DOWNTOWN : Fans of Street Artist Are Marketing His Cards

Fans of a homeless man who creates hand-painted greeting cards next to a Downtown Los Angeles sidewalk have begun marketing his works in hopes of finding him shelter before winter arrives in full force.

Self-taught artist Harry Warren, 54, paints the cards at a makeshift table he sets up at the entrance to a Hill Street garage south of the Los Angeles County Hall of Records. He sleeps nearby in a bedroll each night.

Admirers of his work have printed copies of four of Warren’s holiday-themed cards and are selling them for $1 each. The Christmas and Hanukkah greetings can be ordered at (818) 382-3450.

“They are very unique. They have a little information on the back about Harry,” said Lynn Adams, a Long Beach resident who said she has already heard comments from about a dozen people she mailed the cards to this week.

Warren’s art career was launched when lawyer Steven G. Kaplan of Encino befriended him a year ago. Warren explained that his goal was to sell enough cards to pay for a hotel room this winter.

Proceeds from the sale of the cards are being placed in a trust fund for Warren, said Barbara Lewis, a publicist who is helping to promote them. “It looks like Harry’s on the verge of getting off the street,” she said.