep into a completely irrelevant, meaningless rabbit hole. Minutes ago, the original Godfather was streaming on our TV, and I was writing THIS — I just had to know Al Pacino’s actual height. I saw him walking down the street with Diane Keaton, and she was way taller. I had to know.

Well, Pacino is 5-foot 7-inches. And I’m still sitting here.

 

 

An Artist’s Mission: Keep An Open Mind

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(Pic #1) My first foray into lawn gnome culture. Meet a rusty old rabbit named Mike.

About a year ago I set out to buy a lawn gnome for a colleague of mine. If that makes you chuckle, it did me too. I really just like the sound of those two words together. Say it with me: “lawn gnome.”

But I guess I was a little snobby about garden sculpture, especially if it was literal or in any way recognizable. If you follow my posts, you know I’m partial to abstraction. The less identifiable the form, the better. But part of an artist’s raison d’etre is to see—and help others look at their surroundings, everyday objects, and life around them. So dismissing any form of art deprives us of connecting, not only with art, but with innovative ideas and each other. Seeing something fresh and new is the best way to enrich our lives.

As an artist, I now know it’s my job to keep a completely open mind. So when I saw the rusty rabbit above, in a Carpenteria Nursery called Seaside Gardens, I had to have him — and share with you. Yes, he’s made from discarded metal trash, but I like his roughness, pastel stripes, and simple lines. And who knows, in a few weeks, we may be celebrating the births of dozens of rusty baby bunnies in our fragrant bushes of lavender.