Local Stories
Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Stone.
Adam, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born on Hollywood Blvd in 1966. I come from a hyper-creative family of professional fine artists. Both parents were early pioneers in the burgeoning realm of LA-based street art festivals in the 70’s. My mother, Carole Shultz started experimenting with clay figures in the bathroom of our rented Duplex on 4th Street in West Hollywood - often using myself and my younger siblings as reluctant models. The family then moved to a home that we rented in the Miracle Mile on Spalding just South of LACMA. Now sculpting in the kitchen, she soon created a body of figuratives and animals and began selling them in weekend pop up street art events all over the city.
Growing up in this “street artist” lifestyle provided an invaluable source of inspiration, knowledge and business savvy that to this day I still draw from. As a child, 25 cent Marvel and DC comics were my first introduction to the world of figurative art. I’d buy them and take them home to copy the characters to the best of my ability. I loved to draw yet was very hyper critical of myself early on.
Not long after enrolling in Fairfax High School at 16, I lost focus. I had a car and a newfound freedom to explore the city with, I started experimenting with drugs as well as got distracted by much of the shiny and pretty things now floating in and about in my teenage world. Unfortunately, these beautiful “distractions” were rarely seen in the classroom and as a result, neither was I. After taking a GED exam to exit school early I found myself at Santa Monica College where I took courses that seemed of interest to me. But, I still hated all things structured and struggled with finding my own way.