All in the Family

All in the Family

acrylic and dry pigment on unstrectched canvas/
40" x 31" / 2002

acrylic and dry pigment on unstrectched canvas/
45" x 31" / 2002

You know BAMO because they're one of the premier interior design firms in the country/world or because you've you spent a certain amount of time perusing Corbu's Cave. They're the San Francisco interior design firm that I've known since their inception, actually even before. They assembled themselves out of the Charles Pfister company and I met the partners there in 1989.

Fast forward to this week when I learn that another one of their stunning projects has been published. It's the home of Candy Chuang in Hong Kong and I'm very pleased to be a small part of it. A few years ago I painted a dining room for her parents whose home is nearby on The Peak. I been on the Chuang family yacht, even jump off it to take dip in the South China Sea. I think there's a strong influence of water in the BAMO/Chuang projects. They're cool and refreshing anyway.

Those are my paintings over the green sofa.

Even though there's just one page showing my work I've decided to include the whole piece from Interiors Magazine since I think you might enjoy it. If you're interested I encourage you go to the online magazine to read the article which is deftly written by Zahid Sardar.  Zahid wrote and produced the cover story about my San Francisco flat back in 1993. Meanwhile the cover of this Oct/Nov Interiors Magazine is a shot by Tim Street Porter. Tim shot my place for HG in 1990. So you see it's all in the family.

Good-bye

Say Good-bye to summer and all of that. It just sailed out to sea on a container ship. Yes? No! I don't know why you say good-bye. I say hello.

Hello blog readers. Here and now I present one of my strangest commissions: a mural of the Charleston harbor with Fort Sumter on the horizon and a cargo vessel sailing away as a Gauguin nude rings the wet out of her hair. What the.....? I don't know but maybe this looks really kind of wonderful installed. Since I don't have pictures of that I decided to inundate you with multiple studio shots.

This piece was painted for the home of an architect who's well known for his beautifully detailed classical architecture. So given that I have to assume this rather eccentric wild mural looks great in its setting. Because if you have one sort of thing, a square for instance, you'd do well to counter it with a circle. Or you know how Marc Chagall's mural looks so great on the ceiling at the Palais Garnier.

This project was painted in 2003. What were you doing in 2003?  I had forgotten I painted this piece. But I dug it out to share with you because you're special. Maybe I'll be able to update you with some installation shots. In the meantime I give you image details, odd angles, and full views with ladders and such to give some idea of scale. The figure is close to life size. Actually maybe it is life size. What do think of all of this?

The Answer

The Answer My Friends is Blow'n in the Wind

The View of Palm Springs from 8,516 ft.

120˚ F and gusty winds. How does that sound for a weather report? I just spent a few days in Palm Springs and summer in Los Angeles seems so cool after that. But honestly it was a wonderful little trip to the desert in the off season. One night around sunset I got on the Palm Springs Tramway and in ten minutes ascended to 8516 ft. Up there in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument the air is cool, clear, and deliciously scented with pine. I love pines but this post is more about palms and a little project from my archives circa 2002.

Studio view of my painted palms.

Close up of one palm.

My original digital sketch for the Palm motif.

Come with me for  a walk down an allée of king palms. They're gently bent from balmy breezes and they're rendered in sepia tones. Remember I'm a painter so the subject is always about something painted. These painted palms lead to the men's locker room at the Old Collier Club. And fortunately the locker room and the club are not the so often tacky glitz one finds in South Florida.  No, this place looks like old money, reserved, slightly frumpy, and comfy. That's pretty much the style of the architects, Shope Reno Wharton and the interior designer, Amelia Handegan.

Exterior of the Old Collier Club, Naples, Florida.

Interior shots of the Old Collier Club.

More interior shots with my palms painting installed on the left.

No big story here. Just painted trees. But I can't emphasize enough what a difference it makes to have decorative architectural painting. Framed pictures on the walls? Ho hum. A nice color? Of course. Is that all? A wallpaper in this space? Please. Yes, please. Sometime, before you it's all over live in a space with some sort of mural. Your place could be a cave, a le Corbusier apartment, or anything in between and there would be a mural just perfect for your space. If you don't know what that might be just ask because I do. I do.

BAMO

Bamo: powers out tough stains!

That's probably what you'd expect from BAMO right? But no, it's an acronym for Babey Moulton Jue and Booth and they're an architecture/design firm in San Francisco. I've worked with them on various project since their inception in the early 90s and I've mentioned them on Corbu's Cave a number of times. So this post is a bit of a retread because I am bringing up our Hong Kong job again. Fortunately I've got new pictures, so good right? I was prompted to revisit the H.K. job because I just noticed an image on the BAMO website I hadn't seen before. I'm including it here along with a few others from my collection never seen before. So there you have it.

The page from the BAMO site that  prompted this post.

I really like the casual styling of the photo.
Looks like Queen Anne's Lace on the table in lieu of some rare orchid.
How chic! Or is that reverse chic?

The key for me in designing the painting scheme was getting the ceiling figured out.

These are the initial designs for the ceiling medallion.

Here's a close and wide view showing the ceiling just after installation of my work.

The house looked like this when I left.

Another shot of the finished house from BAMO's site. Nice don't you think?

 Use the handy Google search box over there on the right. Enter BAMO or Hong Kong and you'll get more of this wonderful project, a home on the Peak in Hong Kong that I'm so happy to have been a part of. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all meet there for a little soirée?

Behind the Scenes

Hello Faithful Readers!

Robert Irwin's garden.

Baldessari after Dürer and Dürer

You've been to the Getty Center. You seen Robert Irwin's lush and sculptural garden installation, gazed upon gorgeous paintings by Dürer, and perhaps even found Baldessari's Specimen (After Dürer) but have you been behind the scenes? Okay, listen, stick with me. I'll take you there.

Detail of bed in the Paris exhibit.

Some bed, huh?

Photo-collage layouts for the exhibit design. 

Associated graphics for the Paris exhibit.

Yesterday my friend David called with a last minute invitation. There was a cancellation which made room for me as an interloper in an IDSA exclusive tour of the Getty Center's exhibit:Paris: Life & Luxury. The highly informative tour was followed by a behind the scenes look at the exhibit design studio. Fascinating!

Exhibit designer talking about the process.
(The photo collages are in the upper left corner of the board.)

The design department at the Getty Center

One inch to one foot scale model of the temporary galleries where "Paris" is.

What did I discover? I am the Getty. I mean my working method is so like the exhibit design department except not only do I create the design, maquettes, and graphics but I also create the finished art. How was I to know? I work in isolation. I must get out more often!

Candid shot of the design offices.

Another candid shot with detail on the right of upcoming "PST" show.

More graphics from the Pacific Standard Time exhibit.

The Paris exhibit was nice, very nice but we also got a sneak peek at an upcoming exhibit that's more up my alley: Pacific Standard Time: Art In L.A. 1945-1980. In fact Getty design is all ready for it and on to the next thing. Here in Southern California we'll be treated to more than 60 venues where the story of art in Los Angeles will unfold. I can't wait but of course I'll have to.

This sign is on the door as you leave the design department.

Until next time this is Corbu's Cave.


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