A California Painter Laments the Drying Landscape

As the Drought Rages on, an Artist Struggles to Find Inspiration Among Shriveled Poppies and Ankle-Deep Rivers

As an outdoor landscape and seascape painter, I’m used to seeing places change over the years. I painted a stately cottonwood tree on an Owens Valley country lane in the fall of 2010, its golden crown contrasting dramatically with a cerulean blue sky. A recent trip found it vanished, the victim of a brush fire.

A traveling painter learns to seize the moment with pigment and brush, because it may not look the same on the next visit, or even an hour from now. Old, charming buildings are torn down …

Bogotá, My Home Away From Home

I Began My Trip to Colombia as a Teen Feeling Lost, and Ended With a New Sense of Belonging in the World

After finishing seventh grade, I found myself at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, where my mother put me on a plane headed to Bogotá, Colombia.

It wasn’t as …

The End of House of Blues Is Not the Death of Rock in L.A.

The Popular Music Venue Loses Its Sunset Boulevard Branch This Week, but Longtime Wallflower Greg Richling Says the City Will Rock On

“Coop’s full, guys! Time to hit the stage!” our tour manager says.

The four of us file out of the dressing room, head down the dimly lit concrete staircase, and get …

Homelessness Is Not Inevitable

While It Now Seems Like a Social Norm, There Are Actions We Can Take to Keep People off the Streets

Ten years ago, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez attended what he refers to as a “dog and pony show” on Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Its topic: the plan to …