Illustration Friday "Flavor"

When I think of flavor I think of coffee. I love coffee and it loves me! I don't go in for all these fancy coffees, although if I am out and there is
a cappucino machine I won't say no to a nice latte. I just go in for regular filler up ding ding good old fashioned coffee. This illustration is from my 2004 "HomeMade" calendar. Yes, you guessed it "Coffee House" is the title.
Cups grow like flowers waiting to be filled. And donuts and cookies grow from vines! The coffee is percolating in the lid and it looks like another happy day.

Sorry to all that came by this past week, I needed to amp up my work schedule on the houscape that I am painting and the holidays are the optimal time to crank on my workload. I won't be posting until after the 1st. The 31st is also my 9th wedding anniversay and 12 years together. John, Rat and I wish you all the happiest of celebrations! Have a prosperous, creative and loving New Year.

copyright 2003

Illustration Friday Holiday

The title of this painting is "Celebrate the Holidays Together"
It captures a neighborhood that is diverse. Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad, Kwanzaa and Christmas. Sorry if I forgot anybody. Diverse like all the artists that participate at Illustration Friday. IF has been a highlight this year! I feel as though I have made new friends. We don't criticize, we praise and inspire each other! It's a wonderful thing! Happy, Merry everyone.

copyright 2000 may not be reproduced without permission

Greetings!

I thought I should post another greeting card today. I have not been as good about it as promised but it is a busy time. I will try to post my walk through my forest in the New Year and I will try to name one more for the tag . Carla is hoping to try to participate too! I will need to name one more artist. Any volunteers? Have a cozy evening! inside reads: Wishing you warm winter moments and bright Christmas memories

copyright 1994 Marisol Inc. 

snowgirl

I have collected ephemera for quite some time. I love vintage paper goods , it reminds me of all the wonderful parts of childhood. This card is from my applesaucey kids line of cards and boxes, it is a homage to vintage images of children with a little valgal thrown into the mix! Brrrrrrrr, baby it's cold outside! copyright 2002 applesaucey kids

Illustration Friday: Imagine

To me being an artist is all about the imagination! "House Paint" is from my 2004 "HomeMade" calendar.
copyright 2003 May not be used without permission of the artist

Tag

I have been tagged by Scott and Eni to talk about a type of work that takes a long time and about the process. The hard part was deciding which type of work I would choose because just about all the work I do takes a very long time to create. Once or twice a year I get commissioned to do one of my 3-d buildings that is a sculpture and a clock. They are very unusual and I have done many shapes and sizes. One of the styles is pretty popular and I think it is the shape, colour and the shutters that appeal because I seem to get more orders for this one. It looks like a flying building and it is whimsical. These buildings are so labourious and I am at the end of this one so I can only show you the ending stage. But it starts out as a blank white sheet of formable foam core. Then I randomly create the shape. I have to fill in all the edges and open seams with modeling paste, it takes hours & hours of filling in the paste, letting it dry then sanding . Just like drywall and spackle in a regular building only this is the mini version. I paint an overall colour and then I spend hours cutting out shutters and painting all the details. My buildings are between 3-5 ft. long and 6 inches wide. I create a room inside that houses the body of the clock.The back of the clock has a hinged door to change the battery and to make time changes. I paint the clients cats, dogs , flowers, books, furniture and pictures in the windows. I pour a two-part polymer resin on each side of the clock that makes it look like shiny candy, sometimes I need to pour more than one coat per side. The resin takes days to cure. It is an enormous undertaking but I enjoy making them in between my drawings, paintings and illustrations. It would be difficult to gauge how many hours go into these clocks but needless to say it is a lot. I stopped trying to figure out by the hour a long time ago because every piece of work that leaves my studio is like a piece of me and I take great pride in making it the best it can possibly be no matter how long it takes. It would be upsettting if you commissioned me and I ran out of time because you paid only X amount of dollars. So when people ask if I make a living at this I smile and say it is my life.

The finished clock is different than the one in my studio. The finished clock is hanging in a restaurant in Topanga called "Roccos". M y artwork has been hanging in this restaurant for over 20 year. It is like my private gallery and people get to enjoy it along wih their Italian meals. The clock in my studio is unfinished it has a coat of resin on the back and is ready for the front to be poured. The finished clock at Roccos is 6 ft. long. I always put a special quote about houses on the back of the clock.

copyright 1997

Toystore

I am a firm believer in visualizing what you want. Ever since I can remember I have created what I wish for on paper. Sometimes creating something visually can be as rewarding as having a material thing. Of course when I was little I was not the painter that I am now, but I would have liked my own Toy Store!

