My little Rat boy 1995-2008

Rat (Ratty boy) Hartmann July 1995- July 5, 2008.

Our little sweetheart brought us joy, laughter, companionship, love, hope, contentment, strength, worry and he gave my small world a deeper meaning. He landed in my life by way of a little barn where my mom rode her horses in Washington. I brought him to Topanga and we have had the most wonderful times. Every where we went, people say " Hi Rat!" because of his memorable name and his happy and loving spirit.On December 1, 2008 he went into heart failure and his life was saved by Dr. Steve Weinberg, Viagra and the amazing Docs at City of Angels Animal Hospital. It gave him 6 more months and I will forever be grateful. My only regret is we had to part but I know we will meet at the Rainbow Bridge . I love you forever Ratty Boy. I always felt lucky because of you.

Illustration Friday: sour

It's always good to have a little sweet mixed in with the sour or you could end up with sour grapes. My submission for Illustration Friday's "sour" theme. I have painted and made a lot of pieces with a valgalized version of Italian and Venetian scenes. This is an illustration on Canson Airbrush paper.

Here is the finished version of my "wide submission". I really enjoyed all of your comments about this house. Many of you thought it was a new McMansion but in fact it is an old 1930's home in Pacific Palisades, California. They did add on to this house which is noticable from the photo. In fact it is so hard to get a good photo of this place because everyone puts up big fences and walls now. I can't get a clear shot of the full house because of it and I have been coming up with this problem for quite a while now. It's a bummer because I like to show the photo and my painting together in my portfolio but it is becoming impossible to get nice views now. Everyone has gone fence crazy! This house sits on a bluff and from the backyard you can see the ocean. It is an outstanding property and would be fun to paint from the back as well. I always make a custom frame which I am working on and then I present to the owner and they can simply hang the finished piece :)
Have a swell 4th of July!

Illustration Friday: fierce

Did somebody say fierce?

My submission for Illustration Friday's fierce is a small 2"x 2 1/2" rough for Walrus Pictures and an improved version of this was used for their videos and films.

I mean " fierce" in the snap your fingers and "You look fierce" kinda way :)

Illustration Friday: hoard

My submission for Illustration Friday's "hoard" is a School House candy box I made for a confectionary company in Boston last month. It is for students to give to their teachers at the end of the year as a Thank You for all of their hard work. I painted the original on Canson Airbrush paper and then they were printed, diecut, scored ,folded and glued. You can hoard a nice amount of sweets and treats in these candy boxes. I put a quote that I love about teachers: "No bubble is so irridescent or floats longer than that blown by the successful teacher" ~William Osler. I hope that all the teachers I know and those of you I have met on IF have a very nice summer!

Illustration Friday: Punchline

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Punchline" theme. Happy Friday :)

House of Mirth 2007

If you have not seen this then you are in for a wonderful story with a great punchline. You will need to turn off the Playlist stereo so that you don't have competing sounds playing.

Illustration Friday: Forgotten

I have always loved the story of the little boy who loves his Teddy Bear and his bear loves him and they are inseparable. Then the boy grows up and leaves Teddy behind. A bittersweet story that always touched me deeply and it reminds us to not let go of that child-like part of ourselves. Please do not forget the joy, the feelings and smells of your childhood as they will serve you for a lifetime. My submission for Illustration Friday's "Forgotten" theme is one of my Marisol greeting cards that offers a big hug and some snuggletime. Sounds pricless.

Illustration Friday: baby

My submission for Illustration Friday's "baby" is one of my Home Town greeting cards and it is a little storefront shop that displays wares for a new baby/babies. It is a die cut card and perfect for a baby shower gift for a new mommy. When you collect them all it makes a small town and a fun display.

Illustration Friday: worry

Sometimes when I get ready to leave the house, my dog Rat seems to worry. Once he realizes that he will not be coming with me he looks sad and let down. This can cause me a little guilt but I promise him I will be right back with a walk in his future and I leave him with a few cookie bribes. He seems to look a little less worried...

My submission for Illustration Friday's "worry" is a small layered dimensional painting "House Sitting" and it is made with Foam board, clay, wood, acrylic paint and resin.

