Today I wanted to honor the Spring Season with this lovely “Cherry Blossom”.
Before Spring will say goodbye to us and we will welcome the Summer, I wanted to paint one flower that is pretty much a worldwide symbol of this beautiful season.
The Cherry Blossom is recognized to be the National flower of Japan and in Japanese is known as “Sakura”. A flower found now pretty much everywhere in the world and there are many varieties. The flowers are pink or white. In the Japanese culture the Cherry Blossoms symbolize clouds due to their nature and their way of blooming as group of flowers that looks like clouds. This lovely flower also holds various meanings like joy, love, hope, humility and more.
Yes, we are having an heat wave for this weekend. And with this temperatures isn’t too much fun to go hike!
I love to hike and I usually go several time a week but not today, so I decided that my #NatureDoodlewash hike will be close to home.
My friend has a wonderful plant of Hibiscus outside her backyard and I love the flowers especially the color and shape. I decided to use them for my watercolor.
Hibiscus is better known as the flower symbol of Haiti, but with the climate here the plant grows beautifully!
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἱβίσκος, which was the name Pedanius Dioscorides gave to Althaea officinalis. (Wikipedia)
Today post is about my thrilling experience attending the concert of one of the greatest band of all time UK iconic and legendary “The Cure”. Their music amazed millions of fans worldwide during last forty years and I am one of them. This concert is one of the most beautiful experience I had.
On Monday May 23, 2016 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles best known as a historical venue where great music names of all time has performed. I was lucky to be able to have a ticket on the second day of the three “Sold Out” shows. The Cure also performed on Sunday 22 and Tuesday 24 as part of their North America Tour 2016 the first US full-fledged tour in eight years with 33 Shows in US and in Autumn they will be touring in Europe with 26 Shows.
“The Cure Tour 2016” will present Robert Smith (voice/guitar), Simon Gallup (bass), Jason Cooper (drums), Roger O’Donnell (keys) and Reeves Gabrels (guitar).
This amazing tour also features another of my favorite band that I discovered quite a while back that I follow and love. Their music is unique and intense with great sounds and dark atmospheres, it is a magical combination with the beautiful voice of charismatic and intense singer James Graham, front man of Scottish post-punk band “The Twilight Sad”. They are the “Special Guests” supporting The Cure on almost all the dates of this 2016 Tour. The Cure couldn’t make a better choice on bringing The Twilight Sad out in the light for an exposure very well deserved, they are an awesome band rising up in our contemporary music.
The Twilight Sad
The Twilight Sad band is based in Glasgow Scotland and was formed in 2003. Since then they released four studio albums, the latest is “Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave“. The band members are James Graham (vocals), Andy MacFarlane (guitar), and Mark Devine (drums). Touring members include Johnny Docherty (bass guitar) and Brendan Smith (keyboards).
The Twilight Sad – James GrahamHeadline
The Twilight Sad will also be performing some headline shows during the tour, one was scheduled in Los Angeles at the “Teragram Ballroom” on Wednesday May 25. Sadly, I couldn’t attend this one. I really wanted to go to see them perform in their own element in the darkness of an intimate place where you can feel their music shock you deep inside your soul. I won’t miss them next time they come back to L.A. that for sure!
I couldn’t be more happy to attend this lifetime wish come true concert and to be able to see two of my loved bands live in one day! This is truly amazing!
When I discovered The Cure I was in Italy, my native country. A friend went to a summer vacation in London and came back with several vinyl albums from a band that at that time we didn’t know so well yet…The Cure! I have to say that after I listened their albums, I was hooked to their music. “Seventeen Seconds” was the one for me iconic and epic album that signed my love life for The Cure. The beautiful dark timeless sound that distinguish the uniqueness of this band is contained in all the songs of this album and in more to come. Included is “A Forest” one of my all time favorite songs that give me goosebumps each time I listen to it.
Finally time has arrived…
On May 23, after months of waiting, my day started pretty early getting ready to go to the Hollywood Bowl a 50 minutes drive from where I live. Exciting feelings were anticipating the concert that I have been waiting for all my life. This day was a very special day for me, it was filled with intense emotions and a “Surreal Surprise”. I am so happy that I was able to attend, I never wanted to miss this. The weather was sunny most of the day and later on turned a little gloomy with an appealing breeze.
When we arrived to the Hollywood Bowl was great to see the big sign saying “The Cure – The Twilight Sad – Tonight 7:pm – Sold Out” another great concert was about to be written in the history album of this venue. Things were getting real now!
We decided to pass the Hollywood Bowl to find an alternative parking area since the Bowl parking is known to be very crowded. So we drove down the main street at a decent walking distance from the Bowl.
