Anthony Lamonea, Venice

Anthony Lamonea (above, on right) lives in a van in sunny Venice, California. It's parked on the street along with dozens of others in the scruffy, beachy 'hood of greater Los Angeles, and that longtime accepted practice gives the community a colorful tie-dyed sort of vibe. It just wouldn't be Venice without these guys.

But it might be soon. The City of Los Angeles has imposed Overnight Permit Parking Districts (OPDs) in the area, which would require automobiles on certain city streets to have parking permits between 2 am and 6 am. RVs would have to go somewhere else.

Groups have been campaigning against OPDs, but those opposers lost the election on February 21. It seems the entire neighborhood is in an uproar about some aspect of the regulation--that the city is targeting the homeless and punishing veterans who live in their vehicles. That residents in the OPDs--regardless of how they felt about the RVs in the first place--will now have to pay an average of maybe $338 a year for on-street parking, according to one estimate reported by LA journalist Michael Linder. That permits don't accommodate early-going fishermen or surfers. That Venice was supposed to be about community activism, compassion and democracy, man.

If you want to keep reading about this issue, check out organizer Mark Lipman's posts on the great Spirit of Venice blog and in the Free Venice Beachhead paper. Follow the VeniceBeachHead on Twitter.

Back to Anthony. I was with my childhood friend, the totally awesome photographer Hayley Murphy, who suggested we investigate the RV-dwellers. She lives in Venice--her pad will be on Homebodies, soon!--and took me on a late-morning tour of her favorite vehicles. (Pitch for sale! We'd love to do a bigger story.)

We were about to start rapping on bumper-stickered doors when we ran into her friend Attaway, an artist and man-about-town. He welcomed us into his open-air studio--another post!--and gave us his last two cold beers that we drank while he carved clay fish for the exterior of the taco truck around the corner. (Stay tuned.) Anyway, Attaway kindly introduced us to his buddy Anthony here, who Attaway said would be cool about talking to us. Not everyone in the RV community is, so thanks Attaway, and thanks, Anthony. For the record, names and photos here are used with permission.

Anthony paints set designs. His business card: "Anthony Lamonea / Residential and Set Painting With a Smile / Have Brush Will Travel." He loves the idea of living simply and efficiently. (Me, too!) One day a few years ago, he was writing a check for his mortgage and thought, You know what? I don't wanna pay this much money anymore. He wanted to downsize. He wanted a van. His adult kids thought he was crazy. But having grown up in Venice, he was familiar with the idea of this alternative lifestyle. Plus, he knew everyone already. "They call me O.G.," he says. "Old Gangster."

Bedroom

It's really all you need. I love the palette of the random pillows.

Bathroom

Hey, as seen in the closet, I have that Elfa-like shelving unit, too.

Kitchen and Dining Room and Living Room

I couldn't really poke around too much, because R., the guy on the left, was trying to watch an action film that was playing on a computer, not pictured, to the right. He was getting irritated that I kept interrupting. "But R., I'm trying to start a blog, here!"

Outside

A guy came to the door and asked what the hell was going on. "She could be a cop. Or with the media."

Time to go! Anthony's home, as seen through the back of Hayley's car, is the second one on the left. He says he's thinking of heading to Arizona soon.