Artist Spotlight: Paul Jasmin

Paul Jasmin has been pretty busy in the last eight decades. He was an actor (Psycho, Midnight Cowboy, The Rifleman) and an illustrator, and he is now a professor at Art Center in Los Angeles. And "Jazz," as his friends call him, is very much at home in Los Angeles. He manages to reflect his own vision of the City of Angels that depicts it as a land of milk, honey, and doe-eyed young men. You can see his take in these three books: Hollywood Cowboy, Lost Angeles, and California Dreaming.

Jasmin has known just about everyone who has ever mattered in the creative world. Good friend Sofia Coppola told Interview magazine, "Jazz was one of the first people who encouraged me that I had a point of view about girls. I love how Jazz sees L.A., and his whole take on people. He's famous for his Jazzy-isms. He'll answer the phone with, 'Who do I have to fuck to get off this planet?' Clearly, There are not many people around like him."

Ongoing now through October 23 in New York City (the city that envies Los Angeles the most), Casa de Costa presents the exhibition "An L.A. Sort of Place,"a rich survey of more than 50 years of work and the first such show of Jasmin's career.

Casa de Costa is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Appointments can be booked online at www.casadecosta.com.

Jason, Los Angeles, 2007