JL Galleries

2007-03-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

It's official! Bryan Saltus has launched his official site BryanSaltus.com. This site is to consolidate information relating to Asian Tour Professional Golfer Bryan Saltus.
Bryan's site is in the JL Galleries family of websites and we are proud to be affiliated. This site has lots of information and photos including links to Bryan's stats in Asia the PGA and the World.
Also, don't forget to check out his new mini-site Golfing By Us for more info and photos.
Best of luck to Bryan as he swings away on the other side of the earth.

2007-03-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

JL Galleries is proud to announce a new gallery for one of the fathers of modern art in Indonesia Sudarso. He is considered the Indonesian 'Master of Realism'. There is also a Sudarso Biography. He is known for his perfect hands and feet when painting portraits. The majority of his subjects were beautiful young women.
Also, Sudarso is the father of Sudargono or Gono. Gono is one of the fathers of abstract art in Indonesia. Check out his bold works at one of the two Gono sites above.

2007-02-13T23:51:00.000-08:00

Dolce Restaurant is now displaying JL Galleries artworks on their dinning room walls. We are featuring art by Gono, Jesse Miller, Jason Monet, Steve Ladin, Kerry Pendergrast and Bambang Wiwoho.
Dolce is known for its fine Italian kitchen and European steak house with a fine art dinning area and a cozy fireplace patio. Executive Chef Jimmy Martinez is ready to delight your senses. They are located in Newport Beach, CA at 800 West Coast Highway. Call and make your reservations today 949.631.3202!

2007-02-12T01:48:00.000-08:00

It's official! JL Galleries now has merchandise. Pictured above is the sexy girls tee shirt. It comes in a variety of sizes. Featured below is a refrigerator magnet. A wide range of other products with the JL Galleries logo can be found in our new online store. There is still time before Valentine's Day to get your honey a JL Galleries teddy bear.

2007-02-11T19:48:00.000-08:00

Gono 'Bouquet'
Recently I wrote an article on abstract art. Have a read and let me know what you think. Here is the link. I discuss some points about abstract art using examples from the paintings of Gono and Maui's painting pioneer Élan Vital.

2007-02-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

JL Galleries is proud to announce the launch of its new satellite site, Art Collecting By Us. This site is intended to help the collector better understand the process that is involved in purchasing art. Also, it is here to provide education in the priorities of investment collecting. At this point there is only the main page but stay tuned for more articles and art announcements.
Thank you for your patronage!

2007-01-28T20:19:00.000-08:00

New to the JL Galleries line up is F. Malik! This is a Malik painting that I returned from Indonesia with late '06 and it was purchased right when I got back. He has amazing detail and control with his fine black line ink paintings. He lives in Ubud, Bali and is often found late night in his studio working away. See more of Malik in his new section of JLGalleries.com. Be sure to read more in his biography and how we met. The second painting is of Ubud Palace.

2007-01-09T19:20:00.000-08:00

Recently, I came across some of wonderful work of Jason Monet's. Last year while in Australia for the birth of his two grandchildren Jason painted some wonderful pieces that stayed down under. These are among some of the best I have seen in only photographs. The bike is his daughter Louise's. I am told that it looks just as it is painted. The sunset, 'Sunderland' is so rich and vibrant, that I wish he had been able to paint three more. Jason always seems to be very inspired when painting with his daughters. More of his new pieces are in his galleries at JLGalleries

2007-01-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

One on the artists I had the pleasure of meeting on my last trip to Indonesia is my new friend Tantri. She has been painting for years experimenting with all types of styles and mediums. Also, she likes to paint oversized canvas.

Over 2006 Tantri began studying with some of the painting masters she has met over the years. Lately she has been obsessed with sketching and growing as an artist. She paints and lives in both Ubud, Bali, and Bandung, Java Indonesia. Tantri is one of the most driven and motivated artists I have yet to meet. I look forward to watching her progression over the coming years onto the international art scene. She will most certainly have quite a future!

2007-01-06T09:41:00.000-08:00

Tantri playing with one of her abstract paintings.

