state of the art

it’s no big secret that i’m wild for art and just for the record i’ve never taken a course or claimed to be an expert, but i know what i love. beautiful art can literally stop me in my tracks and take my breath away. some of you, maybe most of you, may not care for my taste in art. likewise…and it doesn’t matter. as they say “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” is so true. but if you, like me, feel for art passionately, so truly and deeply it warms your heart, puts a smile on your face and a tear in your eye you have a certain respect for other aficionados.

as things go it looks like i’m in the right place. my sleepy little town of malibu has quite the art scene going on and i love it. it seems to have “popped up” little by little and grown legs of its own. a couple of years ago i heard the frederick weisman museum of art at pepperdine university was hosting an andy warhol exhibit. sounding too good to be true i grabbed a friend to make sure this wasn’t a “cover band” situation. we were pretty much the only ones in the museum making it feel like we were at a private showing. mind blowing stuff to say the least and suffice it to say it’s going to be a tough day to beat. but nowadays the weisman museum is just a jumping off place for art in malibu.

with galleries and pop ups dotting malibu’s landscape i recently stumbled upon a gallery called the red ladder in search of a hard to find, just perfect for a huge empty wall, begging for a large colorful piece canvas. i was initially surprised then quickly thrilled when i learned that the artist/owner of the red ladder happened to be a long-lost friend. eamon harrington picked up a brush some 10 years ago and with buzz around town that he is quickly emerging as a force to be reckoned with i don’t think he’s putting it down anytime soon. his pieces are vibrant, heartwarming, and filled with passion. i felt a bit like winnie the pooh every time i would visit looking for “that piece”, forefinger on my chin “thinking, thinking, thinking”. then a flash of genius, “eamon, can i give you a color scheme and you paint a huge piece for this wall?” i said camera in hand showing my empty wall photo on it. with that, a boatload of trust, and a couple of very small parameters my husband and i had just commissioned our first piece of art! i’ve been holding my breath through this leap of faith and now that i have my new, still unnamed baby and have successfully exhaled i’m happy to say i’m over the moon!!! and while the purpose of the piece was beauty, the payoff is pure joy. it makes me happy just to look at it.

noteworthy and worth the drive to the ‘bu if you find yourself in or near los angeles:

red ladder.  eamon harrington’s art is fun, thoughtful, and bursting with palpable color.

tracy park’s PCH POP UP. tracy represents the best of emerging artists. i like to call her the “queen of the malibu art scene”. keep an eye out for her next pop up, she knows her stuff.

depart located in the country mart, displays malibu surf culture in a new way. 

wall street gallery. street art from the mind of the infamous mr. brainwash. 

“the mystery was gone but the amazement was just starting.” ― andy warhol.

i love this quote, reminds me of when eamon dropped off the canvas.

xo,
gaye.