Amy's Blogalicious

Bell Peppers!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:18:00 +0000

I recently did an assignment for one of my design classes where I sketched and shaded bell peppers. It was interesting to study the different sections of the peppers, and I really enjoyed the assignment.

The Peppers:

Preliminary Sketches:

Detail of preliminary sketch:

My setup - spotlight on the peppers!:

The finished peppers. I experimented with 4 different types of shading:

Crosshatch:

Scribbles:

Blending with a blending stump and using eraser technique:

Pointillism (lots of tiny dots):

Huntington Japanese Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:54:00 +0000

My Mom is doing a Japanese-inspired landscape redesign at her home in Virginia, and since I recently visited the Japanese garden at the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena, I thought I would post some of my pictures from there. A few disclaimers: these pictures were taken in high noon (high contrast) light, they were just quick snapshots, and there are a lot of them. With that said, you may proceed. And, if you ever do get a chance, the Huntington is definitely worth a visit - so much to see!

You enter into the garden through a bamboo forest. It's cool and quiet. The bamboo sways in the breeze and little leaves twirl through the air as they fall to the ground.

I enjoy the way Japanese gardens have rocks included in their design, and the architectural forms of the plants:

I liked the way bonsai trees were placed on pedestals:

I also really liked the Jade viewing stones that were on pedestals. They were very smooth and nice to touch:

Eye Candy

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:02:00 +0000

I'll be seeing a lot more of this lately. I'm taking a color theory class and it involves lots of paint mixing. This is my palette after a day of work:

The following pictures are of things in a gift shop that I visited:

This one made me think of my sister, Amber, who is a violinist:

I think every city should have a street named Hope.

Things I like about LA - Pinkberry

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:38:00 +0000

Some may say I've joined the pod people, but they can think what they want - I like Pinkberry.

I like the funky, asian-themed interiors:

I enjoy looking at the random items they have for sale (ie. a family of bottle openers):

And, of course, the yummy, low calorie frozen yogurt and fresh fruit toppings:

Project: Nature Meets the Built Environment

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:51:00 +0000

Here is my work from another project for my design class. It is a study in comparison of shapes and forms from man-made and natural elements. Each image is a group of photographs that I took and assembled together under 6 categories - Line, Shape, Texture, Pattern, Spiral, and Radial.

Shape:

Radial:

Texture:

Pattern:

Spiral:

Line:

Elements of Design

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:54:00 +0000

I am taking a design class for the past few months, and the assignments have been really interesting, so I thought I would share some of my projects (and my Mom keeps mentioning that she would like to see what I have been doing :) ).

Dot and Line Project (Ink on Bristol Board):

For this project we were supposed to be obsessive with the details. No minimalist compositions here!

Clockwise from top left:

1. Dots, heavy, filled in with lines around them from edge to edge.
2. Straight lines of different lengths
3. Bent lines, arcs, curves, angular lines
4. Straight lines in the center, curvy lines on the sides

1. Circles, dots of varying sizes, some empty, some filled in, overlapping
2. Cross contour to suggest volume, 3D
3. 3, 5, and 6 sided shapes using lines of different thickness and mass to show light, medium, and dark values.
4. Straight lines, lines from edge to edge, thin, thick, etc.

This was a shading assignment. I traced the outlines of the shapes, but did all of the shading myself. This composition was then photocopied using different copier settings and served as the basis for the compositions that follow it. (Pencil on Bristol Board)

Constructivist Composition - Abstract geometric, the balance of unequal parts (photocopied paper on Bristol Board)

Cubist Composition - images that appear fractured and reconstructed displaying prismatic qualities simultaneity of view. (photocopied paper on Bristol Board)

Expressionist Composition - Spontaneous, gestural, expressive, accidental. More abstract, less recognizable imagery. (photocopied paper on Bristol Board)

Realistic, objective illustration. We got to pick the object that we were illustrating. I chose an orchid. (Pencil on Canson Mi Tientes Paper)

Conventionalized object: the same object (orchid), simplified into most basic shapes, 2 dimensional. (Black and white gouache on Canson Mi Tientes Paper)

Geometric and volumetric. Composed of straight lines and geometric shapes. Illustrates 3 Dimensions and light logic. (Black and white gouache on Canson Mi Tientes Paper)

Stylized object. Organic with a sense of the unexpected. Additive, free, open. Accent on the ornamental. Elegant. Lots of detail. (Black and white gouache on Canson Mi Tientes Paper)

Whew! What you have just seen represents many hours of my life over the past few months! Though these assignments have been a lot of work, I have really enjoyed them.

