Smithsonian | East Wing

I shot this today from the underground walk way at the East Wing of the National Gallery in Washington DC. Keep watching as the pattern goes disco after about 15 seconds.

Farm Time Lapse

I posted a camera that automatically takes a picture when it senses movement. I stitched the last round of images into a quick movie. Being an artist, I like seeing how much the barn changes in the light at different times of the day, the flowers move, and people show up now and then.  Beautiful in its subtlety.

Darnells | December

Felipe and I DJ'd Darnell's Backroom again last night. That place just gets better and better. For a small venue, there is a ridiculous amount of spirit in the people who show up on the Saturdays when we play.

For something real on NYE --with complete hands-in-the-air boogie time, join us.

New Years Eve

If you plan to be in Washington DC and want to boogie this new years, we are again hosting something worth checking out. This time at Darnell's --a place that proves to be ever more entertaining every time we DJ there.

The theme is not set up, but judging by every other NYE party we've thrown, it will be a spectacle and a lot dancing. So...the name and theme are in the works, but get organized. This space is not huge, so it will fill up entirely.

Here are some shots from the other parties we threw for NYE and more DJ pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherbaer/sets/72157624829845467/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherbaer/sets/72157624829757741/

Who Does the Mind Work For?

Those of you who have seen the movie Austin Powers, will know the meaning of, "Who does number 2 work for?!" as Austin is attacked by a spy while in the bathroom. (If not, visit Youtube to be enlightened).

My version of the line is one that I address to my own mind frequently "Who does the mind work for?" In other words, when your mind spins off on some tangent other than what you're doing, what gave it the right to run amok?

"Mind, get back here this minute, or you'll get a time out. I'm not playing around."

[Yes, I'm arguing with myself again, and I really hope I win this time.]

Focusing the mind is the root to being present.  Being present translates to enjoying or experiencing the moment.  When those moments are added up, the result translates directly to living.  Specifically, it's being alive and being aware of it.  My friend, Beatrice Pouligny, a Georgetown University academic and a shamanic healer, sent me this article today about research on the unfocused mind, which I am reposting.

---

Mind Wandering May Lead to a Bad Mood

 by Jeremy Hsu | From Live Science

For the sake of your own happiness, don't let your mind wander while reading this article. Setting the mind adrift from the here and now may lead to a worse mood regardless of whether the daydreams or thoughts are pleasant ones, researchers say. 

In fact, a wandering mind had a bigger influence on happiness than any other activity a person happened to be doing, according to their new study. Such findings confirm many philosophical and religious traditions, which teach about finding happiness by living in the moment, and train practitioners to resist mind wandering.

Humans have made good use of mind wandering to reflect upon the past or plan for the future, as well as to learn and to reason. But the study also showed that it comes with a powerful emotional cost, despite mind wandering appearing to be the brain's default mode of operation.

"We do hypothesize that it's a cause [for unhappiness]," said Matthew Killingsworth, a doctoral student in psychology at Harvard University and lead author on the study detailed in the Nov. 11 issue of the journal Science.

Killingsworth and Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert tracked the happiness levels of iPhone users by asking participants about their happiness at random times. Participants rated their happiness on a scale of 0 to 100 and included what they were doing, and whether their mind was wandering beyond the task at hand. (Yes, there is an app for that experiment.)

People's minds wandered almost 47 percent of the time, and were more likely to think about pleasant topics than unpleasant or neutral ones. Yet thinking pleasant thoughts made people no happier than focusing on what they were doing – and unhappiness spiked when thinking neutral or unpleasant thoughts.

Such mind wandering appeared to cause unhappiness even when people were doing the least enjoyable activities, such as daily work. A time-lag analysis suggested that mind wandering caused foul moods rather than the other way around.

Another surprise: Whatever people were doing had only a mild impact on whether their minds wandered, and almost no impact on the pleasantness of the topics they chose to think about. Mind wandering took up at least 30 percent of the time during almost every activity, including playing, exercising, praying and taking care of the kids.

So what was the only exception? Apparently people focus most intensely on making love.

"[Making love] was 10 percent [for mind wandering], which was the lowest," Killingsworth said in an e-mail. "The highest was 'grooming, self care' at 65 percent."

Source Article

Panna II | NYC

I have honestly been putting more thought into creating posts that are substantiative, relevant and interesting.  Alas, failure again: here's another cotton candy post about eating at a bizarre restaurant.

Last night I was fortunate enough to both dine at one of my favorite (and cheap) NYC experiences on the Lower East Side, and do that with my buddy Josh who happened to be in town.

Before you go much further, listening to Naladri Kumar might set the mood and help the pictures make sense.

