I love my neighborhood. And I'm out walking around in it everyday--this is what having a young pit bull and a proclivity for exploring via foot gets you.

I always have my phone and tend to snap pics along the way (hello, Instagram). There is a particular house that has always intrigued me. On a street of beautiful, rather fancy homes just up the hill from the reservoir, it has a weeded out yard, peeling paint job, a funny toy sitting on its stucco fence, and an unoccupied vibe

I am a hoarder of scraps. Unlike my "clean as you go" mantra when cooking, when I'm creating a collage I save the mess I've made. I just can't get myself to throw away the little bits, edges, and torn pieces that don't make it into the final piece. This means that I have got a whole bunch of miscellaneous pieces of paper in the studio. On Friday I decided to give myself a collage challenge: make a new piece from nothing but leftover bits. No new tears were allowed, even to the existing scraps. I grabbed a few of my plastic sleeves of scraps and a 11x14" piece of mat board and got to work.

A supreme pleasure of my life over the last 20 years: adventures in Los Angeles with my dog. It's been two different dogs (but same bully breed): first sweet Alyosha and now silly Meaux-Meaux. 

On Sunday we headed out the door on a stormy morning and within 15 minutes found ourselves on the banks of the L.A. River. It was not the zoo the sign was pointing to, but was certainly full of wildlife.

Like so many avid internetters, I enjoy browsing lists of interesting links on other people's sites. Is this lazy? Nah. Having someone else do the hunting around for intriguing stuff to check out is the nature of the beast. And if you don't just browse the internet, but also create content, you can do the same for your followers. And that is what I've done below.

Headed downtown last night and stopped by the fairly new Eat.Drink.Americano (which I can recommend) before the opening reception for a Zaha Hadid installation at SCI-Arc (which I cannot recommend).

I've taken advantage of a slow down in freelance design work the last couple of weeks and given some time to the art part of my "artist / designer" tagline.

I'm well into the process of updating my website with a new art groupings page.

Autumn has finally arrived and with it cooler weather and a change in the menu and venue for Thursday nights out. This Thursday was dedicated to cured meats and zesty wine at Mozza. It had been a while since I'd been to the corner of Highland and Melrose; Nancy did a double take and then quickly got me a glass of Prosecco, which is to say, I immediately felt at home at the Scoula /Mozza2Go.

That artworld stereotype of the the blowhard barking loudly on the phone, swearing, making a spectacle, embarassing himself and others with his asshole-ness and declarations of privlege: it exists. That guy was walking out as we were walking into an art opening last week. Not really welcoming, but whatevs, we had a great time despite the mess that greeted us.

Ahem. I've just returned from a couple of hours wandering around Art Platform–Los Angeles at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. (Yes: I'll brave "Carmagedon II" to see art. Whatevs. It's L.A., we drive.)

I really enjoy art fairs, and despite what my Twitter feed says–so do a lot of other people, the place was buzzing.

The first stop on the Frogtown Artwalk last weekend was the Nomad Art Collective Compound and I've been thinking about the space ever since. I walked in and didn't want to leave. The place is one big warehouse of inspiration. 

Before the weekend goodness begins, I'm thinking of my week that was. Here are a few more snaps (as usual I've been posting all week on Insta, FB, and Twitter). Enjoy. I did.

The week began with a wonderful evening at elysian (that's their kitchen) and then continued with daily walking adventures with the pup. I'm curious about some graffiti walls I spied up the side of a hill on Riverside Dr., near the Mulholland Fountain. Meaux-Meaux and I started to explore, but it was too hot. Next time.

How to beat the heat on a September weekend? Put on a summer dress and go out in it. By which I mean get in your air conditioned car, drive around a bit with it on at full blast, and then walk around air conditioned galleries.

On Saturday I picked up my friend Robyn and we headed to Culver City for an art auction fundraiser for SASSAS at Blum & Poe (back again). Before heading upstairs to the art and festivities we perused the Friedrich Kunath installation in the main galleries. 

Yesterday as I was sitting in a chair with foils in my hair, chit chatting with my fabulous stylist (Zach at Hairroin–highly recommend) about what's new, what's happening. I mentioned a new client starting a blog, but didn't know quiet how to start, and hired me for guidance and design.

My main advice is simple (and free): begin.

 

Last month I went on a mini gallery crawl in Culver City to catch a few shows before they closed. Openings are fun, social affairs (cheap beer! chicks in cute dresses! dj's! art!), but it's nice to see an installation on a quieter day, spend some quality time viewing the work.

Although it doesn't open until September 16th, there has already been enthusiastic press on the late sculptor Ken Price's exhibition at LACMA (and the show's lush catalogue). There was even a glowing preview in the New York Times–it's always nice when the L.A. art scene gets some Old Gray Lady love.

The museum's members were invited to a preview of the show last night. It was a festive scene with a large, rather posh crowd. And they actually seemed to come for the art, not just the free drinks and fashion.

One of my favorite living artists, Steve Lambert, just finished installing his latest show at Charlie James Gallery in Chinatown: "It's Time to Fight and It's Time to Stop Fighting." Charlie invited me to stop by and check it out before the big kick off on September 15.

My review: Fantastic.

My holiday weekend art-play: I took a layout in a magazine, cut it into strips, and glued it back together again.