SALSA FACTORY

If I were to tell you the Salsa Factory in Costa Mesa is one of my favorite places to go to get inspired what would you think? Well it has nothing to do with salsa, but it's a clever name for an artist studio tucked away in an industrial complex behind the Ferrari dealership. I had the pleasure of linking up with my good friend Randy this weekend to see what he's been up to in there. Now, not only is this a place to create art, but the studio itself is well on it's way to becoming a piece of artwork. Art studio, wood shop, music studio, surfboard shaping bay, movie theater and talks of adding a 3ft mini ramp...this place is well on it's way.

IN FLIGHT

With being on an airplane for extended periods of time it can be hard to maintain your sanity. You need to have a plan, or at least I do...I try to plan everything. Mine consists of strategically laying out all my gear the night before. iPod, iPhone, Blackberry, PSP, MacBook, they all all charged up an ready. Did I forget to mention I can't for the life of me seam to sleep on a plane? So what do I do? Take photo's of course...the journey is long, but is always worth it. Especially when you get to your hotel overlooking plaza espana from a roof-top pool, sipping sangria and enjoying tapas!

ENVIRONMENTAL COLOR

Rather than just posting more pretty pictures from my trip to Barcelona, I figure I should offer up a little insight into the process and show what I look for and how it translates to design and in this case color. I was taught a long time ago that the best color combinations aren't found in a text book or on a nesting table in the mall. They are found in the environment all around us. You just have to know where to look. I was taught a simple trick that can work for almost any form of design in creating a full color palette from just one photo. Here is what I mean...
STEP 1:Take a photo out in the world that inspires you through color

STEP 2:Open up the photo in Photoshop and zoom in until you see the pixels of color present themselves

STEP 3:Take the eyedropper tool and start selecting colors from the pixels that you like

STEP 4: Final Colors

It's as simple as that! And because you are pulling from the same photo, the tone of the colors should all sit together. No need to spend hours plucking color chips from a Pantone book and making sure they all work with each other. I love this technique and am grateful to all my mentors and teachers for showing me such tricks of the trade.
Cheers!

RANDO'S NEW WHIP

Over the last couple of years I've seen Randy paint many surfboards in his Costa Mesa studio. He takes on projects for friends, art shows and to himself. At this point, he's got the process down and his newest addition is no joke either. Check out this time-lapse video from the link below and see for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE-o73duVdM

VISUAL EXPLANATION

This week I am doing one of my favorite things...Travel! On the itinerary this time is the city of Barcelona, Spain. Here in Barcelona I am on inspiration overload...I mean, I get inspired by simple walks through local beach towns in LA, let alone an amazing city full of history, art and undeniable beauty. This brings me to my subject for this post and dare I say this entire blog. I get asked all the time what BEAUTY THROUGH CHAOS is or what it means to me and even though I see it so clearly in my head, I completely understand why an explanation is necessary. I was going through the last three days of photos this morning over coffee thinking I need to post something, but completely overwhelmed on how to link it all together. About to give up, my always reassuring girlfriend offered up an idea that made perfect sense. The city of Barcelona is a true visual representation of what I my blog is all about. With a mix of picturesque architecture, beautiful landmarks and a layer of modern urban street art, Barcelona is Beauty through chaos personified. Take a look and you will see what I mean...