David Lynch lived and worked beyond all definition. He was best known as a filmmaker — using his lens to unearth the tawdry, decayed and bizarre beneath the surface of mundane reality. But Lynch was also an artist in every sense of the word, including the literal. In the 1960s, he studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, staging a few shows there before moving to L.A. in 1970.

In 1977, Lynch made his first full-length feature, “Eraserhead,” a disturbing dreamscape that riveted art and film students, and made Lynch a hero to dispossessed counterculture iconoclasts. Even after the groundbreaking 1990 ABC TV series “Twin Peaks” rocketed him to broader mainstream fame, Lynch maintained a deep and concentrated interest in the arts. There wasn’t a medium that he didn’t explore, not because he was racing to master various practices but rather because his life was a series of engaged discoveries about the great mysteries of the underbelly of existence.

“I find that every medium talks to us, if you just start doing it,” Lynch said in a 2018 interview with The Times during one of his exhibits. “Watercolor paper is a certain way, and watercolor paint is a certain way. You say, ‘Oh, this is different from oil painting on a canvas.’ Different things happen. You start to get a dialogue and a feel for what it does. It’s the same with every single medium. They’re infinitely deep. You can’t exhaust it.”

Lynch mentioned that sewing was something he’d still like to try. “I got an industrial sewing machine,” he said. “I would like to be able to sew things and make stuff. I would like to know how to weld as well … welding is an art.”

Lynch said that he didn’t have money to pursue his painting in a proper studio until the mid-’80s after the release of “Blue Velvet.” He also mentioned staging a show in Puerto Vallarta while working on 1984’s sci-fi epic, “Dune.” Lynch said director John Huston came to that show and bought a watercolor, which made him happy.

Here is The Times’ coverage of David Lynch’s death: The main obituary, Times movie critic Amy Nicholson’s appreciation, a thoughtful piece of commentary on Lynch’s personal charm by Glenn Whipp and a roundup of tributes to the filmmaker from the film and arts communities, including Kyle MacLachlan, Nicolas Cage and Steven Spielberg.

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, thinking about the crackling intensity of Lynch’s voice and how his films made me excited to dive into the messy, immense world of visual and cinematic art.

Ashley Lee and I have this week’s rundown of arts and culture news, along with plenty of fire-related stories. The 24/7 news cycle may have moved on to other global menaces, but The Times is embedded in the ongoing crisis and will continue to invest in community stories of recovery for years to come.

Best bets: On our radar this week

Sahar Bibiyan, left, Nazanin Nour, Tara Grammy, Mitra Jouhari and Artemis Pebdani in Sanaz Toossi’s “Wish You Were Here” at South Coast Repertory.

(Robert Huskey / South Coast Repertory )

‘Wish You Were Here’
New Yorkers are currently enjoying the Broadway debut of Sanaz Toossi’s “English,” which Times theater critic Charles McNulty praised last year as “wrought with an emotional delicacy.” Meanwhile, Southern California audiences can enjoy the West Coast premiere of another work from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Iranian American playwright from Orange County — an ensemble comedy about five close friends trying to live their young lives in 1978 Iran. Directed by Mina Morita, the production plays through Feb. 2. South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scr.org

Andrés Jaramillo
At this concert, titled “A Journey of Immigrants,” the Colombian American pianist who specializes in music by contemporary Latinx composers will perform three new solo compositions by Jorge Luis Sosa, Paola Márquez, Jorge Salazar and Josh Rodriguez. The program will be preceded by a discussion with Jaramillo, Márquez, Salazar and Rodriguez about the emotional experiences of immigrant people as represented in Marquez’ work “Five Etudes on the Immigrant’s Season.” Both the concert and the pre-concert discussion are now free for all via online RSVP. Tuesday, 8 p.m. Thayer Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown. pianospheres.org

‘My Imperfect Self: Yoshitomo Nara’
It’s been 30 years since Yoshitomo Nara’s first U.S. exhibition — a milestone being marked in Los Angeles by a new solo presentation at Blum. This show — curated by Yeewan Koon and Nara’s tenth with the gallery — features 11 new large-scale bronze sculptures, as well as paintings and drawings that resonate with the pieces and highlight the artist’s evolving experimental practice. The exhibition is on view through Mar. 22. Blum Los Angeles, 2727 S. La Cienega Blvd., L.A. blum-gallery.com

— Ashley Lee

The week ahead: A curated calendar

Latin Mafia, featuring brothers Emilio, left, Milton and Mike de la Rosa (not pictured), plays the Hollywood Palladium Wednesday night.

(Berenice Bautista / AP)

TUESDAY
Jeremy Jordan The Broadway star of “Newsies,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Great Gatsby” (not to mention TV’s “Supergirl”) performs an eclectic blend of show tunes and pop hits. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday (rescheduled from Jan. 9 and 10). The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

WEDNESDAY
Latin Mafia The Mexico-based De La Rosa brothers’ music straddles urbano, trap, R&B, EDM and indie.
7 p.m. Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Blvd. hollywoodpalladium.com

THURSDAY
Jamie xx The English musician and DJ brings his joyful and heartfelt “In Waves” to the dance floor.
7 p.m. Shrine Auditorium, 665 W. Jefferson Blvd. shrineauditorium.com

Culture news and the SoCal scene

A pig wanders the property at Zorthian Ranch in Altadena.

(Julia Zorthian)

The arts collective and communal living space known as Zorthian Ranch, which was mostly destroyed by the Eaton fire, got an up-close look in Times staff writer Melissa Gomez’s story . Gomez toured the remains of the ranch with Alan Zorthian, the son of ranch founder Jirayr Zorthian, who bought the ranch in the 1940s and made it a center of counterculture life. During its heyday, the ranch hosted wild parties attended by Andy Warhol, Charlie Parker and Bob Dylan, among others. In recent years, it earned income through Airbnb, renting space to artists looking for refuge in the wild, semiurban landscape.

I learned the story of another Altadena-based arts collective known as JJU — or John Joyce University. The compound, which consisted of two neighboring mansions and a series of bungalows, art studios and a converted garage, was named for a 77-year-old carpenter who lived there for 26 years before it burned to the ground in the Eaton fire. The stories Joyce told about the shared experience of the 30 artists who lived there feel like pages torn from a history book about another era.

Belmont Music Publishers, which was housed in a building behind Larry Schoenberg’s Pacific Palisades home was also destroyed in the fire. The house was devoted to preserving and promoting the works of Schoenberg’s late father, legendary music composer Arnold Schoenberg. According to a story by Times staff writer Stacy Perman, “more than 100,000 items including manuscripts and original scores, along with correspondence, books, photographs and artworks,” all perished.

And last but not least

David Lynch with one of his paintings at Griffin Gallery in Santa Monica in 2009.

(Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Among David Lynch’s many singular accomplishments was bringing the complicated, conflicted, possibly murderous Jack the capuchin monkey to life in his 2017 short film, “What Did Jack Do?” Lynch played the detective, and his voice and delivery is a big part of what makes this piece such a riveting, hilarious watch.

— Jessica Gelt