Kenton Nelson
The Crocker Art Museum is located in Downtown, Sacramento and has an extensive and impressive collection. I've been visiting the museum since I was a child and within the past 10 years or so it has undergone a major renovation and expansion. I personally love the new wing as it's fun to see contemporary art known by well known local artists such as Wayne Thiebaud, Gregory Kondos and Roland Petersen. The museum also has several noteworthy California Impressionist pieces, which are both impressive in size and quality.
I'm not going to lie - this was 100% the easiest match I've done. I didn't have to work any angles or figure out the best way to pose, I just laid on the bench and voila! Plus, shooting in a controlled, indoor environment with great lighting, AC blasting, and only a few museum goers stopping to scratch their heads is about as good as it gets, honestly. While I'm sure it's fun / funny to see my matches in progress, I really tend to shy away from any attention in person. I've been trying to be more open about my process, but I guess a small part of me likes to keep the behind the scenes magic to myself so I can deliver an amazing, shiny, perfect product at the end. Obviously that's not realistic and it's the weird blooper crap that people love to see! Like I said, I'm working on that.
When I look at this image I honestly didn't mean for it to be funny, but when I see it, I can't help but laugh! There's a very "meta" quality about it. This piece is called "California Calendar" and was painted by Kenton Nelson. Here's the description listed on the museum label:
California Calendar summons nostalgia for California's famous citrus labels and the agrarian past that spawned their creation. Their horizontal, colorful format is here adapted to monumental size, an oil painting executed on canvas. Posed with a book, a native beauty basks in the bounty of the state's sun-drenched lifestyle. Reclining against the backdrop of furrowed fields and golden hills, she personifies California as Arcadia, a period paradise as mythical to Americans then as it remains today.
The shoes I'm wearing, by the way, are espadrilles from Amazon. I bought another pair for my upcoming trip to Europe and I'm so excited to wear them! Super comfy and they come in a bunch of different colors.
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