2007-01-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! This is an exciting year for JLGalleries. This first piece is a Sudargono original painting. Gono is one of the fathers of abstract art in Indonesia. His work is monumental to painters through out the country. Also, he is the youngest son of Famous painter Sudarso. This creamy and green masterpiece is one of his wonderful paintings from his new style. Gono has always been cutting edge but this style is unprecedented in art. Check out more in the Gono Galleries

2007-01-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Also, for this new year we have added some new artists. This bottom painting is a Kerry Pendergrast vision of 'Amed'. It is pastels on sandpaper. Check out this painting and all the new artists recently added to JLGalleries.com.

2006-05-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

Alex Spencer 'Gaia' Marble

Over the past two weeks I have been working on a new site in Durango, CO (JohnnieChester.com).
During this time I met with sculptor Alex Spencer.
His work is very clean and sophisticated. He also does some wood work and painting with artist Steve Ladin whom I will be adding to the JLGalleries line up. Personally, I purchased one of their joint pieces 'Scorpion.' Next week I will post a photo of it on this blog, JohnnieChester.com and JLGalleries.com. More of both their artworks coming soon!

2006-05-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Now there is another place for art online. My new site has been launched, JohnnieChester.com. Here you can find my personal art collection and news about my music projects and the coming of Jungle Guitars. Also, there is a few pages from the old Rhythm-Roots days. Check it out!

JohnnieChester.com

2006-05-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Master painter, Elan Vital.

On April 25, I mentioned this artist with another of his beautiful paintings. I am not sure what the title of this piece is but it is often my Mac desk top. Usually, Elan paints with lots of brilliant color and that is what first attracted me to his work. This is one of the first series he did with black and it creates an immense amount of depth.

More of Elan's art can be seen with a click here!

2006-05-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

My most recent post was of Hisashi Otsuka the Japanese painter. His website link is on the most recent posting with a photo of one of his paintings. Here is a link to the gallery that sells his art. Lahaina Galleries This photo is of Otsuka and myself at one of his shows in the Newport Beach Lahaina Galleries.

2006-05-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

'Valley of the Temples' Hisashi Otsuka

This is another artist whom I am very impressed with that JL Galleries does not represent. Hisashi Otsuka paints an amazing array of modern and traditional Japanese themes. Often he paints on kimono silk as with this piece. Originally from Japan he now paints and lives in Hawaii and Paris.

More of Otsuka's art can be seen with a click here!

2006-04-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

ELAN VITAL
"Heavenly Flow," 2000.

I have spoken all about artists that I am associated with in business but there are many paintings that I respect and collect, with out being able to represent their creators.
One of my favorite artists is a painter out of Maui, Hawaii named Elan Vital. His gallery is in Wialeia, at The Shops in Wialeia. He paints 30-100 layers of paint on canvas with his secret technique for making paint from mixing aerospace enamel with pigments and ground gemstones. The results are extremely brilliant color combinations and psychedelic expression that creates space, oceans and other worlds limited only by your own imagination. Click on the painting to see a close up.

More of Elan's art can be seen with a click here!

2006-04-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the faucet in Jason Monet's bathroom. He hand carved this face sculpture and installed it above the sink so that the water shoots out of her mouth. It is fun to be in Jason's home. Everywhere you look some form of creativity is jumping off the wall and climbing right into your lap. Click on the photo to see a close up of her face and the flower in her hair.

2006-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to show up tomorrow night April 8th at the Baked Potato. Jeff Richman and Chatterbox presented by Ascending Records with album artist Jesse Miller in attendance. Show starts at 9pm.

2006-04-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a great view of a Jesse Miller plein air, multimedia piece. He painted the tree and right side of the canyon looking out his window and taking down his impression. Then he sketched the left side and took it to the studio to create the leaded glass piece. (Obviously this is not strict plein air because he needed the left side built in studio). Then after putting the wood glass and canvas together he finished by touching up the painting on the right.
Not a bad view for right outside a starving artists bedroom window?
Jesse Miller 'Canyon View' '05.

2006-04-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

This summer in Bali, Indonesia Jason Monet is displaying his work in a solo show that will present his life and work over the last twenty years in Indonesia. For the past two decades he has been living in Ubud, Bali and traveled over a good portion of the countries many Islands. This particular painting was done a few years back on a trip to the Banda Sea. Jason Monet's work covers everything from the beautiful vegetation and flora of these islands to the rocky shorelines. Also, he is quite known for his portraits. If your not familiar with his work...Check him out!

