something vintage

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This illustration is pure magic!  Cross breeding never looked so dapper.  My new friend, Lydia, found this beautiful blog about vintage books.  The internet is a sea of visual joy.

your friend,

ava

I wonder about WONDERCON

L A C M A 

This was last Thursday, after the screening of Ralph Bakshi's Wizards.  Bakshi is one of Jeaux's biggest influences, and this was to celebrate the film's 35th anniversary release (and Jeaux's birthday).  There were so many people gathered around the now, 73 year old. Until dating a cartoonist, I had no idea the magnitude of Bakshi's influence.  Jeaux introduced me to Fritz the Cat not too long ago.  When Jeaux was a little boy, his mom rented Fritz not knowing that it was x-rated.  He thought that the animals were just tickling each other. 

We took these images in this crazy rubber/rope installation.  It kind of looks like we are in some sort of golden space forest, or at a rave. Tried to find the artist's name on the lacma website, but no luck. 

W O N D E R C O N

This was Jeaux's real birthday (St. Patrick's Day).  We were in Anaheim, and so close to Disneyland.  Such a tease to drive away from the happiest place on earth, but comic book conventions are fun, too.  In the photo below, I was pretty cranky.  It wasn't raining anymore, but we had been walking around a great deal and the crowds were starting to get to me. It was good to get some fresh air.

Trying not to look annoyed.  Hey, look at the cosplayers behind us! 

This is Jeaux and Peter Mayhew, aka Chewbacca!  Such a gentle giant.  I really wish I would have captured his hands in the photo.  They are gigantic!  It was a sobering experience for me, meeting icons from my childhood. I almost cried when seeing Mr. Mayhew, an old man now. I remembered how much I loved Star Wars growing up.  Also, he is sporting my favorite Star Wars film on his sweatshirt.  We think alike, Peter and I. 

the brothers janovsky 

Seeing Wizards for a second time was well worth it for me.  I appreciated it much, much more.  Maybe because I got to see the original pen and ink backgrounds. They were so striking, with a lot of detail.  There was so much texture and depth, and it was lovely seeing them restored.  The scenes looked so crisp and brand new.  


The C O L O R S were insane!  After the screening, Bakshi spoke and Jeaux did an illustration.  

LOOK! Signed by the amazing Ralph Bakshi!

After the q & a, I knew Jeaux would be nervous to meet the man.  I decided to head over, without hesitation.  Jeaux followed and to my surprise, Wondercon was quite the mellow experience compared to Lacma.  Most of the fans had left and it was just us along with Bakshi's son's and grandkids.  Bakshi is such a New Yorker in the best way.  Really punchy and to the point.  He is also fearless, which is a great quality. It was wonderful to see Jeaux so happy, like he had just met Santa Claus!  A while back, Jeaux was interviewed about his idol here.  He's done some lovely tribute drawings of Ralph that you can see here. 

As for my experience talking to Ralph, I can say that we both really like polaroid film.  I caught myself geeking out with Mr. Bakshi about my fuji instax, and we talked about how much we miss the square polaroids of yesteryear.   


Ava: "The colors were amazing."


Ralph: "Yeah! They had that muted effect"


Ava: "Yeah, super saturated."


In my head the whole time: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Afterwards, glancing over at Jeaux, Bakshi shook my hand and said, "Take care of him." 


And we were off, so high from that awesome experience. 

The man, himself!  Pure H A P P I N E S S

We ended the night with Bob's Big Boy.  I had a chocolate malt.  They make the best chocolate malts. xoxoxxx




your friend,


ava

I N T E R V I E W numero dos!

My boyfriend has been on fire this year!  He is, after all, a dragon.  


I'm so proud of him for working hard and stoked that two of the coolest sites have featured him.  A Collection Of and Chubstr.  C H U B S T R  is an online fashion resource for stylish men of all sizes.   If you don't already know about ACO, I suggest checking it out.  You will not be disappointed. 


Here is the handsome Jeaux Janovsky and some of his beautiful art.  I almost forgot to mention that he was featured on Chubstr once before. Click here to see, its pretty awesome. 

This photo was taken by yours truly at The Madonna Inn!  Click here to see more images.

your friend,




ava

I N T E R V I E W

Jeaux was featured on A Collection Of!  He answers some interesting questions, and got to create this portrait of Stef and Gilda as Simpson characters.  Here are some more of his Daily Dohs. 

Thanks to my friends!  The most lovely ladies on the planet. 

Click here to see the interview. 

your friend,

ava

Henry Darger

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January 1, 1971. I had a very poor nothing like Christmas. Never had a good Christmas all my life, nor a good new year, and now…. I am very bitter but fortunately not revengeful, though I feel should be how I am…’

—H.D.

