Andy Dixon is a Los Angeles–based painter whose pastel-hued canvases explore the ironic tension between fine art and luxury. A former punk musician from Vancouver, Dixon pivoted to painting and has since shown solo with The Hole in New York and L.A. and Over The Influence across Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Paris. His collaboration with Versace at Milan’s Salone del Mobile turned his oversized painted shirts into wallpaper across the Versace palazzo, and a large-scale painting now hangs in the Jacques Marie Mage gallery in London. His Silver Lake home was profiled by Architectural Digest, and his work sits in the collections of Crystal Bridges Museum and Beijing’s X Museum. Next up: pieces in the group show Dreaming in Colour at Opera Gallery London and a new collab with Jacques Marie Mage at Harrods.

What do you do when you hit a creative block?

I find the best inspiration comes from life lived. If I’m feeling uninspired, I’ll turn that part of my brain off and go out to the bar with friends, find a party, go the beach. It’s like trying to come up with a band name… instead of sitting there trying to think of cool sounding words, you’re better off trying not to think about it and letting it come to you.

What’s the worst recommendation someone’s given you?

I once had a studio visitor tell me that while paintings might function as luxury commodities, it’s not something an artist should say out loud. Which, of course, is exactly why I do.

What book have you gifted most?

Maybe Kundera’s The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, or The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

What’s something you bought under $100 that changed your life?

A bougainvillea that I planted in my front yard and am currently obsessed with tending to.

Where do you go to find peace?

The ocean, splashing around the waves.

Who is your forever inspo?

John Waters

What’s the last article you sent to a friend?

“Sure, I’ll check out Primus” Says Person on Worst Date of Their Life from The Hard Times

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