2006-04-04T04:40:00.000-07:00

This Saturday night at the Baked Potato in Hollywood Jeff Richman is having a CD release party for his new band Chaterbox. The line up includes Joel Taylor on drums, Dean Taba on bass, Mitchell Forman on keys and of course Jeff Richman on guitars. This is the first release party for Ascending records. All of the album art was created by Jesse Miller.

2006-04-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

For the third time in four years Jesse Miller will be doing all of the artwork for the Reggae on the River, festival in Quincy, CA. The new logo and T-shirts will be unveiled soon but here is a sample from years 22nd festival. As always this art will be covering CD's, hats, T-shirts and posters as well.

2006-04-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

This is a great photo of Jason Monet painting in January of '01. This shot was taken in Padang Bai, Bali. While he was painting Jason was laughing to himself saying "I found the color!" He was overjoyed. After that I looked back over his body of work and noticed that he did seem to historically paint lots of dark pieces or colors mixed with lots of shade. Since that day many more of Jason Monet's paintings seem to be overloaded with color. Truly he did find a new level of color that day!

2006-03-30T14:38:00.001-08:00

Often when discussing the art of Jesse Miller the topic veers towards his more avant-garde tendencies. Today this is not the case. This is a plein air painting by Jesse Miller done in the canyons of Laguna Beach looking out onto the Pacific Ocean. He painted this particular piece for his mother.
Personally, I find the layers and perspective to be familiar and accurate to my journeys into the Laguna Hills. The ocean seems to hover in the distance between the hills and the hazy sky.

2006-03-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday this piece of Jesse Miller's was sold to a private collection in Irvine, California. They are very excited to get it to their home and coordinate the proper lighting on the piece. It is called the 'tree of life'. My favorite part is how the same blue looking glass gives off different reactions for the ocean and horizon. The ocean blue leaded glass on the bottom left, leaves a ripple effect on the wall behind it. While just above in the blue sky, the glass leaves a clear smooth blue against the wall. I also feel that this is one of Jesse Miller's most ambitious carvings to date. He has done larger scale but, there is something beautiful and simple about carving a piece of tree into a tree. Truly, this painting, along with a handful painted since, represent a new level in Jesse's work. He is painting from the same mysterious place but with a stronger and sexy, more confident energy.

2006-03-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

When I first told Jason Monet of my plan to have him paint a long skinny piece he laughed at me. He wanted to know who had the nerve to tell him at nearly 70 years old that he needed to paint a size and shape other than the ones he had come accustomed to. I told him that it was for my mother and he said, "Your mum?" "Give me two days to think about it." I told him that she already had the spot picked out and everything else was up to him.
Soon after he informed me that he had found just the spot in a friends new garden. Days later this magnificent piece was finished and titled 'Nancy's.' It rests in a perfect spot to the left of her entry room where it gives a dramatic reception. Many people are impressed by this piece of Jason Monet's. The question now is will I be able to entice him into a repeat performance or will 'Nancy's' remain a one of a kind among Jason's work.

2006-03-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

This is a really cool piece from a private collection in Costa Mesa, CA. It is a Jesse Miller titled 'Hollow Tree'. Notice how this painting is the same upside down and right side up. Click on the image to enlarge it and look at the detail in the roots of the trees that needed to be perfectly reproduced. There are slight differences in the trees and waves but each side has its own special intricacies. Jesse Miller takes great pride in every tree he paints and these two are no exception. He also takes great pride with working with trees as this hand carved frame proves. Few other artists are currently as comfortable with the combination of avant-garde self expression and elegance.

2006-03-21T17:40:00.000-08:00

'Yuki' lounging in Jason's garden. Many of Jason Monet's portraits occur in this very garden and in the same hammock. Yuki looks very satisfied with herself. She has a look of confidence as if she knows a secret that she isn't telling. Beautiful light, and shade give way to hammock and garden colors dancing across Yuki's skin.
This garden is in Ubud, Bali and that is in a rain forest which gives even this small, well kept garden a nearly jungle feel with the diverse types of grass and leaves.
I like the juxtaposition of colors with the bright red and turquoise of her nails and pillow in the foreground with the strong purple lines of the hammock, while the multitude of different greens, blues, yellows and oranges decorate the background foliage. Also in front is the pearl white of her bracelet, eyes, necklace and blouse.

