Tech Art as Media Room Art

Our good friend Mark Pogachefsky acquired three prints from my Tech Art series for his newly designed Media Room. David M. Plante Interior Design worked with Mark to create a classic and welcoming atmosphere for his new home. Last night I saw the prints on the wall for the first time and was excited to have my work be a part of their vision.

The Man. The Room.

Mustard Seed Cafe

As Tech Art is now on hiatus (Still in talks with AMPAS about taking the show to their NY gallery later this year) my mind starts to wander into other creative channels that have been haunting me. For example…

We have a favorite breakfast place in our hood called the Mustard Seed Café. Warm welcoming staff and excellent eats. One lazy Sunday while ordering, the waiter rattled off the choice of sides like he had been repeating them since he was five years old. When we asked him how many times he thought he offered “Green salad, potato salad or slaw” he just rolled his eyes, smiled and said it must have been a billion. It gave me the idea to create a t-shirt based on their sides. Now instead of verbalizing the choices, they can simply point to the shirt! See my version below of the official Mustard Seed Café t-shirt. This is taken from a picture I took one weekend, punched out the background and added color.



Check out the shirt sample on my Cafe Press page: http://www.cafepress.com/v66

The Original American Idol

Soon after I won the first American Idol I posed for a picture with judge, Paula Abdul. Well... not really. Back in the 90's I was working at MTV for a live show called "Rockline". Paula was one of the guests and after the broadcast my good friend Jim Smith snapped a picture of us.

Our hair competing for the camera.

Dr. Clint Eastwood

Yesterday I was hired to cover the Deans' Luncheon at USCs' School of Cinematic Arts. I took the usual pictures as guests and graduates enjoyed good food and company. Clint Eastwood was in attendance as he was to be awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at the graduation ceremony later that day. My favorite picture I took of the event is Dean Daley, Mr. Eastwood and Dina Eastwood sitting at the back of a golf cart as they made their way to the commencement ceremony.

Griffith Park Fire, Wednesday

The fire crews and helicopters worked all night fighting the flames. This morning, this was our view. As of this posting it looks like they finally got it pushed back.

Griffith Park Fire, Tuesday

The view from our apartment is usually of the historic Griffith Park Observatory. Tonight was a different view with flames threatening to reach the newly restored structure. As the sun went down the sky turned bright orange with the fire reaching the crest of the hillside. Here are a few shots taken walking distance from our home.

The view as I walked to a dead end, north of Los Feliz Blvd.

Resident coming home to fire just over the hill.

Fire chopper racing to the scene.

Smells Good

Creatively, Ive been pretty lucky in the last few years. My work has been exhibited, there was an article published about me and I even had a television interview. But a letter I received yesterday has just eclipsed all that.

A few years back our good friends Liessa and Chris were kind enough to let me photograph their kids wearing VINPIX. To this day the shot of Emerson in the VINPIX hat and shirt is a crowd pleaser, and of course Hannah is a natural and glows in the pictures.



The experience must have made an impression on my young models.
The three kids co-wrote a letter requesting my services again. I know they must be serious, they all signed it!!!



I think if the Queen of England herself called apon me, it would not come close to how special the kids' request is. So to Tess, Hannah and Emerson… It smells good to me too! I look forward to seeing you. Thanks for thinking of me.

Tech Art Exhibit Extended.

The AMPAS Academy mailer for April announces the extension of Tech Art through May 15th.

Academy Foundation Events, April 2007

Tech Art in the Academy Report

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences publishes a Quarterly Report for all their members every year. The bottom of page 4 profiles Tech Art as one of their featured exhibits in 2006.

Academy Report, 4th Quarter 2006

Tech Art on the CU@USC Talk Show

I was interviewed about Tech Art on the popular college talk show CU@USC with host Craig Layne. Along with the interview are clips of me at the Pickford Center giving a mini tour of the exhibit. Thanks to Craig, Sam Lundquist, the Executive Producer and Erica Sardi, the Senior Producer for having me as a guest.

Sam and Erica with me at the Pickford Center to shoot the location piece of the exhibit for the CU@USC interview. Photo by Julio Vera.

HD Expo, Los Angeles

On March 8th I was covering HD Expo here in Los Angeles at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. My dear friend Kristin Petrovich is the Founder and CEO of this growing event. Check out some of my shots on their home page. Congradulations to Kristin and her team for another successful show.

http://www.hdexpo.net/index.html

Tech Art video clips from my CU@USC Interview

I was interviewd on the USC college talk show CU@USC a few weeks ago on my Tech Art series by host Craig Lane. The School of Cinematic Arts site just posted some clips from that interview and I will have the complete episode up shortly.



To see the clips, click the link below:

http://cinema.usc.edu/faculty

Tech Art article in the New USC School of Cinematic Arts Site

USC’s School of Cinematic Arts launched a new look for their website yesterday that included James Tella’s article on Tech Art. To see the complete article, click the link below:

http://cinema.usc.edu/about/news/cinema-tech.htm



Also, make sure you check out the video at the bottom of the page from my interview on CU@USC.




Also mentioned are the details of the exhibit at the Linwood Dunn Theater. To see the page, click the link below:

http://cinema.usc.edu/about/events/event_20070117.htm

Tech Art Profiled on USCs' News Page

James Tella, the talented writer who works in the Communications and Pubic Relations Department at the USC School of Cinematic Arts did an interview with me a few days ago about the Tech Art exhibit and reception at the Pickford Center. To see the full interview go to:

http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/13349.html

Thanks James.

Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas everyone. May there be Peace on Earth.