Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sacramento No. 1

Everything Good, Sacramento, California
By visual artist/writer/video maker: Farrell Hamann
Giant trees (in America's largest and oldest urban forest, Moms, kids, dogs, old Victorian houses, and good coffee out doors on a shady patio) That's mid-town Sacramento, California, AKA (also known as) The Grid.  The coffee house by the tree, and with outdoor seating, is Sacramento's own, Java City. I love this coffee house and sitting outdoors by the huge tree.
Tree was removed, sad. gofundme.com/f/critter-and-castle-fun
If you stood on the corner by the tree, you could count a huge number of patio umbrellas, good places to eat, even 3 valet parking people across the street, under an umbrella shooting the bull in their red vests. This is the corner of 18th and Capital. From the middle of the street, facing this direction, you get a nice view of California's State Capitol.  There is a nice tour at The California State Capitol Museum.

Here's another view of the giant camphor tree (yes camphor can be made from this tree)

This orange tree is just a half block down the street.  Oranges right over the sidewalk! Some of the orange trees in downtown and mid-town Sacramento are really old Seville oranges and are actually very large street trees, not the little, easy to pick trees one normally sees images of, big!  A lot of these trees have  bitter oranges and were going to waste until the Corti Brothers decided to make and distribute a marmalade recipe from 1866. This marmalade sells all over the world.  The Corti Brothers have been selling gourmet foods and fine wines here for many years. Marmalade

Another old tradition in Sacramento has been Merlino's Orange Freeze
Ronald Reagan and current Governor, Jerry Brown used to stand in line for this tasty item. It has had some problems but is still alive at Mr. Pickles sandwich shops.  My gourmet feasting daughter who used to work at The Kitchen, one of the best known restaurants in town and very pricy, thinks Mr. Pickles is the place to go for sandwiches. Glad they are keeping Merlino's Orange Freeze alive. I think Reagan had some air freighted to the White House. (personally, I have art work in the White House collection and the White House sent my wife a gift via the gallery I was showing at but more about that later.) 

Sacramento has a cool mix of architecture, old, new and in between. Here is something I just spotted for the first time, the skinny house in South Land Park and a report from the happy owners. This is said to be perhaps the 2d skinniest home in California.

Quite possible the only photo you'll ever see of me wearing battered underwear and a sidearm
It was tricky getting this shot, OK? and I tucked my shirt into my underwear, I never, normally do that.  You're lucky day, right?


Wet acrylic paint and Creamy the Cat's big paws, not a good combination

Acrylic Paintings
Sculpture



Here's another foot known to have tramped through my paint (I'm just making this up)

Acrylic abstract paintings, wall hangings on canvas and unbleached muslin, sculpture, palace and castle toys, marble toys, famous mosaics, videos and writing. Had a Writer's File with The Tonight Show, novelist. Former Alaska commercial fisherman, worked on Wall Street, lived in Paris, Alaska, New York City, Santa Barbara and elsewhere.


Goofy Twitter Avatar: @farrellhamann Channel: farrellhamann on YouTube (art/comedy/toys)

Visual artist, Farrell Hamann is represented by the j 27 Art Gallery in Sacramento, CA
2728 J Street Sacramento, CA 95816
Phone: 916-400-4238


Farrell Hamann at the wheel of Creampuff the Jaguar

Places to go, things to see:
Sutter's Fort State Historical Park
Old Sacramento State Historical Park 
Crocker Art Museum
California State Railroad Museum
Discovery Museum
Governor's Mansion State Historical Park, Sacramento
California Automobile Museum 
Sacramento Children's Museum
Aerospace Museum of California
The California Museum
California State Indian Museum
California State Military Museum
California Pharmacy Museum
Fairytale Town (in Land Park)
Folsom History Museum (in the city of Folsom)
Hedrick Ag History Center. (tractors, old trucks in Woodland, CA)
Leland Stanford Mansion State Historical Park
Medical History Museum
Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum 
Sacramento Old City Historic Cemetery
Sacramento History Museum
Sacramento Zoo
Sojourner Truth Multicultural Art Museum
Wells Fargo History Museums Old Sacramento and Downtown






Dark Roasted Blend/ Things weird and wonderful (my favorite site to visit

Remember, I'm @farrellhamann on Twitter
California Poppies and blackberry blossoms found along the American River Parkway. These were early, March 3d, I think. Actually, I was looking for any kind of flower because I wanted to feature The McKinley Park Rose Garden but the official site for the garden only has a terrible pic and I wanted something nice. OK, so, I feature the American River Parkway, one of the premier places in the USA to ride bikes, horses, and just hike. 

Mountain Lions do roam the American River Parkway and evidently on BOTH sides of the American River. I'd keep small pets and children close and wouldn't walk around with kitty treats in my pockets. If I were a somewhat petite jobber, I might consider jogging alone a bad idea. An 80 lb. adult woman was grabbed by a mountain lion at a different California location on a hiking trail a few years back, so you have to be careful.  Cougar is the other name for the mountain lion.
If you click your mouse on the above pic, it makes it easier to read. I suggest you do read it!
Lush Spring meadow found along the American River Parkway as seen from the paved bike trail. If you look closely, you can see hundreds of cougars and Coyotes and skunks starring out at you, haha. The Parkway goes miles and miles and on both sides of the American River, I'd say 35 or 40 miles or so, please don't ask me to look it up. Right now, I'm thinking that I must find my good, close up of the cork oak trunk, don't see it in my hard drive but know that I have it in my photostream on photobucket and possibly flickr.


One of my "Friendly Series" of paintings. Painting this, I had in mind those stuck in a windowless office and deprived of any form of greenery (which, in my opinion, can make you loony after a while)  So, this painting is intended to be therapeutic.