2006-03-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pieces. It is a Tiki from Maui, Hawaii. The wood is from a Monkey Pawed tree off an old sugar cane road on Maui. On top is Lono who represents the attributes of peace, love, feast and festivity. Mona Hoa is on bottom and has the attributes of protection, well being and $money$. The Hawaiians believe there is only one God but the various Tikis represent the different attributes of that one God.

2006-03-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

At times Jesse Miller paints experiments with concepts to an absurd non-logical extreme. He does this to better understand the function of that concept in juxtaposition to his macro understanding of painting in general. In this process, Jesse Miller is constantly educating himself and growing as an artist. In the mid 90's he took his first canvas to the complete extreme and it was christened 'Untitled'. It is a three-panel piece with extraordinary post-surreal visions. There is a boundless energy of unlimited potentiality that drips through this entire painting.

2006-03-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

This is the close up of dead center on the middle pannel of Jesse Miller's 'Untitled'. Look closely in the upper center. Coming out of the wave curl to the left side, is an Indian in full ceremonial headress. His mouth is open and he is facing to the right. Notice how the light beams coming off the sun and planets to the left, transitions into ripples in the water on the lower right. The center bottom is the upper portion of photo 2.
This lower section is very strong from up to 90' away! It has countless shapes and faces that seem to morph right before your eyes. How many do you see?

2006-03-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

I just love this painting by Jason Monet, Amed Sunset. It is aprox. 3'*5' or 90*140cm. Painted July, 03. He claims that he only paints what he sees! Wow I would love to see through his eyes for just one sunset.
Colorful visionary Jason Monet!
Enough said!

2006-03-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

In a previous post I mentioned my favorite guitar player was Jeff Richman. One of his new projects is this band called Chatterbox. It is a funky jazz project put out by Ascending Records. It is a grooving mix of tunes half of which were composed and the other half were on the spot improvisations. With this album Chatterbox is making a strong play for the 'jam band' scene.
The album art is an original drawing by Jesse Miller. Keep an eye on Jeff Richman, Jesse Miller and Ascending Records because all three are some of the best you have yet to fully experience!!!

2006-03-12T23:24:00.000-08:00

Not much needs to be said about this painting by Jason Monet. Of all his most impressive works I feel that this piece could easily hang next to any of the great masters in a museum. The focal point is simple and elegant, three pink flowers. By contrast the background is a mess of vine and shadow that creates quite a contrast without distracting or repressing the strength of the composition. With this piece alone I champion Jason Monet as post-impressionist master.

2006-03-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

One day in February 2000, my friend Sabi from France told me we were going to Yogyakarta (Yogya), which is in central Java, Indonesia. With not much more information I was off to Yogya. We went to Joglo Jago, which is home, and studio of Gono, who is the youngest child of the respected senior artist Bapak Sudarso. Sukarno has an important place in the artistic history of Indonesia. He was one of the founders of Institute Seni Indonesia in Yogyakarta, and also founded a group called "The Peoples' Painters", back in the sixties. This included many now legendary artists. Bapak Sudarso's paintings are included in the Sukarno Collection, part of which is currently being exhibited in Jakarta. Sudarso is famous for his portraits of women and his eight children are all painters.
Gono or Sudargono is a tremendous painter in his own right. He was classically trained and studied portraits and landscape and experimented with surreal as well as abstract painting. What he does now is his own brand of super energized surrealism.
During my stay he had a show in town and I was able to view lots of his paintings and subsequently his many moods. Also, I was on national television in Indonesia talking with his wife Tuti about one of his paintings. Unfortunately I never saw it and don't know if they translated my critique into Indonesian. To make a long story short this is how I came to purchase 'Dance' 1999 Gono, which is the painting in this blog. More to come on Gono in the future...

