Los Angeles with Wendell Cole

A New Yorker, born and raised, with the Brooklyn accent to match, Wendell Cole recently made the move to Los Angeles, leaving his frenetic hometown behind for something a little bit more peaceful. Sunshine, space and lots of driving. 

 "It's been good to have more time and space to paint," says Wendell, showing us around the apartment that he shares with his girlfriend. He's set-up up a small studio in one corner: canvases in progress and tubes of colourful acrylic and oil. "I started off as a collage artist," he says, gesturing to a finished work in thick layers of bright green, cut through with a scrawl of the Hollywood sign. "I was working in a photography studio back home, and I was bored. Bored of my work, out of ideas, but collage lead to painting, which changed everything."

A self-taught painter–"the only artist in my family"–Wendell's work is a frantic, vibrant burst of creativity and colour, laden with humour, pop culture references and social commentary. That DIY style extends to displaying his work, he and a few friends have put on two impromptu shows in New York over the last year, while he's currently busy painting for an upcoming exhibition in Los Angeles, his first in the city.

"I do miss Brookyln," Wendell says, looking faintly wistful for a moment. "There's an energy to New York that I don't think exists anywhere else, it's a city full of characters and interesting people. It'll always be home, but change is good, too. LA has given me a chance to evolve my work and really commit to my art.

"The weather isn't bad, either."