Monday, January 29, 2024

BEAUTY: Painting--Kevin Yaun

Laguna Beach-based artist Kevin Yaun paints what he knows: people living in a glorious, warm, golden world...I can feel my muscles relax as I watch these pedestrians move about in luxurious, honey-colored light.


He sells his work on his site!
https://kevinyaun.com/

Sunday, January 28, 2024

"Philip Guston: the restless artist painting everyday evil" | Tate

I've seen lots of Philip Guston's paintings over the years at various museums around the world, and only now do I realize I have been seeing his later works. Here is a wonderful, short documentary about Guston and his career, made by the Tate Museum as part of the Terra Foundation for American Art Series: New Perspectives.


https://www.philipguston.org/home
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/philip-guston

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Observations by Woshibai


Poetic observations from Woshibai. Purchase the book OBJECT THEATRE at the link below!
https://www.instagram.com/woshibaii

Friday, January 26, 2024

BEAUTY: Art--Heather Sundquist Hall

Artist Heather Sundquist Hall whimsically shows us disco balls in their natural habitat in these wonderful gouache-on-paper works...


Top to bottom: Daylight Deals; Get The Action Going; Gotta Move On; The Heat Was On; Hoppening; Listen To The Ground; Party Animal; Super Balls; We Coulda Made It Cruising

You can buy original works at her site, and she takes commissions!
https://www.heathersundquist.com/

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Leaves Crayons by Shion Ito

I adored getting a new box of Crayola crayons when I was a child...the promise, the colors, the smell, the idea that I could draw anything I could think of with them. And I loved the bigger box with the sharpener at the back!

Japanese product designer Shion Ito has taken that love and mixed it with a regard for the natural world in his new Leaves crayons. Like a fallen autumn leaf, each one contains flecks of secondary colors to the main hue.


https://shionito.com/leaves

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

R.I.P. Melanie

Singer-songwriter Melanie has died at 76. She performed at Woodstock and sang some of the most memorable songs of the period. Songs from my youth...


R.I. P. Melanie and thanks for your music. 

https://www.melaniesafka.com/

BEAUTY: Painting--Laurence Jones

Painter Laurence Jones has been obsessed, like many people, with the incredibly famous (and rightly so) Stahl House. The house --or Case House Study #22 as it was known--was built in 1959 by Pierre Koenig in the Hollywood Hills area for the Stahl family. It is a masterpiece of Mid-Century Modern Architecture, showing up in films (Tim Allen's character lived there in the comedy sci-fi film "Galaxy Quest"), television shows (even an animated version showed up on "The Simpsons"!), and countless advertisements for things like food, kitchen appliances, and furniture. Jones is clearly entranced with the clean angularity of the cantilevered house and the equally important view of Los Angeles.


https://laurencejones.com/
https://stahlhouse.com/

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

BEAUTY: Interior Design--Jeff Andrews

Talented interior designer Jeff Andrews created a stunning home for himself and his husband, Emmy-winning casting director Ken Miller. Andrews told California Home and Design, "I care more about this being a home than a showcase...When I design things for other people, I interject my opinion and my aesthetic and my knowledge but I don’t interject my personality. Whereas in creating a home for Ken and I, I had the opportunity to go to a deeper level to make it feel calm but with a certain level of drama that feels comfortable to me."

What I particularly love about his execution of a calm interior is that he achieved his goal without resorting to minimalism. He may have worked within a restrained color palette to create a calm atmosphere, but he celebrated texture and material. I really appreciate his collection of earthy, chunky, artisanal pottery which shows up in every room of the house, along with a wonderful display of abstract art. The result is supremely engaging but not overwhelming.


https://www.jeffandrewsdesign.com/