Illustration Friday: Sticky

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Sticky" is from my 2004 HomeMade calendar. The title of this painting is "Home on the Range". This was for the month of August and the quote was "Good sound cooking makes a contented home".

Don't let it stick to the pan and make sure you add the sticky stuff!
copyright 2003
valerie walsh

Laurel Canyon

Top: Cover of Laurel Canyon Middle: The silkscreen poster of the Kaleidoscope Club that John co-owned with Skip Taylor and Gary Essert on the Sunset Strip in 1966 Bottom: Cover shoot for Desparado (Please click on images to view them larger)


Today I'm writing about a book that just came out called "Laurel Canyon" by Michael Walker. This book is "The inside story of Rock and Roll's Lengendary Neighborhood". This is from my signed copy and one of the reasons I am into this book is my husband John Hartmann is included on over 21 pages. He has devoted much of his life to managing the careers of many artists and characters that we have all come to know and love in the music business. John is in many books and I will list a few at the bottom. If you enjoy reading about this time period, about some of the best and most interesting and talented songmakers and singers then you will enjoy this read. Here is a picture inside this book of John with JD Souther and Jackson Browne on a shoot for the cover of Eagle's "Desperado" in 1972. This post isn't directly about artwork but in a way it is because that was a very creative time, a lot of great art came out of those experiences and people create art to the music of many of these songs to this day. It takes passion and love of art and music to help direct an artist's career and John has all that and is a true friend and champion who goes to battle for the artist, musician, student and even the wife sometimes...

John lived in Laurel Canyon four different times in the sixties and seventies. His adventures there are well chronicled in this deftly researched and well told tale of rock and roll's most exciting era. John has a prodigious memory and is a great story teller. Reading Laurel Canyon enabled him to relive some of his most exciting adventures, as well as gaining insight into many events that were going on around him, of which he was not aware at the time. He and his clients were engaged in the fight to stop the Viet Nam war and every song and tour had an air of significance in those days. John was the last person to live in "Our House" before Joni Mitchell sold the rustic cottage that inspired the famous Graham Nash song. It was John who came home one night to greet burglars dashing from the house. Michael Walker mentions the incident in his tome but did not know it was John who greeted the unwanted guests that night. The thief John danced with in the doorway left in his favorite leather vest from North Beach Leather a famous clothier of the rock & roll artists and mavens who lived and loved in Laurel Canyon.

Some of the books John is featured in are:

Eagles To the Limit the untold story of the Eagles by Marc Eliot

Living the Blues Canned Heat's Story of Music, Drugs, Death, Sex and Survival by Fito de la Parra

The Operator David Geffen Builds, Buys and Sells the New Hollywood by Tom King

The Mail Room by David Rensin

Elvis Presley A Biography by Jerry Hopkins

An American Band by Dan Peak

The Mansion on the Hill by Fred Goodman

"Duck" The Dick Cheny Survival Bible by Gene Stone

Illustration Friday: Rain

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Rain" is from my 2001 HomeMade calendar and the title is "Dog House". This is my dog Rat and this was for the month of April. You know, April showers bring May flowers. The quote is: Mid Pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble there's no place like home. ~ Howard Payne

Illustration Friday: Dance

This is my submission for Illustration Friday's "Dance". This painting is a blast from my past and is titled "Flamingo Tango". I did many of these flamingo characters and paintings and they were all purchased by some of my more "out there" patrons. This was painted in 1989. The boy is my friend Paul (he looks just like this guy) and his girl Barb, dancing the tango with the fishes.

Illustration Friday: Jungle

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Jungle" is a painting called "Pick Me". I think this is from 1987 but I will have to look that up later. This is acrylic on masonite and I bought this groovy bamboo frame to enhance the island/jungle feel.

Duck Soup

This is a small tribute to the art of Michael Bedard. I found this little doodle on a piece of scrap paper in my flat files a couple weeks ago and just wanted to show the amazing talent this artist has. He would doodle and draw constantly while on the phone and he loves to talk on the phone! This doodle is a very preliminary idea and sketch for a major painting as well as a limited edition print he did in the very early 80's. We lived together for about 8 years which is why I have this sketch it was on a pad that held a few drawings I made too. I wish I drew all the time like he does because it is so good to do and only enhances the painting. One of the things I love about his work, he always incorporates tidbits of his real life and people he knows into his art. I find that very appealing, it's like a secret that you can share with others and it tickles your heart. In "Duck Soup" the chef in the kiosk is a guy named John Gabarra who lived with us for a year. He and Michael knew each other from Detroit, Michael is originally from Windsor Ontario, Canada. And John Gabarra really is a chef. The car was a vehicle that we really owned, it was a vintage Mercedes limosine and it was fabulous! We would go on long rides to Cambria and other places in grand style with our friends. In the distance is a movie theatre that is to small to read in this version but it says Barb and Val on the marquee. Barb was my best friend and we used to say "Barb and Val the movie" because we were always up to something dramatic... So he cleverly incorporated that into this painting. There are so many elements like this in the picture and so many of his paintings that are fun memories that you would never know unless I share them on my little blog. All of this happened a very long time ago and will be lost if not divulged. Michael taught me so much about art and life and he is a truly gifted and successful artist. More on this and other artists and printmakers in future posts.
Please click on to images to see them larger.

Illustration Friday: Portrait

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Portrait" is a painting of a painting of a house. It is from one of my Marisol greeting cards.
copyright 1995