LA Favorites (in no particular order) #1:

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:22:00 +0000

I was inspired by Los Angeles Magazine's "The 64 Greatest Things About LA" article, and I decided to start an ongoing project of my own, documenting MY favorite things about LA. I'm not going to trouble myself with ranking things, so the posts will be in no particular order - just what I've been able to grab as I go (one thing I DON'T like about LA is how it seems like no one wants you taking pictures of anything - except actors who are trying to get publicity...). So, here's my first post:

M Cafe de Chaya: "featuring contemporary macrobiotic cuisine, using whole, natural foods prepared daily, with an emphasis on great taste." They are in West Hollywood on the corner of Melrose and La Brea. I love their California Club sandwich with its tempeh "bacon". They serve really excellent and interesting dishes, and great desserts!

A beautiful visitor

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:07:00 +0000

The other day I went outside to check on my plants, and to my delighted surprise, my Lavender was hosting a beautiful visitor:

I love organized things!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:05:00 +0000

I recently took charge of my kitchen utensil drawer and whipped it into shape. For years we have just thrown everything into the drawer and then had to search through it all to find what we were looking for. I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner, but one day a couple of months ago, I came across some kitchen drawer organizers at Target, and had an aha! moment.

I forgot to take a before picture of the drawer before, and I wish I had because it would emphasize so much more how wonderful it is now to have everything so easy to find. Just looking at this picture warms my heart!

I'm always on the lookout for good ways to simplify my life, and this has definitely done that!

A Really Full Day

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:39:00 +0000

I was taking pictures from morning 'til night today. First, headshots for the lovely and adorable Amy Storkel. She's got a little Pippi Longstocking (who, by the way she LOVED as a kid) going on with the pigtails. So cute!

This one won't work as a headshot, but I just couldn't resist taking it. I think it's just so sweet and pretty!

Isn't the wooden fence in the background cool?! I love the warm golden tones in it.

I'm taking some interior design classes through the UCLA Extension Program (loving them!). One of my assignments was to go to visit a building made in an architectural style that we liked, and photograph it (please, please don't throw me in dat der briar patch!). So, today, I headed over to West Hollywood... (to me, this image just yells WEST HOLLYWOOD)

...to 835 North Kings Road

to see the truly fabulous Rudolph Schindler House. I've got to write a whole paper about this place, so forgive me if I don't elaborate a lot tonight (at 1:30am!) on my blog, but I really, really enjoyed visiting the Schindler House. You have to walk down the pathway in the photo above to get to the house, and when you get there, you feel like you are miles away from all of the traffic and movement of LA. It felt like taking a little vacation.

I did not feel that my visit could be complete without a portrait of myself in the Schindler House (a la "myspace" style):

This is the golden sunlight shining through the vines on the other side of these Shoji screen type walls:

After the Schindler House, I headed over to UCLA for my class. I got there at this perfect time of day where the light just feels like magic. Last week I was wishing I had my camera with me because it was just so beautiful, and this week I was so happy when I realized I DID have my camera with me!

The Bougainvillea was trimmed into a hedge, and it just spread on forever:

For my class tonight, we were given the assignment to do an art piece using color and pattern that described who we were. I just loved all of the different ways that people chose to express themselves. Judith Corona was our guest speaker, and she had fun analyzing all of us:

And in case you are wondering what I would look like if I was color and pattern, this is it - my artistic self-interpretation:

And that was my really full day!

Things That Make Me Happy

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:46:00 +0000

In the past few months, I've been doing a little photo essay project of things that make me happy. If something makes me happy, I go grab my camera and take a picture of it. Here are a few things that make me happy:

My living room wall. One of my neighbors gave me the big shelf when they were moving out of their apartment. Now I finally have the perfect place to put the beautiful oil lamps that my friend Laura gave me. They waited for 2 years in a box in my closet for this moment. My good buddy Amy Storkel (we have to differentiate Amys - it can be a little confusing), gave me the key holder after she moved and didn't need it any longer. The silver pins thing was a gift from my Dad to Johnny. Every couple of weeks we put a new impression up on it. It can be fun to have people guess what the shapes are. The photos were taken by my Mom (a great artist and my first photography mentor). One is cacti from the Getty, and the other is of a boat somewhere around the Outer Banks. This wall used to be so bare, and now it's interesting and beautiful, with thanks to many different friends.

