Illustration Friday:pioneer

We are all pioneers in our own way, am I right? We try our best as our parents did and our children will be the ones that carve out a new future. Many of the people I look up to create

buildings and homes and I enjoy that kind of pioneer. I feel lucky to have been exposed to so many trendsetters in my lifetime in the fields of art, printmaking, music, literature, films, architecture and especially the internet. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the artists and blog friends and blog groups, my family and anyone that stops by and looks at my pictures or reads my posts for the last 4+ years. It has been a wonderful and loving trip which surprised me at first because I thought maybe people would be critical but that has not been the case at all, everyone has been positive and supportive. I have appreciated all the kindness, cheers, friendships and meetings too.I actually met a few artists and writers that have come to LA and a few that live here and I have a phone friend in Alabama too!

I also want to mention that I have had my blog sponsored by Uprinting for the last few months because I wanted to give something back to anyone that comes here who might like to try a printer that is artist friendly and puts out great products. They are allowing me to give this experience for free for you and me : ) I am doing it to say thanks for all the comments, great feedback, laughs, tears, fun and great art that you share with me. It means the world to me. My submission for Illustration Friday's "pioneer" theme is Thank you Stationary, with Thank YOU from and to all over the world .

Marisol Stationary to promote and teach children the art of letter writing and Thank you notes. Valerie Walsh copyright 1994

Illustration Friday: undone

One good gust of wind and it could all come undone. Then a New Year and everything regenerates and is renewed and starts again. My submission for Illustration Friday"s
"undone" theme is a greeting card titled "Holly House". Have a lovely holiday whatever you celebrate :)
copyright 1995 valerie walsh

Valgalart/ Working with William Wegman

I decided to resurrect my posting about the "artists I have worked with" series as a print maker at Wasserman SilkScreen Company. I really liked almost every artist I have worked with except for one or two (I worked with a lot!) but one I really liked was William Wegman. His art is all about his dogs and he's world renowned but you would never know because the guy was a pleasure to be around, very sweet to me and I don't mind saying I had a little crush on him. He is real smart and really loves those dogs, but all the while crafting amazing pictures that everyone wants. You might be wondering how we printed his work and for sure he was a special case because his originals are enormous Polaroid prints and call for reproducing a photographic realistic look using a fine art method of printing. We worked hand in glove with another printer that Jeff had a relationship with called Black Box and they made collotypes of his art on rag paper and we added some layers of ink (via silkscreen process) to enhance and pop the images. Plus we did a special varnish which is always gnarly and stinky and you get quite high being around it for a whole day. I hate to think about all the fumes I inhaled but what are you gonna do. Hazards of the trade. I think we did a 3-4 piece portfolio that was in a beautiful case and the prints were large. Normally I would remember all of the details, how many prints but at that time period his work was so hot that I was able to sell my printers proofs immediately for good money and I was a starving artist person so I could always use the cash. They sold for over $1000.00 each, there were at least 3 so I can remember I was thrilled that me and my dog Yote ate well then too :) The time period was 1988 and in those days people would walk in and buy prints directly from us and it was pretty great. Whenever an artist signs a limited edition and you have a very large print like this you must have a person that moves the prints while the artist signs in a very delicate and flowing way so that he just goes from print to print from a stack and barely has to lift his hand or head, It's like a little dance. I would move them to make a new perfectly aligned, signed stack. That was usually one of my jobs aside from racking and mixing inks which presented me two areas that I got quality time with the artists, mixing their inks for the proofing process with them and moving the prints while they sign them. We always make the print twice, once on a few sheets for the proofing process and again as the final edition so you are talking at least a month or more working on one artists job and you get to have a little insight into their mind and ideas. I feel lucky I had the opportunity to work for him. I looked up the print "Dusted" that we printed and it sells right now in a slumpy market for $5500.00- 7500.00. When you look forward and catch the vision if you have the ability to see ahead, buy art as it comes out at a good price. It can be a very lucrative and wise investment in the future, plus you can hang it on the wall and enjoy it too. Of course his work now sells in every possible market and it is what many artists wish for. It couldn't happen to a nicer man.


William Wegman, Dusted, 1988. Screenprint, 30 x 24 inches, 76.2 x 61 cm (paper). Edition 47/96. Signed, dated, and numbered, recto.

