As some of you know, I’m a travelling girl… Always have been, always will be! Last week, I took a little trip out to Los Angeles to unwind, take care of some business and see my gorgeous new nephew– Django! It was a wonderful time, and I will have more on that later… One of the highligts of my trip was “The Affair in the Gardens”. It was a HUGE outdoor art show in the middle of Beverly Hills. There were paintings, furniture, sculptures, installations– the whole NINE! You know we here on CCW appreciate fine art, so we were in creative-overload. My head was about to explode from all the beauty and excitement! Below are a few samples of what I found to be the best work this affair had to offer. Check it deeply:

This picture was painted by Kandy Allen. She was inspired by looking at photograph negatives, and she made a series of black and white paintings that give the effect of looking at a negative photograph… How genius!

Above is prolly one of my favorites. I love the skull & color detail at the bottom of the image. It’s a pefect contrast to the general black & white feel of the piece. And there is our girl Ms. Kandy standing proudly next to her work. Check out the skull detail a little closer:

Kandy is an absolute doll– sweet, kind and informative! She is also a fan of CCW! Go Kandy! For more on Kandy and her wonderful art, check her out at: www.artkallen.com!

My brother-in-law is somewhat of an amature woodsman. He’s built bookshelves an even a shed at him and my sister’s house. So it was more than a pleasure to see Michael Kelley’s work:

Michael uses exotic African woods, oak wood, cherry wood, and even pure turquoise in his pieces! They are finely crafted and all very unique and beautiful.  I would love to have one of his pieces in my home. This is why we will definitely stay in touch!

And here’s the man himelf:

Mike’s a super-talented dude with a warm humbleness and friendly nature.  If you are truly interested in his pieces, please contact us through the contact form and we can provide his contact info!

Next up was the lovely Anja Van Herle. Her pieces focus on the face, and the many ways of expression that the face illustrates. Her work reminds me of avant-garde new wave glamour… Hollywood, fasionistas, excess, and everything else lovely about “the life”….

This one reminded me of Charlize Theron in “Aeon Flux”…. Dope! But don’t let the glam-art fool you. Anja is no diva. In fact, she was super-sweet and very helpful. She also had a humbleness and innocence to her that I appreciated. I was lucky, it seems that I have a good eye for art, and good spirits! There was only one jerk-artist I encountered in the show. His work was brilliant, but since he was such a douche, you WON’T SEE THAT HERE! But I digress. Check out Anja- isn’t she adorable? (I got to snap her next to one of her fave pieces!):

For more info on Anja and her lovely pieces, check her out on: www.anjav.com!

Next we had the talented Philip Hidenach (who made that hawt picture of “Carrie Bradshaw” in the beginning of this piece). His work is largely inspired by pop culture and politics. He uses photography and manipulates them in beautiful ways and hues to create the masterpieces you see before you. It’s innovative, fun and just looks great! I would love to have this Obama pic above… magnificent!

I was completely enthralled with this Debbie Harry piece. I LOOOOOVE me some Debbie Harry, once I saw this it was official– Philip H is a genius! He has great taste in pop culture. I told him to look out for me. I MUST purchase one of his pieces… La, la, la-la…. Wait til I get my $$ right! Haha.

And there’s the man himself, my new friend Philip! Haha… Isn’t his hat off the chain? Love it!  If you would like to see some more of Phil’s fab pop–art don’t hesistate to check him out on: www.hindenachgraphics.com!

Anyway, so you see Los Angeles has way more to offer than silicone’d bodies, botoxed beauties, and the best burgers that side of the pacific (shout out to in n’ out burger – what, what?) But there is a thriving and vibrant art culture there that is amazing! The LA art scene and the NY art scene are very different, but the one thing they have in common is they can boast some of the most talented artist and taste-makers in the world! True story!