ROMI CORTIER’S BLOG

‘Red Ball’
Oil on Canvas
Photo: Romi Cortier

Another painting on my easel nearing completion, is this 24 x 30 canvas featuring a tightly cropped shot of a plastic ball in a swimming pool. This is the beginning of a new theme in my artwork, exploring the impact of digital media and our perception of color. It seems highly saturated color is becoming more and more a part of our daily lives, from digital billboards to the computer screen, to HDTV. It causes me to wonder about the need to give our eyes a rest from the dancing color pixels.

This painting will be submitted to Gallery 825’s Bi Annual ‘open call’ for artist submissions this month….wish me luck.

Bathroom Before

Bathroom After, with Art Deco Wall Mural
Photos: Romi Cortier

Zig Zag Modern, the earlier of the two Art Deco Periods, was the theme for my newest ‘Do It Yourself’ Wall Mural Video. Shot over two days with film maker Aza Allen, we transitioned a 1920’s Vintage bathroom into a beautiful showpiece fit for any design magazine, which built on the existing color scheme of the bathroom. The total cost of the renovation, which included towels, a vase with flowers, drapes and hardware….and of course paint, came in around $300.

While on camera, I took an exterior tour of the former DESMONDS Department store, a Miracle Mile Art Deco Gem, pointing out the Mayan and Cubist influences, which was relavent to the video since the building was my inspiration for the mural.

Hopefully in a few weeks we’ll have this video available on youtube as well as my website….stay tuned.

Photos: Romi Cortier

Digital Photography is providing me with many new options for Oil Painting, particularly because of the camera’s ability to shoot tight photos which help me to create interesting compositions. Above you’ll see my photo of inspiration, as well as the almost completed oil painting. This painting is titled ‘The Rosy Glow of Love’ and is part of a larger installation I’m currently working on called ‘My Palm Springs Life’. The installation will ultimately feature at least 10 canvases, and will hopefully find itself at an LA Gallery in the next 18 months….any gallery owners interested??

Emily O’Brien and George Guzman
Photo: Romi Cortier

Friday morning at the salon was an exciting one as Salon Stylist George Guzman prepared Emily O’Brien for her Red Carpet walk at the Kodak Theater, en route to the Daytime Emmy Awards. Emily, nominated in the Best Young Actress category, portrays Jana Hawkes on CBS’s Young and the Restless.

George works with Emily on a daily basis at CBS, while concurrently working at the salon on weekends. Even with his busy schedule, George makes it a priority to keep his posse of beauty’s looking Glam, especially for big events like this one. Keep the Rollers Hot, the Hair brush handy, and the Hairspray Sprayin!

Read more about Emily at http://4455em.tripod.com

Venice Magazine Cover

Sharon Lawrence at Akasha Restaurant
Photo: Starla Fortunato

Just hitting the News Stands is the current issue of Venice Magazine, which features the always radiant Sharon Lawrence at Akasha Restaurant, an organic restaurant in Culver City.

Discussing issues near and dear to her heart, Sharon talks about up and coming television projects, as well as recent guest star roles, and a possible Emmy Nomination for her work in the Lifetime miniseries ‘The Capture of the Green River Killer’. Happily for myself, Venice Magazine provided bold ‘hair credits’ on the main page of Sharon’s article.

David Stanko & Romi Cortier

Tonight marked the Third Annual Global Salon Business Awards, held in the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Complex, in the heart of Hollywood.

I had the good fortune to attend this event as a guest of long time friend and business associate David Stanko. Our nearly 20 year friendship began when both David and I where platform artists for ColorLy Hair Color, traversing the United States educating hairdressers on product usage. David’s esteemed career ultimately led him to REDKEN, where he became a star educator and developer of Redken products.

Host Leeza Gibbon’s beautifully navigated the plethora of awards handed out tonight to Industry leaders from around the world who excelled in Salon Management, Leadership and Entrepreneurial Skills. Paula Kent Meehan, one of the founders of REDKEN Hair Color, was also on hand to share her vision in creating this organization that would recognize salon leaders from around the world, based on academic grounds, versus the purely esthetic side of beauty.

Topping off the event was a life time achievement award presented to Jose Eber by the gorgeous Jaclyn Smith.

Marilyn Monroe

John F. Kennedy

Jayne Mansfield

Bonhams is hosting an Entertainment Memorabilia Auction June 16th, 2008 in Los Angeles.

This diverse collection of Memorabilia includes personal items of Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy’s birthday celebration program at Madison Square Garden when Marilyn sang to him, items from the estate of Rudolph Valentino, Jayne Mansfield and James Dean, vintage movie posters, animation cells and more.

Log onto www.bonhams.com to see more!

Arlene
Photo: Romi Cortier

Arlene, an entrepreneur and world class traveler, didn’t have the time or patience for monthly touch-ups to maintain her signature red hair color. Within 10 days her graying temples would pop up…. even going platinum didn’t work for her. So I convinced her to embrace her natural salt and pepper hair color. With this heavily texturized cut, she only needs to towel dry and add a dash of pomade for shine and separation. To add more drama to her look, Arlene replaced her old eyeglasses with these bold black frames which help add contrast to her graying temples. Red lipstick is the color spike that keeps Arlene feeling sassy…Vive la tête rouge!

Sonya Buyn
Photo: Romi Cortier

It is with great pleasure that I introduce Sonya Buyn, our newest addition to Romi Cortier Design. Sonya comes to us from the esteemed Frederic Fekkai Salon in Beverly Hills, and specializes in Chemical Hair Straightening. She also excels in Hair Color and Cutting, with extensive education in Loreal Haircolor. Welcome Sonya!

Mark Hobley’s ‘Visionary’

Annie Lappin’s ‘Perceived Marriage Tripartite Leave’

I attended two gallery openings this evening on Venice’s Main Street, with the installations, as well as the crowds at either gallery, representing two very different spectrums in Los Angeles’s Burgeoning art scene.

The APPLEGATE GALLERY at 3101-A Main Street, Featured a solo show by artist Mark Hobley entitled “The Visionary”, and the ANGLES GALLERY at 2230 Main Street, Featured a solo show by artist Annie Lapin entitled “Gruppology”.

Hobley mixes bright color with a vocabulary of ’symbols and words’ to represent optimism. Representing L.A.s ‘Look of the Moment’ in the art world, his symbols seem to be a compartmentalized version of many things I’ve seen before. From images of Hollywood Icons, to the imagery of the artists Larry Pittman and Bill Barminsky, and quite possibly the bird logo from the clothing line ‘Modern Amusement’. Hobley’s work would be easy and fun to live with, however, I feel the work is fairly superficial and may not stand the test of time from a collectors stand point. That said, his work is easily recognizable and boast a list of collectors from Brad Pitt to the Dixie Chicks.

Lapin, fairly new on the L.A. art scene, uses color minimally in her solo show, with the exception of the piece I’ve chosen to show above. While her pieces go much deeper emotionally, the choice to keep faces unrecognizable and ghostly gives me the feeling that she doesn’t want the viewer to see who she truly is. While her brilliant juxtaposition of blurred colors, contrasted with bold brush work creates great dimension, the overall tone of the pieces feel almost apocalyptic with the heavy use of dark mottled colors, particularly brown and black.

Art is a 50/50 experience: 50% painter plus 50% viewer. No two experiences of any show are the same, therefore, get out to the galleries, experience the art for yourself, and make up your own mind about what it all means.

www.veniceartwalk.org