Inside reads : Wishing you many happy surprises during the holidays

Marisol Inc. copyright 1994

snow fairies

This was another card for the owners daughter. I really enjoyed painting these little Snow fairies hiding in the woods.

inside reads: wishing you a magical holiday

Marisol Inc. copyright 1994

Sugarplum fairies

The owner of Marisol asked me to make a couple of illustrations for holiday cards that used Nutcracker themes because her daughter was so in love with the story and characters, so I was happy to oblige. When I was little I wanted to be a ballerina too. I enjoyed painting this little scene.

inside reads: wishing you a holiday season of joy and wonder

Marisol Inc. copyright 1994

Illustration Friday: Surprise

Artwork entitled "Open House" created for a Christmas card in 2002. Inside card reads: Celebrate the Holidays Together! It incorporates Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Feliz Navidad and Peace. I try to make all my holiday cards appeal to all denominations.

Topanga

This is what I see outside my airbrush studio. It is the most beautiful bridge that leads to nowhere. Underneath is a creek that rises when it rains. Rat loves to splash around there. I would take some closeups but this odd man recently put up a fence (I don't think that is even legal) he lives above it and was worried that kids would play on it. A long time ago an opera singer had a home on this property but it burned down. There are lots of properties here where the houses burned down and the State bought the properties as fire breaks so I am completely surrounded by State Park. This is great because not only do I live in a State Park but no one will build near me. This is nice because I do live in L.A. but where I live you would not know down the hill is Los Angeles. What's down the hill is actually Santa Monica and Malibu and the other side is the San Fernando Valley. It is perfect for Rat because it is one of the last places where a dog can run free. Although the park technically does not allow dogs on the trails anymore. I have lived in this canyon for 27 years. It is changing and it makes me a little sad, but that's the way it goes. Way too many people use Topanga as a thoroughfare to the Valley so they won't get stuck on the Freeway. It is such a beautiful drive but it is most unpleasant at rushhour now for oldtimers like me. I work so much that I am in my studios most of the time. The Houscapes that I do are difficult because they are extremely personal and because they represent the person who lives in them it is crucial that I put a large amount of time into them. I will post my walk thru the park in the next week.

all is calm

I had a friend when I was young who went to Tahiti for Christmas. This sounded like the most exotic trip in the world to me. When she got back, she was brown as a berry! I was fascinated by her stories of Tahiti. Maybe some day I will go...

When I painted this card, the owner of Marisol added quite a few more candy canes to my picture, she did it with the computer (not on my original).She did this to a couple of the Christmas Cards. They were already printed by the time I discovered it but she told me she wanted them to look more festive. I like open space. I don't feel like you have to fill every part of a picture. I like the less is more approach. Now in retrospect I find it funny that I even gave it a second thought.
inside reads: all is calm, all is bright

1994 Marisol Inc.

JOY

This is my idea for JoY! I did this card and
yesterdays post with the same greeting card company,
Marisol Inc. Another one of those dream jobs where she saw my work in Colorado, tracked me down and asked if I wanted to join her company. They came to visit me in Topanga and brought me specs on their everyday line. This was a template and the words to be used in each card. So I got to create whatever I wanted as long as it went with the words! I would send the artwork to Colorado once a week and I would receive a cheque with my originals. It was the perfect blend. I loved working for Marisol and we made cards and stationary for quite a few years.

inside reads: From our home to your home with warmest holiday wishes


copyright 1993 Marisol Inc.

Peace

I have made hundreds of cards for every occasion. They were made for greeting card companies, business's, individuals and my own lines. I really enjoy creating art for cards and you usually do winter scenes in the summer. It's boiling outside but you have to conjure up snowy cold scenes. I will try to post a holiday card each day to celebrate the season. I will show a small sample of my favourites.

inside reads: on earth goodwill to all mankind.

copyright Marisol Inc. 1991

Illustration Friday "blue"

This illustration is my logo. I love my logo, it is another signature image that crops up in my work all the time. A house that is a gift! Also blue is my favourite colour.