There is a church with parking that I knew would let people park for events at the Bowl. We drove in looking for someone to ask if was possible to park early since the time was around 3.30pm and the gates of the Hollywood Bowl didn’t open til 5pm. Right at that exact moment when I turned my face toward the street I was stunned! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Walking passed us in the street I see The Twilight Sad singer “James Graham” and the band manager John-Paul Mason, just at that precise moment! They appeared to me out of the blue! Oh Wow!!! That moment was so surreal! How could this be possible??? Instinctively I said, “That’s James!!!” He heard his name because he turned his face looking around trying to figure out who was calling him lol…I couldn’t believe what was happening, everything happened so fast like magic! That was one in a million chances. I kept calling James name and quickly got out to the car so that he could see me. They stopped, turned around and approached me by the fence. James came close smiling and surprised. I told him that I am a fan. Then they kindly came around the fence into the parking lot where I was. We started to talk and laugh, we hugged surprised from this amazing moment, it was fantastic like meeting old friends that you haven’t seen in a long time. James was super cool and very friendly, and so was John Paul. While talking we took some photos that I will cherish forever. Here is James! The impressive and intense soul of The Twilight Sad! I love this photo!
It was definitely one of the most surreal moments I’ve ever had! I couldn’t believe what just happened, this “encounter” alone made my day before it even started. I felt so great and happy!
One of The Twilight Sad beautiful songs that I love is “There’s a Girl in the Corner,” track from 2014 latest album “Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave” awesome album! This song is also offered as Exclusive Free Tour Download you can get it here.
I guess today “I was the girl in the corner” 😉 I can only say that it was a fantastic experience to meet James and John Paul, the best things happen when you don’t expect them. Thank you for stopping your walk and taking your time with me. Going to the concert, of course, I was hoping to be able to catch James and the band after the gig at the merchandise booth, but I knew that in L.A. wouldn’t be any easy in a sold out venue like this concert.
So my wish got fully granted with an amazing unexpected surprise that I will never forget. Thank You for your kindness James!
After of all this we had a little time before the Bowl opened the gates. There were so many people everything was well-organized and went smooth. While waiting I could hear The Twilight Sad doing their sound check and James voice resonate in between the Hollywood hills very beautiful. It was getting really exciting!
Outside The Hollywood Bowl
Around 5.30pm we were able to get inside the arena of the Bowl and had some time to kill after we got our seats. We went around the venue and to the merchandise booths to buy my The Cure Tour T-Shirt lots of people and I haven’t seen The Twilight Sad T-shirt that I wanted too!
Around 7pm was still natural sunlight, the arena wasn’t full yet but people were coming in. The concert started with The Twilight Sad opening with the beautiful notes of “There’s a Girl in the Corner” another great surprise for me! This song did bring together The Cure with The Twilight Sad for their collaboration. Robert Smith, recently recorded a beautiful cover for this song.
The Twilight Sad delivered a great performance with 7 songs on their Setlist, James Graham always deliver exceptional intensity and passion while singing becoming one with the music and dominating the stage with a distinctive, impressive presence. The 7 songs performed were: 1) There is a Girl in the Corner – 2) Last January – 3) That Summer at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy – 4) It Never Was The Same – 5) Seven Years of Letters – 6) Reflection of The Television – 7) And She Would Darken the Memory.
The Cure Concert Begin
The sun was almost down by 8pm. The arena of the Hollywood Bowl was full and exciting. Clouds were invading the sky creating the perfect shade of darkness and gray atmosphere for The Cure to take the stage. The show opened with the beautiful and distinct sound of the guitars and Robert voice singing “Open” the first song of a long beautiful and insane Setlist featuring 33 amazing songs, 4 encores and two new songs performed “Step into the Light“ and “It can never be the same“ . The Cure gifted us with 3 hours of an amazing and spectacular show.
After playing 19 uninterrupted songs, the band left the stage for the first time. Watching The Cure live is stunning!
They are better than ever. Robert Smith has amazing stamina, he can sing and play his guitar forever. In between songs Robert gave us few kind and cheerful words. Roberts voice is as fresh and powerful like time hasn’t passed, the same for his unique look, the only difference is that he is letting his hair color natural. Besides that, his black eye-lined eyes, lipstick, black dressed and heavy boots all still there. He is “The Cure” the founder and heart of this amazing band and it’s so great to see that unity as band that make them amazing like their music.
After 23 songs and at the end of the encore 2 my favorite song “A Forest” blown away the Hollywood Bowl! There are not enough words to describe how this song effected me and everyone else there. This song has been with me almost all my life. No matter what has changed growing up, or going through life experiences and I think when this happens that’s what great music is all about, you become one with it, and will never leave you. Was an incredible experience to hear it live!
After this great moment, we had encore 3 and encore 4 more beautiful songs were played. The Cure wanted to give us everything they could in 3 hours time and still a lot more of amazing music from their discography were left un played. Robert & Co. enjoyed play their music with us very much it was like they never wanted to stop until the grand final with the song “Boys Don’t Cry”. This concert was outstanding and fantastic for so many reasons. I have seen two amazing loved bands and I would love to see them again and again and again…
A special thanks to The Cure and to The Twilight Sad for this unforgettable concert and for their timeless great music!
