Friday, May 04, 2007

Illustration Friday: Neighbor



My submission for Illustration Friday's "Neighbor" is one of my signature "Houscapes". My neighbor Michael came to me and asked if I could paint a portrait of Decker his dog. Of course I said yes and mentioned that I paint houses and suggested that it would be great if I could pose Decker in front of his rustic shed (I look at this shed every day and have been longing to paint it). The dog posed happily as if he knew he would be immortalized and idolized for years to come.

44 comments:

Doodlestreet said...

OH MAN!! I saw this weeks IF word and thought of YOU right away! This is sooOOooOoOooo your word this week! Wonderful illo! (I secretly want to live there right now...) DOOD!

imwithsully said...

Where do you live? You must live in a fairyland. Even the dog house is cute.

Designing Fairy said...

So much fun, Val. I love that this isn't the typical portrait. Adding the shed really makes it stand out.

Anonymous said...

Aaarf!!! I'd like to pee on the house and marry the dog. Is he gay?

Bad Dog

Ces Adorio said...

Val, this is so cool. What a great honot for your neighbor and his dog. I love the caladiums all over the yard. Maybe they will grow to giant elephant ears! Very pleasant.

Vinilos Ink said...

ahhh!! que preciosa ilustración, me encanta!!! me gustaron siempre las casitas de maderas, hubiese deseado un asi cuando era niña para jugar.
besos

Anonymous said...

Hey Val great job! I thought of you as soon as I saw it too. Cute dog!

andrea said...

Ooo-- this is one of my favourites of yours. The shed and dog are beautifully done but it's those little heart-shaped leaves that make me smile.

Ces Adorio said...

Val, I just came back here to read the others' comments as I usually do and I just noticed the terrible typographical error I made of the word "honor". :-)

Unknown said...

so fresh and pretty

Cream said...

Lovely neighbour!
That is one happy dog, Val!

Catalina Alvarez said...

I love this little house.
Soft and tender illo.
Thanks for your comment!
Cata

Joy Eliz said...

What a great neighbor! and a fantastic illo!!!

° said...

defiently looks so much better when u see it large. all the details and stuff come out, i see u very trusting in that part of CA no locks on ur sheds. locv th eantlers on the side of the door and great lookin dog

isay said...

and i thought i had already send a comment earlier.....

aside from the adorable dog and the shed, i like how you painted the tree and the heart shaped plants....

TheTart said...

So charming! The Woofy is tooo cute.

Nothing like coming home to your bloggy ... the best cozy feeling ... EVER!

Smooch,
The Tart
; *

Tony LaRocca said...

I love when you do these- they're always so bright & vibrant & make me want to be there.

ELLA ELVIANA said...

i love your piece, beautiful and peaceful altogether. ^_^

Giggles said...

Adorable....wonderful job! Michael must have been thrilled. Decker is awesome in stature!

biteyourowntail said...

This has a really magical quality to it - i think imwithsully must be right - do you live in fairyland? Lovely work

Anonymous said...

great rendering of the rustic shed... I can almost see the rust,wonderful!and yes I guess you live in a lovely, relaxing place...

emilayusof said...

Wonderful illo!

Ginger*:) said...

How gorgeous! I can see immediately why you would want to paint this shed. It has such great character. And Mr. Decker...what a dog he is!

carla said...

Tis is grfeat, Val! I can see why you wanted to paint the shed, and I'm so glad you put up a large version of the painting so we could see the exture and detail. Decker looks very pleased with himself. I swear I can see his tail wagging!

carla said...

In case you haven't noticed, I really can't type.

Digital Scott's Illustrationblog said...

Very beautiful! What a great scene.

Random York said...

It's wonderful Val! Your houses (homes) are warm and inviting!

mike r baker said...

Beautiful! What a wonderful piece. And that's one happy-looking dog!

Unknown said...

What a lucky doggy to have a fun house like that!

BoiledEggIn aDeckchair said...

The cat's locked itself out again.

Unknown said...

Val I'm sorry I have been absent. Time is my enemy sometimes.

I do get to look at all your posts and just love seeing them. Wish we were neighbors. ;)

Love the twilight stars in the sky and he sure looks like a handsome dog.

Diane Duda said...

very nice, val. i love the skinny little tree.

shawnajctenney.blogspot.com said...

Love your colors. I really like the overall feel of this piece. Good sky gradient.

Twisselman said...

Love the antlers on the wall. And that dog of your neighbor's is a spitting image of a Queensland Healer/aussie shepherd mix that we once had.

Michelle Lana said...

Superb work val!

pati said...

Your illos are always plenty of magic, Val. I bet you are one of those few kind of people that makes other feel better with some drops of a great imagination :)

Ian T. said...

A wonderful picture in every respect and, yes, adding the dog does bring something additional to an already strong composition. I particularly like the plants and the tree. Is this gouache?

Unknown said...

This is so perfect but I must say that I'm very much in love with the neighbor illustration below. That is such a lovely little image. Wonderful work as always!

Linda said...

oh i love this. the whole scene and most especially the plants, mmmh maybe i'll plant caladiums

Janice Ykema said...

wow... your shed shines... it really adds to the composition... and how you got the dog to stand still is a mystery...

Greg Hartman said...

Lovely shed Val, I really like the rusty metal sheeting. It looks like a nice place to live, and what a cute neighbor. Thanks for your comment. Are those freshly planted beans? Oh yes, and tell your friend the SMUT in a can is great!

arvindh said...

beautiful colours!@

Janet said...

I'm glad I came back...I thought I'd already commented too! I love this illo, and the little rusty shed is perfect!

Andrea said...

Decker is a cutie, great job on the shed too!