Illustration Friday: hatch

This might seem very obscure but my submission for Illustration Friday's "hatch" is a houscape of Malcom Leo's home. He is an amazing man that has produced documentaries of many great bands and artists. You might have seen some of them like: This is Elvis, The Beach Boys~an American Band or Rolling Stone~20 Years of Rock n Roll. So many I could not list them all. This is a portrait of his home and what I paint most every day "Houscapes", capturing a slice of someones life. OK, you are wondering where the hatch part comes in, this home is in the legendary Hollywood Hills and this is where the Golden Age of Movies was hatched and second as you can see home is where we find our escape hatch, where we feel safe. Safe at Home. For all you lovers of baseball you will recognize this phrase :) A view of his holiday card included on this rainy LA day.
PS: this is an exceptional view of the neighbourhood he lives in. I am standing on a hill across the street on another property that combines two lots that house an enormous mansion. Incredible!

art and pictures 2009 Valerie Walsh

Illustration Friday: crunchy

My submission for Illustration Friday's "crunchy" theme is "GingerBread House" from my 1st HomeMade calendar published by Entertainment Calendars in 2001. Happy Friday :)

copyright 2001 valerie walsh

Illustration Friday: entangled

Many entanglements are affairs of the heart. It is a little hard to see but there is a man serenading a woman in this dimensional painting and he is wooing her with his song. "Mediterranean Night" is my submission for Illustration Friday's "entangled theme.

copyright 2000 valerie walsh

Illustration Friday: music

I have created many music-related images for record labels, bands, The San Diego Chamber Orchestra and I even painted a music house. This image is for the music blog I am a member of called "Kings of Maybe."When our fearless leader Asperezas asked me to make a new header for the 1 year Anniversary, I knew I had to make a crown of buildings. Our group is small but good and they have turned me on to some great music that I LOVE! My new fave is Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol posted by flor. I am lucky to be part of this wonderful tribe and hope for many more years of good music and inspiring videos. This is our new honorary member and crown model :)

copyright 2009 valerie walsh
please click on to the highlighted links

Illustration Friday: unbalanced

Life is about finding a balance. My submission for Illustration Friday's "unbalanced " theme is a stationary card and postcard set called Home Life.

2009 copyright Valerie Walsh

Illustration Friday: blur

When I am not wearing my glasses life takes on a nice blur.

Believe it or not, when I was young I was in a little band called "Blind Burning". We wrote songs and recorded them in a recording studio that is for students at UCLA. We also had a little home recording studio and it was a lot of fun. We entered one of our songs for a contest in Musician Magazine, a popular mag that some of you might remember and we made it pretty far in the competition. But the band broke up and that was the end of my band career :( This is the cover art I made for the contest to go along with our song. My submission for Illustration Friday's "blur" theme. 1982 Valerie Walsh

Illustration Friday: skinny

This is a blast from the past, 1995 to be precise. When John managed Lode they used to make flyers to get people to come to their gigs. This was for Halloween and I turned each person from the band into a pumpkin :) Inara George was the lone girl in the band and she is the SKINNY pumpkin and all the rest are the boys: Gabe Cowan, Robin Moxey and Lon Baker. Sometimes the bands artist friends would make the flyers and sometimes John would come knocking on my door to ask if I could crank out a quick flyer to advertise the band and I would happily make art for the group. We did lots of them :) I kept them all because they were so talented and I knew they would make it and they have, just not together. Good Times. This incorporates Halloween and skinny in one fell swoop for Illustration Friday's "skinny" theme. Here is Lode courtesy of Geffen Records.

1995 Valerie Walsh

Illustration Friday: Fast

A "fast" GROWING and very GREEN trend are PUMPKIN Houses. Grow one today!
Steve Millers Pumpkin House

click on to pictures and links to view larger

"Pumpkin House with Tar the cat" Stationary Card for Monday Artday Stationary 2009 Valerie Walsh

"Pumpkin House with Topanga Crow" Stationary Card for Monday Artday Stationary 2009 Valerie Walsh

Submissions for Illustration Friday's "Fast" theme.

Just want to mention that JC & Doodlestreet won the Business Card Giveaway and Diana Evans won the Greeting Card Giveaway! So please sign up for the Sticker Giveaway and the Postcard Giveaway all sponsered by Uprinting and you can win free items and all you have to do is leave a comment on the posts telling me what you would do with your winnings :)

Illustration Friday: frozen

Frozen on the outside and warm on the inside.

diecut holiday card for Illustration Friday's "frozen" theme.

2006 copyright Valerie Walsh

please don't forget to sign up to win free business cards from Uprinting you have 5 more days (October 22) and 2 winners will be announced.

Illustration Friday: Flying

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Flying" theme is the cover of my 2004 HomeMade Calendar. The image is titled "Flying Home". I have not shown this version but I had to use this for the prompt because it is a signature image for me and I have done this very painting in 4 colour combos, I have made several dimensional versions and a variation of this idea has graced my stationary & business cards. The card below is a reversed version of the stationary card I submitted a few weeks ago. When I have time I try to paint the image I am working on in reverse so I have two versions and I fleshed out the windows a bit more so you can tell these butterflies are houses. This fits the flying theme well too.

