A pair of searchers
F.M. has two mixed media, diluted oil paintings, slightly surreal in nature, with themes related to the eternal feminine: fruit above a portrait of a female in one; birds and …
Dr Elizabeth Stewart Speaks with The Cosmopolitan Club Of Santa Barbara
Dr Elizabeth Stewart Speaks with The Cosmopolitan Club Of Santa Barbara about how to downsize and declutter your home. Includes the top ten items your kids and the market don’t …
Discovery of a 400-year-old painting — I think
M.K. has a Madonna and child painting, 25 inches by 33 inches, picked up at an estate sale in Santa Barbara 30 years ago. We see the luminous faces of …
The Best of Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts from One of the Greats
D & P from Solvang writes me that a family member was a 1970’s Central Coast antiques dealer: she found this lamp in Santa Barbara. D & P suspect it …
Flag a symbol of spirit, but not the kind you might think
E.S.J. has collected a 20th century Haitian Vodou flag, measuring 28 inches square. The center of this dazzling object is a pink heart interspersed with blue/green leaves; the completely graphic …
Etching with Two Artist’s Names
P.J. sends me a little etching of a river with windmills, signed in one corner Leon Gaucherel (1816-86) and in the other Claude Mannet, a little known painter (not the …
Shona sculpture fraught with political overtones
J.E. has a South African semi-abstract sculpture, 20 inches by 12 inches by 5 inches, of a female with flowing tresses. The stone it’s made of is steatite, or, as …
Selling Your Home After Losing a Loved One
Guest Post by Lucille Rosetti After the loss of a loved one who shares your home with you, you may look around your house and realize it’s just not home …
Bright idea: Ship in a lightbulb
S.F. in Camarillo has a ship in a bottle; rather, a ship in a lightbulb. He first witnessed this little miracle in his grandparent’s home in the 1930s. He thinks …
What’s the Difference Between a Mine Cut Diamond and a Brilliant Cut Diamond?
Dr. Elizabeth Stewart explains the difference between a brilliant cut diamond and a mine cut diamond. She also answers the question “What is an assay mark?”