Disney's Original Art in Club 33

I recently had the opportunity to spend an afternoon in Disneyland's exclusive Club 33 restaurant. Aside from the amazing decor, 5 star food and the mystique of pushing the buzzer on the unmarked green door, what really struck me was Disney's collection of original art hanging throughout the interior.

Brief History

According to the inset of the Club 33 menu, the restaurant was envisioned by Walt Disney to be an escape reality, a place where VIPs and visiting dignitaries could enjoy a quiet, luxurious meal away from the hubbub of the park. Along with his wife and famous interior decorator Emil Kuri, Disney traveled to New Orleans to pick out the restaurant's decor. They came back with stunning antiques, furniture and artwork. For a more detailed history of the club, check out Disneyland Club 33.

Club 33's Art

In addition to the many treasures Disney brought back from New Orleans, visitors can find original works of art scattered throughout the restaurant. Disney Imagineers, animators and concept artists provided stunning images that add to the mystique of the exclusive club.

The first pieces of original Disney concept art that caught my eye were of the costumes from Mary Poppins.

These two sketches were hanging with several other pieces depicting characters from the movie. They were also near a table from the actual Mary Poppins set.

I couldn't be completely sure without a closer look, but it looked like both of these paintings were done in water color. I absolutely love the simplicity of the them, using the same basic colors of blue, red, white. Very patriotic and by far some of my favorite costumes from the movie. They, like the rest of Club 33, remind me of an escape from everyday life to a time and place of carefree leisure.

As you continue to walk through the restaurant you happen across other remarkable sketches and paintings, including this gorgeous water-color painting of Cinderella's castle.

And of course, how could I not mention the original sketches of the pirates, ships and the concept art from my favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean.

It was amazing to see the original sketches that went behind the Pirates ride. The imagination had the start from somewhere and what they did on paper really shines through on the ride. The sketches have incredible detail and look as if they were ripped from the pages of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel.

There are dozens of other pieces of work covering the walls of Club 33 but my battery died before I could capture them all. I outreached to Disney to receive additional information about the pieces described above, as well as the others that I couldn't include, but according to their representative they could not provide background as the artwork is switched out frequently. Maybe someday I can go back and get everything I missed. Or, if you've got your own photos or done research about the artwork, please share with me so that I can add to this post.

Overall, the experience at Club 33 is unforgettable, but the unique original artwork is what really stays with me. I can't help but think that only a few people in the world have actually seen these drawings and paintings.

Using Music as an Inspiration

Los Angeles and great music go hand in hand. You can always find big names, up-and-coming bands and underground artists at one of the hundreds of clubs throughout the city. So it's hard to pick just one show to go to or one artist to profile. But last weekend was an easy choice for me: I saw New Found Glory and Saves the Day, two of my all time favorite bands, at the House of Blues in Anaheim.

Growing up I followed these pop/punk bands all over Southern California. They were a huge part of my teenage years so it was no surprise that I became a screaming teenager all over again. I want to take the emotion of my teenage years with the excitement, awe and adrenaline of the live concert and replicate it on canvas. I captured some images and video using my iPhone that I will use for inspiration for an upcoming piece.

In the first image, I really love the colors and shapes that came out through the black background. In the second image, the silhouettes of the people against the colorful background has a really unique contrast that I think will transfer beautifully to paint and canvas! I think I am going to paint both of them and see what comes out of it.

Here's some video from the show too. It didn't come out the way I wanted it to- sorry for the loud bass (you may want to turn your speakers/headphones down a little), but I couldn't resist showing off my old favorite bands!

Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit Coming to the Getty Museum

The first time I ever saw an actual Da Vinci piece of art in person was last year when I went to Florence. I saw Adoration of the Magi and Annunciation at the Uffizi gallery and was blown away. They were my favorite out of his collections at the Uffizi and even bought a print of Annunciation to take home with me.

Annunciation
According to VirtualUffizi.com this painting came from the church of San Bartolomeo at Monteoliveto; painted around 1472 when Leonardo was still in Verrocchio's workshop. At the Uffizi since 1867.

[image from www.leonardo-da-vinci-biography.com]


Adoration of the Magi
According to VirtualUffizi.com this painting was commissioned by the monks of San Donato at Scoperto in 1481, it was left unfinished when Leonardo set off for Milan. As the Uffizi since 1670.

[image from http://arthistory.about.com/]

Little did I know that I only had to wait a few more months to see his art at the Getty Center!

The exhibition is going to focus mostly on his sculpture work, so you won't be able to see some of his more famous paintings. But I'm really interested in seeing some of his concept illustrations and sketches since there are no actual sculptures that can be proven to be Da Vinci's. However, the exhibition will feature several Rustici sculptures - Rustici spent a lot of time studying with Da Vinci and, according to the Getty, "because of their collaborations and similar aesthetic, Rustici's work is considered the best echo of Leonardo's lost activity as a sculptor."

The exhibition begins this weekend and goes through the summer (March 23 - June 20). For more information on this exhibition check out the Getty's website at http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/leonardo/.

Thinkspace

One of my favorite LA spots to see the latest in contemporary art is Thinkspace. They always seem to find young, new talent and showcase them in a way that brings out the best in their work. But living on the West side of LA makes it hard for me to get out to their Silverlake gallery. So you can imagine my excitement when I heard they would be moving their gallery to Culver City next month!

