I created the above illustration for the Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, where I am a volunteer gardener. I was inspired by some of the garden’s iconic features — the pond, stone lantern near the waterfall, and numerous shaped pine trees. Blended into the landscape is another Phoenix icon — Camelback Mountain. I also wanted to blend several artistic styles from the East and the West, namely Utagawa Hiroshige’s traditional ukiyo-e style, Takashi Murakami’s modern art, and Roy Lichtenstein’s pop-art Asian landscapes. I dedicate this piece to my fellow Saturday morning gardeners.
Here are two new original illustrations from my Mid-Century Modern collection. The now-demolished Tiny Naylor’s drive-in restaurant that used to grace the corner of Sunset and La Brea in Hollywood inspired the first design, above. The Googie-style building made customers and passersby feel like they were part of the jet age.