(Art: Cat-Headed Blengin, date unknown.)

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Another thing on my wishlist is a book on Henry Darger's work.  I can look at his creations forever, and I'm always finding something new.  There is so much of his work that when I look up his images, I end up discovering a piece I've never seen before. Amazing. What a story this man had. 

Here is more about him here.   I've mentioned before that his work would make really interesting tattoos.   I still dream about getting something done, but I have to limit my options.  That is going to be tough.  If you still haven't seen In The Realms of the Unreal, you must make that one of your resolutions.  It is one of the most beautiful documentaries. 


Sad he never had a good christmas.  Lets all try to have a joyful one, and a happy hanukkah + new year! 


your friend,


ava

empty

Copyright Ava Alamshah, 2011.  Ink, markers, colored pencil.   

Here's a piece I did for a little employee art show we are having at my workplace.  I work at Trader Joes.  Jeaux thinks my drawing has a hopeful feeling.  I think it is kind of melancholy sad.  What is your interpretation? 


Stop by the Silverlake store to check out the original starting on December 20th.  It will be for sale, along with limited edition prints of the same image!  Email me at ava.alamshah@gmail.com for more information.  




your friend,


ava

A Little Something..

Front

Last Sunday, my Dad gave me a ride to work.  On the way there he gave me this gift made especially for me by my 7 year old cousin.  I've been sick this past week, so this was especially comforting.  It reminded me of when my brother, now 20, would slip me drawings underneath my door.  My mom found a few of those while cleaning up, and seeing them again,  I remember having this strong feeling of loss.  That bittersweet feeling telling me that we were once really young, and I wish I would have taken the time to appreciate what was given to me so long ago.  Now it's all just vague memories.  

Her gift came packaged in this bright neon pink envelope, embellished with stickers.  Cute animals in silly costumes (I'm not a fan, though I am not opposed  to it either). My favorite has to be the bee dog, and I don't know if this was intended, but the devil kitty next to my name seems appropriate.  I'm just glad Adrina is getting a head start on controversial topics.  She'll be a natural in the art school circuit.  

Back

I remember drawing rainbows a lot as a kid.  I love me a good rainbow, and this one is my favorite.  Last spring, I noticed a lot of real rainbows surfacing after all that heavy rain we were having here in Los Angeles.  I still like to believe that they bring good luck.  

your friend,

ava

Illustrations

Here are some illustrations I've done over the past year and a half.   I've never really considered myself to be much of an illustrator, but I do enjoy drawing every now and then.  You may recognize the first image.  Desire Obtain Cherish was written on a trash can of all things, in front of the Brite Spot in Echo Park.  Words to live by.

 

I walked all the way up those steps and thought about Laurel & Hardy the whole time. 

Wet Dream

Fuckn Pirates...

your friend,

ava

Deep Sea Goth

Here is a Cure for this extreme summer heat.  

Illustration by Ava Alamshah, 2011.

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The Cure : Love Song by IRONMADMAN


I'd like to imagine him serenading all the jelly fish.  It's time to breath in that clean, ocean air!  xo

your friend,

ava

Boris

Things that make sense in your dreams, don't seem to make any sense in reality.

 

Copyright Ava Alamshah 2011

your friend,

ava

Mari Naomi's Kiss & Tell

I was first introduced to Mari Naomi's art through my good friend, Rio, who was curating a show a few years back at SomArts Cultural Center in San Francisco.  Mari's art stood out immediately.  They were large water color images of sumo wrestling clowns, softly painted with bright colors and simple white backgrounds.  Beautiful paintings with such whimsy and humor, depicting the clowns throwing up (..and farting?) a rainbow assortment of balloons!  I remember wishing I had money to buy every single painting of hers on the wall that night.  I truly admired her vision so much and it stuck with me. 

Some time later, I got to connect with her on the social networking extravaganza known as Facebook.  I would check out a drawing of hers every now and then, and left a comment about this one here...

Copyright MariNaomi 2010

I think I told her that this was my favorite image of hers, and to make a long story shorter, we ended up making an old fashioned art trade (her watercolor, for one of my photos).  I was so excited when I got it in the mail, along with one of her zines!  I finally got to hang it in my former apartment.  Thanks Mari! 

See it on the wall, to my right?! :)

I recently ended up cruising her website and found out that she currently has a graphic novel published.  It's called "Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume Ages 0 to 22".  This is what inspired me to write this post about her and about the relationships (romantic or otherwise) we come across in our daily lives. Before I reconnected with my man, Jeaux, I had an assortment of tales to tell about my dating trials and tribulations. The good, the bad, and the oh, so ugly.  I always wanted to write about these experiences, but never knew how to start.  A year ago, I finally created a small zine about my last break up, which was both cathartic and liberating. In order to truly move on, I had to jot down my feelings, like the pages from my diaries. I felt exposed, but it was alright because these are experiences we all go through. I have yet to pick up Mari's memoir, but it details her dating history up until her early 20s.  From those first loves, to scandalous rendezvous, to heart breaks.....