Today I had John choose a winner from the pool of submissions for the Uprinting Greeting Card Giveaway and Diana Evans is the winner and she will receive 250 greeting cards!!! I will receive a set for sponsoring this contest on my blog. Tonight I will launch a new Uprinting Giveaway where 2 of my friends will receive 250 business cards so please keep trying because you are bound to win one of these gifts and all you have to do is tell me what you will do with your printed item and who you plan on giving them to :) Thank you to all you girls that participated and Congratulations Diana!!!

copyright 2004 valerie walsh

Illustration Friday: Germs

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Germs" theme is a bit late this week, it is called "Where Germs Live". It has been pretty exciting around here because PBS American Masters series came to our house to film John for the David Geffen episode. The creator, Susan Lacy is an amazing woman. She directs, interviews and executive produces the show. She has interviewed 20+ people already for the Geffen story and it includes Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Joni Mitchell, Elliot Roberts to name a few. John was amazing in the interview and the whole crew was mesmerized by his stories of the groundbreaking music and the business of managing the great artists in the 70's.

In case you might think I have gone off the deep end with this illustration please notice the article and real home below. I now feel completely VALidated :)

2009 Valerie Walsh

TOILET HOUSE

The Toilet-shaped House has a very unique design and was built by Sim Jae-duck, the chairman of the organizing committee of the Inaugural General Assembly of the World Toilet Association, and he hopes his toilet house will highlight the global need for better sanitation. The Toilet-Shaped House is in fact named Haewoojae which signifies in Korean a place of sanctuary, where one can solve ones worries, Sim Jae-duck opened what is billed as the world's one and only toilet house to mark the launch of his World Toilet Association. The steel, white concrete and glass house, with a symbolic opening in the roof is a 419 sq, m structure with two bedrooms, two guestrooms and other rooms, the two-story house of course features three deluxe toilets.Unlike the giant toilet in which they are located they are not see-through affairs. If you would like to visit this house you can go to Sim Jae-duck's native city of Suweon 40 km south of Seoul.

via-Reuters & Spluch

Illustration Friday: pattern

My submission for Illustration Friday's "pattern" theme is a painting that will be used on a wine label for Cornell Winery. This is an amazing little area and the buildings are quaint and old timey. The person that made this building employed many different materials, which in turn has created an array of many "patterns". I will be painting another building in this area as well. I embellished the vineyard aspect in this painting for the owner of the winery because in fact a beautiful park is there called Peter Strauss Ranch against a mountain backdrop. This was the perfect angle of the building for me as it highlights this unique steeple. It is a historical landmark area and I am quite taken with the place. Quite a few vineyards and wine tasting establishments have sprung up in the canyons of Malibu in the last few years. I enjoy creating wine labels and when the printing is finished I will repost.

Last night I posted a giveaway here and one of my readers will win 250 full colour greeting cards courtesy of Uprinting. Please read the details and enter to win some free greeting cards that you can put your art or photos on for the holidays!
click here for CornellWinery.com

click here for Greeting card Giveaway

My backyard is State Park so these critters are coming close to our home because it is very, very hot the last few days. I put some water out for them :) copyright 2009 Valerie Walsh

Illustration Friday "inifite"

The shape of the butterfly is very close to the shape of the infinity symbol. In some old cultures, butterflies also symbolize rebirth into a new life after being inside a cocoon for a period of time.The Ancient Greek word for "butterfly" is ψυχή (psȳchē), which primarily means "soul", "mind". Both possessing infinite qualities and possibilities. My submission for Illustration Friday's "infinite" theme is another stationary card for Monday Artday ATC's stationary group. This is called "Housefly". When I look at butterflies, I see flying houses, don't you?
We get to take care of the magnificent Mr. Tar for 2 whole weeks while his family goes to Italy. Felicita Strada or Happy Trails Meghan,Billy and Sullivan! I love Italy


copyright 2009 valerie walsh

Illustration Friday: Welcome

A welcome port in the storm. My submission for Illustration Friday's "Welcome" theme is Bumbershoot House stationary cards for a Monday Artday ATC group. I have been away for a week. I flew to Washington and me, my Mom and sister drove to Sandpoint Idaho to visit my brother. It was the perfect weather for a roadtrip and as you can see very lovely! Here's a picture of my Mom, brother and sister.

copyright 2009 valerie walsh

Illustration Friday: Strong

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Strong" theme is an illustration from the book "Return of the Matador" by Astrid Ryterband. This is a story of how the aging Matador has his last bullfight and very soon after has an accident, wakes up and discovers he has become the bull. His son, an acclaimed bullfighter in his own right ends up facing his own father in the ring. It is a wonderful story and I am not sure of the publishing date yet but I will post the book and provide links to it when it is available. On another note the new book "Good Day Mail" is out and available on Amazon.com. If you love getting good mail and I know you do this book celebrates giving and receiving mail. Valgal has the love letter to Rat captured on page 116 . Wonderful artist Emma Kid is in it as well and you might know her from her blog "Ben Conservato". The authors Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler are based in San Francisco and they give good book! Check it out :)

copyright 2009 valerie walsh