deyermond art + books - Santa Monica

Books and fine art go together so naturally.  Both, the product of someone's creativity, take us to places that we might not otherwise ever experience.  So it seems only appropriate to combine art + books in a retail setting and that is part of the mission of dreyermond art + books on Main Street in Santa Monica.

Michael Dreyermond is the proprietor and if his name is familiar, it might be because he was the owner of the very eclectic Equator Books & Gallery on Abbot Kinney in Venice.  That store was in business for five years before its run came to a close.  I had the pleasure of attending several functions there.  Continuing the tradition, Dreyermond says "I thought it more important to keep the book dream alive.  It was not time to leave the book business, it was time to renew it."

dreyermond art + books focuses on lierature, art monographs, photography, architecture and design.  Michael Dreyermond personally oversees the selection of first and second editions, out of print and classics.

The store also features events and art exhibitions.  Currently on exhibit is a series of abstract photographs from recently deceased, celebrity photographer Dennis Hopper: a perennial favorite in Venice and Santa Monica art circles.

Dennis Hopper
Fractured Girl
Silkscreen (silver) based on photo taken c. 1961-65

dreyermond art + books
2801 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA  90405
(310) 450-4400
http://www.deyermondbooks.com

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

California Art Club

I just received the latest copy of the California Art Club's newsletter with a wonderful cover article about Franz A. Bischoff by Jean Stern, California art expert extraordinaire and Executive Director of the Irvine Museum.  The scholarship of the articles in the CAC newsletter are always outstanding, and Jean's writing is always excellent as well, but this article is particularly notable for a couple of reasons. First, Bischoff was one of the founders of the California Art Club back in 1909 along with fellow artists William Wendt, Hanson D. Puthoff, Carl Oscar Borg and Jack Wilkinson Smith and this article speaks to many of the early activities of the CAC.  Also notable is the fact that Bischoff will be the subject of a new exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of California art (home of the California Art Club's annual Gold Medal Exhibition) entitled "Gardens and Grandeur: Porcelains and Paintings by Franz A. Bischoff" scheduled to open in December of this year.

If you love California art and its rich history, you should know about the California Art Club.  As previously mentioned, it was founded in 1909 by some of the most famous and well established artists of the day.  It was a successor organization to the Painters' Club of Los Angeles  and was formed, among other reasons to allow women artists as members who were excluded from the Painters' Club membership.  Today, the CAC has grown into one of the largest and most highly respected professional artists associations in the country.  Its membership includes professional and non-professional artists along with a large community of collectors, gallery and museum staff, educators, historians and others who love and support California representational fine art.

The CAC hosts a number of exhibitions throughout the year, but its most famous is the Gold Medal Exhibition, held annually at the Pasadena Museum of California Art on Union Street in Pasadena.  The CAC will be hosting its 100th anniversary of the exhibition from April 3rd through the 24th in 2011.  At the same time, Rizzoli International will be releasing their publication of a major historical retrospective book about the California Art Club.  It ought to be something to behold.  In addition to the exhibitions held by the CAC, they also host artists' workshops, critique sessions, lectures, dinners, artists' studio visits and paintouts at locations around the state of California.  If you love California art, I recommend you show your support by joining the Califoria Art Club.

I mentioned the quarterly newsletter published by the CAC.  This is a wonderful color publication filled with scholarly articles about the history of California art along with articles and news regarding current members of the club and about exhibitions around the country.  Elaine Adams, Excutive Director of the CAC is the driving force behind the newsletter (and everything else the CAC does) and she always does an outstanding job on the publication. I am including a copy of the front page of the newsletter in this post to give you a taste of the quality of their work.  If you like it, join the club and they will send it to you regularly!

CAC Newsletter
Click for larger view

For more information:

California Art Club
75 South Grand Avenue
Pasadena, CA  91105
(626) 583-9009
website: http://www.californiaartclub.org

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades 

Brunello Wine Dinner With Friends

Friday night we had a wonderful wine dinner up in the cul-de-sac here in Pacific Palisades with our neighbors Ken and Ritchie and friends Jim, Ruth, Richard and Carolyn.  All four couples contributed wines from their collections and we simultaneously celebrated October birthdays for Carolyn, Ritchie and Ken.  The major theme of the dinner were some '85 and '90 Brunellos but we enjoyed a number of other wines as well.

