Ever since moving to Los Angeles from New York five years ago, artist Abel Macias has worked out of three different studios—but they all have one thing in common: a pink wall. “It always feels like my space if I keep that color,” he explains. For his
most recent outpost in Silver Lake (the first was in downtown L.A.; the second in
Mid City), not any pink would do either. “I wanted something that looked like an eraser: washed-out and weathered.” (Serendipitously, the paint he found is called…Eraser Pink.)
Landing on just the right color is, of course, part of his process. Macias’s paintings and murals—which have been commissioned by Flamingo Estate, Chandelier Creative, and Faherty Brand, among others—often feature desert-y tones and seaside blues and greens (“A very iconic Abel palette,” according to the artist), and all undergo rigorous editing to arrive at that perfect color combination. “It’s a lot about seeing which [ones] feel like they create a conversation, or if there’s a vibration between them,” he notes.
![Ever since moving to Los Angeles from New York five years ago, artist Abel Macias has worked out of three different studios—but they all have one thing in common: a pink wall. “It always feels like my space if I keep that color,” he explains. For his
most recent outpost in Silver Lake (the first is in downtown L.A.; the second in
Mid City), not any pink would do either. “I wanted something that looked like an eraser: washed-out and weathered.” (Serendipitously, the paint he found is called…Eraser Pink.)
Landing on just the right color is, of course, part of his process. Macias’s paintings and murals—which have been commissioned by Flamingo Estate, Chandelier Creative, and Faherty Brand, among others—often feature desert-y tones and seaside blues and greens (“A very iconic Abel palette,” according to the artist), and all undergo rigorous editing to arrive at that perfect color combination. “It’s a lot about seeing which [ones] feel like they create a conversation, or if there’s a vibration between them,” he notes.](https://media-s3-us-east-1.ceros.com/domino/images/2021/10/26/59eead8198384a1ca707e9b0f8f4e41c/14.png)
In his studio, his signature kismet pink is splashed across the office–slash–research room, which channels “a very calming, playful environment to work in,” he says. It also provides a backdrop for the various tchotchkes, books, and sculptures that are scattered about for inspiration. On the desk lives a small pack of hand-carved animals from Mexico, tails bobbing up and down, as do piles of striated rocks found during various road trips to the Southwest. Jars of natural pigments collected on travels line the shelves, next to books on everything from botanical prints to children’s stories to Mexican wrestling.
Macias, who studied illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia (and before that, Pratt Institute in New York), calls himself “a jack-of-all-trades with creative stuff” and “a visual problem solver.” As someone who works in almost every medium—in addition to painting, he dabbles in sculpture, product design, and art direction—it’s important to “bounce around so things don’t get stale.”
And so the rest of the studio, which Macias took over from an artist friend in 2018, has white walls to minimize distraction and keep the flow from one room to the other. His supplies live in storage units on wheels so they can be shuttled around. Ditto for tables and workstations. Having everything be mobile allows for “a space that can shape-shift and accommodate whatever I’m working on,” the artist explains. On any given day, there’s paint on the floors or walls from various projects. “I always tell people, ‘Be careful where you lean up against,’” he says. Macias himself has to remember to change clothes whenever he enters.
Fortunately, home is a leisurely 10-minute drive away in Echo Park. “That’s so crucial in Los Angeles,” he says, in comparison to New York, “to have your whole world close by.” Although the spaces are near in location, they’re legions apart energetically. “I like things to be very loose and messy,” says Macias of his studio. “When I get home, I want to be clean and zen.”
To that end, his 1920s casita embodies a different side of the color spectrum. “Our landlord calls it the guacamole house,” he says, laughing, of the exterior’s mix of avocado green and terracotta, with a touch of baby blue. “It’s really funky-looking, but our neighbors have these gorgeous overgrown cacti in that same green, so it blends into the landscape around us.” The neighborhood, with its Spanish-speaking inhabitants, also reminds him of his family’s home in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Originally Macias lived four houses down the street, but he moved in with his boyfriend, sculptor Bradley Duncan, who was in the space alone first, after the couple deemed it the nicer option. Their aesthetic sensibilities, when it comes to color and geometry, make for impactful decorating choices.