Illustration Friday: wide

My submission for Illustration Friday's "wide" theme is a work in progress and one of my signature "Houscapes". This seems like a very wide house to me, I would not want to have to clean this place... it has a lot more detail that will be added such as total landscaping, everything on the house will be detailed out with scroll elements on all the railings and front door, light fixtures, etc. When I initially draw the house I delete all the landscape and add in the dirt and cement even if it gets totally covered up by plants, shrubs, trees, flowers and pottery. I just like it to all be there. So this will be totally different when I post it again. There are two very tall and phallic cypress trees that adorn each side of the doorway and lots of beautiful bushes and trees flank the home. I am working on a few jobs at once, I designed and painted a School House diecut candy box for a confectionary company, it will be filled with candy and given as gifts from students to teachers for the end of the year Thank You's. I will post it soon. I enjoy working on one type of work for a few hours and while that one dries I move to the next one.

I did see this guy and 4 of his buddies moving towards my neighbors garden... and I saw a beautiful young bobcat making it's way through the yard. Rat always lets me know when there is wildlife in our vicinity because he has a unique muffled bark reserved for wildlife and all the hair on his back stands up, it is hilarious!

Illustration Friday: electricity

My submission for Illustration Friday's "electricity" is from a greeting card that I made for Marisol. It has a gift certificate to "Come over to my house for holiday cheer" it was rejected for being to dark. Candlelight versus electricity is an easy choice for me because I am usually painting pretty detailed work so I need good light. I have 365 halogen lights in my studio and they are the best purchase I ever made. It is like daytime in my studio late at night. Here in Topanga several times a year somebody driving up Hwy. 27 hits a power pole and suddenly no electricity. I am super prepared for this situation, I have lots of candles, alternate light sources, batteries, a portable dvd player, a radio with cd player that runs on batteries, etc. We have a big-time disaster preparedness program for all residents having been faced with fires, floods and earthquakes, you can see them here and here.

Illustration Friday: seed

My submision for Illustration Friday's "seed" is one of my Marisol greeting cards and the interior is a gift certificate that promises love and friendship.

Illustration Friday: wrinkles

This is Rothschild and he is an English bulldog. He is my Aunt Hattie's dog and I included him in one of my paintings for my HomeMade calendar. He has a brindle coat with lots of wrinkles and we think he is beautiful. Rothy is my submission for Illustration Friday's "wrinkles" theme.

p.s. below is an x-rated shot of Rothy, I know this might embarrass him but it is hilarious! He is happy to see his Mom.

Illustration Friday: Primitive

Flaming "O"'s are a primitive tribe of birds known to love a good show tune. "Flamingo Follies", my submission for Illustration Friday's Primitive theme.

sorry for the fuzzy pix, this painting is large and behind plexi-glass.

Illustration Friday: Fail

When you paint happy pictures you generally don't have a lot of pieces that pertain to "fail "so I can only reflect on my own failures and there have been a few. Some are too personal and painful but the sting from this project has long dissipated. I talked about this in a post quite a while back and submitted a different illustration because I had to come up with several illustrations in a 24 hr. period. This illo was for Celine Dion when she got her gig in Las Vegas and was securing art for merchandise in her gift store at Caesar's Palace. This was something I thought she might like as she was a new mom, so I put a little boy in it and my goal was to create these vintage-like-Vogue-like covers that would emulate her and her passion for fashion. Obviously different from my usual fare, but the good part was she really liked them and I received an email telling me so. It was a very long drawn out affair and after a certain point I took a pass. It was good to know I could still stay up all night and crank out some art. For Illustration Friday's "Fail" theme

click on image for a closer view..

Illustration Friday: Save

Some of my time is spent painting "Houscapes" portraits of private homes. A few years ago a woman came to my studio tour and she asked me to paint her home. She lives in Malibu in a gypsy wagon and a tent with her two dogs. This was not just any old gypsy wagon, this is one that was used in the original "Dr. Dolittle" movie starring Rex Harrison. It came from England, when the movie rapped and it was no longer needed a family brought it to their property out in Malibu and felt it was worth saving. The lady I did the painting for has been living in this wagon for 25+ years. She is an amazing person, living simply, she works with Martin Sheen and has been arrested over 100 times for protesting nuclear armaments to help "save" the planet. The area she lives in is absolute paradise. Bob Dylan lives next door and he has a gypsy wagon too. I loved painting this for her and it was a way to "save" the memories and to commemorate the anniversary of her 25 years living there. As a young girl I read all of Hugh Lofting's books and they always transported me to a wonderful place. This is my submission for Illustration Friday's "Save" theme.

Illustration Friday: homage

My submission for Illustration Friday's "homage" is one of my Marisol greeting cards for "Dinner at my place". A homage to the simple pleasures of life: Home pride and being House proud.