Panna II, and it's evil twin next door (and a newer competitive triplet mutation downstairs) are known for the door men that argue for you to come into their seemingly identical Indian restaurants.  The restaurants are literally mirror images of one another, each with a rosy, christmas-light decor and very peppy, encouraging door men.  I can attest that the door on the right does in fact lead to a scintillating nirvana. I have never gone into the left doorway in 15 years of eating at this mind-boggling siamese establishment.

To the point, the Indian food here is excellent and inexpensive.  Beer or wine can be purchased at the deli next door and brought in.  If you have problems of getting over stimulated by saturated combos of color, music, and scent -avoid this place.  In fact, just stay out of NYC all together.  But if you are in for something different, delicious and visually unforgettable, go.  It's worth it.

Panna II

93 1st Ave (between 5th & 6th)
New York, NY 10003 | Tel. 212-598-4610
Read more about Panna II's history.

Executive Dumbells

There may be no end to the amount of mileage I could get out of the image below.  "...Executive Dumbells."

Build brawn with the poly-vinyl bronze-style arm weight filled with 6.6 pounds of sandy heft.

Birds in Winter

I shot this video today of black birds flocking in a farm field, which is common in the Wintertime.  The pattern of their flight is hypnotic.

Bedside Table | Book List

There is a lot on the bedside table to read right now. This morning I snapped a picture of what I am trying to stuff down the gullet along with a few comments about the ones I have actually dug into.

To read the print full-sized, just click on the image.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Gold Toilet Frolicking in the Leaves

This morning, the gold toilet showed up in the side yard again. I have not noticed it around much recently, work has been really hectic.

Liz and I try to coax it back into our bathroom, but every time we approach it, it takes off into the woods again.

Other sightings are thrilling also!

Opening at Living | Richmond, VA

Last night's opening at Living was hosted by the owner, Martee Johnson, and Wizzie Broach who sells my work in Virginia.  --My heartfelt thanks to you both for setting everything up, as well as Rita Liles who seems to know just about everyone in Richmond.

Martee Johnson, Mallory Decker, Wizzie Broach & Rita Liles

See more pictures of the work at the show and of the people who attended.
Learn more about Living on Grove.

For more information about the artwork and the artist:

christopherbaer.blogspot.com

christopherbaer.com

Cleaned Out

As I prepared and shipped out the work from the upcoming Richmond show, Rita, the stick-of-dynamite-of-a-mom-of-my-VA-art-dealer (Wizzie Broach) walked through my house surveying the walls, "Did you paint that? Can we show it?  And what about that one?"

Liz, my wife, was shadowing me and encouraging me to loosen up, "Remember when you said you should let art get out into the world?  Let her take that one, and that one."

"Well, sure...take it right off the wall," I said.   Me in my own mind:  "Oh what the heck... I love those pieces, but it's time that they made their own way in this world; they've had it too easy at home."

So Rita left the studio with more work than I anticipated, my house is now bare again, and the opening this Thursday will be strong.  I look forward to seeing you all there.  Here was one of the works added to the show (thank you Susannah & John).

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine

Most of us have seen this, but it is still worth a watch now and again....

Autumn

Seriously, the colors of Autumn just blow me away.

Figs | Palisades | Washington DC

I am fortunate enough to live walking-distance to some great DC restaurants here in the Palisades neighborhood of DC. Today I had lunch at Figs with my mom, which is a small middle-Eastern a la carte nook on MacArthur Blvd. Michael, who is the head chef is continually innovating on classic dishes, which are normally just fresh, simple, colorful presentations. I snapped a couple pictures of the presentation he brought out for us to share, which cost about $25.  It was fantastic.

Figs Fine Foods
4828 Macarthur Blvd NW # 1
Washington D.C., DC 20007-6512
(202) 333-7773

This review from urbanspoon may also help persuade you.
See more yummy pictures of food...

Richmond Show | Thursday Nov 18th

Here are a couple of the pieces of work being shown next week in Richmond at Living on Grove (the show opens on Thursday November 18th at 5pm).  The work varies in size from 12 x 12 to 50 x 60 inches.

To view the entire collection pieces in the show, click here.

For more details about the show's opening, click here.

If you are in the Richmond area, please join me for the opening.  Liz and I will be there.

DJing | Last Night at Darnells

Felipe and I DJ'd Darnell's last night.  Such a funky joint.

To see all the pictures from Darnell's, go here.

Rare Glimpse

I came home last night from DJing around 2:30am.  I was beat.

...but then I saw something exhilarating:  The gold toilet was in its natural habitat peeking around the corner of the bushes in the moonlight!  A truly rare experience for anyone to catch.

