John, Carolyn, and The Walrus Swap!

En route to my hometown, I stayed over at my dear cousins' place in West LA. These two kids in particular, are fantastic designers, eco-minded, modern yet exuding warmth, and creative as a magpie with its nest.

Upon entering their place, I noted the clean opaque color choices, the matte green armoire, ethereal lighting sculptures, bikes outside, plants inside, and stunning wax paintings adorning the walls. Huge rectangles bursting with every favorite (and not so favorite) crayon color you could imagine swirling in a frozen state of smooth, oily, harden wax.

Years ago, Carolyn and John had the good fortune of living next door to the artist Daniel Kaufman. They all made friends quickly and Daniel invited them into his home to do some of their own encaustic, or wax paintings. Using a blow torch, gesso-ed wood, and an open mind paintings ensued, all different and loaded with color and associations.

To my great fortune, I had brought my "Weighty Walrus." I had something to barter with, and I went straight to it. "Hey guys, want to swap a walrus for a crayon painting?" And then the best thing happened: Carolyn pulled out a stack of paintings she and John had worked on and told me to pick. Oy vey!, the decision was tough. I picked a snowy white semi-gloss piece. It is long and narrow and has moments of seaweed sinews and bursts of cool blue glows. There is a hint of salmon that reminds me of a Kandinsky piece I saw with my Dad somewhere. Image will be posted when hung.