Late in October 2016 I have created a watercolor ink painting dedicated to The Twilight Sad
1st Release Collectors Limited Edition Fine Art Print are available on pre-order Here
Today I am bringing to our Doodlewash Dinner a lovely Apple Pie. I missed to post it on the National Apple Pie Day because I had no time to finish my watercolor and finally I had time to finish it today 😉 I think that Apple Pie is always welcome to any dinner. I love anything made with apples especially combined with the flavor of cinnamon.
Today I am sharing this watercolor that I made few days ago and I gave the title of “Whimsical Creature”!
I wanted watercolor an imaginary girl who has a beautiful face and that will represent the “Nature” I can see in her the Earth, the Water, the Air.
She brings to the world love, flowers and happiness! ❤
Surrounded by the blue deepest water. The reflections of floating emotions, loaded the mind and body in a fearless state.Tranquillity and silence flying through the broken branches of a life experience, were glowing under the warm sunlight.
Suddenly warm rain drops of happiness joined the deep water becoming one.
Today for April Celebration is National Tell A Story Day!
I hope that you enjoyed to read my little story and that did bring you some good feelings and thoughts during this day or evening. I wanted to combine two of my artistic and creative way of expression, “Watercolors and Writing”. I wanted to share one of my 50 words stories “Deep Water” and illustrate it I with one of my watercolors that I painted few years ago for my mom.
National Tell a Story Day is observed in the United States each year on April 27th.
We are all encouraged to share all kinds of stories on National Tell a Story Day. Whether it’s read from a book, one from your imagination or an actual story from a childhood memory, April 27th is the day to gather friends and family and share those stories.
Details about my doodlewash: I used a basic watercolor palette Artist’s Loft Fundamental watercolor pan set this pan set is considered for beginners but I enjoy it for the variety of colors and use it a lot for sketching. I also used a Pigma Micron Black Ink pen #005 over a Watercolor Cold Press 140lb paper!
With this Celebration of National Tell A Story Day, I am also join Charlie at doodlewash celebrating aNational or International Day with a doodlewash!You are welcome to join with your doodlewash! Tag your image #doodlewashaday.
I also like to thank Teresa Ronson for adding me in her list for this month participating to the #SelfieDay
The Cure is one of my favorite band they created this beautiful song “Lovesong” I love the music and the lyrics and the way the Original song sound!
I found this version performed greatly by Adele I hope that you enjoy this moment while listening!
Wish you all a wonderful and Happy Valentine’s Day!!! ❤
I want to say a few words and give some thanks before the end of 2015, one last post for this great year that in few hours is walking away! I wont be too long, since sadly I am sick with the Flu ;-(( really not a nice goodbye 2015!!!
I don’t even know how I got the Flu! Well that’s life and also if I am sick I will shine my light and be positive!
I became active posting on my Blog at the end of March 2015 and I am speechless for how much joy and happiness it brings to me every day and to see that in less than 9 months I received so much encouragement, inspiration and beautiful words, lots of compliments for my Art and ways I express my Creativity here!
Lots of Award Nominations thanks, this inspired me to create “The Starlight Blogger Award” I created and launched this Award in May to highlight and Promote Inspiring Bloggers, I know it went a long way around the world from all the links I received! I am very proud of it!
Also I loved My over 40 weeks event every Friday a Meet and Greet and every Saturday I Feature an Inspiring Blogger this weekly event had a great success and give us the opportunity to get to know beautiful Blogs.
Thank you to all my loyal and great amazing Followers you guys are magic! Many of you turned to be great friends! Some of you I had the privilege to meet in person isn’t this all truly amazing???
Some things happened that I never expected or could have dreamt of. I also had the opportunity to came across great Artists otherwise impossible if wasn’t for my Blog.
I want to thank every single person that stopped by YesterdayAfter also if it was only for one minute! I am so humbled and amazed that you took your time to look at my work leaving beautiful comments, they are all into my heart where I will cherish and treasure them forever!
Thank you to everyone that Custom Ordered and own my Jewelry I hope that will bring you happiness every moment you are wearing it!
After only 9 months My Blog has close to “20.000” of Views, I cannot believe it has been visited by 108 Countries all over the world from so many people! Thank you very much, but like I always said it is not about the numbers…it is beautiful to know that my Blog travelled so much sharing my Art and bringing joy and light into the hearts of people! I can’t wait to see what will happen in the 2016 for all of us. I am not going to list any name you guys are so many and the ones that are really close to me you know who you are! I don’t want to miss anyone my love is always with you all! Please Send me some light so that I will get well soon…
Thank you so much for walking with me day by day during my journeys.
re great music names of all time has performed. I was lucky to be able to have a ticket on the second day of the three “Sold Out” shows. The Cure also performed on Sunday 22 and Tuesday 24 as part of their North America Tour 2016 the first US full-fledged tour in eight years with 33 Shows in US and in Autumn they will be touring in Europe with 26 Shows.
One of The Twilight Sad beautiful songs that I love is “There’s a Girl in the Corner,” track from 2014 latest album “
Carolina Russo Art 
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