Category: art

This week I have artist Donnie Molls in the house. He’s my friend and the father of my son’s best friend, Lukas (AKA Lukee).
Donnie has lived at the same place for years. Weird thing, is that I didn’t REALLY know where that was for a long time. I just knew it was up at Sid Krofft ‘s property (u no, co-creator of H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Banana Splits….). Until one day, a few years ago, I ran into him and his wife , Teri walking in the NEIGHBORHOOD. We were both pregnant and delivered our boys just days apart. ANYWAY>>>>
Since Donny has a show that just started at the Pacific Design Center during West Week, I thought it would be a great time to feature his Work and Fab Home that he basically built with his own 2 hands on Design*ByProxy.

D*BP: Tell us about what you do?

DM: i mix photo’s and painting(oils).taking the oldest form of photography by you-sing silver gelitino bromide and strip it down to a minimal form.
transferring it to canvas then painting (mixed media)

D*BP: Where do you live and what do you love most about your home?

DM: i live in the hollywood hills i love the quietness and the simplicity of it up here also being secluded but the city is so close.i love plants and they seem to thrive up here.
i have been up her for 17 years now. me and three other artist were brought up here after the earth quack and were asked to rebuild the main house on the property .so when i was finished there was a guest house on the other property that was in distress so i moved in tore it down to the frame and rebuilt it to what it is now.(first i lived in the tree house on the property)i did all the work myself(have been building since i was 16)it is more about the inside outside living of california..

D*BP: What designers or artists do you admire most? What inspires you?

DM: i am inspired by many architects and artist some are neutra, john lautner ,craig ellwood,mies vanderow.
artist are robert rauchenberg ,gerhard richter, ed ruscha ,luc tuymans are some. i have may inspirations the outside and all the movement around us taking a moment and capturing it then put it in a timeless place.i hope that my work will be looked at in 50 years and still have a unique style to get people to think.

D*BP: The airstream in the driveway looks like a piece of art and I know the boys love to go and hangout in it. How long have you had it and where do you take it?

DM: i bought the airstream about 10 years ago for $1500 it was trashed i redid it all back to original and got all the original appliances working .
i have taken it all the way on route 66 to photograph for the show abandon dreams i take it out to the desert in the winter and we go and take it up to our property in the summer in the sequoia national forest.we love it and it is a functioning piece of art.

D*BP: I mentioned your show going on right now at the PDC, part of the DESIGN LOVES ART program. Please tell us about it.

DM: the show i have up right now is called BEYOND it is about us traveling into alter spaces and times there are video pieces inside the trees that i got off the property they fell down during the last storm . i wanted the people going into the tree be during one time of year and all the alter seen be in the winter were it is difficult and almost impossible to get to.we had to take snowmobiles to get back there and shot it all in a blizzard.
so i have been working on this show since 2003.

Sounds cool. Can’t wait to see it all up.
Thanks Donnie!

Come check out Donnie’s show BEYOND @Carl Berg Projects located in the Blue Whale at the Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Avenue, B266, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Gallery Hours: TUE-FRI, 1PM TO 5PM