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Jim Van Schaack

February 28, 2014 By Historic Hollywood Art

About Digital Artist Jim Van Schaack

Jim Van Schaack was born on August 17, 1928 and raised in Los Angeles. He was there during the heyday of Hollywood. As a child, Jim spent countless hours watching movie making in the back lots of Hollywood, and on the streets of Los Angeles. In those days the whole town was a movie location. As the years passed, age took its toll on Hollywood. One landmark after another quietly disappeared. Jim decided to produce a series of digital drawings, a picture, of each remaining landmark, showing it, when possible, as it appeared in its prime. Since beginning the project, Van Schaack decided to create a drawing of some additional landmarks outside of Hollywood and some that have disappeared, including the drawings in this series that are or were contained within the general area of Los Angeles, California, where Hollywood is located.

Jim Van Schaack is a noted American Designer, creator of major department stores and shopping centers throughout the United States.

Jim graduated from Los Angeles High School and joined the U. S. Army in 1946. He served with the 1st Cavalry Division, 8th Cavalry Regiment in Tokyo during the occupation of Japan.

Following his discharge from the Army, he studied Business Administration at Los Angeles City College. It was at that time that Jim became interested in the field of Industrial Design and began a search for the right school.

He chose Art Center School in Los Angeles, California (now called Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California) graduating with a Bachelor of Professional Arts degree in Industrial Design with a major in Specialized Structures (architecture). Jim taught design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California in 1980 and 1981.

His first job was with the nationally known architectural firm of Victor Gruen and Associates Architects in Los Angeles. Victor Gruen is credited with being the first architect to design and build a completely enclosed climate controlled regional shopping center. Jim was on the team that designed the center which was the Southdale Regional Shopping Center, south of Minneapolis, MN.

Jim then joined the Los Angeles firm of Welton Becket and Associates Architects. Soon he became co-director of the small retail store division, planning, designing and supervising the construction of stores up to 103,000 square feet in size. Stores included Bullock’s Department Store, I. Magnin, J. Magnin, Roos Brothers, Livingstons, Liebes and many others. Van Schaack worked on many regional shopping centers including Stonestown, Stanford, Almaden in Northern California and in downtown San Francisco, San Diego, Portland and Seattle.

He then associated with the firm of Albert C. Martin and Associates, Architects and Engineers, started in Los Angeles by A. C. Martin Sr. at the beginning of the 20th century. Jim was hired as a project architect but soon became Director of Interior Design and was responsible for the planning and design of most of the interiors generated by an architectural firm of over 300 professionals, with clients like Richfield Oil (now Arco), May Department Stores, and TRW. In 1958 he established James Van Schaack Industrial Design in Sherman Oaks, California, offering architectural, graphics, and product design to his clients, including Sterling Milk, Erie, PA., May Company, City of Paris, J. M. Mc Donald’s Stores, Hastings Nebraska, and Quinns Nutrition Centers, Los Angeles.

In 1962 Sterling Leach, Ron Cleveland and Jim Van Schaack formed a corporation called Leach-Cleveland-Van Schaack, Inc. with Jim as President. This firm specialized in retail design, shopping centers and retail stores in Southern California including Ventura, Santa Barbara, Huntington Beach, Fresno. During this time Jim designed three award winning stores: Gelson’s, North Hollywood, Shoppers, Woodland Hills and Pantry Market, Arcadia, California, He also designed two banks, The Bank of Tokyo and the regional head office of Bank of America, Santa Barbara, California.

In 1968 Jim established J. L. Van Schaack & Associates, with an office on the Sunset Strip in West Los Angeles. Clients served nation wide included Emporium-Capwell Department Stores, The Broadway Department Stores, Weinstocks’ Department Stores, J. M. McDonald’s Jr. Department Stores, Burdines’ Department Stores, Florida. In 1970 Van Schaack was asked to design the interiors for the first major department store to be built in downtown Los Angeles, California in fifty years, the 260,000 square foot Broadway Plaza store, Broadway’s Flagship Store. Jim also designed the Broadway Department Store at Tyler Mall, in Riverside, California. It was honored as the Department Store of the Year in the S. I. D., national Store Interior Design competition. Jim Van Schaack is a Fellow in the Institute of Store Planners, ISP, an international store design organization. He was ISP Member of the Year in 1985.

