Brooks Salzwedel "A moment either in the past or the future"

I stumbled upon Californian artist and accessories designer Brooks Salzwedel's work a couple of weeks back and I was immediately captured by his unique style. His work is deeply influenced by the conflict of human development and nature.
Brooks work can be seen in the New York Times, Juxtapoz, ArtReview, New Angels, and NY Arts, he has shown at several galleries throughout the West Coast, such as OKOK Gallery in Seattle, and most recently The Hammer Museum. Currently he is also assistant director at George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles. 

Brooks Salzwedel

In your work you can often see bridges and nature. What inspires you to your artwork? 

Most of my work is taking a moment either in the past or the future where nature has taken over. The fight between human development and nature has always caught my interest. From grant mountain ranges to towering buildings in construction with cranes and scaffolding around it.

Brooks Salzwedel

Brooks Salzwedel

What kind of projects are you currently working on? 

I  recently had a show at George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles. That's been taking most of my time. I'm also an assistant director at the gallery and I run a line of handmade belt buckles called "Shane."

Brooks Salzwedel

If you could give advice to young aspiring artists, what would you tell them? 

Have a pretty clear idea of what kind of artist you want to be (entertainment, commercial, fine art, etc) and know your audience. Have idea of what company you want to work for or what gallery you want to show in and focus on those...don't settle for less.

"Salzwedel makes landscapes for a world in which nature is under siege. Still, that doesn't mean his pictures appear post-apocalyptic. They are beautiful in a bittersweet way, the dark trunks and branches looking tapestry-like within their resin-coated surfaces. The mood is autumnal." 

- Robert L. Pincus, Art Critic, San Diego Union-Tribune

Brooks Salzwedel

More info on Brooks Salzwedel
Currently on view Brooks @

George Billis Gallery, LA

Red Cortez "Mistakes you need to get there"

Red Cortez is a band from East Los Angeles, band members are Harley Prechtel-Cortez, Ryan Kirkpatrick, Diego Guerrero and Calvin J. Love. With trade your talent Harley Cortez speaks about recording their debut album, idiosyncratic choices and studying phone books. 

You recently released your debut album. Has the path leading up to it been hard?

Harley: We've recorded our debut record but haven't released it. The path leading up to making the record wasn't so hard, but choosing which songs to put on it was a little tricky--we had written so many songs at that point. It's been said you know you have your whole life to make your first record a just a short time to make your second. I supposed there are pressures with both as one makes a statement and the other reaffirms that

statement.

What inspires you to your songs?

Harley: Our songs are filled with odd characters, idiosyncratic choices, the average outsider, influenced by bizarre films, adversity, writers, pirates, and about 100 years of varying musical styles. I used to write a lot about taking down kings, then it became a little more about taking down walls, now it's more about taking down blame --as long as it doesn't lead to taking out the trash.

Which other bands influenced you to your music?

Harley: Influences are probably so innate that we wouldn't even know. We're all so different from each other and at the same time very the same in our music palette. One day Philip Glass or Charlie Parker and the next day Link Wray or Suicide. Stax records or Trojan records or Creation records. Just got a great Alan Lomax record 'Saints and Sinners' . We're like sponges. Everything influences us.

When we go into our rehearsal space we never try to make anything that

sounds like a specific thing -- we just make what comes out...

If you had a meeting with young talented artists, what advice would you give them in order to follow their dream?

Harley: I wouldn't give any advice, I would listen but not try and aside in any way - if you have a dream then that's all you need right there, everything else are just the mistakes you need to get you there.

Do you have a favorite song on your new album?

Harley: They are all pretty special in their own way - however cute or scary.

If your band has time off (do you ever?) what is it you do?

Harley: Build cabinets, draw, travel, see alot of music, spend time with girlfriends, friends, pub crawl (ive been nick named the pub philosopher, sadly), make films, read phone books and cook vegetarian food.

More on Red Cortez and free songs: 

redcortez.com

Californian Painter Kelsey Brookes "Art was simply more fun"

Kelsey Brookes is a well-known artist from California. 

He calls himself an "artist of contrasts" who works on mixed-media

 assemblages. His work  is represented in La Jolla, Los Angeles and London. 

It has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Modern Painters and Confused. 

Looking at them for the first time it seems like you are looking at an 

explosion, an explosion of colours and emotions. 

Kelsey decided to stop working as a scientist and devote his life fully to art. 

"Art was simply more fun than science and I put great value on having fun", he says. 

And Kelsey is sure, that it was worth the trade. His List of Inspiration is long: Nature, 

Animals, Instinct, Conversations, Jokes, Galleries, Museums, Art, Books, Blogs...

Any career advice for young artists, Kelsey?

And that's what he says: Have fun and work hard at what you love. 

Everything else is a distraction.
 
 

 

 Kelsey Brookes 2010: SOS ( http://kelseybrookes.com )

 Kelsey Brookes 2010: The Storm ( http://kelseybrookes.com )

 Kelsey Brookes 2010: JiffyJiveDooJee ( http://kelseybrookes.com )

 Kelsey Brookes 2010: Explosion Puzzle ( http://kelseybrookes.com )