Glenn's LiveJournal

Yesterday I got an iTouch. Lots of people at the Apple store looking for the iPhone and were told to call later in the evening, and show up the next day if they are getting any in. And when they do, expect to stand in a 3 hour line. Funny thing is I like everything the iPhone has except.... the phone. I rarely use my cell phone, and when I do I am usually at a noisy construction site. If my cheapo Verizon phone gets dropped, no big deal.
The GPS, maps and email were really what I wanted.
So there, I did my patriotic duty and went out and bought some stuff.

Yes, today was the start of the 95th Tour de France! For the first time I can remember, the race started with an actual stage, not the painfully boring and unimportant prologue time trial. No time bonuses were given on the course, so the first to cross the line gets the yellow jersey. And today that was Alejandro Valverde of Spain, one of the overall race favorites (and my pick to win it all). Looks to be a great race this year, and hopefully the steroid boys have all been kicked out of the sport for good.

My friend, Jack, is having a pottery sale today at his studio in Venice, from 10-3pm. He has written books on ceramics, so I'm sure he's got some nice California pottery for sale.

Yesterday I went to Cheech Marin's collection that just opened at LACMA West (the old May Co. Bldg.). All are paintings from the Chicano Movement in the '80s and '90s based in Los Angeles, by a variety of artists. There is also a video of the artists talking about their work and what was happening at the time. There is a lot of excellent work in this show, and it is nice to see a celebrity like Cheech collecting art he is passionate about, as opposed to the bland blue chip business in the next building.

3 days this week I have had to work out of our Orange County office. By the end of the day I'm pretty fried and have to get on the 405 for about an 18 hour drive in the snow uphill both ways. It helps to listen to the rebroadcast Steve Jones' show on indie 103. He's off touring with the Sex Pistols, so Henry Rollins is filling in. There are only a few DJs that make me want to listen to them more than the music, and apart from Chris Chapman on KXLU and Rodney Bingenheimer from 300 years ago, Henry Rollins is one of them. Plus he plays great music.

An got some great photos of the "climber" in New York, and all that goes along with it.

I think nobody does this in L.A. because all our buildings are newer, and use lots of glass and slick surfaces with nothing to grip onto. The applied metal slat facade of the New York Times bldg. is just asking to be climbed.

Yes, just one more reason to love the mini. Might as well put my name on that parking space.

Yesterday I took the train to work. The redline from North Hollywood is great!!! It probably takes the same time as driving, as long as it is not a horrible traffic day, but you can read, sketch, etc. So today I got the station at about 7:30, and there is NO parking at all left in the lot, and no place else to park (that I know of). And about half the lot is empty, as these are permit only parking spaces. So I gave up and drove to work. I got online to get a parking permit and they are sold out. I'm no. 67 on the waiting list.

It really is infuriating how L.A. takes an approach to mass transit as though it is a novelty. First they were surprised at the high number of riders and now they can't seem to handle the sudden surge due to gas prices. And if you want a monthly metro pass, you can't buy it at the stations, you have to go online and find a list of retail stores that sell them. A girl who sits next to me at work went to the store yesterday and they were already sold out. I suggested buying it online, like I did. Oh, and the metro website is so confusing.

It makes me want to take the planners of the Metro system and drag them to New York and show them how mass transit is done! The NY subway is easy, you can buy passes for however much time you want right there (here you can buy day or week passes only at the machines) and there are actual human beings who work there and can help you. And express trains, another good idea.

Tomorrow I'm leaving a little earlier, so we'll see if I can find a parking place. If I can't, things will improve soon, as I know the MTA officials read my blog on a regular basis (yeah, right).

And on a totally unrelated note, they now have armed guards at BCAM to protect Damien Hirst's sheep in formaldyhide. If somebody breaks the glass, the poison would spill everywhere, and it is imperative that we keep that stuff confined to preserving human remains, bad art and FEMA trailers. They also have guards watching the Richard Serra sculptures on the first floor. Good thing because anyone could just walk in and steal one.

Yesterday I stopped by Orlando Gallery to drop off some paintings. Bob said, "Hey I have a check for you." Turns out one of my paintings sold, a nice surprise. Then I was off to the Culver City artwalk. I met some friends at this really noisy El Salvadorian restaurant with great food. While waiting I sketched 2 guys at the bar. I had about half an hour to draw this so it was pretty detailed. I gave it to the waitress, who loved it and wants to frame it, which was nice. So I guess that means I can say I art on display in Culver City ; )

The artwalk was not as crowded as last year, but there were still a lot of people. The big name galleries had the best art, and I was surprised that I liked the Mirakami's at Blum & Poe. He did these huge paintings on metal panels that looked like they may have been silkscreened(?). But he avoided the bright pokemon flowery stuff.

So one of my friends I had lunch with used to work in the same office as me, until I left a month ago. I knew there would be rumors about my leaving, but was totally shocked that a group of people have absolutely nothing better to do than spread viscious rumors about people. I've seen this before. An old owner is getting ready to retire, and the underlings are scrambling for power and want to fill the place with there cronies. What happens is all the good people leave, and it becomes a horrible place filled with horrible people. It's started. This reminds me of one of my favorite movie scenes. In The Fountainhead, the architect bumps into a newspaper critic who has bashed his buildings and actually kept him from getting work. He asked the architect if he wanted to punch him. The architect turned to him and said, "No. As a matter of fact, I've never given you a bit of thought." and walked away.

I spent a lot of time battling to chose between my art career and architecture career. I came to the conclusion that I need them both. Without having to sell a painting, I can paint what I want. Obviously, it still needs to be good. And I started a great job in a large architectural firm in downtown. The projects are great and people are nice and professional. It has really recharged my batteries for the profession. As for the place I left, I never give them a second thought.

Little humorous things on the freeway help in bumper to bumper 405 traffic.



My photographer friend, Isabelle, and my feet at the Santa Fe artwalk (mine are on the left).

I bought some stretcher bars from an online company a few months ago. Great prices and they came very fast. Last week I received another box of stretcher bars of various sizes that I did not order. I read the label and they should have been shipped to somebody on the east coast with the same first name as me.

So as far as I know, if something comes shipped to me in my name, it's mine by law. The problem is I suffer from an affliction called honesty. I emailed the company and explained what happened. They were very appreciative and offered to sell me the bars at half price or have UPS pick up the bars. Since I could use the sizes they sent, I decided to send a check for close to the full amount. It was not an expensive order.

Everybody's happy. And I knew that if I just kept them karma would come back to haunt me and the paintings would come out bad.

Yesterday I dropped off a couple paintings in Long Beach for an upcoming show. Long Beach is far and I never get down there, so when I do I make it a point to visit MOLAA. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite museums, and has a great permanent collection. Then on the way home I hit SMMOA for The Puppet Show. This is a strange show with some freaky puppets that will cause nightmares. So yes, it's worth seeing.

I had a meeting yesterday on Wilshire near LACMA. Since I got there early, I had time to hit Starbucks, sit outside and sketch. I really need to make time to do more of that.

This weekend was the fifth year I have displayed work at the artwalk. The crowds were not quite as strong, and I had comments from a number of people saying it seemed less publicized than usual. But it looked like sales were strong. I sold 10 paintings this year and met some new and very interested collectors. It's always so much fun to hang out, meet collectors and other artists and just hang out.

Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd + 4th, 12-6pm.

Come hang out with artists who open their homes/ studios to the public once a year. With plenty of free parking, free admission and food for sale in the courtyard, the artwalk has a laid back atmosphere, and features over 50 artists working in a variety of media.

I'll be in unit 14, next door to Jett.

Plus, May 4th is my 45th birthday, so stop by!