According to Sour Harvest, Thinkspace's blog, the move will be a boon for their fans and exhibiting artists: "With this move we aim to enhance our ongoing program and provide an ever-growing base to some of the most exciting emerging contemporary artists from around the world."

The gallery opens on April 1st but the first exhibitions will open to the public on April 9th with a reception from 7-10 p.m. featuring appearances from several of the gallery's artists. I'm especially excited to see drawings and paintings from Anthony Pontius. His work looks amazing!

http://www.sourharvest.com/2010/03/21/coming-up-this-april-at-thinkspaces-new-culver-city-location/

Be sure to stop by Thinkspace when they open in Culver City or try to catch the talented artists at the Silverlake gallery while it's still open.

Thinkspace
6009 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Wed-Sat 1-6 p.m.
www.thinkspacegallery.com

Christian Bolesta: Artist and Teacher

My goal is to have a weekly feature where I am going to post an interview with artists that not only inspires me but who I also want to highlight in the hopes they will inspire others. The first in my series is of my good friend Christian Bolesta who is an artist and special education teacher living in Germany. I had a great interview with him and was able to get insight on his job, how he helps inspire art in unique individuals and why he thinks art is important for all of us to have in our daily lives. He was also kind enough to share some of the artwork from his students in Germany.

1.Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Christian Bolesta and I live near Frankfurt, Germany and attended a college to study special education in Heidelberg. I'm working in a group home for adults who are mentally and physically handicapped. My job is to accompany my clients through their daily lives and offer them different therapeutic activities like swimming, hiking, making music, making candles and painting.

2. Why do you think art helps your students express themselves?
The different art-projects are helping my clients to encourage new and creative ways of dealing with their problems and reflecting on themselves.

3. Do you think art is essential in everyone’s daily life?
Most people are dealing with "art" everyday. A painting is art. All handicrafts that a child does in kindergarten are art. What a surgeon is doing in a hospital is art. Even designing a toilet can be art....and every kind of art is interesting to someone.

4. What kind of art projects do your students enjoy most?
Being creative, whether with painting, photography or making music helps me to express my feelings and my lifestyle to the people around me. I want to share my experiences with others and want to help other people to find themselves in the art.

6. What is your favorite type of art to practice?
I like playing guitar, drums or singing everyday at home. I also travel frequently and take pictures on every trip. I'm painting whenever it’s raining and or when I'm relaxing at home. So it really depends on where I am and in what mood I am in. I think the most of them like working with acrylic paint. It’s got bright colors, has a nice consistency and dries very fast. Painting on large canvases is the most fun for my clients. They can express themselves by big movements and let their emotions flow. The paintings are usually abstract.

7. Who are some of your favorite artists?
I'm still fascinated by gambling and bars - that's why I love the artwork of Michael Godard. I also like his "rock star" attitude. When art is too sophisticated I lose interest. It should be understandable for everybody. On the other hand I love the old masters like Michelangelo. The Sistine chapel in Vatican City is just breathtaking.

I'm also a fan of some of the amateur art at http://www.kunstdepot24.de/ - It’s all young art-students from Berlin who are selling really nice copies of famous paintings for a nice price. I’ve bought a few pieces for myself and my students.

8. What are things that inspire you as an artist?
I'm traveling a lot, especially between Germany and the United States. I'm trying to translate all the different experiences onto canvas or through guitar strings.

9. What do you think is missing from the art world today?

The dialogue between all types of people and social classes. I'd rather go to an exhibition of kindergarten paintings than to an exhibition of an arrogant-wanna-be-artist that sells expensive paintings that a monkey could have painted.

10. Where can people learn more about your students' artwork?
You can see the paintings and buy all kind of colorful candles and woodwork in our store at the workshop of the "IB Behindertenhilfe Hessen" in Grävenwiesbach, Germany or at our store in Usingen, Germany.

Name: Marcus Country: Germany Age: 40

Name: Angelika Country: Germany Age: 27

Name: Fahim Country: Afghanistan Age: 31

Name: Yvonne Country: Germany Age:34

Name: Arzu Country: Turkey Age:25

Name: Janel Country: USA Age:36

Name: Fahim Country: Afghanistan Age:31

Name: Yvonne Country: Germany Age: 34

TIm Burton @ MOMA

Tim Burton is currently having a exhibition from now until April 26th at The Museum of Modern Art. If you are around and can stop by please do and let me know how it is!!! I have only been able to explore his exhibition through his website on MOMA and it looks amazing! I think my favorite is his private collection of drawings, especially The Ramone. If you have a chance check it out.

http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2009/timburton/

Also check out MOMA's blog Inside/Out below- More great stuff on Tim!

http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/category/tim-burton

[image-http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/category/tim-burton]

Bergamot Station

I read today on LAist that they are considering turning Bergamont into a train station or expo yard. Bergamont is one of my favorite spots in LA. Not only do I sometimes go there during lunch to escape my hectic work schedule, but it's full of great art, atmoshphere and culture. I think LA needs better public transportation but not at the expense of the local community and it's cultural assets. One solution could be a train station nearby so that people that live in other parts of LA who might not otherwise get to visit the galleries can stop by.

http://laist.com/2009/03/10/expo_line_transit_yard_or_cultural.php

(photo-theandrewsgallery.blogspot.com)