New David Hockney & Alison Saar Works At L.A. Louver!

There was a packed house at the L.A. Louver last night for the opening of David Hockney: Something New In Painting (and Photography) [And even Printing] ... Continued as well as a new sculpture from Alison Saar almost exactly a year after their dual show this time last year. The crowd was abuzz with anticipation to see the new work from one of the most celebrated living artists in the world, but certainly in Los Angeles, which is almost always the star of Hockney's work. Bright colors and swimming pools made his name, and we were all here to see the latest.

It was almost intimidating to arrive to see the absolute longest line to get in I've ever seen stretching down Venice Boulevard all the way to Speedway. Indeed, it was too much for some who chose to sit it out at James Beach or the Canal Club rather than wait in line, but that's too bad because the line moved very quickly, and the reward was great once inside the door of the Louver.

The first floor was all Hockney, with large scale murals depicting "photographic drawings" of people in chairs taking in the more familiar, colorful works from Hockney. The drawings of mostly men were a little creepy to me, but it's cool to see such a range from someone so known for the almost tropical hues of his beautiful paintings of the great and sunny outdoors.

I've loved the Australian artist, Ken Done, since I was a little kid, and several of the bright new works from Hockney reminded me of those gorgeous visuals from the hemisphere to our south.

This will be a show worth revisiting, as there was really no way to take it all in with so many people crammed in there to see and be on the Art Scene. You couldn't take two steps without running into a longtime Venetian art lover, and that's really the best part of these show openings. That, and the confirmation that ART is still very much alive and well in our fair town. I overheard a girl in line saying in her Millennial drawl, "It's smart that they're putting art galleries in Venice now, there's so much money here." I had to step in and let her know that this venerable gallery has been here in Venice since 1975 ... and that Venice has always been about art, money or none. And always will be, if we the People have anything to say about it. And we do.

The upstairs gallery featured more of the bright works, and a series of drawings of Hockney friends, from Ed Sheeran to this lady that I thought was Jane Goodall, but was really a woman called Erica Bolton.

I loved the piece called The Walk To The Studio, 2018, as it features the wonderful flora and fauna outside of Hockney's Hollywood Hills studio. Lucky fella!

In the Skyroom outdoor galley, there was the new sculpture from Alison Saar called Grow'd, depicting one of her Topsy characters based on the girl in Uncle Tom's Cabin. It is pure power, and the now grown girl/woman commanded the room beautifully. I love Saar's work, and I'm not alone, because there was a hushed and reverent aura over the room from everyone who entered. The importance of good art cannot be understated.

What a great show! And night - as the party continued on to James Beach, the Venice Art Crawl mixer at Canal Club, and then an extra fun whiskey tasting party over at The Stronghold. This was one of those Venice nights that make all the rest of the things going on here all the way worth it. Kind of like standing in the line to get into this show ... there's hassles, sure ... but the art and community you get once you're here is WHY you're here. I love you, Venice. I love you, Art. Thank you!

David Hockney Something New in Painting (and Photography) [And even Printing] 
Alison Saar : Grow'd
L.A. Louver
Venice
February 7 - March 23, 2019

The May Venice Art Crawl - Shredtastic!

The Spring (and Norwegian National Day! - I care) edition of the Venice Art Crawl was held last night, and was as excellent of an evening as it always is. I'm working on a show that gave me a late start to crawling, but I put on my race-walking shoes and got to see as much art as I possibly could. This time around the VAC was focused on our "Cultural Corridor", as I like to call it, of Venice Boulevard. I started at Beyond Baroque, but it looked like an AA meeting was happening (as it has been on VAC nights before), so I kept on trucking to the Venice Library to get a map. It was there that I found out it WAS a stop on the Crawl, and not an AA meeting at all. Oops. Well, good turnout, Beyond Baroque, I'm sorry I missed it!

The library art part was over by the time I got there, but I understand little kids were painting outside. Dang it, that would have been adorable.  Friends were texting that they were over at Hama Sushi, enjoying sake and the fantastic Venice photographs from Todd Van Hoffman.

It was jam packed inside Hama (sorry, waiters!), so the shindig soon expanded to outside, where The Jewpanese Brothers (Masao Miyashiro and Jeremy Parker) were ripping it up outside under the portable Venice sign that accompanies our various event parades. People were singing and dancing in the street in Windward Circle - exactly as they should be.