2006-03-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pieces of art ever. It was a birthday gift from Jason Monet titled 'Happy's'. We sat in his porch on my birthday while he painted and I played him guitar. Recently, someone offered to buy it but there is no price that I will accept for this painting. I hope to use it someday for album art or on a website dedicated to my music. If you look closely one can see my leg tapping as I play. Also, I love the racial ambiguity of the piece. Jason Monet gave me one of my best birthday presents ever and it makes me want to spend my day overseas every year!

2006-03-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Many of Jesse Millers paintings are extreemly in your face. It can be overwhelming at times to be in the presence of his art. Most of his pieces demand your attention. That is one of the reasons that I like this print. All that is Jesse Miller is in this painting but it doesn't scream for your viewing. The aptly named 2 for 1 is very subtle in its dual personalities of landscape. This is available in a limited edition run of 50. Yes it is more subtle but Jesse puts all of his energy into the two landscapes for the price of one. Another great feature is that each print has the artists personal touch in the framing. Brilliant!!!

2006-03-01T14:49:00.000-08:00

Besides being an art lover I am passionate about music. My favorite musician is a little known jazz player named Jeff Richman. He is surounded by a virtual whos who of famous jazz and studio musians in every project he touches but,
as of yet he is not a household name. He has worked on movies and television and traveled the world working with
various groups. My favorite work of Jeff's are his last two personal albums. His 12th solo album aptly titled Jeff Richman
One Two, and the self titled album with his new band Chatterbox. Both are groovy funk jazz masterpieces. Check him
out at:
Jeff Richman's Official Site

2006-03-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

Before JLGalleries existed I was extreemly interest in art and paintings. I began my collection in January of 2000. Not long after but still pre JLGalleries.com I sold my first painting. It was not my intention at the time to sell art. Still a friend had seen a January 2001 purchase and asked for help aquiring their own Jason Monet painting. So I showed them a picture of this boat painted on January 4th at Padang Bai's main cove and they loved it. This developed into more requests and I decided that my hobby would make a great career. Thus, the birth of JL Galleries.

2006-02-28T00:55:00.000-08:00

For fifteen years I have been watching Jesse Miller mature and grow as an artist. Constantly, he suprises me with his leaps in creativity. Still I was so excited when this piece of multimedia brilliance was first revealed. It is titled 'Green House'.
Relitive to much of his work it is conservitive but I find it to be his strongest piece politically. It is a play of words and images that has such diverse interworkings. This on top of the fact that Jesse Miller displayes such a mastery of combined media while making a fun and astheticly rewarding vision.

2006-02-27T23:07:00.000-08:00

The first time I watched Jason Monet paint was on January 3, 2001. Jason and myself, along with his four daughters(Camille, Marcel, Louise and Simone) and a Dutch gentleman traveled from Ubud to Padang Bai, Bali Indonesia. The plan was to celebrate Camille's birthday while getting some sun and painting done. The day we arrived we hiked over the ridge to the southern cove in Padang Bai. This is were Jason painted one of my favorite of his Coastlines. Whenever I look at this painting I can hear the rest of us laughing on the beach while Jason stayed intense to his canvas. This was the day I first saw the mastery in his style and technique. Thus far I had been impressed but unmoved when seeing his art. Then only days later while watching the energy go directly onto the canvas. I was sold! Jason Monet was capturing the energy that the rest of us were feeling while playing in the sand and water. No question about it I was utterly blown away. The very next day I picked out my first painting to sell, years before JL Galleries existed.

2005-12-27T21:47:00.000-08:00

JL Galleries is very excited for 2006 for many reasons. One big one is that after a year of major charity work Jason Monet is going back to hitting the canvas hard. Over 2005 he painted very little in order to donate more time to S.O.S. (The Sumatran Orangutan Society)
orangutans-sos.org
(Photo of Jason As Orangutan)

2005-11-13T22:35:00.000-08:00

Typically in the arts a compromise must be made between artistic vision and commercial Marketability. The avante guard or more cerebral pieces are often hard to sell. Visionaries often die cold and hungry. This is why JL Galleries exists, to provide an outlet for art that has ethereal qualities and commercial sense. Pieces with individuality and endless energy that come from any and all mediums and styles. JL Galleries is not a traditional gallery with walls and sales persons, it is a facilitator of art for galleries and individuals.