Mid February California Trip

I just got back in from a week's trip to California.  I mainly visited parts of L.A, Santa Monica, Culver City, Venice Beach, Beverly Hills, Redondo and Hermosa Beach.  No, I didn't loose wallet in El Segundo, I did that in Fort Worth the day before I left town.  Luckily I had a passport to be able to hop on the plane.  
Unfortunately a lot of the galleries were closed because of President's Day, but I checked out quite a few of my favorite brand shops: The Hundreds, Johnny Cupcake, Kidrobot, Toki Doki, Stussy, Vans, Diamond Supply, Undefeated, Active and multi shops like Fred Segal's, shoe and record shops.  One of the most exciting surprises was at the Stussy shop on La Brea.  It sported murals by two of my favorites: Brain Donnelly aka KAWS and Todd James aka REAS.

KAWS in LA @ Stussy on La Brea

KAWS in LA @ Stussy on La Brea

REAS in LA @ Stussy on La Brea

And of course I had to take a few pictures of the Shepard aka OBEY mural wrapping the parking garage near bye.  It was a busy day so I had to climb a tree to get a decent photo of the front over traffic.  Plus the nice box truck driver who stopped for a few seconds to let me snap a few shots.  thanks!

OBEY in LA mural on La Brea

OBEY in LA mural on La Brea

Local OBEY upkeep in LA

When I walked in the alley to photograph some details, there was a man cleaning up his home where some graff writers had tagged.  He was covering up a small obey stencil with newspaper to paint over the black graffiti next to it.  I stopped and talked with the man and he explained how he met Shepard while he painted the huge mural on the neighboring parking garage.  He told me how he invited Shep into his home and as a gift, Shepard painted a small stencil on his home facing the parking garage.  Phillip, the man painting, said how Shepard used to graffiti this parking garage for years time and time again in the past and how the garage was deteriorating and becoming an eyesore until Shepard came in and made it pleasing again with the mural.  (I still laugh when I hear stories like this.  Artists invited in and/or getting paid to come paint on a venue where they have been throwing up illegal street art for years)

Overall it was a great trip and will definitely go back to Cali soon.