How did I come to be so lucky, the story starts here.

Toilet in the Yard

Ever have one of those Saturday mornings when you wake up to get the paper and you find your toilet out in the front yard painted gold?

Last night, Liz decided to finish tearing out an old bathroom, a job she is doing entirely on her own, to update it from the former owners' psychedelic floral pattern with gold trim to something more our style. As it turns out, "more our style" presented itself with Liz asking if I minded if she painted the toilet gold and then reinstall it. Naturally, I said that it was a great idea (being the first people on the block with a gold commode will drive the neighbors crazy with envy).

...Maybe we can charge admission to to take this baby for a test drive.  I hope no one steals it in the meantime.

Thought of the Day

Studio Details

These paintings about 1/3 complete.  There are about 2-3 more washes of paint to apply.



In the past 3 years I have been painting almost exclusively in larger formats (50 x 60 inches). Working smaller seems like it would be simpler, but with less room to spread out, the decision-making process changes and requires adjustments in technique.

Saturday Nov 6th | Soul Report DC

This Saturday, get out and get down...

Felipe and I spin the Soul Report groove live on turntables at Darnell's Backroom bar:  one block North of the 930 Club on Florida Ave. Ample parking. Cute 'lil Patio. No Cover. A Stone Groove. Always Fun.

Saturday Nov 6th | Soul Report DC

@Darnells Backroom

944 Florida Ave NW

Washington, DC 20001

(202) 797-0558

Facebook: Darnell's Bar | Darnell Perkins

This look is straight out of Back in the Day...



And who exactly is this mysterious Darnell anyway?  www.darnellperkins.com:

Recent Paintings

These works will be in the upcoming show in Richmond opening on November 18th. For more information on the show and it's location, see Living on Grove.

Painting | Process

There are about 6-8 more paintings to complete in a very short period of time before my next show. Working under pressure yields results.

My recent works, say the last 15 paintings, are as much about the process of creating them as they are about the content, color and form. In particular, the larger paintings have many layers of translucent color.

These painting give viewers several different experiences when looking in the same area. The longer you look, the more there is to see, but it is not assertive.  At first glance, the people may look and think “that painting is mostly yellow,” which is generally true at a glance, and then underneath as people examine the layers, lines and marks and hidden color fields emerge also, so do shapes of under-painting that create resonance and contrast.  Artifacts and history of the painting show through and tell its story.

And if you don’t want to examine, you can relax with what’s presented at the surface --both are relevant. Though no metaphor is actually intended, it is similar to how I look at life.

Lets Get Physical

The exercise LP records below were discovered while cleaning out the home of an old friend who recently passed away. His wife, who he dearly loved and I never met, died years before. She was apparently into staying fit and exercised at home --using her record player of course.

The LP's span several decades (1960's-1980's) and are roughly in historical order.


1. Gloria is a proper lady with a nun-like collar. She exercises with her six daughters ...in the highest possible fidelity.

2. Debby is sassy in her living room. Love the hi-fi furniture behind her.





3. Family exercise time with Bonnie. The children are now all in therapy.





4. The scene of Jazz and beat poets: all of whom wore black turtlenecks, smoked unfiltered cigarettes and of course, exercised.





5. When Good Housekeeping put their seal of approval on an exercise record, it looked like this.





6. Tune in, turn on and drop out with this pink yoga delight.





7. This image I actually recall seeing when I was a kid; enter the era of the leg warmer with Jane Fonda.





8. My mom loved this woman's aerobic dancing. Jacki's shorts ride a little high, but she's really happy.





9. This one gets the grand prize, detailed shots of Joanie enjoying her fitness are below.











See more on Flickr.

Richmond Show | Thursday Nov 18th

On November 18th, I will show about 15-16 new paintings at Living on Grove in Richmond.  Many thanks to Elizabeth Broach (my VA agent) for organizing the show and selling my work faster than I can create it.  More images of the work will be completed closer to the date.

Christopher Baer | Recent Paintings

@ Living on Grove | Thursday Nov 18th | 5-7pm

5714 Grove Avenue

Richmond, VA 23226

804-285-5600

For images from the last show in 2006, go to Christopherbaer.com


If you are in Richmond, Living on Grove is here:

I love Richmond, Virginia.

In 1994, I was invited to a state-sponsored scholarship program called the Governor's School for the Arts held during the summer at the University of Richmond. It was life changing, but at the conclusion of the program, I confidently declared that I would not be pursuing art as a career --I don't recall the rationale. I was 16 years old and not surprisingly, I have been wrong a few other times since then.