My friends wanted me to sit and have some sushi and sake, but I protested, as there was still so much ground to cover and art to see. A man sitting there said, "You're putting a lot of pressure on yourself. Part of the Art Crawl is to see your friends and neighbors and enjoy yourself. It's ok if you don't see everything." That was nice of him ... and I should have listened, because I ended the night starving with no kitchens still open - but I DID get to see a whole lot of art.

The next stop was Surfside, where we were going to see the excellent photos from Ray Rae Goldman, but we got there and were told that he had cancelled due to an injury (hope you're ok, Ray!). There WAS, however, more super cool AR stuff from Cody Nowak and the app ReBlink, who had impressed us at the last Crawl. This time out, he truly blew minds. Classic style paintings hung on the wall, but when viewed through the Ipad (or the app on your phone), they came to life in striking and spectacular fashion. Like, WOW. Suzy Williams had never seen any AR, and I think her face below sums it up.

There were also paintings by Deborah Medina at Surfside that greeted you as you walked in, and that's what I love about the Crawl. So many Venice businesses open up to include art and art lovers, recognizing that ART is a major reason why Venice ever became Venice. They know that over at Small World Books (best book store on the West Side!), where they had the work of Alex Crist AND free guacamole! Win win.

Next door at The Sidewalk Café they were showing the watercolors of Elizabeth Covington and the photos of Dan Kacvinski, with live Japanese classical guitar music on the patio from Ashun that was simply lovely.

With no time to waste and the clock ticking, we sped down Speedway to North Venice Boulevard, where a collective of 10 women were showing their art and jewelry in an apartment so packed with friends and neighbors we could barely squeeze inside, even though there was wine. Leila Jean Levi, Michele Pelletier, Aly Farrow Wilkins, Mildred Rivera, Karen Gladstone, Joanne Silver, Susan Ryza, and Sage Ryza all showed their cool stuff, making friends and sales along the way. We could have stayed and chatted the rest of the night, but, again, time was of the essence.

Moving right along, we hit up James Beach to see work from Lori Petty, but were told that one was also cancelled. Ok, off to Canal Club across the street. Patrick Marston was showing his Venice inspired art in the front of the restaurant ...

... And Todd Goodman was showing his Venice inspired art in the back room. I pretty much wanted every piece, and was happy to see that Goodman was selling his colorful, beachy prints left and right (and I was happy they were prints, because otherwise he'd priced them far too low - get one!). From the pier to the sunsets, Venice is beautifully represented in his work (which was also the poster for this Crawl).

The most fun part of the Crawl is always running into the locals that you know and love. This happened non-stop last night, which was so heart-filling, but also slowed down the racing a bit ... maybe a good thing? A whole crew of us formed and headed over to Sunny Bak's pad, where there was a "Broken Heart Repair Shop" set up.

A nurse (Candy Frost) sat at a little table and listened intently to the lovelorn people lucky enough to snag a time slot, and offered prescriptions for their heart's recovery. Though deeply needed, I was not among those to get an appointment, and the guy that had just finished his own diagnosis had his lips sealed (though with a look of serenity on his face), so I can't really report as to what really went down. And my heart still needs fixing ... but I digress.

Onward! An evening stroll back up Venice Boulevard led us to the Wallspace pop-up happening in the yard at Sea You Are Free space on the corner of Venice and Abbot Kinney. It's always a good time there on the corner, and last night was no different. Wallspace represents several artists, and there were about 10 different ones showing there last night. I think my favorite of the bunch were the street signs repurposed with cooler words from Scott Froschauer ...with more uplifting messages than the typical "Stop" and "Yield" and "No Parking".

Once we realized there was only ten minutes left in most of the VAC stops, we sat down on a bench in the yard and finally took a breather. My friend's son, Declan, was with us much of the Crawl, and after spending the whole evening looking at art and meeting up with O.G. Venice folks, he said, "I'm so happy we live in Venice." This kid was born and raised here, so that made it even more special. He doesn't take if for granted, and every day feels fortunate to be brought up in such an original place that cares about our art and our community. I feel exactly the same way every day, but it's nice to hear it from a kid.

Now starving, we set out to find food only to find that almost every place on Abbot Kinney now closes their dang kitchens at 10:00 p.m. That is lame. Drinks were no problem (and there was even art at The Brig and Wabi Sabi, by Nicole Hoffman and Debbie Zeitman, respectively), but that's never a good idea on a completely empty stomach.

