I got a publishing deal at 22 years old with a company called Luna Art right in the heart of Venice Calif. I was the youngest artist signed and I was in amazing company. Luna's roster of artists included Michael Bedard, Siegbert Reinhard and James Paul Brown. This was the 1st poster that I had printed with Luna and it was not a hit by any means but it was popular and my publisher Michelle Hancock sold the original at Art Expo in New York for what was a lot of money to a young artist. It was a thrilling time. The print market in 1982 was really happening in Los Angeles and there were a lot of galleries as well. So business was good, posters are a great way to advertise art and your name in a tasteful way. The limited edition market was very strong too. People always find me and ask if I am the artist who created "Strumpeter" and it feels like a life time ago but I am proud that I made it and that people like it. Some think they know where it is but they don't. It is a trumpeter serenading all of the strumpets.
The brilliance of youth! This is so full of character and charm, Val. You make me jealous. At 22 I wanted to be an artist but didn't have the nerve, then wasted a LOT of years before I finally realized I was wasting my life by not following my dream. I admire you for having the instinct to follow your passion early.
ReplyDeletewell, believe me i wasted some years myself! it was not a slam-dunk if you know what i mean...
ReplyDeleteYou have such an original style! I love it!!
ReplyDeleteAt 22 I was having babies.
ReplyDeletethat was a long time ago.
i find it amazing that your style is the same. this is a good thing. you know what you want. Fabulous.
Really nice, Val!(...do more of these, don't make us wait for Illo Fri)...please
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say the style is the same, per se. I can certainly see similarities; there is a foundation for the other work you've shown. This is definitely less clean, but I like it that way.
ReplyDeleteI'm 24, myself. I can only hope someday I can get something into a gallery.
I love, love, love this piece. I can just hear the music in the street and feel the warmth of the summer night. I had to look up the word Strumpet using my on line dictionary, and a warning popped up regarding language advisory.:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the sultry post, even if it is your "old" stuff. It's new to me...and oh so fresh.
I like your people! They've got a roaring twenties fashion drawing feel to them.
ReplyDeleteAMAZING!! love this a lot!
ReplyDeleteVal, this is brilliant, beautiful, amazing, superb, fabulous! I love your style and really love this one.
ReplyDeleteAt 22 I still had a dream to be an artist, but didn't dare to pursue it. Now it's perhaps too late, I enjoy my life as an academic, but eventually I want to do something about art, too.
I absolutely love this one and the one below it! WOW...really nice.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! And I did catch that it was a trumpeter playing for the gathered strumpets.
ReplyDelete