Illustration Friday: pet peeves

Most of my pet peeves center on nature vs. development. I don't go along with the idea that every piece of land needs to be owned and developed. I love buildings and homes but the idea of ownership gets blurred. We are custodians of land that we should nurture and love. The animals are getting pushed out, the bees are having problems and yet we continue to develop. I know the animals adapt somewhat (Hawks living in Cental Park) but as I hear them each day calling out to each other I am grateful they have a place to fly, swoop, mate and teach their young. Topanga State Park and Will Rogers State Park are threatened with closures for lack of funds. This is a small dimensional painting I made quite a long time ago "Night Hawk 2" and it is my submission for Illustration Friday's "pet peeves".

Illustration Friday: "Heavy"

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Heavy" is a work in progress. It has a little attic room that goes with it, but I am just showing this closet today. I plan on making it look old and antiqued in the end. It looks like it might be a heavy piece of furniture but as you can see it is light and fits in the palm of my hand! I will repost when this whole project is done.

Happy Birthday to the best sister a girl could have! I love you Dee Dee xoxo

Illustration Friday: garden

Pardon me while I work, but help yourself to the garden out in back. That is how life is sometimes, to busy to enjoy the garden... My submission for Illustration Friday's "garden" is a greeting card for Marisol to be used for "Some help around the house". It was deemed to dark and was rejected but they had to pay me anyway.

Illustration Friday: Leap

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Leap" is from one of my Marisol Greeting Cards and it stems from my having worked in an office when I was younger. It takes a leap to live as an artist and believe in yourself.

Illustration Friday: Multiple

My submission for Illustration Friday's "Multiple" is a dimensional painting called "The dish ran away with the spoon" and deals nicely with the subject of multiple dwellings. I have constructed the kitchen idea a few times and each is slightly different. One version was called "Sinkronicity" and was part of a show called "Five Easy Pieces". I love making kitchens and scenes that require furniture. It is made from wood, foamboard, salt, string, clay, acrylic paints and resin. Happy Illustration Friday everyone!

Illustration Friday: theory

Thank you to everyone that watched the "Home" video and to all the wonderful people that left such nice comments, it means so much to me and David Tobocman! I really love the song a lot because it is so hearfelt. If you missed it you can catch it at the bottom of this post. Today for Illustration Friday's "theory" my submission reflects that according to the theory of Chinese Feng Shui, there are 8 types of auspicious houses that can give people solid financial status, harmonious family relationships, good public relationships and happy marriage status. Tea house and cup made from clay and glazes.

Illustration Friday: "choose"

Most of the time I seem to choose the right illustration to post for Illustration Friday. I think the person who was decorating this room couldn't decide what to put in these frames, so many choices! But I do choose to unveil this youtube by my good friend, musician David Tobocman featuring my artwork. You can see the video here. Enjoy!

Illustration Friday: Tales and Legends

"Venetian Nite" is my submission for Illustration Friday's "Tales and Legends". It is a dimensional painting I made for a friend that I traveled with in Italy. This is a scene from Venice. We rode in a gondola every night so I have many impressions of the buildings in the water at night. Many Tales and Legends have been written and told about the beauty, charm and intrigue in Venice.

Illustration Friday: "plain"

I started delving into the idea of "Automaton" or kinetic sculpture a few years ago. I read a lot about it and admire some incredibly talented artists including my friend Rick Davis who helps me figure out how to translate the idea of movement in some of my dimensional pieces. This combines two things I find interesting, making art from paper and using foamboard instead of wood so that I can really tweak the shape.and maintain my style as well as making it function. This house looks plain at the moment but soon it will be filled with colour and whimsy. In the back I have little wooden parts combined with some screws and washers that make a panel move up and down so it will look as though the windows are winking at you. This year I plan on making more so that when you turn the cranks the door opens, shutters wave and windows blink. I will repost this once I add the architectural details, paint and resin. Plain for now but filled with light soon.

Illustration Friday: "stitch"

My submission for Illustration Friday's "stitch" is one of the little closets I made for the owners of Fred Segal Fun. I used wood, foamcore, wood dowels, acrylic paint and resin for the body of the closets. I made little dresses that I stitched by hand, little felt purses and wraps that I embroidered, hats and shoeboxes made from stonehenge paper, hangers made from floral wire and a cat made from clay. I love to sew and would like to make time to stitch up a few more things.

Illustration Friday: 100%

100 percent Prismacolor pencil for Illustration Friday's "100 %" theme. This is cute, it will be a diecut and when you turn one of the corners of the lawn it stands up as a decoration or place holder. I will post it again once it's been printed and cut. 100% home too.