The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

The many lenses of Robin Layton

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Fine art photographer: At home on the field–or on the farm.

"Windy" Photo Sculpture by Robin Layton, 2007

When you first see her fine art collection of photographic images, you know she was born an artist. Then you hear about her days as a photojournalist, and you realize she’s always been breaking new ground.

Case in point: If you’re a baseball fan—you can’t help but remember the photo below. Ken Griffey, Jr. joyfully smiles at home plate under a “dog pile” of fellow Mariners, after he scored the game-winning run in the playoff series against the Yankees in 1995.

"Dog pile" Ken Griffey, Jr. scores game-winning run against Yanks in 1995. A Layton sports classic.

Layton shot that.

She wasn’t supposed to be assigned to third base that night–her editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer told her to take her place at first. But at the last minute, a fellow shooter asked if he could work that position, and Layton said okay. That dude is probably in rehab right now. Many consider this photograph one of the most memorable images of Griffey’s storied career.

Celebrity Cool:

Layton has since carved out a super successful, lucrative career shooting celebrity portraits and weddings.  Some of her clients include: Oprah Winfrey, Felicity Huffman, Jennifer Aniston, Kenny G., and Tobey McGuire.  Huffman, seen below at a recent Layton exhibition in West Hollywood, raves enthusiastically about Robin’s unique gift to capture what no one else can.

Robin Layton (left) and "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman at Layton's solo exhibition in West Hollywood, May, 2010. Photo Credit: Jayson Mellom .

Perfect Pairings:

Now, this super cool Angeleno/Seattleite has turned her lens toward the marriage of an unlikely duo: nature and industry. Once declared one of the world’s eight most talented photographers by Life magazine, Layton gracefully juxtaposes stunning photographic abstractions with quirky remnants of industrial hardware, antique farm equipment, and weathered doors and windows. At top, she pairs a rare Midwestern barn vent with delicate images of egrets captured in Point Reyes, California.

Below, Layton nestles “Nest Egg” within a set of blue shutters with original paint from the 1800s, and (at bottom), she frames Big Bear “Monet Trees” with a funky cranberry picker from the 1930s. Definitely worth checking out her sites: (Fine art: robinlaytonworks.com) (Commercial: robinlayton.com)

"Nest Egg" Photo Sculpture by Robin Layton, 2008

"Monet Trees" Photo Sculpture by Robin Layton, 2006

(Robin Layton Exhibition video, West Hollywood: ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeG_7HA1Hzc)

What the #$**?! is Eco-art?

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Often made from our trash, or made about our trash, really effective “eco-art” makes a sobering, or humorous–but always thought-provoking–statement about man’s precarious relationship with nature.  Sometimes, the work simply jolts us into recognizing the importance of our stewardship. Bottom line: if it challenges your view, if it inspires you to change—it’s successful.

I’ve been fortunate enough to curate eco-art exhibitions for corporations deeply committed to preserving the environment. I comb galleries, trade papers, and the internet, for eco-dedicated artists. I’m now a devoted fan of several elite environmental art visionaries, many of whom I’ve worked with over the last few years.

Eco-artist Tom Deininger "paints" with trashed plastics and industrial waste.

At the FORTUNE “Brainstorm: Green” Conference 2009, we showed the work of Tom Deininger, who transformed a truckload of consumer plastics into a stunning backdrop of New England Fall foliage at its peak. Check out the close up (left)–you’ll spot Barbie doll parts, old 45s, and other pieces of y our childhood, glued and screwed into a reclaimed wood backing.

At another online pharmacy FORTUNE “Brainstorm: Green” Conference, we exhibited Nancy Spiller’s tsunami wave of shredded junk mail (below, right) which she collected from her own mailbox for one year. We all watched the installation stimulate spirited conversations among corporate policymakers and dedicated environmentalists.

"The Junk Mail Project" Installations by Barbara Hashimoto and Nancy Spiller

To me, eco-art, loosely defined, describes:
1)    Art created from recycled or reclaimed materials, non- recyclable plastics, consumer or industrial waste.
2)   Art that celebrates the beauty of nature, or showcases our precious, disappearing natural resources. (See Bartlett photo below.)

3)   Art that changes the outdoor environment—even for a few seconds. (See Christo, below)

I’ll be regularly spotlighting the trailblazers of this burgeoning art movement, and would love to hear about your own eco-art discoveries.


Photographer Anita Bartlett chronicles our world's most stunning natural resources. Above: "Reflection" (Bolivia).

Christo “Gates” in  Central Park, NYC. Photo by Wolfgang Volz. (c)2005, Christo and Jeanne-Claude.


Scribbles of Understanding

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How a tanker truck on the California Interstate taught me the value of abstract art.

Twombly-truck-passes 4tlr copy

(Pic #1) “Found art” on the freeway

If you haven’t heard of contemporary artist Cy Twombly, it doesn’t matter. He’s best known for his masterful childlike scribbles in pencil or crayon. For decades, his work has fetched millions, and he’s still going strong.

If you do know Cy Twombly’s work, and you don’t think he’s a genius—you might just need to spend a little more time on the freeway. Okay, the California intestate may not be the venue for your “aha moment”—but it was for me.

A little back-story:

When I first saw Twombly’s work in Santa Monica in 1989, I had a degree in Fine Art, and absolutely no connection to, appreciation for, or understanding of art in the abstract. I was simply confused, and didn’t understand the painting, or the genre.

Fifteen years later—tooling up the 101 Freeway–probably late for something–a loud, dirty, old, scarred up white oil-dripping tanker truck passed me in the left lane. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I panicked, and thought–this truly is my once-in-a-lifetime “artistic epiphany.”

A veritable Cy Twombly masterpiece was teasing me from the fast lane.

Cy Twombly original

The side of the tanker was coated with scratchy black marks—just like Cy’s. It was a beautiful, rhythmical pattern of happy buy ambien little sketches—but on a friggin’ 18-wheeler.  I guess it was there for everybody to see–real abstract art–flying by at 65 mph. But somehow the moment chose me. Instantly—my brain got the message; the connection was made.  I got it–loud and clear: once you open your mind to art—it’s everywhere.

So I grabbed my point-and-shoot camera and chased the truck up the road—one hand on the wheel, the other desperately stretching over the dashboard, smack up to the windshield, then out the window–to nail the shot I needed. While I’m not proud of my driving habits, I am most appreciative of this magical moment sent my way.

Teasing tanker (close-up)

I couldn’t wait to get home and compare my “raw art” with Twombly’s blue-chip work. The photos seen here represent my moment of wonder and awe—that will last a lifetime. Now I get to share this experience and the photos with my corporate clients. Bottom line—when you shift your thought—you’ll see art in everything.

And if you’re open—art will find you.

My passion for abstract art can now be described as rabid. I discover it in junkyards, old barns, construction sites, recycle bins, spice racks, and rusty tools. It’s the reason I feel sheer joy when I spot a killer image—in traffic, or in trash.