copyright 1996

A good outcome

Sometimes a good idea goes bad. There is a cute store I like and the owner bought my whole line of greeting cards that I created for a wonderful company, Marisol Inc. Years later this lady opened another store and I placed my own line of cards and boxes in the new place. She mentioned that a lovely little children's shop opened down the way and I should show her my kids line. So I did, this is where the good idea gone bad part comes in, she indeed placed a few things in her card rack and I noticed she did not have any gift certificates in her children's store. I mentioned that I could come up with something really cute and that gift certificates would be an excellent addition for the time pressed buyer and kids love to pick out their toys etc. She was very interested and asked me to paint a picture using her logo (elephant on a swing) and if she liked it she would have me make postcards/gift certificates. When she asked what my fee would be, she balked saying she did not really need this item. I thought about it for a minute and said I would own the original and she could use the art and buy the postcards from me. Then I pointed out that she could charge a small price for the full colour card and envelope and it would advertise her shop and she would not be out of pocket on the cards once so many of them sold. I don't normally do this but I thought it would be fun for me to paint , it would be good for her business, plus lots of kids would get these fun gift cards. She agreed and approved the art, the postcards were printed and she bought just enough to cover the printing cost that I laid out. She did not make the job easy and she was not very fun to work with. I was left with over half the inventory and the cute painting. I felt dumb for offering my services to someone that did not get it and really did not appreciate my efforts. I blamed myself , I should have left quickly when she did not want to pay for my services, at the time I thought I was doing something nice.

As luck would have it things always work out. I was asked for a donation of my work for the San Diego Children's Hospital. I was in the middle of a huge project and did not have time to make a painting for the auction. It suddenly occured to me that something good could come out of this fiasco so I made a darling frame for the illustration, mounted up a bunch of the postcards on greeting card stock with envelopes and sent it off to the benefit. This hospital makes a point of not turning away any child, so they need help through fundraising.

The custom framed painting sold as a package with the cards and is hanging in someones home who loves it and the proceeds helped a child.
I always wanted to paint a circus tent (Clown House) so I got what I wanted too!

copyright 2001 go ahead and steal it.

Ideas and Dreams

Everyday and Holiday

Sometimes people come to me with an idea that they need help realizing.They want me to help them come up with art that will create an identity to show their clients they care and are thinking of them. I am always impressed with this kind of thinker and business person because they are thoughtful. A young woman who works in the hairstyling industry came to me and wanted a couple of illustrations to be used as signature greeting cards to send to all of her clients throughout the year. She is a mom, wife and all around busy gal who is into organic hair colour too. So her objective was to send these cards out at signifigant times of the year. She keeps excellent records of her clients so she could send them out on their birthday, Christmas or Hanukkah and an everyday greeting to be used whenever she feels the need to connect with her people. On the back of the card we placed nice quotes relevant to the theme and she would add a personal little message as well. I came up with the thought that her idea is to own a salon so why not just create it on paper and maybe someday this dream will come true. Since she moves around, which is common in that business, we would put her name, email and cell number and that way the cards would always be valid. It was a fun job and the people that received them were pleased and surprised on their birthdays when the cards would appear in the mail. She would tell them how much she appreciates their patronage and is thinking about them on their special day.
copyright 2002-2003 may not be reproduced.

Illustration Friday "small"

My post for illustration friday is "Dollhouse". This illustration is from my 2003 HOMEMADE Calendar. When I was a small girl, I had a friend that lived in the wealthy part of town. She had a doll house with real miniature furniture. It was made from wood and the fabrics that covered the furniture were satin! A little porcelain bathtub, a wooden grand piano, a satin covered settee. I adored these little creations and I was always thrilled when she invited me to spend the night and play with the dollhouse. It is a happy memory!
copyright 2002 may not be reproduced without permission.

Venetian City

It was a once in a life time art job. I have a feeling I might not have the opportunity to create something quite like this again. I guess we will just have to wait and see...

This was created in a bedroom, for a man that owned the largest poster company in the United States. The format is as follows: The ceiling was painted my signature sky with stars, this art project was for the space above his closet so that when he lay down in his bed he could look up and see this Venetian City above him. It is 12 feet long 5 feet high and 2 feet deep. It does not end there, it follows around the room where his very tall bookcases lined the walls so I created more buildings for that area too. I build each building individually with inverted windows and doorways,
where sculpted people reside, a sculpted cat sitting in a chair, icon style paintings on an easel, a laundry woman hanging out the days washing, a lady in a gown standing on a balcony,a statue of a nude female , hanging vines with dimensional grapes and on and on. The patron spent several grand lighting it so that it looked like water glowing off the buildings and to cap it off it is replete with 3-d gondolas and barber poles.

Several years later my Mom and sister treated me to an Italian holiday and when I got to the real Venice I couldn't believe my eyes. It was an inspirational trip and it made me feel good about my creation. This job took 7 months and it was one of the best times and the most difficult challenges I have tackled. I learned a lot about myself and it goes along with the valgal rules of no job to small or to tall or to big if you know what I'm saying. The gentleman and his wife would throw these elaborate parties with interesting people. I would get to visit the installation and hear and see the reaction to the city in the bedroom. It was not something that you would see every day. At that point I could separate myself from the critical voice within and just say wow what a unique and amazing experience! For me art is where dream and fantasy come together.

