Can't Wait For: Hockney

Already out in limited release, we can't wait to see this documentary about the incredible British artist, David Hockney.  Told in his own words and with access to his studio, this film charts his career, including the influence California - especially LA - has had in his work.

Find more details and a theater to see it here.

We Recommend: The Illustrations of Monica Ramos

We are addicted to Pinterest, in case you didn't already know, and have recently found ourselves stumbling across the same amazing illustrator again and again. Upon closer examination, we discovered it was the work of Monica Ramos, an artist originally from Manila, who graduated from Parson's and lives in New York. Her illustrations are playful and have the most beautiful color palates. We want to frame them all.

You can view more of her work here.

The Bold Italic's SF vs. LA Illustrations

Inspired by the Paris versus New York illustration series, illustrator Annalisa van den Bergh decided to create a California cities version for the Bold Italic.  It's a great concept, and one we would love to see built on.  You can view some of her illustrations below, the rest are at this link. 

All images via The Bold Italic

California Artist Spotlight: Margaret Keane

During the 1960s, American artist Margaret Keane was one of the most popular painters in the country, only no one knew it was her work that was so acclaimed.  As depicted by Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz in the Tim Burton film, Big Eyes, Margaret's husband, Walter Keane, took full credit for her work and marketed her child waif paintings with the famously oversized eyes as inspired by his time in post-WWII Europe.  He may not have been able to create art himself, but he knew how to sell it, with galleries in San Francisco and New York, and licensing deals that saw the paintings turned into posters, cards, and other memorabilia. 

Signature Big Eyes Keane portraits

Margaret was born in Nashville in 1927, and was a lonely child (this sadness inspired her to show emotions in the eyes of her subjects), before moving to suburban California as an adult, and settling in San Francisco in the mid-1950s upon leaving her first husband.  Shortly after arriving in the city's artsy North Beach neighborhood, she met real estate salesman and wannabe artist Walter, who swept her off her feet and offered her a sense of stability, providing a home and traditional family life for Margaret and her daughter Jane.  

Margaret and paintings in 'her' style

The first two years of the marriage were happy ones, but Walter showed his true colors when he started selling both of their art in the beatnik club The Hungry i.  As Margaret says, she was at the club one night when "...he was over there, talking, selling paintings, when somebody walked over to me and said: 'Do you paint too?' And I suddenly thought - just horrible shock - 'Is he taking credit for my paintings?'"  Because their family needed the money, she allowed the lie, having no idea just how big it would become.  Eventually Walter allowed Margaret to show some work in a different style, but he always took full credit for the Big Eyes paintings.

Margaret and Walter Keane in their home studio with one of the Natalie Wood paintings

Natalie Wood with a Margaret Keane on the left, and a 'Walter Keane' on the right - both were painted by Margaret

Once the paintings started selling, everything quickly snowballed, and the Keanes were able to expand into their own galleries, buy a large house, and were getting significant press and celebrity commissions - including paintings for Natalie Wood, Liberace, and Joan Crawford.  Margaret painted everything herself, and spent up to 16 hours a day in her studio, never letting anyone - not even their family - in on the secret she and her husband now shared. 

Margaret Keane's Tomorrow Forever for UNICEF

In 1965, LIFE Magazine called the paintings "the most popular art now being produced in the free world."  While the art was popular, it wasn't always well regarded - many critics were disdainful of the style and didn't regard Keane's as serious work.  A particular painting, done in 1964 for UNICEF to display at the World's Fair in New York, was so maligned that organizers decided to remove it from display before the Fair even began.  On top of the criticism, there was tremendous pressure on Margaret to maintain the illusion of her husband the artist, especially since, according to her, Walter threatened her life if she ever betrayed his trust.

Hawaiian Kingdom by Margaret Keane

It all came crashing down in 1970, five years after Margaret left Walter (who, aside from being a literal con artist, was also a philanderer and heavy drinker), moved to Hawaii, and became a Jehovah's Witness.  Inspired by her new faith, she decided to cease creating the Keane paintings for Walter's gallery, and went on a San Francisco radio station to announce the deception, before taking her ex to court for the profits and rights to her work.  After a famous paint-off, which Walter declined to participate in, Margaret showed the judge and jury that she was the true artist in the family, and was awarded $4 million.  However, she was not to see a dime of the money, and Walter died penniless in 2000, still never having admitted his con.

Margaret Keane in her San Francisco Gallery

Margaret remarried during her time in Hawaii, and has since moved back to California.  She lives in Sonoma County and has a gallery in San Francisco, Keane Eyes Gallery.   She still paints nearly every day.

Margaret Keane and Amy Adams, as Margaret, on the set of Big Eyes

All images via Google

California Artist Spotlight: Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams' work heavily featured the American West, and he was almost as well known for his environmental protection efforts as for his incredible black and white photography.  

Born to a wealthy family in San Francisco in 1902, Adams was raised to respect nature and to live a modest, socially responsible life.  He initially hoped to become a professional musician, but his interest in photography developed after a trip to Yosemite National Park when he was 14.  He pursued both careers for several years, before conceding that he could never be a truly great pianist and deciding to focus on photography.  In 1932 he, along with Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston, created a collective called Group f/64 whose view was that 'pure photography is defined as possessing no qualities of technique, composition or idea, derivative of any other art form.'  

In 1933, Adams opened his own gallery in San Francisco, and he and his wife Virginia raised a family there, while he continued to focus on nature photography, contributed to photography magazines, began to publish books of his work, and became active in the Sierra Club and its conservation efforts.

 

During WWII, Adams was an officer of the Naval Aviation Photography Unit, and received permission to photograph a wartime Japanese interment camp, which he made into a photo essay.  Around this time, he also started the first fine art photography department at the San Francisco Art Institute, and received a Guggenheim Grant to photograph every US National Park.

Adams was one of the first photographers to be taken seriously by galleries and museums, with his work being treated on par with that of painters.  During his lifetime, his work was displayed in many of the most prestigious art institutes in the US and Europe.  He died in Monterey, California in 1984 of heart disease, but he left an incredible legacy that's always awe inspiring.

All images via Google.  Portrait of Ansel Adams by unknown, all other photographs by Ansel Adams.