James Doolin’s paintings of Los Angeles reveal essences of the place on another scale. As he said, “Being a painter, just watching is so important. Just watching everything!” He was a searcher. “I wanted to confront the great things. The three years I spent living in the desert were probably the high point in my life. You see things you would never see unless you’re alone.” At such moments suddenly there’s a relationship with reality. “It’s so powerful — and it also makes you realize it’s such a miracle that you’re alive.”