This is a digital shot of a photograph, the only way I could show you the room. The white thing on the ceiling is the fan it had a glowing orb that looked like the moon, this is a shot of the closet (kinda cut off ) with 12 ft. of city. This project was commissioned in 1994.

Murphy

Saturday was a very hot and still day. I called my friend and neighbor Trish, wondering if she would like to go on a walk with Rat and do the deed. She seemed eager, excited and pleased that I suggested it. Three months have passed so I thought Trish might be ready. She would occasionally mention that we should do it but the timing was never quite right. You know, weather and all. It had to be a calm day. Tricia was putting it all together by the time Rat and I walked down the lane. She poured some white powder from a circular tin can into a baggie and held it out to me. I opened it and took a pinch and rolled the dust between my fingers. I asked her if it would be bad to lick it? She laughed and said "ooooh gross!" Patricia is from Devon, England . She has lived here for over 15 years, teaches 2nd graders and has adopted some of our vernacular. Trish asked me to have a look at something on her table before we left. It was a purple velvet bag with colourful words embroidered on it and a little tear sprang to my eye. "Wow" I said, I say wow a lot, "How sweet!" and she replied "Yes, isn't it?" Ratty was ready to roll, so off we went. It was so beautiful on the walk, nice and warm but not like summer heat. Trish emptied a little of the contents of the baggie, here and there as we headed up the steep incline towards the plateau. It was as if Rat knew too! He would typically want to stop at the bridge and swim in the water, but not today as he kept climbing higher up the path. This did not go unnoticed by Trish. We talked about our week and tramped even higher up the hill. Soon we arrived at "The Spot", believed to be a higher place where the Chumash hunted and lived. She let Rat look in the bag and take a whiff, he snorted, we laughed. We each took a handful and twirled around letting the dust fling all about the canyon. Goodbye dear girl, we love you! There will never be a heart as sweet and loving as yours. I shouted out the words I read on the purple velvet bag, "Until we meet again at the rainbow bridge..." We miss you Murphy!

Illustration Friday: Free

This illustration is my idea of "Free". This was always the cover for every year of my "HOMEMADE" calendar. I have painted this theme in many ways, drawings, dimensional paintings and with different colour combinations so I feel this is my signature painting that best shows what I do and who I am. The real title of this painting is "Flying Home". It' s about finding that place inside of ourselves where we feel adventurous enough to be free but we can always go to that deeper place inside that is safe and feels like home!

this painting was reproduced in the form of calendar and prints/copyright 1999 may not be reproduced without permission
p.s. All comments are welcome and appreciated!

The Paintings I do for me

There are a lot of paintings in my noggin that are filed under "Things to do". We all have these projects, lots and lots of projects that we would like to do. I have hundreds of them, all types. I realistically will never get to them all especially since new ideas crop up to be added to the file pile but I hope to accomplish most of them. One of the types of work I do are dimensional paintings, some are really dimensional and some are this flat layered dimensional thing I have been working on for quite some time. These paintings have become popular with the people that collect me, though I would make them anyway it makes me feel I am on the right track if people want to commission these works. I really enjoy making them because it is completely different than my other stuff. When you try different things it is just one more way to explore and delve deeper and add on to what you already do. I have worked with many artists and I always have a bit of a hard time wrapping my mind around the artists that hire people to do their work! Although people like me can benefit from this it still is a mind bender that they get paid handsomely, hang in museums and they really did not physically touch the work. Please do not think I judge, I actually think these artists are brilliant people, they are smart enough to get these amazing gigs by conceptualizing an idea and getting others to put it together. It makes me realize that I think on a much smaller level. I also am a hands on person. I need to touch the work, paint the paintings, print the print, sculpt the sculpture. Sometimes to my detriment because we can't do everything! And as time rockets past me it becomes more apparent that I might have to say goodbye to some of these parts of myself because I think I do better work now but I am not as willing, nor able to work every waking moment as I used to be. But I still enjoy making some things just for me.
This painting does not have any buildings in it for a change of pace . I have lived near the ocean my whole life and this is the island in my mind.

SDCO

One of the reasons I love being an artist is, that it is never just about the art. What I mean by this is that each new job teaches you something that you might never have learned. Years ago I received a phone call from a man that saw my work in a gallery and wanted to know if I would like to do some artwork for the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. I was ecstatic because I was born and raised in San Diego! The man did not know this but he said they chose me over quite a few artists. It was an amazing opportunity and really fun, in fact that is what the project was named "Serious Fun" and I created the lettering too. They asked me to do a painting that would highlight the orchestra, instruments and my signature colour. I painted all the real people that were in the orchestra and the conductor too. I learned about all the different instruments and the way they are held. It was a wonderful job and really a lovely experience working with this man who was a fan and super supportive of my work .They auctioned off the painting and raised funds for supporting the SDCO.

