Sunday, January 31, 2010

E is for Ernestine

La Marquise, 1976, oil on canvas

French Market Bakery, 1992, oil on canvas

Decatur Street Florist, 1994, oil on canvas

Ernestine Betsberg is a painter I've adored since our first encounter in the Philip Slein Gallery 4 years ago. She is an American painter, born in 1909 and married to Arthur Osver, another beautiful painter. I can't get enough of the ephemeral scenes she captures with her whimsical sense of composition and charming sense of color. Oh if only they hung in my home...

Helping Haiti with Art



A slew of tal­ented pho­tog­ra­phers have banded together to offer up prints of their art­work at auc­tion, with all pro­ceeds going to the relief efforts in Haiti.

The auc­tion, which is housed on the pho­tog­ra­phy blog, Switchcities, fea­tures some seri­ously amaz­ing work by Bonnie Tsang, Jonas Peterson, Sean Flanigan and many others.

So go on, help out those suf­fer­ing in Haiti and score some one-of-a-kind art in the process.

*via headvsheart.com

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Under the Staircase


My short documentary film, Under the Staircase, is now viewable online. It's about the ongoing persecution of the Baha'is in Iran, with an emphasis on my family's experience and my grandfather's execution. I've always loved the photo of him above.

Please watch the video, and if so inspired, spread the word.


Under the Staircase from kimia ferdowsi on Vimeo.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Mark Twain had it right...






...When he said the coldest winter he'd ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Which is why dear ones, it is necessary to spend every waking moment in warm sunny Napa! These are some photitos of a recent weekend trip to our beautiful wine country.

Note: the blonde boy is my love, hands off ladies

Monday, January 25, 2010

Hugo Guinness


Meet my most recent love, Hugo Guinness...


Hugo's earliest memories are of walking hand in hand with his twin sister Julia and his nanny Miss Lyons. They walked in the magical parks of Kensington, London, most days, looking at the trees, the dogs, the old ladies feeding the pigeons.

Sent to boarding school at the tender age of seven, Hugo spent much of his spare time in the art department making figures from empty toilet rolls and cornflake packets. Later he made a large three-legged horse from plaster of Paris which stood in the garage of his home until it was run over by his mother.

Although he won a painting prize at school, his artistic nature was not encouraged. Eventually he prevailed upon his parents and went to art school in London to study studio pottery. The success of this business brought Hugo to New York in 1995.
In 2002, Hugo showed his early linocuts of underpants and battleships to John Derian. They became friends and John encouraged Hugo to do larger work.
He has had four shows at the legendary store since then and when he is not working for John, Hugo works as an occasional illustrator for the New Yorker.
Hugo lives in Brooklyn with his wife Elliot Puckette, the painter, and they have two daughters, Isabella and Violet, and a canary.
The End.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

You and Me and Tomorrow


Living in San Francisco has afforded me many amazing opportunities. One of the most cherished connections I've made however, has been with a charming yet unassuming Costa Rican lad. He goes by Hernan, not to be confused with Herman. Hernan is a young filmmaker/actor who I sat next to in our first day of Digital Cinema class. Little did I know that his talent for writing and aesthetic beauty would charm me to pieces. His recent movie, "You and Me and Tomorrow" is an unmistakable testimony to his talent. With so much pride, I give you Miel and Palo Films. Check out his trailer here.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

"Named" on Pfeifferphotos



Exciting news folks...my painting "Named" was featured on pfeifferphotos.blogspot.com today. This painting was inspired by a photo from Younga Park, who gave me permission to use her photo.


The image inside the picture frame has been altered, however, to an Arabic calligraphy of the word "alchemy" or my name, Kimia. :)

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Here's to the New Year!







In honor of our new decade, I'm featuring two of my new online crushes: Yellow Owl Workshop and Horne. These sites are dedicated to hand selecting beautiful, functional, and (usually) affordable items. Each piece offered on these websites was created by talented designers from around the world. Whether you're browsing for yourself or for someone else you will definitely enjoy!