Onion and Knife, original painting by artist Daniel Peci, 7 X 5 inches, Oil on Canvas Panel

AFFORDABLE MINIATURE OIL PAINTING BY TOM BROWN, original painting by artist Tom Brown, 5 X 7 inches, OIL

THE ARTIST'S TOOLS II, original painting by artist Bruce Docker, 5 X 7 inches, Acrylic on wood panel

Hanging Key, original painting by artist Michael Naples, 11.5 X 5.5 inches, Oil on Board

Mama's Boy Contemporary Art Long Horn Bevo UT Painting by, original painting by artist Laurie Justus Pace, 24 X 36 inches, Acrylic layers on Canvas

Monopoly, original painting by artist Ann Elizabeth Schlegel, 6 X 6 inches, oil painting on stretched canvas

Many people, including love the look of old things. We love to furnish our homes with some old furniture and different nick knacks that have come from a different era. Many of these things are antiques while many are just old looking. There come a fashion to decorate our homes with older looking furniture. Many manufacturers make modern furniture that look like antiques but in fact are not.

This is a cheaper way for people to have the look without the spending more. Of course they also miss out on the history that goes with the original piece. But for many it is an option that we welcome. Many of my original antiques are things that have been handed down through the generations of my family. These things I really treasure.
duie to their craftsmanship and of course for their sentimental value. It is such a shame to think that so many antiques have been thrown out or destroyed over time because they were old and not fashionable any more.

If you are someone who really loves the original product whether it be furniture, cars, glass wear, dolls and so on and you want to purchase some then you should know a little bit about antiques. Just because something looks old and you love it does not mean it is worthy of an expensive antique price tag.

Of course, in the end if you’ve got the money and that is what you want then price doesn’t really matter but generally for the average person you should only pay what the product is truly worth. Especially if you want this product as an investment as many collectors do.

You need to learn about things such as certain markings or numbers to look for on some antiques. It is a way of knowing that they are original. It’s sad to think that there are also many remakes that are being sold as the originals when they are really just excellent copies. That is why it is important to learn a few things.

Ask around to find an antique dealer that has a good reputation. Then go and talk to him or her about what you are interested in. They can be a great source of information. There are also many good books that will be very helpful and educational. Once you arm yourself with this knowledge then you can start shopping with confidence.

• Check out the video on Art Review dot com of Los Angeles artist Pae White discussing her Barking Rocks as part of the inaugural Folkestone Triennial.

• Kimberly Brooks’ Technicolor Summer at Taylor De Cordoba was extended and ends this Saturday (June 21).

• Culver City bar The Mandrake (and my favorite bar in L.A.) is on Facebook. You should be their friend - just search for Mandrake Bar.

• In the Land of Retinal Delights: The Juxtapoz Factor opens at the Laguna Art Museum this weekend. The press release states that this “is an exhibition that presents the work of 150 artists and posits that there has been a huge, but unacknowledged art movement taking place in this country for the last 40 years.” While I don’t really know if we can call this movement unrecognized anymore (especially considering many of the artists in the show are house-hold artist names), it’s worth checking out.

One of the (many) things I adore about Los Angeles is the murals…the bizarre, incredible, so-bad-they’re-good murals like the shark biting into the Corona bottle on Beverly or the woman with the crazy hand and nails in the Adams district. We drive by them everyday and sometimes don’t notice them until, well, you can’t NOT notice them. This happened to me yesterday on the way back from lunch. Driving on Santa Monica Boulevard just after Vermont I saw this…Frieda Kahlo. And it’s so awesome I had to share. These murals are without a doubt the aesthetics of L.A. that I will miss dearly.

PORT has a fantastic interview with abLA favorite (and my personal fave as well) Ed Ruscha.

I always come back to something figurative. I am always reminded of those scenes in the movies that I saw as a kid where there would be a train approaching that would suggest people traveling. The train would start at the lower, right hand corner and then in two or three seconds it would zoom in with the noise of a train and cover the entire area of the screen. That experience seemed to stick with me. The diagonal for me is like the zoom of a train, it has affected me and I have based several paintings on those sensations. I will see where it takes me from here.

The interview coincides with the opening of Ruscha’s special exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art. His show features works that I recently saw at Gagosian in London (the diptych Azteca and Azteca in Decline as well as his new wood prints). This is somewhat similar to what Tyler Green has been discussing on MAN.