Outdoor Paint Class at The London Hotel

Artist Gage John Lazare - Photo by Jill Weinlein — Artist Gage John Lazare – Photo by Jill Weinlein

Last night I attended a special painting session at The London West Hollywood near Beverly Hills. I was warmly welcomed by the creative artist Gage John Lazare. Raised in Kahnawake, near Montreal, Canada, he now he lives in New York City and travels around the world, creating his own pieces and collaborating with other artists and designers.

I took a seat in front of a small easel holding a blank white canvas. A package of paint brushes in various sizes and package of paints and a palette were nearby.

One of Gage's creations - Photo by Jill Weinlein — One of Gage’s creations – Photo by Jill Weinlein

First I was offered a glass of rose’ wine from one of The London Hotel’s servers up on the rooftop lounge. Next, Gage sat down next to me and got me started in the creative process of painting. It’s a 5 Step process –

Choose a color or colors. With the largest brush, I brushed strokes of orange, yellow and a blend of both.
Gage encouraged me to select a contrasting color and recommended a light purple or lilac color.
I learned how to streak a color down Andy Warhol style.
While I placed the Uncle Sam stencil on top of my canvas, my new friend Jessica helped me blot with black paint.
I lifted the stencil and finished my art piece with a signature.
My new friends from Indonesia and I proudly showing off our art pieces.

From a very young age of six-years old, Gage started playing with his grandmother’s nail polish. He would paint a piece of paper, fold it in half and open it to see a butterfly effect.

Painting became Gage’s favorite hobby throughout school. He always felt like an “odd” kid, he was “different” from the crowd, yet his uniqueness has helped him become a rising superstar. His contemporary role models Jackson Pollock, Alfred Hitchcock and Lee Alexander McQueen inspire him.

Gage John Lazare with writer at rooftop of The London Hotel

At the age of 18 he got his first agent and at 19 he had a one of his canvas’ at the Louvre in Paris. Now at 25 years old, Gage paints non-stop and finds life so much fun making the world a better place with art. He falls asleep many nights painting with a paint brush in his hand. He has painted for singer Marc Anthony and soon Miley Cyrus.

The next sunset painting session at The London’s picturesque rooftop with a complimentary glass of Rose’ is on September 30. Tickets are $50 per person with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to Habitat for Humanity.