Bill and Tony's Big Adventure

Here is a little painting based on a photo taken on a recent trip to San Francisco of the Bay Bridge. Oil 8x10 on Ray Mar Linen Panel. The story below has nothing to do with the painting, (except both trips were with Tony,) but I wanted to relate the story while the trip was still fresh in my mind. So photo's for now and paintings in the future.


Sam Hyde Harris
Painting pal Tony Peter's came by on Friday and we hit his gallery and the Sam Hyde Harris show in Pasadena. His gallery Triage was nice enough to give us free passes. The Hyde paintings were great, if uneven with great examples of his many styles and also some bad paintings that I assume were painted while he was drunk as they were not to the level of his best. His was known to hit the bottle and the women.


Close up on a Francis Livingston

Then it was off to the FADA SHOW In Santa Monica. That's were a big grouping of Fine art Dealers from around the county set up displays of the artist they represent. Lots of nice work old and new, the highlight was getting to talk to Ted Mendenhall for quite a long time in the break area. The next day on the way to SLO we got to visit his house and see his Richard Bunkhall originals. Onward to SLO to go to the Just Looking Gallery, my and now Tony's new Gallery.


On the way Tony wanted to check out an old bowling sign in Oxnard and we ending up having one of those magic moments were we discovered this several block area that was built in the fifties all with the same Wagon Wheel theme. A Bowling alley, skate rink, restaurant, hotel, trailer park, market and even some industry in the back of it was the same color and style theme.

We were saddened and elated when we found out it is all slated for the wreaking ball in a matter of months. Sad that it's going, happy we got to shot it before it is gone.

Ralph and Ken at Just looking were understanding about how late we were after explaining about the spontaneous photo shoot and this model shoot we bumped into in Santa Barbra. Tony's had to be pried away with a crow bar.

Van Gogh we had never seen.
We also hit Sullivan Goss and the Santa Barbra art museum. Had a great lunch ant the café behind SG due to good food and a great waitress, but the museum blew as a section was closed that had the Hopper painting we had come to see. On the way home we had to stop for a few nocturnal shots of the Wagon Wheel Alley.
Photo by Tony



The next day we went down to the LA river and I finally got the courage to do what I've been wanting to do for awhile now. Walk the la river itself. We walked 15 blocks of it taking tons of bridge photo's from below, emerging at Washington Blvd in a areas of industry I've never been to after wandering around there for an hour we decided to take a cab back to the car.



All and all a great two days.

Red Train

24x48 oil on wood.

Here is a big painting I did for the Vault Gallery for a big paintings show they are having right now. I forgot about the deadline and was in the middle of two freelance jobs when I just had to crank it out in a day and a half. I'll be honest, it's not really finished and had to use dryers, sending it before I wanted to. Just a few more hours might have made this one a really great one. I actually hope it doesn't sell and I can finish it up properly. I have to learn how to budget my time and or just be way late and do the paintings the right way. This is a little industrial train station east of Grand Gentra/ LA river area, below the 5 near Daily street. I snuck through a "Bum Hole" in a fence on a overpass a was ignored by the railroad guys. One talked to me later, but didn't hassle me. I noticed security looking for me later, but they didn't try very hard.

East of Chinatown

Naud Street Trailer 8x10 oil on prepared watercolor paper.

Sorry It's been so long since a new post, I've been down with the stomach flu.
Here is a little group of Pa's done right around the same neighborhood east of Chinatown between North Broadway and Main in Los Angles. It's An industrial area that I'm sure will be turned into lofts soon as they are breaking ground for a city park there.
We have been hitting this same area for several weeks and these are some of the results.
The trailer one will have to be the first place to go. The street dead ends at the L.A. River and there is literally a couple of homeless guys open air living rooms there. One lives in the trailer which is next to a garbage hauling business. He seems to be the unofficial guard of the area as he lives in the trailer.


Maybe a meth causality that the garbage owners feel sorry for? He's always running around with junk likes he's doing something, but is just moving stuff around, typical Meth behavior or he could just be full of energy...?


North Broadway Bridge 8x10 oil on linen panel


Baker Street8x10 oil on linen panel

The Bridge is the North Broadway bride. On the west side and the Baker Street view is looking west back at Los Angles, if you turned around from the bridge shot. The latter two had a unpleasant burning Sharpie maker odor smell while working, I like to used that as the excuse for the perspective drawing being off in both of them.

Liquor

12x16 Oil on RMLP


Here is a Liquor store in Pasadena on the north side of the Freeway that is literally called "liquor" I liked it's complete generic quality. It's kind of an ordinary little old building, but at night It's got some kind of indefinable quality due to its age that make it art to me. They are flattening this kind of place at an astonishing rate around here, I guess there are still some around at all simply because Liquor stores are cash cows.

Excvavator Warm

9x12 oil on STLB

This is a local demolition of a Fuddruckers at the corner of Mitchilinda and Foothill in Pasadena, not all buildings being torn down makes me sad. this one makes me happy. ;-)
It actually was a dull day so I made up the colors out of my head and highly stylized the background. Actually pretty much everything in this one is faked.

PUMP

18x24 oil on wood.

On the way to Stockton Tony and I came across a little industrial "town" totally owned by Texaco. We didn't even consider getting permission to get in, we were in to much of a hurry to see the Leyendecker show for red tape, but I'd like to sometime. This little tiny booth was originally the first step in security, but they have since moved check- in back further. I always wanted to paint one of there big "dipping bird" pumps. I finally got around to it.