We started with a magnum of Mumm Napa Brut Prestige, which at about five or six years old (it was non-vintage) was delicious.  Jim brought in a 20 year old Chilean Sauvignon Blanc which we thought had a chance of coming out intact, but alas, too many years had passed for this one.  When the Sauvignon Blanc failed to meet our expectations, we moved on to a very nice 2001 Dehlinger Chardonnay.

Ritchie, Richard and Carolyn

Ruth and Jodie

Jim enjoying the chardonnay

After the introductory wines, we moved to the dining room for the main course.  The three Brunello di Montalcino stars of the evening were a 1985 Lisini, a 1985 Canalicchio di Sopra and a 1990 Mastroianni.  The marvelous food preparations include tenderloin, a souffle of carrots and spinach along with a wild rice and mushroom dish.  All were delicious, that is excepted for the Lisini which turned out to be mildly corked - what a drag as we were all looking forward to that one.  Ken quickly brought out a replacement Brunello in the form of a 1990 San Filippo and all drank very well.

Ruth, Ken and Jodie getting ready for the dinner

Starting line up

Dinner is served

Here we are

Substituting for the Lisini

After dinner, Ken opened up a 1977 Grahams Vintage Porto which was served with Stilton cheese and water crackers.  Upon completing the round of port and Stilton, we moved the entire party across the street to our house for the dessert portion of the evening.

For dessert Jodie presented three different cheeses for our enjoyment: Roquefort Le Papillon AOC, Le Marcaire and Manchego along with blanched almonds, Halloween cookies and flourless chocolate cake.  These cheeses were selected to accompany two excellent Sauternes contributed by Ken and Richard, a 1961 Château Coutet à Barsac and a 1988 Château Rieussec but the opinion of the group was that the Roquefort was a bit overpowering for the Sauternes.

All in all it was a wonderful evening with some world class wines, delicious food and memorable fellowship.  Thanks to everyone who tapped into their cellars to make this evening a great success.  We'll do it again sometime soon.

Mumm Napa
N.V. Brut Prestige
Napa Valley

Cousino-Macul
1990 Sauvignon Blanc

Santiago, Chile

Dehlinger
2001 Chardonnay
Russian River Valley

Lisini
1985 Brunello di Montalcino
Montalcino Siena

Canalicchio di Sopra
1985 Brunello di Montalcino
Montalcino Italia

Mastroianni
1990 Brunello di Montalcino
Montalcino Italia

San Filippo
1990 Brunello di Montalcin
Montalcino Italia

Grahams
1977 Vintage Porto
Portugal

Château Rieussec
1988 Sauternes Premier Grand Gru Classe
Sauternes

Château Coutet à Barsac
1961 Sauternes Premier Grand Gru Classe
Sauternes Barsac

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Pizzulli Family Winery - Pacific Palisades

There are several vineyards scattered around the hills of Pacific Palisades.  One such place is Pizzuli Family Winery located south of Sunset Blvd. in the Bel Air Bay Club area.  Owned by interior architect Cosimo Pizzulli and his wife Christine and situated on a one and a half acre property - Pizzulli first planted Sangiovese vines on a half-acre hillside on his property in 2003.  Later he began making wine in a wooden shed and storing the fruits of his labor in a refrigerated storage container on the far side of his driveway.

Cosimo Pizzulli

Pizzulli operates an international design firm with projects in the retail, entertainment, hospitality and residential areas.  He has found a unique way to combine his passion for wine-making with his profession.  Since his production is just a few hundred cases, most of his distribution is to select restaurants on the Westside and at the Wine Expo in Santa Monica.  Two of the restaurants that Pizzulli designed, Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills and Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica, both serve Pizzulli's wines. "It's a perfect fit. My wines poured in restaurants that I designed," says Pizzulli.

Pizzulli currently makes 4 different red varietals: Sangiovese, Barbera, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto.  They are available at the following fine restaurants on the Westside.

Ado Ristorante - Venice
Ado Restaurant - West Hollywood
Enoteca Drago - Beverly Hills
Giorgio Baldi - Santa Monica
Il Grano - W. Los Angeles
The Grill on the Alley - Beverly Hills
Toscana - Brentwood
Valentino's - Santa Monica

For more information about Pizzulli Family Winery, go to http://pizzulliwinery.com .