We did an entire lap around Venice - for real - and found that now back on Pacific,  even Mao's was closed! Where is an Art Crawler supposed to eat AND see all the art?! A real conundrum ... with the answer ending up being In and Out. Sigh. No real matter ... it was another fantastic event that we are lucky to have going down in our town. And now the annual Art WALK is this Sunday, so it truly is almost an embarrassment of artistic riches down here. Come see, won't you?

Hooray for the V.A.C.!!

Hso Hkam - The Prince Of Venice

If you've been out and about in Venice in the last two plus decades, chances are you've crossed paths with Hso Hkam. A real man about town, Hkam is always on the scene at every cool thing that goes down in Venice, but it was only recently that I got to know him better and find out the story behind the dude. And it's a good one. Like, did you know that Hso is a real life Prince? Yep, his family is from Rangoon (formerly Yangon), Myanmar (formerly Burma) and are the royal family of the Shan people. Hkam is the 19th Prince, but hasn't been back to his Burmese home since his family fled the country when he was 11 years old amid political strife. His aunt wrote a book about all of it called My Vanished World: The True Story Of A Shan Princess, and Hso is right there in the Lawksawk family tree. I mean HRH Hso!

Hkam's royal father married his mother, a commoner, which actually helped make things easier when the family left for Illinois, where his mother's family had already settled, and where his physician mother would immediately have work running a hospital. They got young Hkam into summer tennis, so by the time the school year began, he already had a bunch of friends, and easily assimilated (they also got him into martial arts, so he never had to be scared, because he could more than take care of himself!). His childhood friends are still his best friends, and it's amusing to see photos of the young Burmese Prince with a bunch of Italian Sopranos looking dudes ...and that's the beauty of America.

Tennis took him to the University of Illinois, and then winter took him to UCLA, and UCLA really took to Hkam. He joined a fraternity, and that really launched his social calendar. While at UCLA, Hkam and his frat buddies were super into skating and surfing, so would make the bus trek to Venice all the time. "We always wanted to come to Venice. We'd yell 'There's Christian Hosoi!', but it would only be the back of him because he was so fast." Skating around, he met the whole Venice Originals crew, and soon made the move to 6th and Indiana, mainly because there was a skate ramp in the backyard. The nightly machine gun fire got them out of there in only three months, but Hkam was having "adventure after adventure in Venice", and knew he was here to stay.




Shooting things for his fraternity got Hkam really bitten by the movie making bug, and one of his first short films won for Best Short at the Malibu Film Festival in 1993, so he knew he was on the right path. 1996 found his film Ghostown (about hijacking a taco truck in Venice) being sold to a Thai company, dubbing Hso and Block and crew into Thai! I have to see this. Hkam got work at a post facility, learning everything about film from shooting to editing. He continued making shorts and music videos, which were soon being featured on the old legit Venice Yo Venice! and then caught the attention of LA Weekly, where he continues to make short documentaries for their content, on everything from bands to chefs to the homeless issue. I like to think of him as kind of a new Huell Howser, capturing all the things that make L.A. great in what he says is "My dream job come true!"




That's the best thing I learned about Hkam, actually. His enthusiasm for good stories and people doing good reveal his own truly good heart. It's cool that he's a Prince and all, and that he can name-drop with the best of them, but he really seems to get the most excited about his work traveling all around L.A. with the homeless, health issues, and organizations like City Hearts (where 'Kids say yes to the arts!"), Coalition to Preserve LA, Housing Is A Human Right, and now also shooting things for the Southern California Burmese Association, keeping him connected with his home country. But he always comes back to Venice.

When asked what Hso was doing in Venice these days, one of his friends answered, "Teaching white people how to live!" When asked what he loves about this place, his first answer was "The tribalism of Venice. I have that in me, and it definitely exists here." It's true, and also why community means so much to Hkam - and the people he calls his friends. A painter as well, Hkam would have people over for chicken dinners while he painted every Thursday. "My biggest thing is food. I love to cook for people. My #1 is chitlins!" Chitlins! He added that any taco truck that doesn't have tripas tacos is not legit. No thank you, but I'm gonna go with him on missing Lilly's the most in Venice, and their succulent moules frites. OH, man. REALLY miss that. These days you'll likely see him at Gjelina or Canal Club (since it was Rebecca's) or James Beach, usually with a margarita.

Regarding the massive changes in Venice, Hkam says he embraces it. "If you want to be classy, go to Abbot Kinney, and if you want to be shady, you can still go to the Boardwalk and get mugged. There's no shortage of weirdo artists, they're just richer now. There will always be creatives here." Hmmm. Yeah. We can definitely agree that Venice "Should be INclusive, not EXclusive." - and that extends to greedy landlords and prohibitive rents, it should be said, as well as just the overall vibe.

