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A New "Era" Begins - The Roaring '20s Are Back
Channel Your Best Jazz Age Attitude For An Art Deco Penthouse Party
New to downtown is Era, a monthly event taking place at the original 1928 Art Deco Oviatt Building. For the grand opening of the new monthly, trip-hoppers Beat Ventriloquists will be take turntable turns in the Penthouse, while well-dressed hepcats go balls-out for this Roaring '20s party.
RSVP is a must, and unfortunately doesn't guarantee entry, but once inside (don't forget: there's a $20 cover--ouch!) there's a complimentary Marani Vodka bar from 9-10pm, even more incentive to get dolled up early.
The penthouse "club" is multi-roomed (including master bedroom and even a "saloon"), and Art Deco furnished, while the rooftop patio has an expansive view of downtown, replete with open-air bar. Era will be happening June 6, July 25, August 15, September 19.
Era
@ Oviatt Penthouse Building
617 S. Olive St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014
310.286.2989
9PM
Future Dates & Times
Sat, Jul 25
9:00p
Sat, Aug 15
9:00p
Sat, Sep 19
9:00p
"ABOUT OVIATT PENTHOUSE
The historic Oviatt Penthouse is one of Los Angeles' most celebrated architectural gems, designed by the most distinguished architects and artisans of the Jazz Age. It was built for James Oviatt, a haberdasher whose luxurious shop once occupied the ground floor of his namesake building. Oviatt's ambition was to create a spectacular residence that would showcase the Art Deco design he'd admired at the 1925 Exposition in Paris. The exquisitely preserved Penthouse contains many of its original appointments, including chandeliers and fixtures by Rene Lalique, a magnificent Art Deco bar by the renowned design firm of Saddier et Fils, and flooring of exotic woods. The Penthouse suite leads to a spacious rooftop terrace with dramatic 360-degree views of downtown Los Angeles. The surrounding walls are ornamented with Moorish architectural details. A winding staircase leads to an observation platform and clocktower. Hailed by Oviatt's contemporaries as "a castle in the air", the Penthouse was the site of legendary parties for decades. Oviatt and his wife Mary entertained lavishly, and signed photographs of their friends and clients - including John Barrymore, Errol Flynn, Leslie Howard, Charles Boyer and Howard Hughes - still grace the Penthouse walls."
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For more information, click here.
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The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), continues to highlight its outstanding permanent collection with two new exhibitions at its MOCA Grand Avenue location. From the Permanent Collection: Robert Frank's "The Americans", a rare showing of the original portfolio of images comprising the landmark book, is on view June 14 to October 19, 2009. Collecting History: Highlighting Recent Acquisitions, focusing on works added to the collection during the past five years, will be on view July 12 to October 19, 2009. The two shows join A Changing Ratio: Painting and Sculpture from the Collection, which opened at MOCA Grand Avenue on March 1 and has been extended to September 28, 2009. For more information, click here.
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Name my new series and help me find venues to show it.
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This is one of a series of ten paintings, currently called "Lighting the Candles". I'm looking for a new name and for places to show these paintings.
In the Jewish tradition, lighting the candles is done on Friday night at the beginning of Sabbath, the day of rest.
Some suggestions for this series include Sacred Time, Sacred Moment, Candlelight Prayer, Welcome the Shabbat, Woman of Valor. What are your ideas for a name? What places do you know that would be a good venue for this series?
I welcome your ideas. Thank you!
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I appreciated all the wonderful suggestions for my future show of Vanishing Species. The exhibit will be at the Oakland Gallery in the State Building and will take place in May-June 2010. 
I will be busy painting between now and then. I am looking for images for some of your suggestions, especially for Western Snowy Plover, Loggerhead Shrike and Horned Lark. If you have your own images and would like to have me paint one of them, let me know.
I am still open to more of your ideas. Click here to let me know your suggestions.
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| See My Paintings in Albany, Oakland, and Walnut Creek |
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Paintings from Spain at Cafe DiBartolo
Who: East Bay Women Artists
Where: Cafe DiBartolo 3310 Grand Ave. in the Grand Lake District
When: to September 2009
I am showing my paintings of Spain as part of a group show.
Prices dramatically reduced on all my paintings from Spain!
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New Award
 "Meditation on a Hibiscus" won an award from the Oakland Art Association.
Where: John Muir Medical Center
1601 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek
When: through September 11, 2009
This is the second award for "Meditation on a Hibiscus". The California Watercolor Association presented an award at the Filoli Garden Center this Spring.
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See my paintings at The Solano Grill,
1133 Solano Avenue, near San Pablo.
My paintings are in the Wine Room on the left. Prices reduced from website listings.
