Life is so ridiculously gorgeous, strange, heartbreaking, horrific, etc., that we are compelled to describe it to ourselves, but we can’t! We cannot do it! And so we make art. – Miranda July (found via lost.net)

It isn’t necessarily the lifestyle or the great weather or the coastal environment- although those things can be perks. What I love about living and being in L.A. is the diversity combined with an amazing art scene. Some people are into fashion (I completely understand). For others, music does it for them. For me, it’s art. I love the art world. I love seeing new things. I love when artists, who are already astoundingly talented, challenge themselves and make work so beautiful it leaves me feeling a mixture of admiration and envy.

This weekend was a reminder of how great this city can be. I got to attend the launch party for Hello Kitty’s 35th birthday at Royal T (thanks R & dan!) and I also got to meet the creators of FriendsWithYou. Yay!! Even though the lines were ridiculous and it turned out to be a celebrityfest (barf), the energy was amazing and I loved the show. So much in fact, that I went back 2 days later.

Giant Robot’s celebration of their 2nd Biennale was equally fun. What blew me away was the work they featured. James Jean- as usual- made some beautifully crafted pieces, but what stuck with me throughout the night was David Choe’s work. I love how he works across platforms and how his style varies. I’m not a fan of his articles in GR probably because I don’t have a penis and am not interested in seeing nor reading about models and their tits and asses- but I am a fan of his work. It’s quite obvious he’s talented and though I’m usually attracted to extremely feminine work- I think he has a way of making things undeniably beautiful.

What I also appreciated about Giant Robot was the lack of hype and celebrities. Royal T is really good at attracting the type of PR and crowd that oozes of hollywood bullshit and while that’s all in great fun, I don’t care much for it.  With Giant Robot, it’s genuine. People are there for the art, not the glam. And that’s another reason I love L.A., the numerous lifestyles  people create and choose to live in.

picture courtesy of Vice, drawn by Jordan Crane.

On a recent trip to GR2, I discovered a freshly printed pile of books from Vice featuring 24 different artists inspired by Where the Wild Things Are.  Later that same afternoon, I watched Spike Jonze + Dave Eggers’ beautifully interpreted  version of the book. I didn’t mind the complicated web of emotions or the darker touch Jonze + Eggers lent to the story. In fact I  found it all quite satisfying.

What really made me like this movie even more is the set Carol designed of the most perfect world. Everything from the little huts, formed by twigs to the hole where you can stick your head in to watch the characters float by on the river was extremely charming and beautiful. The amount of work put into making the set, preparing everything so that everything fits just so perfectly was inspiring. It’s the attention to detail that I love and whoever it was that built that set definitely did a wonderful job.

Drawing this made me realize I really have no idea what 4-6 year old boys like. Let’s hope it’s cars and ninjas and ghosts…

pictures courtesy of style.com & Patrick Demarchelier

When I watched The September Issue last night with R, I fell in love with Grace Coddington, the creative director of Vogue. She has an amazing eye, sense of style, a traditional sense of pride when it comes to craft, and such a wonderful stubborn passion. In my mind, the very definition of a creative director- no matter the industry- should be someone like Grace.

I admire the way she carries her vision through and could relate to how she furious she got when any of her work was killed. There was one particular angry scene that showed her eating a bare salad in her office, fuming because one her most beautiful photographs for a 20’s spread got killed by Anna Wintour. It made my heart wrench. We all know too well how it feels when something we put our hearts into gets ripped off of the wall- and not so much because it isn’t good or worthy- but because it doesn’t fit according to the person who’s signing it off. Oh, and politics. That one is always the hardest to deal with.

It’s a little comforting but scary how many of us earn our living by working for such subjective industries. I wonder how many of us do it because we have a die hard passion and vision matchable to that of Grace Coddington? I hope there are a lot of us out there and that we continue to push and fight for great work despite whatever obstacles we encounter. A lot of people have opinions, but there aren’t as many who have a vision to accompany that opinion. Grace Coddington is one of the few who do.

The Internet’s major news sites have been shut down by a massive flood of traffic as everyone in the world calls and emails everyone else in the world to tell them the news. God, this feels so apocalyptic. Five people have just called me to tell me about this, and more — all flights in the US have been grounded, the Pentagon’s been hit, the flights were hijacked commercial airliners… Holy crap.

I’m such a huge fan of Sujean Rim’s illustrations. Although I enjoy reading DailyCandy, I think my favorite thing about that website is the illustrations that accompany each article. There’s something about her watercolor art that keeps DailyCandy light, fresh and easily distinguishable from other sites that provide similar services.

Sujean Rim graduated from Parson’s School of Design studying fashion design. Out of school she worked in the industry designing shoes and accessories, drawing as a personal hobby. After much encouragement, she put a book together and landed a project with Barney’s. The rest is pretty much history. She illustrates for clients such as Tiffany’s & Co, Barney’s, DailyCandy, Elle, Marie Claire and much more.

I find her work to be incredibly fresh and light and am a little envious of her lifestyle. It also inspires me to put together my own illustration work and try to take that even further.

Media: Markers, Pens, Digital

Manners Media: spray paint, paint markers, watercolor, digital.

Crazies: ink pen, markers, crayons, water color and digital.

copy will be screen printed over.  Media: watercolor, paper cutouts and digital.