THIS IS NOT A PIPE?

I created this as a homage to the dadaist artist and a tongue and cheek message thrown in for a twist.
24" x 24" mixed media on wood.

DENNIS HOPPER

Dennis Hopper was an artist and avid contemporary art collector who lived in Venice. (as did I.) I met him once at a Robert Rauschenberg art opening at Gemini G.E.L. Art Gallery on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. He had recently split from wife number four and was checking out at a gal I was dating at the time! Roy Lichtenstein and David Byrne were at the reception as well. Here's to you Dennis... 

PICK UP HERE

First Friday on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice, California 24" X 18" mixed media on canvas

LOS ANGELES LAKERS HELMET

I finally figured out how LA can have a football team again. Let's use the Lakers in the off season to toss some through the hoops.

COKE SERVICE TRUCK

More wildlife picture taken on my vacation... 

COKE TRUCK

Here is another wildlife picture taken on my vacation... 

LAY'S TRUCK

Between photographing beautiful mountains and many wildlife pictures, I also photographed this truck while in Colorado on recent vacation. I made a painting out of it when I got back to my studio. I like the Dorothy picture on the back....There's No Place Like Home...

ART FEATURED ON ARTBISTRO IN JULY

My art portfolio has been selected for the July 2010 ArtBistro Gallery. The curatorial team at Art Bistro in San Francisco, California selected this month's show, which will be featured on the ArtBistro homepage, and in the newsletter. Check out the show here 

PAINTED CONVERSE SHOES

New Converse shoes I just completed...


 Front includes 'STAR' motif. On the back of the left shoe are the words ' NO PLACE', on the back of the right shoe it says 'LIKE HOME." These shoes were made exclusively for Laura, so I made the shoe tag read LAR. Send me an email if you want your shoes painted.

ICE CREAM TRUCK

I made a painting out of this picture I took in Venice a couple of weeks ago.

MODERN BASQUIAT?!

I ran across this blog about me today. I'm flattered with the modern Jean-Michel Basquiat comment of course. Basquiat has been an influence of mine along with many other artists.

One small correction if I may... Basquiat was painting his famous work in the 80's - not the 60's. (Andy Warhol became a household name in the 60's.) Thanks Kelsey!

Click on the title below to see her actual blog...

 Modern Basquiat?!

So I'm driving through Santa Monica in traffic yesterday and I see out of the corner of my eye, a never ending array of crowns! So naturally, I pull over to see what it is!

This artwork is amazing. I just can't handle the abstract-ness of it. 

So I meet the artist. 
His name is Mark Andrew Allen.




(Allen's Work Above)

Allen's art reminds me so much of one of my favorite artists of the 60s, Andy Warhol's buddy Jean Michel Basquiat. Even the crown is like a modern version of Basquiat's signature symbol.

(Basquiat's Work Above)

ART SHOW ON SUNSET BLVD IN HOLLYWOOD

Check out my work in the lobby of this impressive building on 8560 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, CA.

Great Letter From A Collector

...So I'm sitting in a restaurant bar on Abbot Kinney one Sunday night, oh about 12 years ago now. Just hanging out with a friend of mine. This guy sits down next to me and starts doodling on a napkin. Just a few lines. Very non-descript. Then the lines became an abstract head, which I thought was interesting.

So I asked the guy, this stranger with an obvious talent to create, if I could have the doodling napkin.  

He said no.

So we returned to our small talk and he kept doodling and I kept babbling about whatever it is you babble about when you meet a stranger in a bar and to my surprise when I looked down at the napkin the abstract head now had a body. I told this stranger with the strange habit that his doodling was really awesome, it was really cool, so being the brave soul I am I asked him if I could have it.

He said no, again.

So back to the doodling on the napkin he went and between our bar banter and his doodling the head now became an intriguing, three dimensional figure with a woman's body and a martini glass in concert with an out of proportion hand that jumped off the napkin. The art was surreal and now I had to have this magically transformed napkin.

The guy said yes!!!