While having all of his L.A. fun, Hkam is also getting ready to do his first feature film, as well as commercial directing, saying, "I'm ready for the big projects now." After being under such a microscope since he was born (as a royal), Hkam is quite content to be behind the scenes and behind the camera. Shooting all around L.A., he has gotten to know the community leaders of every area, and "I always represent Venice, but really I'm from Burma." Venice will consider Hso Hkam ours anyway, and when Hkam told me that a friend recently told him, "People in will always remember you for being so positive," I absolutely got why. He really is a Prince among men, and Venice is lucky to have him.

*Personal photos courtesy of Hso Hkam.

The Venice Art Crawl Turns 7!

The Venice Art Crawl turned 7 years old last night with a party at Canal Club to celebrate! The back room was jam packed with artists and the people who love them and their work. The entire mission of the VAC is to keep ART alive in Venice, and these are the folks that are making sure of that.

The VAC was the vision of Danny Samakow, Edizen Stowell, and Mike Newhouse, who came together to ensure that Venice as an art destination would remain so. They, along with tireless board member, Sunny Bak, were honored last night with a well-deserved certificate from the Venice Chamber of Commerce, and a big old 7th birthday chocolate cake.

A raffle was held all night, with winners claiming art by local artists, among other great loot prizes. Danny Samakow was sporting the bright pink VAC shirt from when the event was a monthly deal, and shared with me how happy he was to see how far it's all come.

Fun and familiar faces of Venice enjoyed themselves all night (and do be sure to check out the watermelon margarita across the street at James Beach while it's in season - delish!), and all looked forward to the next installment of the VAC in September for the Venice Afterburn - always a highlight of the year!

Happiest Birthday to the Venice Art Crawl, and endless thanks for all of your hard work to keep the art world in Venice not just alive, but thriving! Much, much love!

Next Venice Art Crawl - September 21st! 

 

The Spring Venice Art Crawl - Mini Edition

The Venice Art Crawl went down last night, and this time was centered up and down Venice Boulevard, in what I like to call "The Cultural Corridor". This time out was a lot smaller (with the annual Art Walk also happening this weekend, it's a lot), and I'm not mad at that. There's always so much ground to cover that you can never see it all anyway, so this more bite size version was actually pretty user-friendly. I had woken up to the news that the world lost Chris Cornell, so was feeling a bit melancholy, but also very eager to get out and live myself.

                                                                                                  *this piece by Jennifer Verge

We started the evening in the window seats at Wabi Sabi as the sun went down, and it was like looking at art just watching all the people walk by ... and all the girls taking selfies out in front. Wabi Sabi was also a stop on the Art Crawl, so we hit two birds with one stone (and a few glasses of wine got hit as well, if I'm honest). Barbara Lavery had her show Before They Go up on the walls, a series of photos of Venice artists working in their studios - while they still have them. It was poignant, and great, and shone a light on the fact that Venice is really nothing without its artists ... and that's what the Art Crawl is all about.

As the daylight waned, we headed over to the Beyond Baroque and SPARC complex to see what was happening, but it appeared to be a big crowd for an AA meeting. We probably could have done with staying and listening, but there was still a lot of art to see. We walked over to the home studio of Flavio Bisciotti, which was nearly totally ruined in a fire last year. Fellow artists came together to do a show comprised of all works done on charred remains of things from the studio.

The "Art From The Ashes" show was a great success, and also incredibly inspiring. Artists coming together to make something new out of the old, and supporting each other through it all. It's a beautiful thing, as are the objects that were created out of it. My favorite was the chandelier made from bits and pieces of wreckage, that came together to be more beautiful than any of it had been before. There's a good lesson in there ...

Bisciotti has a wonderful attitude about it all, and appears to be even more inspired himself. He has made chairs that are see through and contain more wreckage, that were very cool, and again, wouldn't have happened without that awful fire. This man has truly become the phoenix.

There were drinks and good conversation there, but there was also a whole bunch more art to see, and we'd already killed a lot of time. We had more Crawlers join us as we aimed for the beach down Venice Boulevard. It didn't seem like much was happening at the Venice Library, so we went on over to Sunny Bak's place to see her, and the silent auction going on there to benefit the Art Crawl Afterburn in the fall.

