Last summer, wandering the streets of DTLA,
I stumbled upon Kim West's mural Ode to Bohemia and an obsession was ignited.
I immediately stalked her online and added her Instagram feed to my list of followers.
Her vibrant paintings are easy to spot.
Animals often make an unexpected appearance:
a deer with metallic antlers or a polar bear emerging from a crimson cloud.
My Kim West fixation came up several times in conversation with Mad Whip
as we explored the downtown scene yesterday.
The universe responded in a whimsical fashion.
As we turned down an alley, talking about ideas for our next photography project,
I was silenced by a huge wall painted in deep teal and blue, unmistakably Kim's work.
In the far right corner I spotted a woman.
Blond hair tied in a pony tail,
she was wearing a paint splattered jumpsuit, and soaking a paint roller in a bucket of teal.
What are the odds?
I had no choice but to introduce myself, and gush.
The kicker was I had just suggested a notion for our next project: portraits.
It's the subject matter I shoot the least, and the one that makes me the most uncomfortable.
I mentioned it as a springboard for other ideas,
but now there was no going back.
Our next photography project is born:
Go West in honor of my first subject and the ever-present desire to
take on new adventures, and explore foreign territory.
