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95-028 "Hollywood Ending"
1995, Acrylic on Illustration Board

Hollywood is sometimes justly attacked for being a town full of hacks intent on making a dollar. It is oddly ironic that this, my first Hollywood scene, started out with yours truly in just such a role. I was years away from working for the Griffith Observatory, but already I was very keen on having them carry a poster or print of my work - so I tried to make a picture they could not refuse. I included the upcoming appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp (topical, baby!) and for good measure threw in the Hollywood sign (tourist trade, baby!) and wrapped the whole thing in a sunset glow that would make Wyland blush (think California, baby!). Shameless. However, I paid my dues as the project proceeded; unlike most scenes I paint, this one was available for personal inspection, and I hiked out onto the hillsides to sketch the real thing first. See the bushes just to the left? CUE HORNETS! A whole swarm of yellow jackets came boiling out, and I ran like hell back up to the observatory, swatting wildly at them with my clipboard, as some Japanese tourists captured the spectacle with telephoto lenses.

The next few scenes in this drama saw the observatory not showing any interest in posters, and it looked like this hack was doomed. However, in 1998, Griffith did start ordering T-shirts with this painting on them - so the story has a happy ending, which is to say, a Hollywood Ending, after all.

Chris Butler