The Pizzulli estate in Pacific Palisades is currently being offered for sale by Rodrigo Iglesias of Hilton & Hyland, and includes the vineyard and all winemaking equipment.  If you would like more information about how to acquire this rare parcel in Pacific Palisades, please contact me.   To see the listing, click here: Pizzulli Estate.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Suspicious Door to Door Solicitors

We have been having an email discussion among members of the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association about suspicious door to door solicitors, particularly those offering home improvement services.  As someone who regularly knocks on doors in my neighborhood to offer my real estate services, I have a little bit of perspective from both sides of the portal.

I begin with the knowledge that most people are very wary of door to door solicitors.  If there is a sign posted saying no solicitors or anything else of that nature, I simply move on to the next home.  When I do knock on the door, I take a big step back away from the door and I remove my sunglasses if I am wearing them.  Most of my conversations are quick, but then I am not trying to get someone to buy a cash service from me.

In discussing the solicitors that have been working our neighborhood, a few practices were mentioned that can help separate the legitimate service providers from someone with other intent.  First, never let a solicitor in your home without having first checked out who they are and confirmed that they are legitimate.  You can always take their card or brochure and say that you will call them later if you are interested in their service.  If they don't have anything to leave with you, that is a big red flag.  Notify your security patrol if you have one and also give the police a call.  When we asked LAPD Captain Evangelyn Nathan about suspicious solicitors, her reply was "Immediately dial 911 when something like this occurs.  WLA is very interested in this type of behavior."

If they seem like they are possibly legitimate, there is still room for caution before getting engaged with them.  If they give you a business card or brochure, they should have a contractor's license number.  You can check them out at the California Contractors Board at https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicenseII/CheckLicense.aspx. Simply type in the license number or company name and verify that the information on file matches that of the information provided to you by the solicitor.  If you want to take an extra measure of caution, call the company and confirm that they have someone soliciting business in your area.

No one wants to treat legitimate solicitors like criminals.  But at the same time, it is all too easy for real criminals to impersonate a legitimate solicitor.  So before you invite one into your home or possibly even open your door to them, be sure you know who you are talking with.  If they are legitimate, they will be happy to allow you to take the necessary steps to satisfy yourself that they are who they say they are.  Better to be safe than sorry.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Paintout at Ventura Farms

Last Saturday, the Autry National Center's Masters of the American West Committee, in association with the California Art Club, hosted their 7th Annual Plein Air Paintout and Luncheon at the incredible Ventura Farms in Thousand Oaks, California.  This was the second time the event was held at Ventura Farms, the Arabian Horse ranch and retreat owned by David Murdock, the Chairman and owner of Dole Foods.

Nearly 40 artists from the California Art Club (http://www.californiaartclub.org) and from the Autry's Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale (http://theautry.org/get-involved/masters-of-the-american-west) spread out across the grounds of Ventura Farms to paint scenes taken from the immaculately groomed estate.

Just one of the lushly landscaped gardens

Conchita O'Kane works on her painting

John Geraghty, Special Advisor to the Masters of the American West and
grandkids chat with exuberant Russian painter Alexey Steele
and Olga Vlasova.

Guests wandered around the gardens, talking with artists, enjoying the estate and chatting with other patrons.  One of the most stunning aspects of the grounds are the huge, sinuous river boulders that Murdock had excavated and shipped from the River Kwai in Thailand.  They dot the entire estate and are a remarkable presence.  Weighing several tons each, some of these stones stand twenty to thirty feet tall and each one has a life if its own.

The boulders along the promenade

Morgan Weistling working with a model

Autry's new CEO Dan Finley and his wife Jennifer meet Ernie and Donna Schroeder

Z. S. Liang paints the Chinese pavillion

The grounds include a large pond that holds several thousand Koi fish.  An oriental bridge connects the grounds to an island where a Japanese pagoda rests.  This scenic setting has been featured in several movies over the years.  Also, a smaller Koi pond is inside of the Chinese Pavillion along with fabulous examples of carved jade art and other Asian masterpieces.

CAC President Peter Adams paints the pagoda scene at the Koi pond

Dan Pinkham painting high above one of the several rose gardens

Smaller Koi pond inside of the Chinese Pavillion

Carved jade panel inside the Chinese Pavillion

Lunch was served in the Conservatory, a giant hothouse filled with hundreds (if not thousands) of orchids and a central area with marble floors ... definitely the nicest greenhouse I have ever seen.

Lunch in the Conservatory

A tiny sample of the orchids in the Conservatory

All in all, it was an amazing afternoon that is hardly describable.  Thanks to David Murdock for his generosity in opening his wonderful estate to all of us.

