Like we always say: “NoHo is only as great as its people.”
This is why the NoHo Arts District dot com team likes to feature folks who work, live, create in our growing neighborhood. NoHo is a theatre town, 21 theatres strong. We also are a booming dance district. We make a ton of music in the district too. But we also showcase the visual arts. Meet artist DeCamille, she is currently showing her work at the Avery Schreiber Playhouse.
Get to know the folks that make NoHo the fun, vibrant neighborhood it is.
Your art has been described as a combination of surrealism combined with Pop culture. Can you elaborate on your style of art?
I have always been a dreamer, and am heavily influenced by the surrealists. I am also grounded, and have a quirky sense of humor which I get to play out in my artwork. I like blending this surreal dream world with the undercurrent images of our current world. Mixing soft beauty and edgy unexpected intrusions is what comes out of my paint brush–a blurring of the yin and yang of life…
Another strong theme in my work is the iconic female form. For 10 thousand years we have been haunted by the mother/goddess/temptress/fashion plate/angel. My studies of fashion and costuming led to a successful career in fashion couture for a decade. For me, art and fashion always fed and bled into each other, enriching both…
What is your art background?
I was taken to art galleries and museums from very early on. Then I lived in England and the Caribbean for four years, so I got a strong dose of ultra lush art and the natural world. My painting really took flight in high school. I was awarded a CSSSA scholarship for a month-long art camp hosted by Cal Arts. One of my paintings also won an award at the in Riverside Art Museum.
As an art major at UC Santa Cruz, I spent my third year in Paris where I continued with my painting and took fashion/costuming classes. For my third year I studied art and fashion design at the Paris American Academy in Paris and had a one-woman show in Montmartre, where I sold several pieces. The world of French cabaret fostered my fascination with the corset and bustier shape. Once Paris got into my blood, everything came out hour-glass shaped: cakes, fashions, sculptures, and of course my designs, and paintings.
I have had shows at Café Metropol downtown and at BOA gallery in West Hollywood–two group live art events which I also curated. I have shown my work at various cafés, such a s Café Verona, and presently at the luxury car dealership Royal Exotic Car Rental on La Cienega, the Avery Shreiber Playhouse, and with my Art Rep Curtis Simmons at his NWO gallery, Bagatelle and Pour Vous.
If you could paint a famous person or historic event, what would it be?
Flappers dancing at a Great Gatsby-style party. Good idea for my next painting!
How did you come to show your work at the Avery Schreiber Playhouse in NoHo?
I exhibited at the first North Hollywood art walk in April, where I was introduced to the generous owner, Paul Storiale, who then invited me to show my work at his theater.
What do you like about the NoHo Arts District?
I love how supportive everyone is. There is a unique close knit community feeling among the artists. You don’t find that often in Los Angeles where there are just so many of us that the human element sometimes gets lost. In this community, there seems to be no hesitation to encourage, inspire, and help make a connection for each other.
It is almost like a sweet caring Midwestern Hamlet of creators.
What’s coming up for you?
I am going to be in a group show with one other artist, Ann Mcferran, at The Redbury on Vine Street in Hollywood one night only in September 2016.
Instagram is @deCamille
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