Illustration Friday: stripes

I have been working on Hanukkah images this season. This is a holiday that needs a little more colour! Here are some valgal HomeTown Hanukkah Houses. The images are slightly distorted because I photographed them on a curved sheet of paper. They are diecut to make garlands, cards and gift tags. The holidays are quickly approaching so no matter what you celebrate, have a very good one!

Question everything. Every stripe, every star, every word spoken. Everything.
~Ernest Gaines

Illustration Friday: Mysterious

we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player ~ albert einstein

my submission for Illustration Friday's "mysterious" theme is a dimensional painting titled " Enchanted Evening".

valgal 2011

Illustration Friday: MidSummer Knight

My submission for Illustration Friday's Midsummer Knight :)

Liquitex Acrylics on stonehenge with a little thread and glue.
MidSummer Knight's Dream 2011 valerie walsh


A gentle knight was pricking on the plain.
~Edmund Spenser~  1590 The Faerie Queen

Illustration Friday: soaked

I posted this image here and I talked about how I came up with this idea. But did you know that it was not just a painting it was also a T-shirt ;)

My submission for Illustration Friday's "soaked" theme is " Singin in the Rain" created in 1995.

Illustration Friday: journey

I like to dream yes, yes, right between my sound machine

On a cloud of sound I drift in the night

Any place it goes is right

Goes, far, flies near, to the stars away from here

Well you don't know what we can find

Why don't you come with me little girl

on a magic carpet ride

You don't know what we can see

Why don't you tell your dreams to me

Fantasy will set you free

Close your eyes girl

Look inside girl

Let the sound take you away

Steppenwolf

A newer version of "Magic Carpet Ride" 2010 Acrylic and Resin on wood and wood panel

Illustration Friday: bottled

I have created a few wine labels and it is something I really enjoy. I don't drink, but I find it very appealing to make a piece of art that people get to look at while they are relaxing and having fun! They are feeling good and hopefully looking at your art and taking the time to notice the little details ;) My submission for Illustration Friday's "bottled" theme is a wine label for a father/son wine making venture up here in Topanga. This label was made for a competition they were entering in the hopes of cash prize to possibly fund their endeavours. I had a very short period of time to paint something that gives the impression of rustic and homemade.

Illustration Friday: layer

Screen printing is all about putting a layer of ink on paper. Layer upon layer upon layer. This is a screen print I made using waterbased inks which at the time I made this was a relatively new thing. We always used oil based inks at Wasserman SilkScreen Company and we had to use stinky solvents to clean up the screens and squeegee. This print has 9 layers of ink, one is a transparent white that turns 9 colours into 18 and the darker ink that has a textured look was used as a shadow colour and it has transparency in it. I created the texture effect by drawing with a special crayon on frosted mylar that has a bit of tooth to it, making the crayon stick to create some nice textures. Handprinted all by my lonesome, I use a little kickstand on the side of the screen and just print away :) Registration is key! :) My very late submission for Illustration Friday's "layer" theme is a screenprint on rag paper (stonehenge) called "Shooting Star".

Illustration Friday: surrender

Here we are a few days later and I have poured resin on the painting and it is sealed and very shiny. It heightens the colour in one way and it also adds a layer of depth to the painting too. I have to always intensify the detail because the resin softens all of the fine handwork and creates an even dreamier image. For me this image is really called Tree House because this is what it is, a California Redwood! valgalstyle :)

" If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it" ~Toni Morrison

My submission for Illustration Friday's "surrender" theme is a dimensional painting. Liquitex acrylics on wood panel with wood frame, foamboard building, handmade paper shingles and clay chimney and door handle. The painting is called Home in the Woods.

photos and art by Valerie Walsh 2011

Illustration Friday: resolutions

This is a "houscape" I did for a lovely woman in Sherman Oaks in 2010. She works in the field of music for major motion pictures and I am proud to have captured her home and I made the frame for the painting too. It is actually dark green but hard to tell in my photo. My resolutions are few but I resolve to do more unique and interesting projects if possible this year and see where my artistic adventures take me... My submission for Illustration Friday's "resolutions" is airbrush acrylic on wood and it is called "Dixie Canyon" :)

photos and art valeriegallerie/valeriewalsh