5.18.2013

What happened to appreciating pure aesthetics?  My problem with Americans: If you can't wear it, use it or sit on it... you say, fuck it.  Why isn't aesthetic pleasure a commodity?  Why do people prefer to look at beige walls?  Why can't people see the value of a line or a curve or chiaroscuro?  There was  a time in my life where I valued my optical experience over all else.  It was the best part of my life.  I can't imagine a life without a visual feast.


Daria Endresen

I'm really kind of diggin' this photographer's style.  Her name is Daria Endresen.  She is a digital artist/photo-manipulator that works out of Oslo, Norway and Paris, France.  Oddly similar to one of my favorite painters,  Odd Nerdrum.   See more at her website



 









3.16.2013

The Pioneertown Studio

After spending a year in Mexico and a year back in Utah, I decided to go back to Pioneertown.  I used to go there when I lived in L.A. with my friends Billy and Paul to a little rental cabin to get away from the grid, do some rock climbing and drinking and had always loved it.  I got a gig house-sitting the house behind it for the summer and started to lust after this shell as a possible studio.      It was basically a shell when I found it. The people that had lived there before had gutted it and left it a mess. 
There were no plants in the front except for one tree.  I painted the exterior, replaced windows and doors, enclosed the shed addition, laid cement on the front porch with a rock wall, built a goldfish pond with lilies, built an awning over the front window and planted trees, bushes and hundreds of cactus. On the interior I repainted everything, tore out the tile and did a treatment on the cement floor, installed a window paned door to the bedroom, installed a wood burning stove in the bedroom, added window treatments, installed a new kitchen sink and counter top, fixed the roof and much more.   
  
My neighbors were roadrunners, rabbits, coyotes, bobcats, owls, eagles and a bunch of varmints that I liked to shoot from my porch. The surrounding rocky hills were an awesome place to go rock hopping and meditating.  Pioneertown has a rich history.  Lots of famous bands were starting to show up and there was a large artistic community.  Joshua Tree National Park was just 20 minutes away.
I had the Pioneertown Studio for  quite a few years.  This was my sanctuary and inspiration for many years.  I lost myself there and rediscovered myself there. I also created some of my best stuff there.