GLENDALE, Calif. — When you start your career as an artist using skateboards as your canvas, the last place you'd expect your artwork to be displayed is at a museum, but David Paul Flores let go of expectations long ago.

Since designing skate decks and painting murals, he's since evolved his practice to include stained-glass windows.

What You Need To Know

  • “Judson Studios Stained Glass From Gothic to Street Style” is now on view at Forest Lawn Museum until September 12, 2021

  • Established in 1897, Judson Studios is the oldest family-run stained glass business that goes back five generations

  • Judson Studios is now run by David Judson and this family history was chronicled in the book “Judson: Innovation in Stained Glass” published by Angel City Press

  • Forest Lawn Museum opened in 1952 and is located adjacent to the Hall of Crucifixion-Resurrection, which houses the largest religious painting in the world

"I think stained glass is just one of the underdogs of the art world right now," Flores said. "And one of the challenges that I think I faced was imagery. Like what can I do that's not such a break from like, the traditional stained glass where there's a lot of paint involved, and this is more kind of line work."

Growing up in the Central Valley, Flores was a skateboarder, and when some of his friends went pro, they all asked him to design their decks. Known for his artistry painting murals and sketching, he got a job straight out of high school at Shorty's Inc. Skateboards. But it wasn't long before he decided to move from graphic design to fine art and now stained glass.

So Flores is back at Judson Studios in Highland Park, where he's getting help designing his new artwork with his favorite color, purple.

"It's the color of royalty," Flores explained. "It's the most expensive color available, so we're going to use it because it's the most expensive, and that's what this piece has to have on it."

Many of his works start as photographs that are turned into illustrator files. Then the real magic begins.

"As far as I'm concerned, and as far as my art is concerned, it fits perfectly for the next things I want to do regarding my artwork," Flores said.

Flores is now part of a new group exhibit at Forest Lawn Museum with Judson Studios highlighting the transformation of stained glass in art from gothic to street. James Fishburne is the museum director.

"Stained glass is a very powerful and very historical art form that's been used for centuries in churches and mausoleums throughout the world and here in Forest Lawn, but it's also used by contemporary artists," Fishburne said. "One of my favorite pieces here is the Kobe Bryant window. It uses not only traditional stained glass techniques as well as new glass fusing techniques."

With Los Angeles County now in the yellow tier, museums and galleries are once again allowed to reopen without capacity limitations, which means Angelenos can once again engage with art.

"The ultimate reality far exceeded my expectations on this particular piece," Flores said. "I didn't know it was going to be so tight. You know the way they framed it, the way they put the light behind it, so it's its own self-contained little lightbox. So, it's just amazing. I'm really happy with it."