Neon and L.A. artist get their first postage stamp

Neon as commercial art made its first U.S. appearance in the 1920s in the form of a sign advertising Earle C. Anthony's Packard dealership in downtown Los Angeles. Since then, of course, neon has become closely identified with L.A. In March, the U.S. Postal Service will release its first stamp featuring neon art. The design is by Van Nuys neon artist Michael Flechtner, whose work has been shown at the Musuem of Neon Art on 4th Street. The Neon Aquarium above the Starbucks at Olympic and Sawtelle Boulevards is his; he also did a piece recently at the transit hub in Warner Center. How he did the stamp.