The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

Art From The Ashes

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If you follow this blog, you know there is nothing I love more than what’s called “found art”— beautiful images found in cracks of sidewalks, or from peeling paint on a rundown building. But a few weeks ago I encountered some of those “accidental canvases” that left me deeply unsettled.  It has been just over 6 months since wildfires tore through Southern California, killing more than 2 dozen people, and destroying thousands of homes. For 30 years as a TV journalist I covered stories like this. So when the iconic Pacific Coast Highway reopened — and I had a chance to go see the aftermath for myself — I went.

I have close friends who lost their homes in the Palisades Fire, so I expected to be deeply moved by the devastation, and I was. But something else happened as well, something I didn’t expect. Literally amid the ashes were dozens of scenes that in any other context I would have considered abstract  masterpieces. As Josh went about documenting what we saw, I admit for a moment, I felt a thrill, excited by the patterns, textures, colors, and shapes. Lost in the familiar wonder of artistic discovery, I had momentarily blocked out the unfathomable suffering these fires caused. Since that day, I’ve felt so guilty for feeling that moment of joy.

Exterior wall of home on Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
Interior wall of a home with surviving window frame, Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu

Since the beginning of time, painters, poets and writers have moved us by depicting moments of humanity and grace in the midst of tragedy and challenge. But that was their intention. This isn’t that. This is a devastating disaster leaving in its wake these images that in any other circumstance I would find… breathtakingly beautiful.

Weeks have passed since we visited Malibu and I’m still unresolved by my reaction to what I saw. So after weeks of ruminating, I decided to post some of the photos. Why?  Well, this blog is an attempt to share my life-long creative adventures. In many ways, it’s been a celebration of the emotional riches that art has brought me. Almost always, that emotion is simple joy. This time it wasn’t, and I guess that’s just part of the journey too.

Concrete interior wall, home on Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
Shooting a row of decimated businesses on the opposite side of PCH, Malibu
A room with a view, oceanfront home on PCH, Malibu

(All photos by John Kaplan.)

One Click — One Masterpiece?

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“Seeing” your subject and capturing the moment. (Photo by Josh Kaplan)

So… I want to talk about what really annoys me about my husband. Here it is..this photo. I was walking down the hallway the other day and he was behind me and suddenly said “Don’t move!” He grabbed his camera and took the shot. I love it so much. The composition is perfect, the colors and shapes, and light and shadows.

So why is it so irksome? Because when I want to create a piece of art, it can take days/weeks, sometimes months of painstaking effort, usually involving second thoughts, insecurities, and often trashing what I’ve done and starting over. You know how long this piece of art took him? According to the metadata from his camera — one eightieth of a second. 1/80th. Factor in the editing time, the careful tweaking of the final image, and maybe — maybe — this masterpiece took 5 minutes to create. I can’t even lay my paintbrushes out in that amount of time.

It’s not fair. He would say the difference is that I am an artist and he is not. He would insist that I create something purely from my imagination, while he only documents things in front of him, things that catch his eye. But I would say his finished product is a work of art, and he can bite me.

The Perfect One-Liner

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Sketch by artist @shouxin13141

A minimalist drawing that inspires my lazy ass.

My excitement over this sketch is this: It’s packed with energy, loose in style, and created basically with one stroke. it’s probably a 10-second work. It’s also proof that simplicity can be a beautiful artistic statement. In one jittery marking, the artist here has captured “the essence of cat.”

If you’re considering a dive into some basic drawing, try this. Look at the image above, and see if you can create your own one-liner. It’s super satisfying, and just might tackle your fear. There is no perfect way to draw a cat, and you could consider it a sort of warm-up for other sketches. It’s easy, pressure-free and requires no art-making experience. Try this approach with a cool wide-tip marker or piece of charcoal, and find time to draw every day.

For more from this artist, check out images and videos on Instagram: @shouxin13141

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