Friday, July 25, 2008

Illustration Friday: canned



My submission for Illustration Friday's "canned" is a layered dimensional painting of a little town called Red Bluff, CA. It reminds me of childhood and small town life. Notice there are canned cherries in the window :)








This is a poster from my husband John Hartmann's concert hall "The Kaleidoscope" and you can see the Jefferson Airplane,Grateful Dead and Canned Heat played 3 consecutive nights in 1967. John's friend Gary Essert disovered them playing in a fraternity house where they were a huge hit. So John and his partner Skip Taylor signed the band on the UCLA campus. Skip still manages the band to this very day. Bob "The Bear" Hite lived in Topanga as well as "The Blind Owl" aka Allan Wilson. They played at the old Corral in Topanga.

If you have a moment please watch this gem of a short film and you will have a better day :) click on to the link "The Story of a Sign" Oddly a tin can is featured in this short.
http://en.zappinternet.com/video/nilSqaMboM/HISTORIA-DE-UN-LETRERO-THE-STORY

46 comments:

Lisa M Griffin said...

These little storefronts are so sweet and cheery. Love them, thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I went up the country once, it was hot, but I got back late and almost got canned. Love Bad Dog

INDIGENE said...

Val, gal...this looks like a lovely place to visit, canned or not!
Happy weekend!

www.indigeneartforms.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Nice use of Canned Heat!! :)

Lisa Rivas said...

The video is incredible, just incredible. This man's "can" got full due to the beautiful message!
Great for Alejandro Monteverde can do... also handsome...

Thanks Valerie for your sense of touch and perception! Just beautiful...
You made my day!
Have a great weekend :)

erin said...

you always have such wonderful posts!

Roberta said...

What an incredible post. I love the way you pulled all the "cans" together, and we see yet another glimpse into Val's interesting life.
Fun stuff!!

Ces Adorio said...

ValGal, I will can this post so I can open it again. Hehe. I cannot see the movie. Anyhow you and your husband are such innovators, recognizing talent early on. I love cherries especially on top of cool whip over something sweet.

The sad music is still on.

Christy/Tiddly Inks Digitals said...

Very sweet image! :)

Ces Adorio said...

Oh my gosh! I am so glad I tried again. I could not open it before (did not read instructions well. What a touching movie. Incredible the effecys of words and how they are said or used.

NANCY LEFKO said...

what a beautiful little town...I always know you'll have such a treat to share.

Tracy said...

I love this little town you've illustrated...all the little details and the kitty looking out the window. BEAUTIFUL!

Bella Sinclair said...

I just adore your dimensional paintings! I study them with awe. You have so many great postings for the theme this week!

AscenderRisesAbove said...

very fun post. I bet it took cans of paint to paint those painted ladies (victorian)? Got a chuckle out of your canned heat album. I have a canned wheat in my album collection (the guess who) - which I recently pulled out of the dark recesses of my closet. As I recall the guess who pulled this album together in response to the canned heat music. I am going to take this as a sign to listen to canned wheat this weekend
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canned_Wheat

Anonymous said...

I've never been Red Bluff before. Looks like a really nice place! The town looks really serene. I like the cat! Heh!

Anonymous said...

caaaaaanned heat!great, I remember when I was youg...
and even an italian "cucina" in Red Bluff...wonderful
:)
(tnx for your comment)

Connie said...

Love your small town picture; really nostalgic! Also the music (canned heat); I'd forgotten all about this but have now demanded my husband order us a copy!

Laura said...

Hi Val! Love your work as always, so whimsical and inspiring - I need to pop in here more! :> Great post too.

Anonymous said...

Valgal,

Love this pic. Not unlike MV too, huh? Can't wait to see you in a few weeks. Take care.

xoxox
--dd

Eric Barclay said...

Wonderful illustration and such a great post. The film was amazing!

isay said...

what a wonderful place and your illustration is great but, most of all the short film made my day. li like the song, too.

best regards

Mim said...

I love the illustration of the town and the Canned Heat story brought back such memories. Been a long time since I listened to their music. Thanks for the flashback.

Krimo said...

Lovely song, Val. Must have been a dream come true for John to get all those great acts in his music hall.
When people ask why we've last so long, I joke:"We still the same tins (cans)..."
Tasty candy colours and that watermelon looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Such a nice illustration! Love the pastel colors and light source...it seems to be twilight, my favorite time of day!

JC said...

Val, your posts are truly inspiring! Not only for your beautiful illustrations but also for the little stories you share. It really made my day to see that video! =)

Vern Mercado said...

Great artwork and nice video. What a nice combination! Thanks for the video link. I shared it with friends.

Ellen said...

This is wonderful, Val! Nice music selection BTW!

soulbrush said...

this is so american looking...seeing it with my british eyes!nice one.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the memories of Canned Heat!

Catalina Alvarez said...

Visit your blog is always a pleasure.
Arrivederci,
Cata

Anonymous said...

Lovely colors, I'm smiling.

Liz Jones said...

I have some Canned Heat on tape somewhere around here... love that song.
I also love canned cherries-- esp. in mountain pies.:9
Great picture!

Faruffa said...

Delightful storefront, love canned cherries!!!

georg said...

I love your special colours - and thanks for your comment and the music - it's music i heard when I was young - - -

Gillian Mowbray said...

Another gem from Val's World. Love Canned Heat too. I'm jiggling along to this ....

Bobo said...

A dreamy town with building in pastel tone! Looovely!

Ellen Byrne said...

wow! wow! WOW!

I want to live there!

Anonymous said...

OMG Canned Heat! Wonderful and clever of you to feature them in this post. Love your little town. I would love to open up a can of cherries in that little cucina.

The short put a glistening to my eyes. Thanks, what a cool post!

bog_art said...

Thanks for your kind words in my blog Valerie.. I really appreciate them.. and I am going to clik in the link right now to see the video.. =)

Brine Blank said...

Nice effect...would be nice to see one go 5 or 6 layers deep...

thefridayfrog said...

CANNED HEAT! ohmygoshh!!!! just lookit that cover. that is an amazingly cool thing to read, and it happened right there, in his concert hall.

sweet and lovely lil town piece, too, vallie. i see the cherries! :))

Teri said...

A beautiful piece Val and how nice that those canned cherries were in the window!

Ginger*:) said...

Wonderful illustration, texture, color, concept...all of it!

Canned cherries make the BEST pies!

Tony Sarrecchia said...

Your work is always so cute and well put together. I love the depth and textures; and the cute buildings that always seem so happy.

Tony

steve said...

Excellent work Val-now I see it. Great, informative post too btw!

Faruffa said...

Ciao Val stell me, is it a tray?