Illustration Friday: Communication

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Communication" is from a dimensional painting called "NightHawk". I posted this September 2006 with a story about how this piece came to be, but I didn't post it on IF. My inspiration was this hawk in an alley in Santa Monica on a telephone pole. I see hawks all the time in Topanga but it is unique to see them in an industrial area where it was spotted. This painting was purchased by a woman who collects my work and was used as an invitation/promotional card for a show I had in Pacific Palisades. I posted this card "Phone Home" in July 2006 for the "Opposites" theme.

Illustration Friday: Gravity

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Gravity" is from a painting I made for Geekfest.com for Microsoftee's (people that work at Microsoft) and they used the art for a T-shirt. I loved creating this image because it was so different for me and my favourite jobs are when I get to come up with an idea that works on a few levels. Microsoft has a mascot called the "Screaming Geek". They wanted a piece of art that used the geek for an upcoming event and I was given a picture of the character . So I decided to turn him into Gene Kelly, use the idea of "Singing in the Rain" (It always rains in Seattle/Washington and Microsoft is based in Redmond, WA) and turn it into "Screamin in the Rain". Gene Kelly is the guy known to defy gravity and I was able to sneak a building/brick wall in the scene too!

copyright 1996 Microsoft

Geek image on back of shirt and this logo is on the front.

The Girly Show

Here is Penelopes work and I asked her to stand in front of her art! She is darling and very nice!


On Saturday I had to go photograph an upcoming "Houscape" in Encino. It is a doozy, a very unique house that was moved from Palm Springs a long time ago and plopped into the San Fernando Valley. It fits in quite well, it has a slight tropical vibe with lots of waterfalls and it has that old Frank Sinatra feel that so many houses designed in Palm Springs have. I would like to finish in a month but this could take 2 months as it is pretty complicated. Then we were off to the "Girly Show" just a little south of Hollywood on West Pico Blvd (2 blks. south of La Brea). It was in a tucked away space called: Deja Design Gallery and it was a big open building. The show was from 4-11pm. We arrived a little before 6pm so that I could talk to the artists before it got crowded and take a few pix if they let me. John found Penelope Dullaghan and we introduced ourselves. She asked me how long I have participated in Illustration Friday? I told her a year and some change but that I submitted every Friday. She seemed surprised, then John said "You know Val uses existing work! She said she was going to find a word to stump me! Uh-oh, now I am in trouble... Penelope is a darling, tall and sweet artist and I loved meeting her and her art was great! I think she created these paintings for the show. She gave me a hug and introduced me to Kelly Rae Roberts, another artist that we all blog with and she had many charming paintings in her wonderful style. I wish I would have asked her to stand in front of her paintings and taken a picture (sorry Kelly Rae). She is adorable, fresh and sweet and introduced us to her husband John. All the paintings are fun, girly, unique and each artist has a signature style that blended well with each other. I did remember to take 2 shots of Penelope and her paintings, so for all that wanted to go but couldn't this is a snippet from the event. The show featured: Christine Mason Miller, Mati Rose, Outi Harma, Marisa Haedike and Kelly Rae Roberts. I'm sure they all will have much success!

Illustration Friday: Crash

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Crash" is from one of my Marisol greeting cards. This is the kind of party I would crash, dogs and cats living together and having a big ol party!

Illustration Friday: sprout

My submission for Illustration Friday's "sprout" is from my 2002 HomeMade calendar and the title is "House Plants". This is for the month of May and the quote is: Home is the blossom of which heaven is the fruit ~proverb~
I have always enjoyed the quote: Grow where you are planted.

HousePlants copyright 2002 Valerie Walsh