On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair

Richard Diebenkorn never impressed me in art history lectures.  So this Bay Area artist does great colorblocking canvases, but Rothko always amazed me more with his rich and emotional palette.  But upon further reflection, maybe the Diebs has also managed to capture that arid, sparse quality of the west coast landscape that I, too, enjoy.  Another artistic prejudice conquered!  The after-effects of receiving an art history [snob] degree.

Diebenkorn.

I always love the images I bring back with me from my journeys there.  Something raw and artistic about its urban landscape still remains after digging through the starlit fanfare and tourist glitter of Hollywood and Beverly.


That dusty LA-quality sunshine and that cloudless west-coast sky, reminiscent of being back in Woodstock.  Makes you want to have a hand-stitched hemp blanket to sit on and some rose-tinted glasses in your braided hair.



Acid-colored posters donning the streets of West Hollywood is what I love looking at; their repetition and pure graphic appeal makes the whole street come alive with character in a gritty, beautiful way.

 

Hotel California the music video comes to mind.

A trip to LACMA presented me with a lovely quote by post-modern artist Franz West:

"Everytime I think of you, we die a little."



LACMA, home to liberal west-coast art.  Vast space for arresting graphic imagery.



In-N-Out burger, almost like a golden gift; lovingly assembled, a fresh and crisp B2C experience.  Perhaps only rivaled by Shake Shack in New York.  But without that snob-appeal one-hour wait, this burger may just trump its east-coast equivalent. 
Democratic burgers for all!

I still hate the Lakers and love the Celts, but the promise that the Californian sunshine will always leave me with a welcome tan and a great creative outlet, continues my California dreaming.