Sunny Days, Wine, Art & a Monkey

April has been a spectacular month so far weather-wise! Between projects I try to get out as much as possible :) Last week, I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Frankies saw some fun exhibits and meandered through my favorite bookstore...

On my way to the subway, I watched this mom and daughter walk along in front of me. They looked really cute. I bet that red coat is her favorite :)

The Jewish Museum is currently exhibiting the work of Margret and H.A. Rey, famous for creating Curious George. It was a collaborative endeavor, but for the most part she wrote the stories while he illustrated them. The museum is located at 92nd Street and 5th Avenue.

Both were born in Hamburg, Germany and lived in Brazil before marrying. They moved to Paris after their honeymoon, nice choice ;)

Curious George initially appeared as a peripheral character in Han's first published story, Cecily G and the Nine Monkeys. During the Nazi invasion, the two actually fled on bicycles carrying all the drawings of "George", originally called "Fifi".

A recurring premise in the stories involves narrow escapes, which they themselves experienced. For four months they traveled through France, Spain, Portugal and Brazil, eventually making it here and settling in New York City in 1940. It's fascinating to read some of the correspondence between publishers and editors during this terrible time in history.

On display are 80 original drawings, book dummies, numerous letters and early work like Whiteblack the Penguin. There were a couple of titles I'd never seen before. I particularly enjoyed looking at some of the delightful & clever invitations and New Year's cards they created for friends. They appear to have been a very interesting and charming couple :)

Spotty is one of my favorites given to me by my friend, Stephanie :)

I bought Billy's Picture at the museum shop.

Above, Hans with a sweet furry baby. It turns out they had pet monkeys while living in Brazil.

Between the two exhibition rooms is an area for kids to read and draw. It's a show that both kids and adults can enjoy. I just read that Sunday May 16th is "Family Day" with live music by the Funky Monkeys. Don't know 'em myself, but makes sense ;)

Central Park looks gorgeous this time of year, but I needed to get back and took the bus downtown...

This little orange guy kept his eye on me!

Below, is my favorite bookstore, Rizzoli on 57th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue. There are 3 floors and the atmosphere is conducive to leisurely browsing. I love looking through their over-sized interiors, fashion and art books. You can find almost anything you're interested in here.

I took a few photos to show how beautiful the building is.

I ended up buying Illustrated Children's Books above and some greeting cards. This one from the New Yorker cartoon series reads...
"Your mother wanted you to have this for good luck. It's her foot." ;D

Fiona Rae is an artist I've liked since the early 1990s. I attempted to imitate her style in some of my own early abstract work. Were these successful attempts, I would share ;)

She is currently exhibiting new paintings at Pace Gallery at 32 East 57th Street. Some of the paintings are beautifully constructed with seeming ease and a joyful exuberance, but her work has not changed all that much since the last time I saw it, sometime in 2002 I think.

I'm still drawn to her energetic paint strokes, loose built up layers and combination of painterly gestures. I would buy one if I could!

This is my favorite tree in the world! It's in front of my living room window and I look forward to seeing it blossom each Spring.

After having my taxes done a few weeks ago, I stopped into Macy's Flower Show To my surprise, it was pretty fabulous! Here are some pics...

wonder how long they lasted with all the perfume sprayers in cosmetics??

Below is Frankies, probably my favorite restaurant in Brooklyn and it's only 2 blocks away :) They don't need press, but thought I'd share what my perfect day entails.

Lunch on a sunny day with a glass of Prosecco in Frankies' back yard brings me great joy. There is nothing like their salads (the fennel, my current pick), BLT (only served lunch time) or gnocci.

Of course, dinner is just as delicious and the dimly lit atmosphere and friendly waitstaff make it a super popular restaurant!!

Freelancers (i mean, business owners!) like Kristine and myself sometimes have the benefit of playing "ladies who lunch". If you have enough wine, the check doesn't look so bad either ;)

Have a swell week! Thanks for checking in :)

xo, Allyn

Pasita nyc & David Moriarty

So far, the best thing about working on "Sherri" Lifetime's NEW sitcom starring Sherri Shepherd from "The View" & "30 Rock" is the Scenic Art Dept. I have the pleasure of working with talented, interesting and fun people on sets for the show, which begins airing Oct 5.

Last night we went down to Pasita Salon de Vino y Pizza, after work. I have walked by this little restaurant countless times and noticed how cute it looked. It's located on 8th Ave. @W 4th St. Fellow scenic and NY artist, David Moriarty painted this window below and several murals inside.

The concept was to create murals/signage that looked as if they had been here for many years, paint peeling away & fading in a strategic, yet believable way. This is just one of the things scenic artists are asked to do on sets, make something look older than it is. I think David did a terrific job on these wall murals, plus I learned his top secret tricks to get such a nice look ;)

Here is David above, enjoying wine and graciously posing in front of this fun back wall he painted by the kitchen. David has been exhibiting work since the mid 1980s in solo and group shows and his work is included in numerous private and public collections. I've included some of his paintings below, but you should visit his website to see a full array of his very beautiful work!

Here we are from left, Martha Allen, Holly Moore (charge scenic), Jess Nissen, moi, John Stachowicz and David. We were missing a few, like Denise, Yan & Millree (moved onto another project). Somehow we managed to enjoy the night without them ;D

Loved the way the light looked here.

Now, more about Pasita... This place serves up some of the very best wine and pizza I have ever had and I've tried A Lot!! We shared three pizzas-- the Champinon, roasted mushroom, artichoke hearts, caramelized onion, mozzarella, ricotta salata & evo oil --my personal fave :) also savored La Joya w-prosciutto and a Chorizo/arugula pizza. The plantains were fab and the bottles of vino we shared were all wonderful. I jotted down the group's favorite which was a red-- Bodegas Carrau/Tannat de Reserva 2006 from Uruguay-- Deeeeee-licious!

Pasita is named for a fortified banana wine "Alegria en Botella" (Happiness in a Bottle) The owner's grandfather, David Katz developed it for his business in Caracas. He had escaped occupied France, hiked over the Pyrenees to Spain & boarded a ship for Venezuela in the early 1940s.

Liked the variety of old posters throughout Pasita, even the pics in the bathroom below were charming :)

Did a little bit of wine tasting at bar, too. I particularly liked this white above :D Pasita offers wine tastings every Monday night and they have a refreshingly down to earth, yet very well informed expert serving up the picks.

Pasita is located at 47 Eigth Avenue @ 4th Street NYC 10014