Though the neighborhood I live in doesn’t have a catchy name like my old stomping grounds, ‘Korea Town‘ or ‘Miracle Mile‘, the conveniently named ‘Fairfax District‘ is home to a plethora of graffiti artists and connoisseurs alike; one of the best things is that the graffiti gets reworked, repurposed and enhanced on a weekly basis. A lot of the street art that I’ve coveted for the last year is on the outs, and a lot of this stuff has gone up in it’s place – enjoy!

*All pictures taken and edited by Moi!

Oh, Snap: Street Art v2

January 4, 2013January 16, 2013Leave a comment

One of the best things about the street art in Los Angeles is the high turnover rate – as soon as something phenomenal is created, another piece of art is destroyed; either at the artists accord or because the city has had enough of it. Either way, the fact remains – the destruction of creativity breeds more creativity, it’s something that simply can’t be stopped or thwarted.

You can slow an artist down with writers block or take away his canvas and tools – but creativity is an ooze that bubbles and boils over, seeping into pores and out of airways. True artists eat, breathe and sleep their talents – and the artists of Los Angeles are no different; I hope you enjoy their street art as much as I have!

“Angels Will Ride”

Oh, Snap: San Francisco’s Chinatown

October 22, 2012October 22, 20121 Comment

While I was in San Francisco last weekend, my step-mother and I took a lovely stroll through the streets of Chinatown. Our primary mission was steamed pork buns and a new purse, but we ended up roaming around for over three hours – simply breathing in the city and taking in the beautiful Autumn afternoon.

Our first stop was to check out the architecture at the Wells Fargo at Post & Montgomery; the inside of the bank has great big columns, tall ceilings and sweeping archways – but my favorite part was the ceiling outside of the bank.

Next, we ventured off into the heart of Chinatown. Los Angeles doesn’t exactly get the same seasonal shift as we do up in San Francisco, so it was lovely to see some color, both hanging from buildings as well as in the trees, against the grey sky that morning.

Found this little creature outside of an apartment complex and it looked so menacing and comical at the same time –

The one thing that struck me was how nostalgic Chinatown made me for Shanghai; especially stumbling across scenes like below where older women laughing and conversing while tending to their markets.

I’m a sucker for fabulous street art, so it’s only logical that I’d accidentally stumble across the remnants of a Banksy. I was actually admiring the fantastic dragon mural when a friend pointed out that it wrapped around another artists piece. There are apparently 5 more Banksy’s in the city – next time I venture back I’m making it a goal to visit all of them!

By midday, the sun had scattered the clouds away and it had turned into a lovely 70° afternoon; perfect temperature for our leisurely walk.

Last but certainly not least, I found this mural when we were finally on our way out…

Quotable: Where The Wild Things Are

September 7, 2012Leave a comment

“I have nothing now but praise for my life. I’m not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can’t stop them. They leave me and I love them more…What I dread is the isolation. … There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready.”

― Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

Oh Snap: Street Art v1

August 18, 2012Leave a comment

In every way of the word, LA is bustling with diversity, creativity and inspiration. There’s as much diversity between the different cultures in LA as there are within them. The creativity and inspiration of each subculture here is born out of colliding ideas. And these ideas are translated into art, architecture, music, performance dance, and more – the key is knowing where to look; with street art, it’s no further than the wall of a dilapidated building, a fire hydrant or billboard.

Over the past few months I’ve been taking Urban Nature Walks and taking pictures of anything that catches my eye and I can’t wait to share it with you guys through my Oh, Snap! series. What better way to kick it off than counting down my top 10 pictures. All of these photos are taken with the Instagram Application for Android, and I’ll let you know what filters and edits I’ve used. Enjoy!

10.