PJ's Studio: 2025

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Banksy Museum

In case you missed it, a Banksy Museum has opened on Canal Street.

It features representations of some of his most popular work.

Apparently, they hired a bunch of graffiti artists who did their best to faithfully reproduce the work.

They had their work cut out for them since many of the pieces had been destroyed.

But using photographs and intuition they were able to really capture the feel of his work.

Much of it is of course political. Or at least social commentary.

The pieces reproduced on the walls make excellent selfie stations.

So, I was surprised that it wasn’t more crowded.

I got the biggest kick out of what I believe must have been an intentional juxtaposition of the inside work with some authentic NYC graffiti on the adjacent building.

The ticket taker mentioned that the museum would be open for at least four years so there is plenty of time to check it out and visit Wo Hop for lunch.

Sticking with the contemporary art theme - here are some pics from the Warhol exhibit at the Whitney in 2019…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2019/03/warhol-at-whitney.html

Cheers!

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Tulum

For this year’s calendars I decided to combine some of my favorite travel photos with some of the sketches I drew to accompany them in our photo albums.

First up is Tulum, Mexico.

Here’s the original photo. I liked it so much that I had it blown up to 20x30 and hung it on my office wall – when I had an office. 😉

The trip included snorkeling at Xel-Ha so I added a few tropical fish – one Betta fish,

And two discus fish.

Cheers!

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Calla Lilies 4

It’s been pretty cold in NYC the past few weeks, no snow though.

So, it’s time to look at more photos of flowers and think of spring.

I didn’t get to shoot much last year because in the beginning of March,

I slipped on some steps in the Union Square subway station and broke my ankle.

It was my first broken bone.

And it hurt like crazy.

But it’s mostly healed now and I am looking forward to visiting all the botanical gardens in NYC this spring.

Until then, I am enjoying more photos from the archives.

These calla lilies were among my favorites,

And well worth another look.

Here are some previous photos of calla lilies…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/09/calla-lilies.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2020/07/calla-lilies-2.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2020/12/calla-lilies-3.html

Cheers!

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Grand Central Holiday Train Show 2

As promised here is a second set of pics from this year’s holiday train show at Grand Central Terminal.

It’s a dazzling display, really capturing the magic of the city.

It also captures some of the more mundane scenes of city life.

And as in the city itself, the juxtaposition of the old and new.

Also, some sights that seem to have disappeared somewhere along the way.

They couldn’t resist the urge to be a bit playful.

And wandered from the theme to include some classic all-American scenery

and moments.

But it’s the NYC pizzazz that makes the exhibit fun.

Hats off to the MTA!

Here’s a link to the previous blog…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2025/01/grand-central-holiday-train-show.html

Cheers!

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Grand Central Holiday Train Show

The MTA has a great collection of toy trains.

They show them off at their museum located in Grand Central Terminal.

While I have enjoyed many of their shows in the past this one is especially beautiful. And it’s open through the end of the month – so there is still time to visit.

Not surprisingly, Grand Central Terminal is the star of the show. Even the close-ups are adorable.

The display features trains and buildings from various eras.

I was amused to see the much beloved and greatly missed Pearl Paint represented.

And CBGB. 😊

The City Harvest trucks are a nice modern touch.

While the phone booth is just a distant memory - the pigeons not so much.

The exhibit was so cute that I will post a second set of photos next week.

Cheers,

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Florence 3 : Golf Cart Ban Alert

Following on the heels of Venice’s decision to charge a daily people fee comes the news that Florence is banning golf carts and other atypical vehicles.

They are also banning loudspeakers and amplifiers.

And, key boxes used by short-term rentals.

Apparently, they had no choice.

7.8 million people visited Florence in the first nine months of 2024.

Tourist use is concentrated in just 5 square kilos (2 square miles.) And it is so crowded that people can barely walk through the streets.

Luckily for us, when we visited in 1997 the only crowds were the ones the bride and her bridal party attracted in the square.

Of course, there was a line for the Bargello – but who could resist the chance to check out Donatello’s David – a groundbreaking example of early Renaissance art.

Made of bronze in the 1440’s, it is the first freestanding nude male sculpture created since Greco-Roman times.