The idea of celebrating rather than subduing bold hues carries through in the kitchen, where the couple painted the cabinets a bright aquamarine to match the original teal-and-white checkerboard linoleum floor. “We couldn’t change the
tiles, so we decided to fully embrace it,” Macias confirms. The vibrant shade shows up in the seafoam ceramics—and even as an accent in Duncan’s zigzag wood
wall sculpture.
Only the living room is white, but thanks to painterly sunsets (the room faces directly west) the walls become drenched in pinks and yellows worthy of a Macias original. Making the most of the atmospheric sunbeams, the couple DIYed blue “stained glass” gel tiles on the French windows, giving “a really nice aquarium” vibe and creating the “illusion of separation” from the street just outside, says Macias.
Like his studio, Macias’s home gives reverence to sentimental souvenirs as much as brilliant color. “I keep what inspires my memories,” he says of how he divides his objects between the two places. “They’re things I want to display more, make into an altar piece, and connect to in a different way.” A peek at the living room bookshelf reveals a “warm earth stone” altar where Macias’s painting Lover’s Rock is flanked by a terrazzo sculpture by artist Material Forms; a traditional Mexican terracotta candleholder; and an eagle sculpture made using Dutch bricks that he picked up on a trip to Amsterdam. (Fittingly, a ceramic-tiled rock by artist Alex Reed sits nearby on a carved Douglas fir “altar table” from Duncan’s Sun Stump series.)
In an era of minimalism and Marie Kondo–ing, Macias isn’t afraid of holding onto pieces that bring meaning to his life. “There’s beauty in all objects,” he insists, adding that a simple stick can hold aesthetic value in a space. “Art doesn’t have to be something you buy,” he explains.“It’s what you appreciate.”
Photography by Ye Rin Mok
Words by Alexis Cheung
Styling by Tomas DeLucia
Chromatic
For L.A. artist Abel Macias, expressive color—turquoise! terracotta!—is the connector between his 1920s Spanish-style home and his treasure-filled studio.
In the bedroom, hunter green walls harmonize with the banana palms and orange and bougainvillea trees outside the window. An arboreal painting by Nick McPhail (“He’s like the David Hockney of Los Angeles,” says Macias) hangs on one wall, and above the bed is a cobalt ceramic sculpture by Ben Medansky. “It creates a line drawing in space, and the wall almost becomes part of the piece,” Macias shares.
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Paintings, Abel Macias.
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Paintings and Sculpture, Abel Macias; Roly Poly Armchair by Faye Toogood for Driade, 1stDibs; Eraser Pink Paint, Benjamin Moore.
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Janinge Chair, IKEA.
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Dining Chairs, IKEA.
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Sofa, CB2; Rug, Centinela Traditional Arts;
Throw Blanket, Saved New York; Pillow, Rule
Of Three Studio.
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From left: Linen Body Pillow, Suay Sew Shop; Ceramic Art, Ben Medansky; Lamp, Peter Dunham; Vintage Mirror and Nightstand; Mohair Pillow and Simple Linen Duvet, Hawkins New York; Quilt, Tuft & Needle; Canopy Painting, Nick McPhail; Hugo Barbell Table Lamp by Lostine, Lawson-Fenning; Vintage Vase.
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Table, Bradley Duncan Studio; Vintage Rug and Bookshelves; Painting, Abel Macias; Throw Blanket, Saved New York; Mohair Pillow, Hawkins New York.
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Deco Mini Carafe, Lux Eros; Footed Bowls, Bradley Duncan Studio; Strøm Jug, Raawii; Framed Photography, Gustavo Garcia-Villa.
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Carved Triangle Waveform, Bradley Duncan Studio.
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Linen Body Pillow, Suay Sew Shop.
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Tiger Pillow, Saved New York; Mirror, HomArt; Vintage Lamp.
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Painting, Neil McCann; Vintage Chair.
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