Respite in Downtown Phoenix

A Spanish gate graces the entryway of an otherwise relatively modern building in downtown Phoenix, AZ.  The interior courtyard reclines in beauty, serving as a place of respite.  We could all use a respite from the tumult of life from time to time.  To enhance the drama, I utilized a black and white color scheme, intensifying the drama with noir.

Hipster Senorita

Yesterday, after my visit to the Phoenix Art Museum, I ate lunch at Carly's in the Roosevelt Row district, after taking a photo-snapping stroll around the area.  Here is a detail from a mural I really loved.  Again, the Day of the Dead, which is a favorite theme of mine.

Artifacts

THANK YOU, Phoenix Art Museum, for making some of your exhibits available for visitor photographs.  I always enjoy being greeted by this Buddha, on display in one of the main halls.  I also love the intricate beauty of this example of traditional Asian attire (below).

The Phoenix Art Museum is one of my favorite cultural venues in central Phoenix.  Currently, they are featuring two excellent exhibits.  The first is their 2014 installment of The West Select, an annual exhibit devoted exclusively to Western American themed art, which always includes work by two of my favorite Western artists, Ed Mell, a local Phoenix artist, and Arturo Chavez of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Two outstanding, but very different artists.  They are also featuring Vanitas: Contemporary Reflections on Love and Death from the Collection of Stephane Janssen, for those of us (like myself) who love skull art, like in the Day of the Dead.

Anyone visiting Phoenix must visit the Phoenix Art Museum.  

Spotlight

Took this photo recently. Couldn't resist the palm trees illuminated by ground lights at night.

Nature's Wrath

A casualty from the storm that just hit us.

Spectacular Sunset

One of the things that I love about the desert: vividly colorful sunsets.

Blue Respite

This morning, after last night's dust storm, a clear blue sky in Phoenix...for now. We are expecting thunderstorms tonight and for the next two days, and I confess to looking forward to a brief break from blue sky and sun.

Cloud Graffiti

I took this recently, one morning after a long, hard desert rain.  Followers of this blog know of my fascination with cloud formations, and this display was beautiful.  Shabbat Shalom.

Valley Overview

Just a photograph with Camelback Mountain in the background, taken from Banner Good Samaritan Hospital.

Healing Art

Just details from columns gracing the healing garden at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital.  Beauty for healing.

Red Bird in Bloom

Included here just because I love the red bird.

Something Different

No, I haven't left the country.  Recently, I had the opportunity to pass by the Chinese Cultural Center of Phoenix.  Although I did not have much time to spend there, I did enjoy the opportunity to stop and appreciate the scenery, including the man-made pond, the traditional statues, and beautiful architectural details such as this.  Just looking at this gets me in the mood for something like kung pao chicken or Mongolian beef.  Maybe a vegetable eggroll, too.  Quite a break from the architecture of Heartland America and the American Southwest.

Evening Falls on Phoenix

View from the balcony of the AMC Esplanade Theater.

Oleander

My life has been busy and ordinary lately, with no real excursions to capture on photographs. Anyway, let this photo of pink oleander bring beauty to your day.  I confess, initially I did not care for oleander, which seem to inhabit every garden and front lawn in the Valley, but they have grown on me, at least this bold pink variety, along with the white and the deep red types, not so much the insipid powder pink variety. Anyway, enjoy!

Bottlebrush Tree

Not an Arizona native, but definitely a landscape asset.  The blooms are bright, but ethereal.

Flower Power at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ

Part of my morning was spent at the Desert Botanical Garden, enjoying the flowers in bloom. It was an opportunity to seize the beauty of the moment, and I gladly did. Above, desert bluebells in all of their cool, refreshing glory.

Beautiful, bright gaillardia.

Above and below, the spectacular, sweetly fragrant Texas mountain laurel.

Above is a cactus of undetermined identity, in bloom.

And yes, here the yucca blooms...!

Bougainvillea

Flower Power in the Valley.

Shabbat Shalom.

Sweet Time in the Valley

Orange blossoms release their sweet scent across the Valley.

Shabbat Shalom.

Savoring the Details, Phoenix, AZ

I couldn't resist taking this snapshot.  In downtown Phoenix, on 1st Street, just off of Taylor, there is a beautiful, gigantic mural that spans the far length of a building's side.  It displays images that are native to the state of Arizona, including everything from industry to agricultural products of corn and squash, and from cacti to symbols of Native American culture.  It's a spectacular piece of work, and too large for me to capture adequately with a panoramic shot, as the mural darkens and loses some of its color and detail (which might be partly due to the late time of day I make it over to downtown Phoenix).  Well, until I can make it there at an earlier time of day, I hope you can enjoy this floral detail.  Seize the day; savor the details.

Night Blooms

Yes, it's only February, but already Phoenix is experiencing spring.  I saw this tonight during my evening walk.  It reminds me of a crabapple tree in bloom, but I am not sure if they grow in this hot climate.  Kind of ridiculous, or so you would think if you are originally from the Midwest, where the weather is still cold and snowstorms still rage.