I posted all of my images from the event online at: http://s563.photobucket.com/albums/ss72/jarea6020/Autry%20Paintout%20at%20Ventura%20Farms%202010/  Enjoy them.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Santa Monica History Museum Opens October 24th

The Santa Monica History Museum will hold its grand opening on Sunday, October 24th from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at their new location at 1350 7th Street.  The new museum features a 5,300 square fot faciity located in the Santa Monica Main Library.

 

The central area of the museum features four different exhibits.  The Town In The Headlines exhibit features more than 500,000 images from Santa Monica's longtime newspaper, The Evening Outlook (no longer in business).  As a special attraction, museum visitors can superimpose their picture onto the front page of an issue of the Evening Outlook.

A Town At Work addresses the history of the McDonald Douglas Plant which used to operate at the Santa Monica airport.  The exhibit includes a DC-3 cockpit (one of the coolest airplanes of all times) and a series of artifacts from the era.

The third exhibition is entitled A Town At Play featuring a model roller coaster from the old Santa Monica Pier.  The final exhibit, A Town In The Arts allows visitors to view pictures from various locations around Santa Monica taken in the past and matched with photos taken in 2010.

For more information, visit their website at: http://www.santamonicahistory.org

OPEN:
Tuesday - Friday  10:00 - 4:30
2nd & 4th Sundays    1:00 - 4:00
Monday  closed

ADMISSION:
General                         $5
Members                      free
Seniors & Students      $2
Children 12 & under    free

Santa Monica Historical Society Museum
1539 Euclid Street
Santa Monica, CA  90404
Tel: (310) 395-2290

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

MKPOA Block Party

On Saturday, October 16th, here in Pacific Palisades, the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association (MKPOA) threw its annual Block Party with big assistance from lead sponsor ACS Security who underwrote much of the cost of the party.  MKPOA Board members, including yours truly, arrived early to set things up, blow up ballopns and generally get prepared for the event, which was staged along the Marquez Avenue community commercial district.

A "Spiderman" bounce house was set up in the lower parking lot at the corner of Sunset and Marquez.  Local merchants were set up with displays all along Marquez Avenue.  Flo Elfant brought copies of her Pacific Palisades Emergency Preparedness booklet for local neighbors to take home with them (you can download a copy from http://www.paliemergency.com).  Board members were on hand to sign up new members and to answer questions posed by residents.

Flo Elfant - Emergency Preparedness Expert

Alex making preparations

Board members ready to serve

Whirlie the clown with her celebrity rabbit was more like the 'Pied Piper' as kids followed her everywhere she went. The team at ACS donned their chef's hats at prepared hot dogs for everyone's enjoyment.  The Gregory Alper Quartet provided musical entertainment and were joined by some students from Alper's music academy.

ACS - Always on alert and Ready to Cook!

Kids love Whirlie

Gregory Alper and company

Time to eat hot dogs

To make everyone feel extra safe, the LAPD and LAFD were on the scene in force.  A raffle. led by Haldis Toppel and Christy Dennis with gifts from local area businesses put lots of prizes in many resident's hands.  Local martial arts expert James Gasvie from Max Impact Martial Arts got his hat handed to him by two darling girls from his dojo.

 

 The festivities were great fun for kids and adults alike.  The balloon guy Danny Moreno was very creative as this balloon dragon shows.  Love on 4 Paws Stopped by as an introduction to the puppy obedience contest ... they were all very obedient.

I'm a dragon - better watch out!

Love on 4 Paws

Balloon Maestro Danny Moreno

Rabbits are so lovable

MKPOA thanks all of the companies and individuals who sponsored this year's block party and contributed prizes for the raffle, including:

ACS
Alicia's  Place
Alper Music School
Bailey Electric Co.
CVS
Edlen Realty
Hair Nails and Skin Care
Innate Chiropractic Center
Knoll's Pharmacy
Mission: Renaissance
Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association
Max Impact Martial Arts
Nutritional,Fitness Consultant
Oasis Palisades
Palisades Animal Clinic
Palisades Construction
Palisades Heating & Air Conditioning
Palisades Plumbing
Paws n’ Claws Grooming Salon
Prudential CA Realty
Ralph's
Ronny’s Market and Deli
Ronny’s Parklane Cleaners

A full set of photographs from the MKPOA Block Party have been posted online at:
http://s563.photobucket.com/albums/ss72/jarea6020/MKPOA%20Block%20Party%20Oct%202010/

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades