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Over the years the New York collection of my souvenir line has grown so much that as of today, I decided to finally split it into two separate collections: New York at large and Brooklyn. Did new NY collection product shots for the first time since late 2020! Not all my associated items by any means, but enough to give an overview :) Happy with all the color in the New York collection and definitely seeing a color palette emerge in the Brooklyn collection. I don’t know if it makes me wanna lean into it or inspire me to bring a bit more vibrance in. We shall see!!

Wonder when I’ll do the next update. I wanna add more cut-paper designs to my line at large and have been itching to tackle Gowanus with cut paper brownstones and shopfronts for quite some time now. Hope to add more designs this year and expand into new categories. Will be fun to eventually compare!

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My mom’s apartment complex had a Santa come to visit, so I borrowed a poodle to join in the festivities.

Merry Christmas 2016!

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Aluna George performing + photo pit at Rebecca Minkoff 

Helmut Lang backstage

Backstage at Desigual 

NYFW February 2014

Original photos and GIF animation by me, Nilina Mason-Campbell.

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Naeem Khan show at Lincoln Center, February 2014. Original photos and GIF animation by me, Nilina Mason-Campbell.

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Erin Featherston backstage and before show, NYFW February 2014. Shot and animated into GIFs by moi, Nilina Mason-Campbell.

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Charlotte Ronson before and during show, NYFW February 2014. Shot and animated into GIFs by moi, Nilina Mason-Campbell.

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The Blonds show, NYFW February 2014. Shot and animated into GIFs by moi, Nilina Mason-Campbell.

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Alice & Olivia presentation, shot and animated into GIFs by me, NYFW February 2014.

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Stromae @ Madison Square Garden. More.

📷: Nilina Mason-Campbell

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Concert Poster Archive

A selection of some of my previous concert posters, made with cut paper and then digitally colored with Photoshop.

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So happy to have this up today! Got personal, talked about breakups, nostalgia and recovering from the past. One of my favorites yet!

Doe Paoro: Nostalgia

The singer premieres her latest music video and shares some notes on overthinking.

Interview by Nilina Mason Campbell.

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My street style gallery from the past week of Paris Men’s Fashion Week

Paris Street Style 2015

By Nilina Mason-Campbell

It’s that time of year where the fashion elite take over the summertime streets of Paris all in the name of Men’s Fashion Week and Haute Couture. During Men’s Fashion Week, the seasonal shows brought out an international bevy of models, buyers, bloggers, designers and more. In addition to taking in shows by Kenzo, Andrea Crews and Henrik Vibskov, we made sure to snap photos of attendees in their front-row best.

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Ohhhh heeeeyyy! Some photos from the season finale of Blackish feature yrs truly looking all gussied up in gray right behind Tracey Ross :)

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A new song and a chat about putting creative work into the world.

Had such a blast chatting with Claire for this! She’s super rad and I seriously love everything we talked about. It’s all hyper relevant, from putting yourself out there to challenging yourself creatively and also about romantical relationships and the step of actually taking action on red flags...

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Hung out at an art show on Saturday, chatted with some of the artists and made some GIFs. Enjoy!

PS I’m a Libra

Off the Charts and Onto the Wall: The Gabba Gallery does the Zodiac

By Nilina Mason-Campbell

With a groovy ‘70s soundtrack playing overhead, the Gabba Gallery opened the doors to its new Zodiac-inspired art show this past Saturday night. The features the work of nearly three dozen L.A. artists. On canvas, on wood, with ink and other mixed media, the star signs came to life in a whole new realm. From bovines to sunbeams, the duality of the gemini sign, to the archer stance of the sagittarius, the symbols of horoscopes take on new form and with that, further meaning. We spoke with three of the contributing artists about their creations, the overarching ideas of their art, and the role of Los Angeles in their output.

1. Toshee

For the work you created for the show was that the first idea that jumped out at you? How did you come to settle on it, and how long did it take to flesh out?

The first idea I had involved space in general. I was thinking of including a planet or celestial body, something with texture and depth that would play into my cutting and layering technique. Then I stared at representations of the zodiac for a bit. Something about the mythological beasts clicked and I made an association with monsters and D&D, aliens and video games. I guess that says something about what a huge geek I am. Once I imagined the zodiac figures as aliens, I designed 8-bit versions of them that would look something like the original Space Invaders characters. The piece took a couple weeks to execute from concept to finish.

You work with mixed media — how did you start combining media? What are the advantages? I studied design in college and learned traditional paste up and cutting for assembling layouts. I’ve always had fun working with those materials and techniques. It’s a good way to go for someone who has trouble deciding what to use at any given time. Also, I’m not a very good draftsman or painter; if I were maybe I’d stick with one of those.

What would you like viewers to take away from your work? I’d like them to smile. Hopefully they’ll think my work is fun, maybe even funny. Of course, they could hate it. But as long as they feel something, I’ll take that as a win.

What drew you to L.A.? What’s it like to be a working artist here? I came to L.A. to write — still do. For a long stretch, though, I stopped making visual art. I came back to it organically a couple years ago when I was trying to find myself while dealing with some hard times. To say making art has been a lifesaver isn’t much of a stretch. I’ve learned a great deal about myself by reengaging my creative drive. The Gabba Gallery has been instrumental to my early success as a working artist. I’m still learning the commercial side of the art world. There’s a lot of talent in Los Angeles and seeing so much impressive work around town inspires me to push myself and reach higher. Excelsior! (h/t Stan Lee)

What’s your astrological sign? Do you believe in astrology? I’m a Sagittarius. I don’t believe in astrology — but hey, the multiverse is a big and weird place. Maybe there are optimistic, bow-carrying man-horse aliens somewhere out there.

2. Daisuke Okamoto

For the work you created for the show, specifically the ram, was that the first idea that jumped out at you? How did you come to settle on it and how you depicted it? I recently started working with white Indian ink on black paper and depicting the creatures of marine life called “Life of Oceans.” I’ve been working with black Indian ink, but I feel drawing white ink with black paper emphasizes the lines and art pieces. I do black ink on white paper a lot, but now I’m obsessing with white ink on black paper. It’s fresh and always fun to work with new mediums.

Your style utilizes Indian Ink - how did you first discover and start utilizing that technique?

I like detailed and intricate drawings, sculptures, and art. When I was a kid, I usually drew with my father who also liked to draw. Even though he wasn’t an artist, his unique doodles and creative drawings inspired me a lot. My sketchbooks and notes were filled out with intricate mazes and detailed robots.  Since then, I have pursued to intricate style as tiny as I can, and have tried to make pieces that I’ve never seen, so that my pieces are only by me and not to be imitated by other artists.  

What’s the longest one of your drawings has ever taken you and what was it? My biggest piece is called “The Invasion of Los Angeles,” I finished it in 2014. It took me three years from start to finish. Its size is 30" x 22"½ with ink pen on paper. A huge octopus invades the city of Los Angeles, and a mysterious flying object fights against it. Mankind entrusts the flying object with humans’ future, but nobody knows which ones are the good or bad monsters.

How do you maintain the patience? Does it feel repetitive to you or does the act of repetition lead to a zen-like place? The patience became the meditation. Drawing now is like a daily habit and my lifestyle. 

What drew you to L.A.? What’s it like to be a working artist here? How does it compare (and contrast) to Japan? I love movies and also love to make movies. My father took me go see movies a lot when I was a kid. We watched Japanese and Asian movies, but mostly American films. Watching a lot of great American films inspired me to come here to learn filmmaking and that was one of my dreams. I graduated college as a film major and met a lot of passionate filmmakers who encouraged to keep my dream and live in a foreign country by myself. Meeting passionate people always made me think I could do anything — whatever I wanted to do and who I wanted to be if I put a lot of love to it. I love art, and art is my life.

The art in Japan is beautiful, delicate, unique, and characteristic which I love, but there are a lot of people from different countries here in Los Angeles. They have a different pattern of thinking and thought from the Japanese. I

What’s your astrological sign? Do you believe in astrology? My astrological sign is Aries. I believe in myself.  

3. moncho1929

For the work you created for the show, specifically the ox, was that the first idea that jumped out at you? How did you come to settle on it? When I was first approached with doing a work for the show, I wanted to do something in line with what I do, and also that could speak on the topic of the show (being Zodiac-based for this one). I wanted to keep the respect for my style of work as well as have something that would stay in theme for the show. My works have been evolving into other subject matter, so I did another piece called “double dutch” that also worked for the show and included it.

Your style utilizes dripping paint — how did you first start utilizing that technique? Oddly enough I was playing with that idea several years ago and kept it as something that would eventually work into a series when the time and work was right. The murals, to me, have a suspension-of-time feeling, and that is what I really wanted for the works to convey even if only for a moment. Working on walls and doing the technique was challenging and brought about interesting/unconventional ways of doing things that sometimes doesn’t seem correct. Having the viewer stop and begin exporing the work is part of the narrative and that to me is just as important as the beauty of the work.

How did you originally start depicting animals in your work? What about them draws you to them? I wanted to do work bringing attention to animal preservation and conservation without losing the beauty of the animals. The suspension of colors and the motion of the animals play with a moment in time where things seem like a frozen moment, and the works began to take shape in that way.

Your work incorporates the colors of African flags and military fatigues. How did that come about? I wanted a reference point and purpose for the colors within the work helping the narrative aspect. Using the colors as abstracted reference points to what the work is saying helps the viewer have a private conversation with them. I never wanted the commentary of the work to overpower the aesthetic and beauty of the animals themselves, rather I wanted the balance to be as subtle as possible in the works, so that over time the works reveal more about the commentary as the viewer interacts and finds out more.

What drew you to L.A.? What’s it like to be a working artist here? I left NYC shortly after 9/11 and the passing of my grandfather ( the original “Moncho”). I wanted a change in life and new challenges as an artist so I made the move cross-country.

I wasn’t sure if it would be a permanent move at the time, but I started seeing the art scene in Los Angeles growing and really becoming something special so it has become another home to me. ( I still travel between L.A. and NY throughout the year.)

What’s your astrological sign? Do you believe in astrology? I’m a pisces and secretly (well, not so much of a secret now I guess ) I still buy a newspaper on my birthday for the horoscope, so yeah I guess I do to an extent, haha.

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Latest for Perrier - interviewing four local street artists who have a group show that opens tomorrow at Gabba Gallery

‘Outside Lies Magic’ Brings Street Art Inside

By Nilina Mason-Campbell

The exhibition Outside Lies Magic brings street art inside to the walls of L.A.’s Gabba Gallery. Starting this Saturday, over three dozen artists will be merging the outdoors with the indoors, bringing their works from sidewalk scrawls to a fine art setting. With that in mind, we spoke to four of the featured artists to get a better glimpse of their art and their inspiration.

1. Jennifer Korsen

How did you first get into street art? I’ve been showing my work since 2009, but the gallery world was feeling really small, and sometimes hard to be taken seriously in without an art education. Pop-up shows were fun, but I don’t really support a model that charges artists to hang work in massive shows. In 2012, a street artist friend encouraged me to make stickers out of my mixed media pieces and put them up, they were quickly photographed and blogged about. Melrose and Fairfax posted my LA heart sticker with the caption “sticker of the year” and it kind of spiraled from there, making me want to do more and go bigger. I was invited to show at Fame Fest and Ethos Gallery on Melrose and within months I was painting murals and painting and showing my work with artists who had been a huge inspiration to me. Its been an amazing few years, and I really feel like Im just getting started.

You work across many mediums. How do you determine what goes where and gets made with what? Honestly, I have no attention span. When I’m in the studio without any set deadlines, I just kind of look around and throw things together until I like them. I’m really heavy on process, if I put too much thought into planning exactly what I am doing, I lose interest fast. Im usually working on three or four things at once that are completely different. If I’m feeling creatively blocked, I like to draw and paint on magazine pages to get my brain going, but I approach a lot of my work without any idea of how it will turn out when its finished. Except there’s almost always a heart in there somewhere.

Yes, you work a lot with human anatomy, especially hearts. What is it about the subject that appeals to you? When I was growing up, my mom had breast cancer. I remember a lot of the visual stuff from back then, the ways her body changed and was medically altered, and a lot of the things I saw in the hospitals had a big effect on me. It was completely terrifying, channeling that into anatomical art has always helped me deal with a lot of those feelings. As for the hearts, the symbolism is universal, everyone can relate to them but for really individual reasons. I like knowing people connect to my work, it’s like a conversation. I’ve heard some incredible and very personal stories from heart patients, people going through breakups, and all kinds of other stories from complete strangers because they connected to what I was doing. Art is powerful, hearts are powerful, it makes perfect sense and provides an endless supply of inspiration.

What are the biggest benefits of making public art in your opinion? Making public art is rewarding for a lot of different reasons, the exposure you get from having your work in public versus a gallery is off the charts. The city of L.A. is a big part of who I am, being able to contribute my art to the landscape is an amazing feeling. I’ll never get tired of that.

2. Andrea LaHue

How did you first start making murals? I started painting “Random Act Flowers” in 2007, few and far between at first.  I amped it up in 2009 and painted on “for lease’ or abandon buildings across the country in over 51 cities and towns.  I mix from the primaries, on the spot, using outdoor house paint and a brush.

Where does your inspiration come from? I am inspired by nature and flowers, the good feeling and lack of dogma they convey.  

Can you explain your relationship/duties with Google Cultural Institute Street Art Platform? I partnered with Jason Ostro to form the StreetArt Brokerage Firm and we partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to represent street art in Los Angeles, California. We upload content and curate exhibitions of Los Angeles Street Art and I have encouraged our L.A.-based photographers to give me images as far back as 2011, when the L.A. Scene really took off, with blogs such as MelroseandFairfax.com fueling the creative fire and international street art tourism that continues to grow.

What are your thoughts on L.A.’s relationship with public art? Public art implies it was paid for by the “public” as in government. Much of the street art you see in L.A. is self-funded by the artist, there is a chance a benefactor or co-sponsor is generously helping to cover costs and pay the artists. That said… The public, as in the people walking, driving, visiting the streets of L.A., love it.  Love it. When I am out painting, I get all kinds of support from the community. There is much driving and perfect weather… so there is a lot of time to enjoy the art in this City of Angels and watch how it uplifts, beautifies and inspires the communities you find it in.  

3. Septerhed

How do you describe the work that you make?

A pinched nerve of the soul. Sometimes its therapy, sometimes it’s to help people feel a little less alone in the world. Major themes include but are not limited to love, hate, life and death.

How did you first get into street art?

I first got into street art as a dare to myself. It was a personal challenge to go around and put as much art as I could in public places. It was very difficult at first, but after a while it was my favorite medium. Nothing beats the gallery of the streets. Every piece is different, every wall a challenge and every interaction a reward.

You work a lot with black and white, what is it about the contrast that appeal to you? I want bold easy reads. Life is too short. I don’t have a lot of time to waste wondering what something is, and I’m pretty sure no one else does either.

What are your biggest reasons for making art outdoors?

Creating dialogue and interaction with everyone. I want all access to my art. No VIP, no lists, no private viewing. Art is from the soul, and the soul lies inside everyone. Art should be available to all the people. Every single last one.

What is your approach for this show since it will be indoors? My approach will be to put something on something you can put on a wall. Art is art. The only thing that changes is the mediums. Creativity has eternal life, only hindered by our own mortality.

4. Gianni Arone (also pictured top) 

How did you first get into creating murals? I believe around 2008/2009 I started working outside. Catching small tags here and there, working with crude hand-cut stencils where I would just take a sheet of paper and an x-acto knife and then cut freestyle with the negative space.  I quickly started using cans a bit more — in a freestyle fashion, as everything I do , for the most part — has a bit or a lot of serendipity to it. I enjoy the Graffuturism movement, as it has allowed a progression for outsiders like myself, who were never graffiti writers to work with the concept of letter, form, and space. For me, the style is liberating, as it allows creation to occur — without any real boundaries. When you deconstruct the letter which essentially is an abstraction of emotion to its raw essence it is nothing more than a dot from a pen. You can go anywhere with that. That’s the type of space and freedom I need as an artist.

What are the benefits and challenges of creating large scale art?

For me it’s actually the movement you get to partake in. When you are working on a larger scale your entire body is in it. There is motion in the arms and legs that you sometimes do not get when working studio work. You are also outside, with nature. You interact with the sun as it passes throughout the day. You engage with people. The challenges are simply that you are always learning, always adapting, and this is a beautiful thing.

You do a lot of varied work from illustration to GIFs. How does working across multiple media shape you as an artist?

As a creator and as an artist, I see no reason why one would not wish to engage in any medium they have at their disposal. Time is quite short in this human life, so I wish to experience as many creative outlets as I can, in as many styles as I can, as often as I can, without burden of genre or rule, because there seems to be so many of both but simply with the grace of being an artist. This is what I do. I create. It is very simple. I’m just a channel, freely creating, allowing the process to narrate. My job is to listen.

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Chatted with Yasmine about her favorite spots in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood. Made the GIFs too. Have to say I’m pretty happy with how it turned out!

What’s in My District: Yasmine Kittles 

By Nilina Mason-Campbell

Whether you see her crossing Sunset Boulevard or she’s popping up on your screen, L.A.-based singer and actress Yasmine Kittles seems to be everywhere. Not only is she the frontwoman of her own band Tearist, but she collaborates with everyone from Ryan Adams to Former Ghosts, Eric Heidecker from the comedy duo Tim and Eric, and many more. From music to acting, she does everything from her home base in Silver Lake. With that in mind, we asked her to give us an glimpse inside her neighborhood and let us in on her main haunts.

1. The Sweat Spot  In 2010 Ryan Heffington created The Sweat Spot, a dance studio with the goal of teaching adults of any level in a non-competitive environment, with Heffington himself teaching as well. He and I met when our bands played together. Tearist was just starting out and playing our first shows, and Ryan was in a band called We Are The World. They would perform an intricate choreography fully disguised in masks and cloaks, hiding their identities and genders. It was incredible. He became a big supporter of my band, and we played a few more of our first events together. I went into Sweat Spot not having taken a dance class in years and not having seen Ryan in years either. I was just going to sit in and watch. Ryan happened to be at the studio and teaching that day and said “Fuck you. You’re dancing.” It was Advanced Jazz.

If the name Ryan Heffington doesn’t sound familiar to you — it should. Ryan is responsible for the incredible choreography of Sia’s “Chandelier” and most recently, Sia’s “Elastic Heart.” I cannot watch either of these videos without either getting goosebumps or crying. I believe he has changed the way people see dance as well as the power it can have in the world of music videos.

2. Army Navy Surplus Store You can find this landmark at 3228 Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Sunset and Hyperion. It was featured in the 1993 movie Falling Down with Michael Douglas��and unlike much of Silver Lake, it’s still standing in the same location and with the same interior. When I first moved here I remember feeling starstruck by the place. It was like I was seeing the Eiffel Tower… but no one knew the movie or what I was talking about, much less understand my awkward fanaticism. I mean… This was my Elliot Smith wall.

I won’t spoil what happens in the store… If you haven’t seen the film… See. It. Now. Most of it takes place in and around these parts, which makes me feel kinda warm inside. (And yes, I do realize I just said that an army navy surplus store featured in a film about a man snapping and killing people made me feel warm. I’m fine with that.)

3. The Music Box Steps  The stairs beginning on Vendome and ending at Descanso were made famous by the comedy duo of Laurel and Hardy in the 1932 short The Music Box where the two struggle to carry a piano up, like, a million stairs, because that, obviously, makes sense. One piano, two guys, a million stairs… Let the comedy ensue.

If you’re over the age of 87 you’re absolutely gonna love it… I mean, if you remember it… and are still mobile… and Descanso is super bumpy, so you might have a tough time. But it’s not hard to spot. You’ll see the sign… I mean, if you can see that far… .. you know what — I’m going to stop.

I live around there, so I usually catch myself begrudgingly for some reason feeling like I have to mention these stairs… It, usually, goes something like “Oh yeah. And these are the Music Box stairs. You know… From that one Laurel and Hardy where they had to carry a piano up, like, a million stairs? You didn’t see it?” This is often followed by “Oh. I’ll have to check that out.”

No one does. It’s weird. Why do I feel like it’s my duty to mention this movie?

4. The Bathroom at Local  Local is a great place for brunch or just to pop in for some of their amazing iced coffee. (Gotta love a place with never-ending free iced coffee refills.) The staff is extremely friendly and… Honestly, I’m sick of people telling me of/ trying to find “a good brunch spot.” Let’s stop all this and just get into it.

Let’s talk about the bathroom. You can tell a lot about a place based on their bathroom. I’m talking about much more than just the cleanliness… I’m talking about that moment when you are sitting on the toilet and realize you gotta get your phone out and take a picture- not of yourself- of that bathroom. Local is that spot.

I highly recommend you eat at Local, and go into that bathroom. In that bathroom you will find the most unsettling (mostly amazing) mannequin of a young boy. He has no arms, a hole in his chest and looks to have been cut into two parts. Often times he stares directly at you… down into your eyes, into your soul — as you sit on the toilet wondering what is happening to you. Other times he is in another position. It’s terrifying. It’s incredible. It keeps me coming back for more. 

5. The stairs at Micheltorena and Sunset   

This is kind of a hidden jewel, but they are quite an attraction, mostly, because they are, actually, unavoidable. I have never, actually, gone up the stairs, but maybe the not knowing is part of what makes it more mysterious…  For about five years there was a shopping cart chained to the railing at the bottom of the stairs. For some reason this comforted me.  The cart is gone now… I miss him.