Evanly Schindler

Emil Varda is one of New York nightlife’s most recognizable figures. Indeed, over the past decade he, along with partner and Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter, has lorded over two of the city’s hottest restaurants: The Beatrice Inn and The Waverly Inn. The latter has hosted celebrity royalty, including Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz – the list would go on for pages.

As a voyeur, a straight man, a lover of women, I am and have always been, and likely always will be, eternally, in search of the perfect nude. I have had a few lovers and I have been an aesthete from early on. Perhaps it is what drove me to be an editor of Arts & Culture Publications like BlackBook. As a writer for BlackBook I have lived between the cities of New York, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Paris, London, and Milan.

Brad Phillips makes intensely personal, masterfully rendered watercolor paintings that are bold, refreshingly vulnerable, and explicitly against kowtowing to the latest trends. His latest body of work is on view at Louis B. James Gallery on the L.E.S. through December 7. I spoke with him about optimism, self-portraiture, and how literature is more inspiring than contemporary art. I’d like to know a bit about your home and studio situation up in Canada.