The orchestra play Prokofiev,Kabelevsky,Tchaikovsky and others.
My artwork was the program for the SDCO 1994-1995 season. I have done all kinds of art for music for all different styles of music and I think that the music that we love becomes the soundtracks for our lives.

Illustration Friday: STRENGTH

I have to use an existing illo because I have to work on the Houscape today. This is my painting for strength. "House of Cards" is from my 2002 HomeMade calendar. It is a symbol of the non-duality of the universe. For strength to exist the fragile must have a place.

Rat loves to play with his baby. He will bring you the baby and he wants you to try to take it away from him, then he clamps down on the baby and his jaw is real strong. He likes it when you tug and tug but he wants to win. A baby is any plush toy (he has 2 babies, 1 is a football and one is a pacifier). Rat has a lot of strength!

copyright 2001 may not be reproduced without permission

FSF

I love to do all kinds of jobs. I never feel like a job is to small, tall or to commercial. In fact I enjoy commercial jobs very much, it is a nice diversion from Houscapes and paintings and they are usually done pretty quickly. Hopefully a client chooses you because your work appeals and they feel it will fit their groove. I work well with deadlines and that is a big plus because there are a lot more talented artists out there than me but if you can't work on a deadline, meet the client's parameters and play well with others you probably won't get hired for this kind of job.

Plus there are always printing deadlines, publication deadlines etc. I decided when I was a struggling artist pup that I would do all kinds of jobs in the art world . I would forego a social life and live a frugal existence so that I could make art no matter what. Most people will invite you out only so many times before they tire of hearing "I have a deadline" or "I have to work". This client "Fred Segal Fun Style" are real easy to work with, it is 2 women who own and run the business. Annually we do about 10-15,000 postcards and 30,000 stickers that go out on every package. FSF will give me a call, they want the logo, clothes and fun colour incorporated into the picture. What more could a girl ask for? Well...they don't allow dogs in the building and Rat has to wait in the car!

An interesting tidbit about this job, if you notice the illo with the surfboard, Mickey Mouse is on one of the shirts. In my career as an artist never before could you paint this character without fear of being sued. But in
recent years Disney has been allowing people to license their characters. FSF licensed Mickey,Minnie and Donald Duck and have been screenprinting them on shirts with sparkles. For the 1st time I was legally allowed to paint this image! My life is now complete...

"Gypsy Wagon"

Today the greeting cards arrived from Modern Postcard for the lady that lives in the Gypsy wagon! Once a year I participate in a show called Topanga Art Studio Tours. About 45-50 artists that live here open up there studios and let the public come view, talk and have refreshments. It starts at the local gallery , each artist hangs a painting and for $25.00 you buy a book that has the artists name and blurb about their work , bio, written directions and a map of Topanga. It is a 2 day event so if you choose to view all the studios, you have a couple days to squeeze them in. It is the perfect venue for me, I am a bit reclusive and all the people come to me! So this wonderful woman came to my studio, admired the "Houscapes" and asked me to paint her home. Rat and I drove to her place (Paradise, i'm not kidding it really seemed to be what heaven must be like) and there was her home. A 150 year old gypsywagon from England. It was shipped here years ago to be used in the original Dr. Doolittle movie starring Rex Harrison! When the movie studio wanted to be rid of the wagon it was sold and moved to the beach and gypsylady moved in. I did this painting of it and it hangs in her office. She is an amazing person, an activist against nuclear armaments (she has been arrested over 100 times) she lives very simply, she has a very nice tent as well and her 2 dogs. She assists a very well known movie and television actor that is an activist also. I would love to tell you all the particulars because all of the people that are in her orbit are majorly interesting but I want to protect her privacy. She has lived in the wagon for 25 years! This greeting card is to comemorate the 25th anniversary of her life in this wagon. It was a highlight for me to paint and Rat loved being there and walking on the beach and around her neighborhood. The greeting card came out great, I'm pleased with it and I hope she loves it as much as she loves the painting.

copyright 2004 may not be reproduced

Rat

Rat loves bones! About once a month I go to Topanga Creek Mkt. and I buy Rat a big ol bone. He takes it to his special place. If you could see under the ivy it looks like a bone graveyard but Rat takes great pride in his vast collection and he does not like to share!