hello! i headed to echo park early this morning for a stroll & a drive. i lived around here in my 30's and i've stayed in touch with the neighborhood even after i left my rental on benton way and headed to the hills of northeast los angeles and moss cottage.
now i'm in highland park, but the lake is like a giant magnet that pulls me back to my old home on a regular basis.
the hills of echo park have some serious SF steepness to them. steer clear of this neighborhood if you have unreliable brakes.
i took some pics so i could play around with a new app called distressedfx. it came to my attention while i was zipping around instagram. by the way, i have some videos over on my IG now. since i got hyperlapse it's sort of fun to make art process videos. except in the last video of a brief sketchbook flip-through…um. my fountain can be heard in the background and it sounds exactly NOT like a fountain. whatever.
i've never been a fan of textured highly altered photos, but i might be now! i especially love the way the top park pic looks like a vintage postcard.
anyway, i'm just getting used to distressedfx and will be amusing myself with it for awhile.
possibly a long while.
it could get annoying around here.
just warning you!
this might be my favorite photo. taken from high above elysian park.
oh LA, you'll always be my true love.
now that my working days are over for awhile, i'm sinking into the pleasures of summer:
sitting on the porch at night and reading.
eating heirloom tomatoes.
making hibiscus coconut tea.
working on my travel journal.
putting digital paint swatches on digital photos.
stuff like that.
I really love the effect of these pics! Pretty!
I downloaded the app and discovered you can get some really interesting floral artwork by applying this app after first using the waterlogue app on a floral photo–I discovered that app through a comment left on an earlier post. If whoever left that comment is reading this—thank you! Both apps are a lot of fun!
I continue to really enjoy your blog. Please know that even when I don’t comment, you bring a lot of joy!
I love foreign travel, but Los Angeles is also great for exploring because of its diversity. Even Joni Mitchell wrote that she couldn’t let go of L.A. Your distressed fx photos help to show why.
Hi Mary Ann–I didn’t see any horses on your post … ha ha!
I’m wishing you a wonderful hiatus and trip abroad.
These are similar to what you would do w Photoshop Actions in the very early days of DFLA. I can still mentally see the Mexican fancy dress shop, church exteriors and wall signs. I was instantly drawn to those 1950’s light turquoise skies and peach stuccos. Much simpler w apps. Fun!
What a drool-worthy post….every photo!!! I am soaking up June as well. I have gone down the Gelli Plate hole and my home is covered in prints. …..so looking forward to Sweden ✈️ !!!!!!!!
Missy from the bayou 🙂
Love the vintage postcard effect! Did you make your mosaic table? Love it!
Hibiscus coconut tea?!? Yum! Please, do tell.
Mary Ann, you keep calling me back to LA. (Just between you & me, I’d paint that wrought iron railing on that green stucco house a deep dark red. What do you think?)
Beautiful pictures. Have fun. 🙂
Oh, I am enjoying this. I love traveling around your neighborhood with you. And I always check out everything on Wikipedia to learn more. Fascinating to say the least. The photos are stunning and yes, the effects are perfect for your subject matter. Adds another “layer” of being there (if that makes sense)
Waooooo, la primera foto es fantástica . Parece que Palm Springs es precioso. Espero al próximo capítulo de aventuras veraniegas!
I thought that first photo was an old postcard! Fooled me! Love old neighborhoods, something totally lacking where I live. All new mega subdivisions, planned communities with no history at all. Most built in the past 25 years. Very sad and strange to live in a place without architectural history.
Love your forays into the older sections and the photos. Keep it up, I love tagging along.
Your favorite is my favorite too, though the first one is right close!
Love that you are able to exhale and regroup for fun ahead.
I’m drooling again…and loving what I am seeing! So happy for you! Of course I can’t wait to see more and more!
Good places, all of them. I lived in Echo Park when I was a baby – don’t remember much. Then we moved to Crenshaw. Then to Orange County where I am now. Except, in those days, OC was rural. Used to spend quite a bit of time in your neighborhood. My best friend lived on Mt Washington. Love the shot of downtown. It’s so much fun seeing LA through your eyes and lens.
So fun!