Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Strumpeter




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.

12 comments:

andrea said...

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.

valerie walsh said...

well, believe me i wasted some years myself! it was not a slam-dunk if you know what i mean...

FRIZZ said...

You have such an original style! I love it!!

Unknown said...

At 22 I was having babies.
that 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.

Janet said...

Really nice, Val!(...do more of these, don't make us wait for Illo Fri)...please

Anonymous said...

I 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.

I'm 24, myself. I can only hope someday I can get something into a gallery.

Brian the Mennonite said...

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.:)
Thanks for the sultry post, even if it is your "old" stuff. It's new to me...and oh so fresh.

Anonymous said...

I like your people! They've got a roaring twenties fashion drawing feel to them.

Unknown said...

AMAZING!! love this a lot!

Anonymous said...

Val, this is brilliant, beautiful, amazing, superb, fabulous! I love your style and really love this one.
At 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.

String said...

I absolutely love this one and the one below it! WOW...really nice.

Collin said...

Wonderful! And I did catch that it was a trumpeter playing for the gathered strumpets.