Open daily from 11:30 am to 3 pm and from 5 pm to 9 pm.
Enjoy the Asian fusion cuisine with fresh local produce.
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Take advantage of the Lay Away Plan with no interest. Pay what you can when you can.
Buy art for someone you love, including yourself.
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| If you are interested in purchasing one of my paintings or prints, contact me here. I'll help you make it happen. |
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Buy a Gift Certificate in any amount for any of my paintings or prints.
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There is nothing more personal than a piece of art. Gift certificates toward the purchase of any of my paintings or prints are available in any denomination. For upcoming birthdays, anniversaries or the upcoming holidays, purchase a gift certificate to show appreciation for a loved one. Contact me directly.
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Artist Profiles...
Brenda Joysmith
Wind & Willow Giclee
Brenda Joysmith is more than an artist. All her paintings have a story to tell. “Drawing from careful observation of Black people in their ordinary routines, I select a moment that is particularly expressive, or best characterizes my basic idea. Then I work to create a painting that is both meaningful and enjoyable,” explains Brenda. Starting with a realistic portrayal of her subject, Brenda’s paintings are also impressionistic, interpreting an experience through the subjective use of color and other visual cues. Bright colors that “turn up the volume” are used to express the spirit of children playing ring games or enjoying a parade. Muted marine colors with soft edges and hazy, blurred figures in the distance best describe the calm mood of a couple with introspective expressions looking out over a bay.
Brenda grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1950s and 1960s with four brothers and four sisters. Much of her work is indeed Southern and nostalgic. Now she has returned to her native Memphis, after living for 25 years in California. She says, “The last 25 years in California have expanded my view of the diversity of Black people. Our experience varies by region, generation, religion or socio-economic status. However, most of our cultural roots take us back to the South. I want to remind us of the strengths and positive substance of that experience, connecting with the universal and the timeless.” It is the viewer¹s recognition of these elements and the emotional response to these memories that bring the works of art to life. In 1984 she self-published her first print portfolio of six paintings titled Tapestry. Notably, it is the Tapestry Collection of six limited edition prints.
Ms. Joysmith has won numerous awards over the years and her work appears in many prestigious galleries and museums. Over the years, Brenda's art work has received valued exposure through electronic media as it has been displayed on the sets of both network television series (The Cosby Show, A Different World, Amen, Family Matters, Sinbad, In The Heat Of The Night, Sparks, Good News, The Gregory Hines Show, The Jamie Foxx Show, Malcolm and Eddie, The Hughleys, and Cosby) and feature films (Philadelphia, Lethal Weapon III, Ghost Dad, House Party II, Jason's Lyric, A Family Thing, A Preacher's Wife, Love and Basketball, Music of the Heart, All That Glitters, and Kingdom Come). Brenda's original pastel paintings are included in many prestigious individual, corporate, and organization collections; including, Maya Angelou, the Honorable Willie Brown, Roberta Flack, The William King Collection, Dr. Catherine Lowe, Dr. Calvin McLarin, Oprah Winfrey, Alpha Kappa Alpha National Sorority, Chicago's E H S Bethany Hospital Birthing Unit, The Colgate-Palmolive Company Permanent Collection, Fillmore Fell Corporation, MBNA, National Council of Negro Women, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), San Francisco Art Commission, San Francisco's Skilled Mental Health Nursing Center, Sigma Gamma Rho National Sorority, The Wimmer Companies, and the U.S. Embassy Ambassador's residence in Lesotho, South Africa.
Southern California Galleries
About Lisa
Lisa Adams is a painter and public artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Adams graduated with a B.A. in Painting from Scripps College in Claremont, California and received her M.F.A. from the Claremont Graduate University.
She is the recipient of a Fulbright Professional Scholar Award, a Brody Arts Fund Fellowship and a Durfee ARC Grant. Her work is in the collections of Eli Broad, The Frederick Weisman Museum and the Laguna Museum of Art. She has taught in many reputed art departments throughout the Los Angeles area and abroad, including the University of Southern California, the Claremont Graduate University and Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles.
In addition to her practice as an artist, Ms. Adams works as an independent curator, who in 2000, co-founded Crazy Space, an alternative exhibition space, in Santa Monica. She is also the author of “FM*,” (Peeps Island Press, 1999) a How To book about painting, based on her teachings at the Santa Monica College of Design, Art and Architecture between 1997-1999.
Ms. Adams has been an artist-in-residence in Slovenia, Finland, Japan, Holland and Costa Rica. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She was also commission by BMW of North America to paint an ArtCar. She has been included in “A Day in the Life of the American Woman, “ Bullfinch Press, 2005, and is currently working on a public art commission for the new Fire Station No. 64 in Watts.
