POP! Goes the Painting.

Horizontal, my most recently completed painting. This is the first painting that I've done on a horizontal format. I've always painted on a square or vertical canvas. This took a change in thinking in how I mentally and visually map out a painting. This format was based on the suggestion of Los Angeles art critic Peter Frank, who also suggested that I paint using a dark color base to draw the viewer in. The color on the painting pops, and makes a strong statement.

Los Angeles' Peterson Automotive Museum

When I first drove by this "Las Vegas" style building a few weeks ago on Wilshire Blvd, the Peterson Automotive Museum re-design in Los Angeles, my thoughts were that I was unsure of what to think. A couple of my friends had seen it before me, and both were turned off by the "garishness" of it. They both said it had no place in the Los Angeles vernacular. As an artist, it is possible for me to appreciate all art forms, from the canvas, to the architectural style of any given buildings. If you have been to Los Angeles you would know that the architectural styles here run from A-Z. Some of the buildings are very adventurous in their design, which is one of the things that makes living here so interesting. My thoughts have since settled on the idea that this building is bold, daring, sculptural, and it definitely makes a statement. The architect's idea was to mimic the invisible wind currents generated by a car when it is moving. The building is all of these things. Do I like it? I'm still not sure. LA is about free expression in all things, within legal limits, and to quash an idea because it goes beyond what has been done before is not acceptable to most people here. Which is again, one reason that I love living here. I will accept it for what it is, and move on. The critics will weigh in, if that haven't done so already, and a public consensus will form.