Wife in Tree

If you look carefully in this tree, you'll see my wife.  She is at the Dulles airport long term parking lot in DC searching for our car after we forgot where it was parked.

A playful and furtive creature, she was captured in this rare photo in her natural habitat.

Olympic Training | Montreal

In August, Liz and I traveled to Montreal for a weekend.  Near the biodome, we happened to catch some training athletes at the pool.

Austin City Limits | 2010

John, Susannah, Liz and I traveled to Austin to see the Austin City Limits music festival.  We stayed at the San Jose Hotel, ate dozens of tacos, and saw about 15 bands over the two and half days we were there.

ACL has to be the cleanest, most professionally run large-scale music event I've ever seen.  Here was Saturday evening:




We also went to a party afterwards at Glens.  Good times.




More pictures: Austin City Limits | 2010

Music

Sharing a bittersweet mid-western ditty that came across my playlist today. The lyrics are not light (dealing with cancer), but the melody is perfect for a weekend afternoon.

Sufjan Stevens
Casimir Pulaski Day
(right click to download)

Saturday Oct 2nd | Soul Report DC @Darnells

This Saturday, get out and get down...

Felipe and I spin the Soul Report groove live on turntables at Darnell's Backroom bar:  one block North of the 930 Club on Florida Ave. Ample parking. Cute 'lil Patio. No Cover. A Stone Groove. Always Fun.

Saturday Oct 2nd | Soul Report DC

@Darnells Backroom

944 Florida Ave NW

Washington, DC 20001

(202) 797-0558

Facebook: Darnell's Bar | Darnell Perkins

And who exactly is this mysterious Darnell anyway?  www.darnellperkins.com:

"Fashion Tip of the Day: Ladies, if you're wearing a beaded dress or a printed ensemble, keep your shoes plain. Always remember less is more!"

                                                                                           - Darnell via Twitter

...and there you go.  Thank you Darnell for setting it straight for the ladies.

Positano Dinner | Alone

There are clear advantages to the work I do, no doubt about it.  Travel to beautiful places and all that.  But the romantic spots without Liz are really tedious.  Hell, torturous.    --So the movie below is really for Liz, but I am sharing it.

Incidentally, this evening was only topped by a night several years ago in Paris when I came back to a gorgeous hotel suite (again alone), exhausted --only to find that the hotel had lowered the lights, covered my bed in rose petals, and put champagne on ice.

The soundtrack to this film is complements of the Villa Treville just south of Positano in Italy.

Maysie Cellars | California San Giovese Red Wine

Carter Edsall, a long-time friend and dilettante of BBQ, Bluegrass, and humor is taking a serious stab at producing his own label of California red with the advent of his new label, Maysie, named for his grandmother.

We should all be thankful he picked the San Giovese grape as a main focus; I feel obliged to do my part to help promote his pursuits. Check out more about Maysie on either Facebook, or his soon-to-be-populated (hint-hint) site.

Capri | Afternoon

This was a quick shot of some water and the rocks off the Northwest side of Capri. The reputation for beauty here is legendary and not overrated. The property situated above this little spot, the Punta Tragara, is one of the most beautiful, intimate and charming 5-star properties in Italy. This spot is truly special, and unique in the world.

Amalfi Coast | Evening

Went for a swim in the 15 ft deep water off the Amalfi Coast last night just after work. Peaceful.

DJing | Last Night at Darnells

I have DJ'd live on turntables consistently since I was 22. I turn 38 tomorrow.

Last night at Darnell's during a break, a guy and I were talking about DJing and how it can move people --or make them run away. DJ's need to do several things well: curate music, select the right time to play it, and mix it well. It's harder than it sounds. Reading a crowd of people you have often never met, and getting them to move their bodies in front of a bunch of other strangers takes finesse. I love it.

Last night everyone jammed at Darnells, with smiles all around. Felipe and I rocked it.

Check out more pictures of the people and their spirit.

Find out more about Darnells on Facebook.

DJing | At Darnells

Felipe and I are beginning a new DJing gig once per month on Saturdays at Darnell's in DC. The eponymously named joint is something special. Unpretentious, yet fancy. A small place, but it's easy to get down. Friendly and funky.

Here is the link for more information:

http://darnellsbackroom.blogspot.com

Seriously, get out and get down with us.

This. Saturday. Night.

Saturday Sept 11th | Soul Report DC

@Darnells

944 Florida Ave NW

Washington, DC 20001

(202) 797-0558

Darnell's is one block North of the 930 Club on Florida Ave. Ample parking. Cute 'lil Patio. No Cover. A Stone Groove. Always Fun.