Friday, March 03, 2006

Illustration Friday: Insects


click image for closeup view:
My submission for Illustration Friday: Insects is called "Honey House". This painting is from my 2004 HomeMade calendar for the month of May. Bees and flowers make the world go round!

The quote I used was: "One comes back to these old fashioned roses as one does to music and old poetry. A garden needs old associations, old frangrances, as a home needs things that have been lived with. -Marion Paige
Hattie is my Aunt Harriet and this is her bulldog Rothschild
copyright 2004

60 comments:

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

They caertainly do make the world go round--no dinn-dinn without them--wonderful art! Mary :-)

Anonymous said...

I love love love the landscape in this one -pretty and at the same time almost surreal! Really nice stuff! And your colours are as usual beautiful.

Amy Zaleski said...

Oh so charming! Lovely work as usual. Thanks also for your kind comments on my blog.

Anonymous said...

I love this! the bees even look friendly! I enjoy the kitty cat and the dog also!

carla said...

This really makes me think of "busy bees." There's so much action and movement in the field of flowers that seem to be alive and dancing in the field with the bees flying around. The little details in the larger version are so cool! I love the kitty in the window and the dog standing guard outside the house of honey. Funnny that the bee is much bigger than either of them! You are a treasure trove of charming paintings!

Teri said...

You live in such a wonderul imaginary world Val! Love all your art!

Anonymous said...

As usual, fabulous!

Brian the Mennonite said...

This makes me feel like being small and walking amongst the flowers. I love ALL of this...and I see babs in the upper window.

Doodlestreet said...

Way cool!!

Ginger*:) said...

Bees and flowers..indeed you are so right. We used to live next door to a man who kept about 21 bee hives. Our gardens were always in beautiful bloom, and the bees were very well behaved. Every fall there would be a big bucket of honey on our front door step. A gift from the gentle farmer. This is a delightful image!

Janet said...

Lovely, Val! I love all of the little flowers!

isay said...

another cool illustration. i am so amaze of your wonderful ideas and inspiration. i love the colors and the movement and all those flowers.

Rowantree said...

Wonderful world, lov details like dog and the cat on the windows !

Baskerville Hound said...

Beautiful Val!
I too love all the little details you add- like that cheeky little bulldog. Great colour and perspective :)

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful! Could even make me start to actually like bee's. Great illo.
a.

franhilz said...

I loved it - is really amazing, so alive and 'happy'.
The flowers field looks spectacular and I liked a lot that wondeful mister seatting there - Rotschild, what a character might be (waiting for the cat in the window)

As always - a beautiful dreammy work!

Unknown said...

Beautiful as always! Do more. Please.

Shano said...

Your illos get more and more clevah! I am so impressed!

madretz said...

I can't say this enough "I love your style!!"

Dana S. Whitney said...

I remember when there were (still) groves and groves of oranges along Foothill Blvd (Route 66) between Pasadena and Claremont where I was going to college. I'd ride behind my boyfriend on his motorcycle and you could smell the orange blossoms in the evening. Your picture reminded me of all that luscious fruit and exuberant pollination!

andrea said...

I was going to comment then I saw that I did already -- doh! That was "Andrea the sequel," not me! :) Your illo is as sweet as honey!

merlinprincesse said...

It's like a dream I had... Nice!

The Unknown said...

So cozy looking. I love it Love.
love

modroom said...

This is a factory I like! Think I'll have another wander in the hills then chill-out amongst the flowers. Ahhhhh. ....:::o

Katili said...

Beautiful image with great colours.

Jennifer Darlington said...

Love it, love it, Love it!

HARDWAX said...

Your honey house wouldn't last very long in my neighborhood, with borrowing a little , or just having a taste from time to time, looks luscious enough to eat, ummmm.
sweet flowers everywhere Oh, the happy bees who made this house

Kim Carney said...

It is a very happy place. Wonderful, colorful, fun

Caroline said...

Do they have bells?

No - buzzers!!!

Vern Mercado said...

I like your combination of architecture with a humorous theme. You bring us into a world that we all wish we could go, and we can now through our minds by your vision. We both have the sensitivities but through your blog I realized where my artwork can go. Thanks.

Ellen Byrne said...

week after week you continue to amaze!

Unknown said...

Wonderful, Your blog is my eye candy! Thanks so much!

Tony Sarrecchia said...

Beautiful job. Great level of detail.

Anonymous said...

thanks for your comment and sorry to make you hitch!
:)
your illo is wonderfull...I especialy appreciate the atmospheric background and the faint geometry of the hills. I find out there are some similarities in our work, due to our common year of birth and zodiac, I believe...so happy birthday to us!

Zórdís said...

Valgart this is so sweet, busy bees and honey of life. Love your houses and the consept you give all of them.

This one is full of life and the bees surtenly is a simble of job well done!

Liz Jones said...

Love it! A honey of a house... ;o)

Anonymous said...

That picture is sweet in more then one way.. :)

Rayne said...

Very sweet. I like the little details, like the cat up in the window.

kelly rae said...

i just love your whimsical style. and i really love that quote.

Unknown said...

This is sooo CUTE!! LOVELY and creative as always!! Love the pink little house in your previous posting too!

Regina said...

So sweet and purely delightful!

TXArtcGal said...

Wonderful as usual...and, lovely colors again! Great "guard dog"...and, LOVE the sign! Cute, cute, cute!

Roz Foster said...

I see your Honey House as being big as a bee hive, which makes that one little, tiny cat in the window... and one eensy, weensy dog guarding the place. What a whimsical, wonderful work!

patricia zapata said...

too cute! I love all the details. Beautiful as always!

Suzan said...

Absolutely gorgeous! The composition, detail and colors are great.

AscenderRisesAbove said...

Another wonderful illustration!!

Michael O'Connell said...

great work. so much fun. if i weren't deathly allergic to bees, i'd say i'd like to visit that world!

Angela Matteson said...

I love the field of delicate flowers.

Mia Charro said...

wooowww, when i grow up i would like to be like you! This illo is great!

Anonymous said...

What a romantic interpretation of the theme. Bees are magical ( though better seen at a distance).

Kay Aker said...

The homiest hive I've ever seen!

Anette Heiberg said...

Sweet. I like the colors.
www.wynlen.no

Nicole said...

I love the color choice, the energy and the design.

:)

Saul Iscariot said...

Great picture, makes me want to reach in and scopp out a big dollop of honey.

TheTart said...

This is my fav spring house... if I drew any bugs they would live here, natch!!!!

Val, need boy advice... please stop by. ; )
Maybe you reccomend another house for the occasion?

Smooch,
The Tart

Wilnara said...

What a great image! Full of simple details buzzing about!!!! Beeeeeeeeauuuutiful!!!

bee'nme said...

Great, great illustration - yummy colors!! Your work is an inspiration!!

Ian T. said...

Val, a beautiful, idyllic picture that would make the perfect opening page for a picture book!

CRISTOSOVA said...

That is the funniest name for a bulldog ever! (just a sidenote)
What a beautiful balanced world, sigh... :)

Christine Lim said...

Wow! you have 65 comments!

I am adding one more! Love this piece. The colours and details are awesome. Good work.