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In the meantime, enjoy these pics Benji and I took at Salvation Mountain in Niland, California. The color drenched, adobe clay monument towers over the desolate landscape known as Slab City. It completely took my breath away. A rocking artist and devout Christian man named Leonard Knight began building Salvation Mountain in the early 1980s. It has evolved into an incredibly weird and gorgeous shrine to Jesus. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. Reminded me and Benji of the wildly exuberant buildings by Spanish Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.

More Salvation Mountain info & pics: http://www.salvationmountain.us

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Somebody Save Me Please! This Beauty Overwhelms!

Amen!

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Shannon and Cody are mega talented people. Their music is so alive and well crafted. And their vision is incredibly unique, drawing from the 1960s, muppet babies, schlocky b-movies, Patton Oswalt. Shannon Shaw and Cody Blanchard were in LA recently and we snapped pictures…

Check out their awesome videos…

SLEEP TALK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KUgVsM8rw&feature=related

HUNK HUNT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NrAWAxE5dM

<< for some reason Hunk Hunt video isn’t live linking, just copy address into your browser.

Hilarious, amazing video by Shannon’s brother Dan Shaw >>

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I heart you Clams!

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“When it’s 32 degrees in New York, it’s 78 in Los Angeles. When it’s 102 degrees in New York, it’s 78 in Los Angeles. There are about two million interesting people in New York — and 78 in Los Angeles.”

Neil Simon, playwright & screenwriter

The shoot: Radiant artist Harmony Eberhardt shot at the High Line in New York, post sunset. We got to the High Line when night skies were just beginning to settle in, and I loved the light and ambiance of the post sunset. About the beautiful woman pictured ~ Harmony Eberhardt is a ridiculously talented artist and she is as sweet as honey. A native Oregonian living in NY, her illustrations and paintings conjure up a matriarchal fantasy world ~ a world inhabited by  fleshy, organic, color drenched, female creatures. These lovely creatures project a playful and powerful quality. They all seem attuned to a higher wisdom, dialing in an awesome feminist frequency.

Red Fawn by Harmony Eberhardt { http://www.harmonyeberhardt.com }

Harmony Eberhardt’s color palettes are tremendously vivid, spotted with pinks, blues and yellows. She has been conjuring up these fascinating females for years }}} and she continues to breathe life into this world with every drawing. In terms of female fantasy worlds, her art reminds me of Henry Darger, who painstakingly drew the female-only worlds of the Vivian girls in the 1950s. And also, her art connects to the paintings of Lisa Yuskavage. Harmony and I visited her current show at David Zwiner gallery in NY and Yuskavage’s paintings are truly amazing. Rosy, heavy chested girls eat succulent fruits in green pastoral settings while playing out strange, ritualistic displays of their sexuality as the faceless village women gather around to watch and pay homage.

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The High Line

So yes, The High Line in New York was the location for our shoot. If you find yourself in New York, do yourself a favor and go here! Just under the meatpacking district and Chelsea neighborhood, wild grasses, plants and trees grow in abundance along these elevated walking paths. Families, friends and lovers stroll along the old converted railroad in the most relaxed way, taking a break from the hustle and bustle of NY life. The smarty pants designers even built rolling wooden chaise lounges where people can sun bathe or kick back and watch the sun set. The Standard hotel, which hovers above the High Line like a super sexy 1960s Attack of the 50 ft Woman, is a truly magnificent building. Designed by Todd Schliemann for André Balazs, it stands 265 feet tall over the low slung meatpacking district. It looks like a glittering blue and green, mirrored collage with four hefty legs straddling the High Line from either side. This is city design that makes my mouth water….yummy.

The Standard Hotel NYC

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