Sunny does SO much for this Art Crawl, and one of the reasons this Crawl was small, is that she does most of it herself, it seems like. She needs help, volunteers, artists, venues, money ... HELP. It takes a whole community to pull these things off, and we need to all be in it together. One of the best ways to combat gentrification and tech company take-overs is to PARTICIPATE in events. Be SEEN in your Community. Many people I talked to yesterday weren't even aware the Art Crawl was being held last night, though there are banners up all over town, and promotions all over social media. C'mon, Venice. Time to re-boot the school spirit. Thanks!

There was live painting happening outside at Sunny's by Ana Escobar, and the bright colorful pieces brought some fun and vibrancy to the night - plus it's always fun to watch people work.

Time was ticking, so we raced over to the C.A.V.E. to see the beautiful show Sixth Extinction by Louis Masai. It features colorful animals that are endangered or extinct, and is centered by a bee hovering over some flowers. I love Masai's work, and first saw it as a mural behind the G2 Gallery on Abbot Kinney. It's up through May, I believe, and well worth your time to check out on your way to the beach.

We were too late to see Deb Louck's new work at Small World Books, as we found the doors locked. Bummer. It's all still up though, so I'll still go see it and so should you. I love her stuff. We didn't make it into Sidewalk Café either, as now we ran into friends that were on their way to the Canal Club. There was a ton of fun art in the back room there, in a show called "ARTravenous" by James Berkowitz, with various artists showing. There was a big crowd there, and everyone was clearly having a good time.

This was a fun Crawl, as I rolled around with Venice lady legends, Greta Cobar and Suzy Williams - two of my all time favorite Venetians. Laughs were had.

It was vital that we cross the street to James Beach with Danny Samakow, both to see all of his beautiful paintings that were featured on the dining room walls ... and to do shots of some crazy rum together. Why not? (I poured a little out for Chris Cornell. Respect.)

There was still a lot going on all over town, but now it was getting late and people had to work today. It was great to see all the people out and about, on foot and bike, enjoying the sort of holiday feeling that comes with an event like the Venice Art Crawl. We are lucky people. We are alive and creating and sharing and celebrating art and each other in Venice, California.

Amen.

Mermaid Mural

I noticed a mural on the wall outside of Canal Club a while ago, and as it features a mermaid, I loved it, of course.

I asked Canal Club co-owner Danny Samakow who the artist was, and he wasn't sure, because it was painted for the Bruce Willis movie that was shot in Venice this Summer, Going Under. The film crew left, but the mural stayed, and we're all fine with it.

Keep a look out for Going Under when it comes out, and see our Venice featured in the cinema once again.

Thanks for the Mermaid!

Calavera - The Venice Tequila

Venice now has its very own tequila, everyone! Calavera Tequila was conceived years ago in the mind of my good friend, Jim Robb, and it is now available for your drinking pleasure. The beautiful hand-painted skull bottles were created to house the already award-winning spirits, and honor the name of the brand, as "Calavera" is the name of the sugar skulls that are everywhere in Mexico for Dia de los Muertos.

Calavera is distilled in the town of Tequila, Mexico, appropriately enough, as I learned that much like champagne needs to come from Champagne, France, so too does tequila need to come from Tequila to be absolutely authentic. Which Calavera is, from the small batch runs (only 300 cases per batch) to the Mexican artists whose skill in hand painting the bottles is passed down from generation to generation. Each Robb-designed bottle is different - and beautiful - and I imagine we'll soon be seeing them all over the place, starring in Dia de los Muertos altars, as candle holders, vases, and whatnot after they've been emptied of their tequila. As they say, "A distinct bottle for a distinct tequila."

Robb was born and raised in Wyoming, until the "Sunshine and pretty women," beckoned him to Venice in 1987. He immediately liked "the spirit of Venice," and has been here ever since.  He began working at Southern Wine and Spirits, and is a 25 year veteran of the alcohol business. After repping a bunch of brands over the years, Robb finally decided that he'd really rather be out there selling his own product, with a focus on quality and fine craftsmanship. This has already been recognized, as all three of Calavera's tequilas - a Blanco, Anejo and Reposado - have already been awarded bronze and silver medals at the recent Spirits of Mexico competition, over 40 others in each category. Bam!

