Meet Lee Musgrave | Artist & Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lee Musgrave and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lee, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night” – Edgar Allan Poe This unique quote has been a favorite of mine since I was a child for I was always day dreaming especially while drawing and painting. I got high on the feelings and emotions the art and my fantasies provoked within me. Further those creative acts always made me feel I had evolved beyond who I had been earlier in the day and often convinced me I had a fuller appreciation of whatever they had revealed. Those many experiences enriched my life as I matured. They were a vehicle towards transcendence. I valued them then and still do today. For example, when I was 9 or 10, one beautiful day, I was sitting beneath a tree feeling depressed because I didn’t have any drawing paper, then a gentle breeze stirred the tree and a dove began cooing. I raised my head and instantly saw a shaft of sunlight pass through the tree and the side windows of my uncle’s old car. This meta-aesthetic effect was very sensual. I went to it and immersed my hands into that light following it to the surface of a side window of the car. To my surprise the window was not of glass, but rather acrylic plastic* which explained why the light was refracting and the window felt soft. It even had scratch marks, some appearing light, others dark. The effect made me feel as though the marks had been drawn by the sun. I picked-up a small triangular rock and added more marks. So, my creative need to draw, to express myself via linear mark-making was sated for the day. I anxiously waited for my uncle to return home in hopes he would be as excited about my discovery and artwork as I was. He arrived tired and not overly enthusiastic about looking at another of my artistic endeavors, but being the gentle soul he was, he followed me to the car, looked at each window I had etched, smiled and proceeded to tell me it was very thoughtful of me to not have put any on the front windshield. This was not what I had thought he would say, but it provided me with much food for thought and added yet another reason why I selected to pursue a creative career. *In the 1970’s there was a new art movement called California Light & Space in which artists used plastic as their primary medium. I joined in, created dozens of paintings and sculptures using mostly ¼” sheets of Plexiglas. I painted on it, etched into it, heated and folded it … all the while remembering my uncle’s words of wisdom. Those artworks were exhibited in Los Angeles, Malibu, Seattle, Australia and many other locations.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Recently, I watched the debut concert of the Allman Betts Band on Reflix.com, and it was great. They chose to officially introduce themselves on the 50th anniversary of the debut album of the original Allman Brothers Band … which reminded me of a drawing I created while listening to that album. The individual music of the Allman brothers with Dickey Betts fused together blues, jazz and country music in a unique blend that sizzled with energy and human warmth. This concert by their sons and their friends captured that warmth again with renewed vitality. I had the honor to create the cover art for one of Dickey’s CD’s a few years ago. Listening to music and turning that vibe into visual art is a very gratifying experience, one I will always treasure.

My publisher Black Rose Writing will release my third novel, The Beautiful One, in November. It is a amateur sleuth romantic thriller set in 1912 Cairo and Berlin. Plus, I will be one of the featured authors in attendance at the Men of Mystery Conference in Long Beach on November 4.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This question can never be fully answered for L.A. is truly the city of angels. That said, I would take a visitor to the places that continue to thrill me. I would probably start my visitor off at Leo Carrillo State Beach. Located 28 miles from the Santa Monica pier, it is about 2 miles long and has all the usual boons for swimming, surfing, fishing, tidepools, caves, reefs, but it also has giant sycamore shade trees, a wonderful campground, plus fantastic back country hiking with incredible vistas … all of which is a part of one of the worlds biggest, most populated cities. Further, Leo Carrillo himself is a very engaging individual to read about (and watch in his films & tv series). Then at days end, I would take my visitor to either Van Nuys or Whittier Blvd Lowrider Cruise night for the sensational, eye-candy custom cars and related night life. If those two experiences don’t convince them angels live here, then they should see a doctor.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My most recent successes in creative art and writing are due in part to the help of Jorge Barragan, Richard Chow, Britt Freda, Colin Goldberg, John W. Head, Bob Hicks, Carlotta Mazzoli, Sandee McCee, Moriah Russo, Aline Smithson, Doug Walsh, Jonas Yip and all the good folks at publishing house Black Rose Writing.

Website: www.leemusgrave.com

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