Clean dishes make me happy. I love it when my sink is clean and empty.

Tea! I love tea so much. It brings joy to my day, especially when pared with organic sage honey from the Hollywood Farmer's Market, or Silk Vanilla Creamer.

Lavender soda and Chocolate Almond Breeze. Two more things that I love! These bring a little luxury and variety to my life. Both can be found at Whole Foods. I should take my camera there someday because that's something else that makes me happy!

The "Dan in Real Life" soundtrack. It's quirky, sweet, and melodic. When I listen to it I feel like I have friends with me, even if I am alone.

The gorgeous wood cutting board that Laura brought back from Costa Rica for me (Laura has such good taste and gives great gifts!). It's too pretty to cut on! All of the colors are the natural shades of different types of wood. I love the way it looks against the red wall in my dining room.

Pretty boxes that keep things looking good. The black and white boxes are those cardboard file boxes that you can find at office supply stores. I found some awesome wrapping paper at Ikea (thanks Ikea!), and I covered the boxes with it, and then with clear contact paper. The boxes are stronger, and I smile every time I look at them. This closet is (well, actually all my closets are) a work in progress. I'm still de-cluttering, organizing, and decorating. Hopefully I will have some pictures of my progress to put up sometime in the not-so-distant future. I'm aiming for sometime within the next year.

It also makes me happy to put up a blog of things that make me happy!

My camera and I went for a walk...

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:34:00 +0000

and this is what we saw:

On this walk I decided to try what I've been doing in my journals lately - stream of consciousness. I took pictures of things that spoke to my emotions, and I shot quickly and tried not to worry about the technicalities. The sun was so golden, and fleeting - I wanted to capture that light inside a little box (my camera), and hold on to a little bit of it in my soul.

More Baby Pictures!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:16:00 +0000

He's so cute, I just have to put some more pictures of him up!

Here is Brian Michael with Annette's mom, Mary:

This is Brian's (the father) brother Steven. He lives in the Los Angeles area and was able to get to the hospital right as Brian Michael was being born.

Here is Annette's sister Kali holding her nephew:

This is Annette's brother Mark:

This Annette's Dad, Annette's Aunt (great-aunt to Brian Michael), and Steven doting over the new baby. Steven is taking a picture with his iPhone (so cool!) to send to Brian.

Here's the picture that Steven took:

And here is Annette and the baby with her mom and sister:

Brian Michael is here!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:09:00 +0000

Yesterday was a long day for me, but it was totally worth it! At 8am I got a call from Annette letting me know that she was having contractions and would be heading to the hospital. I didn't want to miss anything, so I got my camera stuff together right away and went to the hospital to join her. This was Annette's first baby and her husband, Brian, is a Marine serving in Iraq, so this was a really special birth to photograph. Because Brian wasn't able to be here for his son's birth, I wanted to capture every little moment and detail for him to be able to share in the experience with Annette. I spent the whole day with Annette and her great family, and finally, at 1am this morning, Brian Michael was born! Here are just a few highlights:

This is Annette in the morning when I first got to the hospital. She looked so calm and beautiful. In the time that I have spent with Annette, I have been so impressed by the paradox of peaceful strength that she exudes.

Here is Annette with her mom just minutes after the baby was born. If you can't tell, Mary is one proud grandmother!

This is Annette with both of her parents. Mark and Mary look WAY too young to be grandparents! I love this photo because I think it shows how Annette's family has surrounded her and Brian Michael with a circle of love and support.

Brian Michael was so beautiful, no one wanted to stop taking pictures of him!

Brian Michael has thick, dark hair and he was so alert and bright-eyed!

And finally, here is Brian Michael all washed and combed and pink. What a precious boy!

Thank you so much to Annette and her family for letting me be a part of such a special event! I'm so honored!

Keeping up with the blog...

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 07:28:00 +0000

Ha! I'm typing tired! I accidentally typed "Keeping up with the blob" as my title. Good thing I caught that. So I have some really good excuses for why I haven't posted in a while. 1) I have been REALLY busy! 2) My computer has stopped working (I am using Johnny's computer right now - it's so hard to share!).