The Blanco (a Bronze medalist) is not aged, and is created from 100% lowland agave. The Reposado batch (the Silver winner), from 100% highland agave has just been released after aging for 6 months in American whiskey oak barrels, which gives it a nice caramel, smoky flavor. The Anejo (Bronze winner) is the top of this top shelf, made of both high and lowland agave, and is aged two YEARS in those bourbon barrels. Smoooooooth, without any of that wincing whiplash you get from some lesser tequilas. Yuuuuuuuum.

It's fun to see the bottles already showing up in our local watering holes, like Canal Club, James Beach, Danny's Deli, Mercedes Grille, The Terrace, The Basement Tavern, and Baja Cantina, with more venues joining the party every day. For now, you can buy it for your own bar at Beverage Warehouse in Culver City or Vendome in Beverly Hills, with hopefully some Venice retailers joining that list soon.

Robb is happy that Venice is the home base of Calavera, "... because I love it. I love the people. It's my family here. YOU are my family." True story. Great people, biking, paddleball and "keeping Speedway straight" (his street) fill Robb's time when he's not out "Shaking babies and kissing hands all over town," to bring his tequila to the people.

Calavera will have its official launch TONIGHT, November 1st at Robb's annual Halloween/Dia de los Muertos party, this year at the Loew's Hotel in Santa Monica - the perfect holiday for its kick off! I love to see our friends and neighbors realizing their dreams, and as the Calavera brand continues to grow and gain a following, it's extra great to know that it all started right here in Venice. Hecho (well, operated out of) en Venice!

March Venice Art Crawl - Fresh Air, Fresh Art

Last night was the March Venice Art Crawl, and it was great. It kind of felt like First Fridays used to feel, where you saw a lot of locals and neighbors, and places served up free booze and music. The Art Crawl is actually better than First Fridays used to be, because the whole point is to appreciate local art ... the very reason Venice became cool in the first place.

Cool doesn't begin to describe how excellent it was to approach the Venice Skatepark just after sunset, seeing it all lit up, with a DJ blasting out good jams over the entire Boardwalk. They built a little entrance ramp so that people could go down in the snake run of the park, where the art of Mark Farina was hung.

It was a party, seeing all sorts of familiar Venice faces and catching up, all while checking out the brightly colored and highly political pieces from Farina.

These are the kind of original, fun ideas that make Venice special, and the kind of things we NEED - to show the world that they can keep their corporate chain stores and hum drum sameness.

WE have art openings IN skateparks. Bam.

There was a lot to see and do, so I had to crack the whip and keep us moving along ... to Small World Books next.

Among all the zillions of books I covet every time I walk in the best book store in the West, I now also want one of the pieces by Christina Mills showing at Small World.

Her work feaures the typical Venice scenes, with surfers and the Venice sign type images, with scads of tweets from Venice 311 behind them ... truly an example of "Where Art Meets Crime."

 

On to The Gallery on Market Street, where we saw the gorgeous photography (featuring a bunch of Venice neighbors - Tawney! Shawn!) of Nicol Ragland.

The sign said, "A photographic exhibit raising questions about our ability to access primal and immaterial forces within the commercial ethos of western industrial society. The images stir a vital and confrontational animism by juxtaposing taxidermied wild animals in the arms of domestic U.S. citizens provokingly situated in the iconic centers of mass commerce." Phew. That's weighty stuff ... but the photos sure were lovely.

We stopped in to see my girls at Kiki Designs (and spied even more cool rings we all wanted) and raise a glass, then did same at Gotta Have It, where the lovely Venice native, Mattea Perrotta, was showing her work. I knew almost everyone I saw, making it such a delight to be out and about, among friends.

Art was everywhere, and it was hard to take it all in when there was also so much socializing to be done. We did pretty well, but did get to Shulamit Gallery a bit too late to fully enjoy it, since they were kicking people out.

James Beach had Shark Toof and Tom French work featured - always a pleasure - and across the street at the Canal Club, owner Danny Samakow showed his very Venice paintings, that he was auctioning off for his upcoming AIDS Lifecycle Bike-A-Thon. We drank champagne with "Team Venice" and I soon found myself being the person that drew the raffle tickets for the lucky winners of Danny Samakow originals. We had a blast with the boys, even more so knowing that it was all going for such a good cause (that you can still donate to. Contact Danny.)

We covered a lot, but we didn't cover it all ... so there will be a lot to look forward to when the next Art Crawl rolls around June 20th. The night was starry as we strolled back home, way later than I had planned. We passed underneath the Venice sign again, and I smiled to myself that I get to live here, where there are still staunch preservationists of what is truly cool, proven by nights like this.

I love you, Venice. (We say that a lot here)