So I took it, he gave me his card and I framed the napkin and hung it on my wall. Its been sitting there ever since, just gracefully adorning my wall and I have never expressed my appreciation to the artist himself. I do tell the story to all my patients who see it and comment on it and they are blown away. And so am I, you see the artist was Mark Andrew Allen and I have never forgotten our chance encounter at Hal's that night.

Thank you kind sir for giving me that beautiful napkin that you transformed so eloquently. If I had known you were such an incredible, world famous artist I would never have been so bold to ask for your napkin. But thank you so much, it has brought me much joy and pleasure for many years and I know it will continue to do so.

Your work is incredible. Thank you.

Respectfully,
Kevin Kelly

BASKING IN THE GLOW

Laura and I standing in front of "No 7 Crown"

Coppola Art Exchange Hosts Fashion Show with Mark Andrew Allen's Crown Paintings














Living in the gap between art and life, here are some pics from the gallery opening and fashion show. It was a huge success.

Mark Andrew Allen Takes the Crown













Beverly Hills, California

He's been dubbed "Warhol meets Basquiat with the energy of Keith Haring." Fine artist Mark Andrew Allen, Master of the Crown Royale Motif, has stunned a new generation in Asia with a rainbow-hued retro reply to Goth. Texas-born Allen's sophisticated jabs at modern American consumer culture blend playful sarcasm with vibrant text messages woven into polychromatic backdrops.

His recent in-your-Facebook group exhibition at the Coppola Art Exchange in Beverly Hills, California presented viewers with a bold collision of decorative styles drawn from his Sick Clothing line to advertising campaigns Allen has created for feature films and Fortune 500 companies. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO, TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DID... GET 1 ONLY" series of canvases bridge fashion, music and multimedia.

"I don't like to think of myself as a game-changer, since this word has nearly lost its currency, but I do like to consider myself a style-changer in the way we think about forms of representational art work," Allen said. "Just because you wear a t-shirt, does not mean it is not fine art. Stealing from the street and reinterpreting or redefining ordinary images is the backbone of creative artists dating back to Rembrandt van Rijn. Or Van Gogh and his potato eaters."

-Quendrith Johnson

Coppola Art Exchange, 315 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90292, 310-552-5335. Gallery hours are Wednesday- Sunday 12-7

NEW PAINTINGS AT CHARITY EVENT














These paintings were at the charity event MAMMOJAM 2010 at exclusive VIP club above The Rise nightclub at the Highlands.

MORE NEWS COVERAGE OF MAMMOJAM 2010 CHARITY EVENT

See EXTRA coverage of this event at this link.

NEWS COVERAGE OF MAMMOJAM 2010 CHARITY EVENT

See ABC's Channel 7 coverage at this link


COKE GIRL

24" x 24" acrylic on wood panel - SOLD

MICKEY HOT ROD


24" x 24" acrylic on wood panel - SOLD- Collection of Johnny Schwartz, Kevin Schlaney, Juke Schmuger

HOLLYWOOD

36" x 48" acrylic on canvas $1250.00

This painting is is available to be viewed in person at RISE Night Club at Hollywood / Highland Complex, next to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. Hollywood-2.jpg

CALIFORNIA

36" x 48" acrylic on canvas $1250.00

This painting is is available to be viewed in person at RISE Night Club at Hollywood / Highland Complex, next to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. California.jpg

DREAM

22" x 22" mixed media on paper -  

B GOOD

22" x 22" mixed media on paper 

PLAY

16" x 20" mixed media on canvas 

AUTOMATIC YES

16" x 20" mixed media on paper with black frame - SOLD
In the collection of Gina Turino

BRILLIANT

18" x 24" mixed media on paper

OPIE TAYLOR

In this series of 'Icon Stars' I have included OPIE TAYLOR. This is my homage to one of my favorite tv shows. I changed the spelling of Opie Taylor for this satirical Mayberry / Sheppard Fairey piece. OPEY_TAYLOR4.jpg