Jim has for the past few years started playing more golf, but still works with his son Jim III who is a general contractor and his daughter a graphic and web designer. He also spends a great deal of time designing for Joyce, his wife of over 50 years, as she is involved in numerous civic projects. Jim Van Schaack has many more landmarks for his FAMOUS drawings series, and he hopes to get to them all.

Jim Van Schaack Professionally began his design career in 1952. Here is a sample of his work which includes:

The Bank of Tokyo of California – West Los Angeles, CA
Bank of America Regional Head Office – Santa Barbara, CA
Glendale Federal Savings Regional Headquarters – Newport Beach, CA
The Broadway Department Store – Carson CA
The Broadway Department Store Fashion Island – San Diego, CA
The Broadway Plaza Department Store – Los Angeles, CA
BLVD SHRIMPS – Sherman Oaks, CA
Huntington Regional Shopping Center – Huntington Beach, CA
Dorfmont’s (Women’s Store) – Santa Barbara, CA
Alberts’ Shoes – Del Amo Shopping Center
Harry & David Store – Pasadena, CA
Helen Grace Candy Store & Box
Johnson Jewelry – Stanford Shopping Center – Palo Alto, CA
Quinn’s Nutrition Center Melrose – Los Angeles, CA
Quinn’s Nutrition Center Larchmont – Los Angeles, CA
Rexall Drugs Headquarters – Los Angeles
Scott’s Apparel Store Buenaventura Regionals S.C. – Venture, CA
Shoppers Market – Woodland Hills, CA
Southdale Regional Shopping Center – Edina, Minnisota
Sterling Milk, Erie Pennsylvania
Stewarts Nutrition – Los Angeles, CA
J.M. McDonalds’ Store – Hays, Kansas
Sunset House Gadget Tree Stores
Gelson’s Market – North Hollywood, CA
Wells Fargo ATM Kiosks

J.L. Van Schaack & Associates – Sunset Blvd., W Los Angeles, CA

Visit the Van Schaack Family website which also includes videos and information for the Anderson family and the Stamos family: https://www.vanschaackfamily.com/

About Digital Art

February 26, 2014 By Historic Hollywood Art

What is Digital Art

Wikipedia states that digital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process. Since the 1970’s, various names have been used to describe the process including computer art and multimedia art, and digital art is itself placed under the larger umbrella term new media art.

After some initial resistance,the impact of digital technology has transformed activities such as painting, drawing, sculpture and music/sound art, while new forms, such as net art, digital installation art, and virtual reality, have become recognized artistic practices. More generally the term digital artist is used to describe an artist who makes use of digital technologies in the production of art. In an expanded sense, “digital art” is a term applied to contemporary art that uses the methods of mass production or digital media.

Jim Van Schaack is a digital artist who creates his digital art using CorelDRAW.

Dana Stamos

February 26, 2014 By Historic Hollywood Art

Dana Stamos was born in Hollywood, California and she grew up in Tarzana, California. She was extremely blessed to be born into a wonderful, always involved family with parents, Jim and Joyce Van Schaack.

She attended the University of Redlands graduating with a B.A. Degree in English, and with minors in theater and religion. While attending Redlands, Dana participated in a foreign studies program, living in Salzburg, Austria. While there she studied European culture, art history, and the governments of Europe. During her junior year in college, she toured with an acting troupe, traveling in the United States and in Canada’s Newfoundland and the British Maritimes.

After graduation, Dana became the Awards Coordinator for R.I.M, a Hollywood company who produces millions of dollars in public service television and radio programming. As R.I.M. Awards Coordinator, Dana coordinated and helped produce the first R.I.M. Awards program shown on KABC Television. R.I.M. awards are similar to the Emmy’s or the Oscar’s, awarding quality media in television, motion pictures, art, music, and literature.