Two weekends ago I went down to Orange County to second shoot a wedding with the lovely Deb Tracey (http://www.deborahtraceyphotography.com/). We had so much fun shooting together, and we got some great images!

Here is a self-portrait of me and Deb catching a ride on a golf cart over to the ceremony location:

And here are some pictures of Brianna & John - Congratulations!!!

Nighttime in the City

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 06:39:00 +0000

I like posting to my blog! But I've been really busy lately, so this is a photo I took last month. This is the view from my balcony at night, with an almost full moon. I like the layers of colors, the brightness of the moon, and the glow of the city lights on the horizon with the silhouettes of the palm trees.

I stayed up way too late last night and I've been paying for it all day today, but I think it was worth it. Johnny and I went to see Stardust with Bryan and Amy. It surpassed my expectations. I would say that it is sort of a comical Harry Potter meets Lord of the Rings with a little element of Princess Bride. A less complicated way of putting it would be to say that I enjoyed it.
Well, as Tigger would say, "TTFN!"

This is my city

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:07:00 +0000

The other day I was driving home and the light from the setting sun was so beautiful. It was also a really clear day - I could actually see downtown from Hollywood! As soon as I got home I ran in and got my camera, ran back out, hopped in my car, drove to Runyon Canyon, and ran up the hill hoping I would catch the good light. My first picture I forgot to adjust my white balance, but I thought the result was interesting:

Downtown LA in the waning light:

Cacti with the city in the background. This reminds me of the cacti garden at the Getty (which I love!)

Century City (I think). This is looking west towards the beach. In my world, I think of everything in relation to the beach. It helps me to stay oriented:

My camera does so great in low light! You can tell it's gotten darker because there are so many more lights on, but I can bump my ISO up and still have lots of light in my images. This is downtown again:

Looking south across the city:

West (towards the beach ;):

Wow, this was my favorite shot of the whole evening. This is my city.

Just for Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:38:00 +0000

Wow! I am SO tired! I've been working for a couple of days now to update my website, and I think I finally got the kinks worked out. Now you can come see my blog just by clicking on the nifty little "Amy's Blog*a*licious" button on my website! I have so many great new pictures to put up, but that won't be happening tonight. I am, however, putting up this blog, just because I am so excited about making these changes to my site. And here's a picture:

This is me and Johnny (my husband) in Las Vegas a few months ago. We had a weekend as fabulous as the city. This year was our 5 year college graduation anniversary, and we, along with some friends, were making good on a promise we had made each other to have a reunion in Vegas. This picture is at the Japanese Steakhouse inside of the Las Vegas Hilton.

ArtRage

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:11:00 +0000

A couple of years ago, I stumbled across this amazing freeware program called ArtRage. It simulates painting and coloring tools so that you can create and imagine without the mess and cost of using real paints. I started using it to visualize ideas that I had before I physically created them. Here is the first picture that I painted using ArtRage:

I created this painting for a DVD menu that Johnny was building for a short film that he worked on. In the film there is a little boy who brings an orange tree like this to class for show and tell. The orange tree in the film is symbolic of the love in the little boy's life:

This painting is an impression of a sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. This is where I grew up, and I always loved the way the colors softly shifted and faded together in the distance. Most of my favorite painters are from the impressionistic era. When I'm painting, I enjoy using an impressionistic style because I feel like I'm able to express my feelings in the paintings without being concerned with technical perfection.

If you are interested in getting ArtRage, you can download a copy here: http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html

The Blue Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Renzulli) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 23:36:00 +0000

So, since this is my first blog, I would like to start with what I consider my first “real” picture. I call it that because I would say that after I took this picture was when I started to consider myself a photographer. Every picture has a story, and this one is no exception. I spent the summer I turned sixteen in Venezuela on a relief trip. One day on a long bus ride through the countryside my group stopped for a bathroom break. Piling off the bus we were confronted with the fact that there wasn’t actually a bathroom where we had stopped. However, we had been on the bus for a long time and there were some pressing needs, so a group of girls and I took off into the brush with a roll of toilet paper. I had gotten in the habit of taking my camera with me pretty much everywhere. My reasons were two-fold: it allowed me to capture a lot of cool moments, and it reduced the likelihood of my camera being stolen. So I happened to have my camera with me as we walked back to the bus and I looked up and saw this:

I was using a little 35mm automatic camera, and I just shot one frame, but somehow the image I captured was able to transcend my limitations.