Enjoying Summer

July is my birthday month and has always been the official start of summer. It’s now time to take a vacation or take a few days off just to relax. I’ve taken to redesigning my walking/hiking playlist because I’m listening to smooth and classical jazz in the evenings. It’s my ritual for unwinding after an extremely busy day.

Picking flowers will always be a favorite pastime. Placing blooms in vases is the best way to add a touch of beauty to our homes, and taking time to sit with an iced tea while listening to the rain is always a seasonal favorite.

It’s that time of year to pick flowers from the garden. Blossoms have the incredible power of improving aspects of daily living, such as having a positive effect on our mood, increasing creativity (my favorite), or giving us a sense of comfort. I love viewing these heightened colors spread across the yard up to the deck, because in a few short months they disappear.

Friends are down in Rio living on the beach of Copacabana. They’re relaxing while listening to bossa nova, sipping Caipirinha’s and enjoying the colorful cityscape of green mountains overlooking blue seas. Summer doesn’t get any better……!!!

My brother took this photo from his apartment in DC after a severe thunderstorm on Friday. What is more phenomenal than a double rainbow? I get the science of sunlight hitting a rain droplet, and light being reflected thru the electromagnetic spectrum of wavelengths, plus angles. But I prefer to seeing a rainbow as a magical dynamic of summer.

The sound of a summer rain is always very soothing. It can block extraneous sounds and ease stress. Studies have shown that the sound creates a relaxing environment and can lull you into a deep sleep.

Enjoy the season,
Kathleen

Basquiat

The Basquiat exhibit at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil includes 80 of the artist’s works from the private collection of José Mugrabi. The exhibition includes paintings, collages, sketches and ceramic plates.

Jean-Michel Basquiat  {1960-1988} was born and raised in Brooklyn, and was strongly influenced by the pulse of New York City in the 1970’s and 1980’s. An African-American painter, sculptor and draughtsman who utilized imagery and symbolism from African, Aztec, Greek and Roman cultures, as well as incorporating influences from his Puerto Rican and Haitian heritage. His bicultural focus included graffiti art, cartoons along with street imagery. Basquiat met Andy Warhol in 1983, they became close friends as well as collaborators on several pieces.

1982 Coelho vermelho {Red Rabbit}, Acrylic and oil-stick on canvas

1983 Flash em Napoles {Flash in Naples} Acrylic and oil-stick on canvas

1982 Quatro Grandes {Four Big}, Acrylic and collage on canvas

1983 Nu reclinado {Reclining Nude, Crayon on paper

Jean-Michel Basquiat + Andy Warhol 1985 Ovos {Eggs}, Acrylic on canvas

Jean-Michel Basquiat + Andy Warhol 1984, Sem titulo {Dois caes} {Untitled- Two Dogs}, Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas

Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
Rua Primeiro de Março, 66 – CentroCEP: 20010-000 / Rio de Janeiro (RJ)(21) 3808-2020

Kathleen