As magic carpet ride that is Michael Jackson, Inc. continues,  I find myself in Los Angeles. I’ve been dying to paint here, so I decided to spend a few days and find the best rooftop view in Los Angeles. Thanks to Joseph and the awesome team over at Perch, mission accomplished.

My plane landed at 4pm… by 6:30 I was set-up and ready to paint this gorgeous view of the Title Guarantee Building.

Kicking things off with a margarita.

Busting out the 2B and 2H, getting some lines drawn… I didn’t have a sharpener because they are always confiscated at the airport, so I had to use each one until it was nubbed.

Blocking things out… hot under-painting, per usual.

This is where day one ended…

And the steak frites began…

During the first day, I only had about 90 minutes of working time before the sun said peace out… so I set-up at 10:30AM the next day to get back to it.

The final painting was always going to be a night scene… sometimes it takes layers to get there. The muted building tone you see here wasn’t strong enough, so I decided to darken the background, then work back to the main subject.

The background, taking shape… it was here I realized the sky would at some point require a darker gradient.

There  are some steps missing, but I found myself locked into a fantastic four hour block of focus. So, alas, we move forward in time. In every painting you work, work, work and suddenly turn a corner… this was it.

This is what the tones feel like at night… quite dark. The colors are all mixed from compliments, muddied… all slightly different.

Gorgeous Los Angeles.

Finished… chilling, waiting for Zack and his friend Matt to join me for dinner… which was superb.

On-Location night painting… a fine beginning to a short, but already very sweet trip out West. Here’s a huge thank you to the Joseph, Melissa, Anne and everyone at Perch for making my visit so memorable. Another shout to Zach Victor for dropping by… great to catch up.

It’s LA… so why not take a painting, electric toothbrush selfie before bed?

And, I leave you with the staircase from Ghostbusters… I’m staying at the Biltmore downtown… which is also featured in the painting.