I always admired artists who can laugh at themselves and add humor to their creations.  I also respect when life imitates art. I am a huge fan of non-fiction. When artist's tell stories from their own lives, whether its through writing, or visual art. Lately, I've been getting into Bukowski.  I know he was the cliche, alcoholic, & womanizing writer, but there is something so pure and refreshing about his honesty. Believe me, there were times when I would read something from his novel, "Women", and had to put the book down because it was so blunt and outright misogynistic.  Though I can respect that, and commend his late ability to put it all out there.  

I love this kind of honesty, good or bad, it's relatable. How people come in and out of our lives.  Losing and gaining connections.  It's so inspiring. 

Thanks Mari, for giving us a woman's point of view and for being so awesome! 

I can't wait to see your memoir! 

Check out her site at www.marinaomi.com 

your friend,

ava

Tim Burton

Jeaux and I have a funny thing in common that I found out a year ago when we first started dating. Both he and I were what we call, "Half Ass Goth".  Basically, we were both into Goth culture: All black clothing,  dark ruby or black lipstick, black as midnight nail polish, The Cure, but we were too chicken to go all the way with our looks. I had the imitation Doc Martin mid-calf boots, long black sweaters, fish nets and rubber bracelets, though I worried about my parent's reaction if I even thought about wearing dark eye liner and black lipstick. I hung around some people who were in those circles, but after my freshman year, I thought about going more Granny Chic. 

Jeaux was way cooler it seems. He managed to draw a wonderful sketch of Edward Scissorhands directly onto a tee-shirt of his, never smiled in photographs and listened to much better music (while I was still growing up in the 90s and trying to get out of my awkward faze, he was already past that so I had some catching up to do I suppose).

With all that said, imagine how excited we both were to find out that Tim Burton was going to showcase his art at the LACMA!  We had tickets in advance to take a CalArts tour. We finally went this past Saturday, and it was, well, overwhelming.  We ended up losing the group, which was fine with me because we were stuck behind a middle-aged CalArts alum who kept telling us how "so & so" stole his ideas and how bitter he was. He also mentioned numerous times how he shouldn't have even said anything. 

"I've said too much already."

Yeah, it was a little awkward. Besides this guy, we had the pleasure of meeting a woman in her 70s or 80s who went to CalArts later in life. I found that inspiring (its never too late after all). She was funny and loved to talk about her installations of plungers and penises. I could respect that.

There were so many people, and heavy breathers, some of them. It was tough to catch every single piece, but I'm glad we got to see his old sketches. The ones that were very interesting were the random sketches he did while bored at his job at Disney. Another favorite were his models and original pieces from "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories".

This was all good, but the most fun I had was when Jeaux and I got to mischievously touch the Angora Sweater from Ed Wood. That was our punk rock moment of the day and made me delightfully giggle. 

By the way, it IS super soft! Towards the end of the tour, it turned into the Hardrock Cafe, Universal Studios, in a way that was completely "Hollywood".

Copyright Ava Alamshah 2011

They wouldn't let us take pictures, so this is right outside the exit. They had these crazy balloon men dancing to Danny Elfman tunes. 

Later on in the evening I wanted to take Jeaux to Pizza Fusion on Sunset. I'm starting this gluten free diet and was excited to try their gluten free pizza, and pizza is Jeaux's favorite food. I have to be honest, the pizza was alright (this is coming from someone who has had the ultimate pizza from New York & Chicago). We got half pepperoni & cheese. Each slice only had a single pepperoni on it and overall the pizza was overpriced.  I'll have to come up with a good alternative or just create my own gluten free pizza one of these days. I'll keep you'll posted once I do. 

It wasn't all a loss though. I was, after all, in good company and we came up with this cute illustration while waiting. We took turns drawing each other. I'm happy with how it turned out. I can thank my boyfriend in encouraging me to draw again.

Copyright Ava Alamshah & Jeaux Janovsky 2011

your friend,

ava

Stream of Consciousness

Inspired by Henry Darger's paintings of flowers. I had the pleasure of watching "In The Realms Of The Unreal" with my boyfriend, Jeaux. I highly recommend this touching documentary. It has really inspired me to illustrate more. His work was so pure and I think that had something to do with his lack of human interaction. I wish my own work could have that kind of innocence.

Painted in our "love" journal using paint pens, colored pencil, markers, highlighters, & sharpies. 

your friend,

ava