Dana has worked in public relations and as media coordinator for numerous organizations. She has organized major press events for key political figures, and has assisted in events coordinated by the White House Staff Office.

Dana has three grown children who were born in Santa Cruz, California. In Santa Cruz Dana owned and operated the Santa Cruz Fitness Center. In 1986 she moved to Reno, Nevada. She now resides between Reno and Laguna Niguel, California.

Dana has been the Area Director for Washoe County Special Olympics. She coordinated hundreds of athletes and coaches in 15 different sports and organized numerous local and state games. She was the Executive Director for the Reno Executive Club, planning events for hundreds of Reno’s top executives. She has also been President of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the ASSOCIATION OF COREL ARTIST & DESIGNERS and a member of the local Craftman’s Club.

Dana has worked with computers for many years and has taught both MAC and PC based systems to people of all ages. She took a year off from her business and set up a computer lab for the teachers and students at a local elementary school as her way of contributing to education. She was then asked to work with all the computer teachers, helping them in their labs both as technical support and training.

Dana owns and operates Visual Impressions, a graphic design, digital imaging and web design company. She was a CORELDRAW! instructor and part of COREL Corporation’s beta team for many years. Her clients include national companies like RMX, a UPS Company, for whom she has produced everything from business cards through full color brochures, trade show booth graphics, building signs and web sites. She has produced menu’s and table tents for numerous restaurants and ads for companies like Enterprise Rent A Car, Red Robin and Crystal Springs Water Company. Dana has enjoyed designing and producing projects such as the Beat the Heat Contest for McDonald’s and KREN Television and she has designed everything from back stage passes for musicians like Dru Hill and for Budweiser, Coors and Planet Hollywood. She has even designed music CD’s. Visit Visual Impressions, Dana’s business website for examples of her work.

Dana has designed and created web sites for many different types of companies including churches, law firms, artists, restaurants, doctors, children’s boutiques, dental companies, and bird toy companies.

Dana is a Christian and she enjoys deep theological discussions. She has studied with the likes of Francis Schaeffer in Switzerland, and other well known Christian thinkers of this century rom around the world, and she likes reading C. S. Lewis, George McDonald and many other great thinkers.

Dana is also a performance animation artist with CHOPS Live Animation, and does real time 3D character and 2D animation shows, that means its live, folks. (Watch Videos)

Dana owns and operates Martial Arts Enterprises, the company behind USAdojo.com, MartialArtsEntertainement.com, the world’s largest, most visited, martial arts websites filled with information for anyone who wishes to learn more about her passion, the martial arts. She developed MartialArtsSchoolDirectory.com or FindADojo.com an online directory of schools, businesses, organizations and events and the ActionEntertainmentDirectory.com or BreakIntoAction.com for the action entertainment industry. She also owns and operates FightCon.com, a martial arts video website like YouTube, sharing thousands of martial arts videos, as well as the University of Martial Arts, a website that augments martial arts training with online video online.

Dana likes all kinds of extra curricular activities, but she loves martial arts. She has studied Tang Soo Do Karate, Danzan Ryu JuJitsu, Goju-Shorei Karate and Weapons, and she became a Black Belt with Integrated Martial Solutions, an Isshin-ryu Karate-do, Ryukyu Kempo (Tomari-te), Kyusho-Jitsu and Russian Martial Arts mix. She has also studied the Multi-Martial Arts System (MMAS) she has been part of Doce Pares International.

Dana has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame including the 2003 Hawaii Martial Arts International Society Hall of Fame for her “Outstanding Contributions to the Martial Arts”, the 2008 Masters Hall of Fame for her “Outstanding Contributions to the Martial Arts” and into the Academy of Masters as a “Founding Member”. In 2009 she was inducted into the Universal Martial Arts Association Hall of Fame as “Woman of the Year”, and on September 7, 2013 she received the Martial Arts History Museum Honors Award. In 2014 she was inducted into GM Dave Johnson’s Elite Black Belt Hall of Fame and the same year she was inducted into Alan Goldberg’s Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors, receiving the award for “Excellence in Promoting Martial Arts”.