Illustration Friday: Robot

Babs loves this movie, Charlie wants to change the channel



This is my submission for Illustration Friday's "Robot". This was a bit of a challenge today! I wish I had made that Mechanical House with the flailing arms, I knew it would come in handy some day! This is a greeting card that I made for Marisol's every day line.

I never forget a face

My print of "I Never forget a face : Above
Michael Nouri: Right









The girls at the party (I am holding a glass)





I went to a dinner/birthday party for a dear friend of John's a couple months ago and in walked the actor Michael Nouri. Well I don't know if any of you saw the movie "Flash Dance" but he was the male lead and I have always liked him. I know John won't mind my saying this because he mentioned it too, but Michael Nouri is a very handsome man as well as smart and funny. Eight people made up this dinner party so it was fun, we all laughed a lot and really enjoyed ourselves. Everyone was telling stories about Hollywood so I decided to divulge one key moment in my life. I sold my very first painting to an actress by the name of Meg Foster. The name of the painting is "I never forget a face". This was the second painting in a series of three. Also it was the second painting I had ever made and part of a series that I handprinted limited editions of as well. Meg was a friend and lived here in Topanga, and she decided to purchase this painting. Not long after this she landed a role in "Osterman's Weekend" directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring John Hurt, Dennis Hopper, Rutger Hauer, Burt Lancaster, Helen Shaver, Chris Sarandon and Meg Foster. She asked me if I would like to spend some time with her on the set. Of course I wanted to see her acting in this major movie! It was 1981 and I was young but I had heard of Sam Peckinpah, I knew he was a great and famous director but I really didn't know much about him or his movies. I got to meet all the actors on the set and Rutger Hauer who at the time was pretty young and Dennis Hopper who came to my house for a summer party. Then Meg asked me to come meet Sam Peckinpah. He was sweet beyond belief, he took my hand repeated my name and said it was really a pleasure to meet me. Well I swooned!!! Later when I read and saw his bio he was termed as a notorious ladies man, a hard drinker and a man who lived life hard and fast. That day after meeting him I went home and told my boyfriend that I met Sam Peckinpah and he was just about the sweetest man in the world and boyfriend started laughing at me and said that Mr. Peckinpah made some of the most violent scenes ever and shows a misogynistic view of women. I didn't care, I thought he was sweet...

This is how I finish the story and Michael Nouri says " I have a Sam Peckinpah story too". He is a young actor living in New York and his agent calls and says you are being offered a part in a new Sam Peckinpah movie called "Osterman's Weekend". You have to pay your own way out to California but you should go and read for it. He does and meets SP and he doesn't even have to read SP gives him the part! He goes back to NY and his agent calls and says you are being offered a role in a movie called "Flash Dance" and he says to his agent what should I do? The agent says, "Take the part in "Flash Dance" it's directed by Adrian Lyne who has directed two movies but you will have the lead, so he did and Osterman's Weekend bombed. It was the last movie that Sam Peckinpah directed ane he died not that long after it was released. "Flash Dance" was a big hit and everyone in the cast became well known.

I have expeienced a lot of unusual events but this whole story and storytelling experience at this party ranks high in the synchronicity dept. I will never forget meeting that legendary movie maker who has been referred to as one of the last great American directors. When Michael Nouri walked in the door the first thing that popped in my mind was " the guy in Flash Dance! Because I never forget a face...

Illustration Friday: Spotted

My submission for Illustration Friday's topic Spotted is from my 2003 HomeMade calendar, for the month of September. The title is "Log Home". I chose this painting because I spotted some spotted deer standing in the dappled forest.
The quote: I go into the wilderness and rediscover the home within. ~China Galland

Illustration Friday: Speed

My submission for Illustration Friday topic, Speed is from my 2002 HomeMade calendar. The title is "Mobile Home" and was for the month of September. I recognize that I am not showing speed as much as moving on or forward but I think moving forward is a good message too. I have been very sick the last couple of days. I have not been this sick for over 10 years. It's easy to forget how lucky to feel healthy every day. I feel so grateful to feel well today!!! I didn't get to comment on everybody's Spring but I hope to get to you double this round. Thank you for all of your beautiful comments, it means so much to me!

The quote is: The longest road is sometimes the shortest way home. ~ proverb
copyright 2001

Illustration Friday: Spring

Please click on to the top illo for a closeup view


My submission for Illustration Friday's topic, Spring, is from my 2001 HomeMade calendar. The title is Green House. This is a favourite of the people that collect my work. I loved making this one. Spring is here and I am so glad! Happy Flowers everyone! The quote: To Adam, paradise was home, To the good among his descendants, home is paradise. ~ Hare
GreenHouse copyright 2000

Past Life

Recently I had to go through all of my past life to put together a professional resume. Funny, it has been so long since I have needed a resume. I mentioned that I lived with artist Michael Bedard in the 80's. We used to go out to the desert to a mineral hotsprings at a spa called Two Bunch Palms. They used this place in the movie "The Player". It was Al Capone's hideaway just outside of Palm Springs. When we would stay it was not super well known so it was a real nice 3 hour get away from LA. It was at this very place that Yote walked into my life. She looked an awful lot like a coyote when I first caught a glimpse of her and she was wild as can be. Michael's dog Hopi had recently died and it was extremely sad and lonely for us. A woman at the spa told me that she had been feeding Yote (This is the name I called her) but she had many dogs at home and could not take her, she was concerned for her welfare and wondered if we could help. We decided we would try to see if she would come with us and indeed she did. We brought her to our beautiful home, we lived on one of the premiere pieces of property in this town, very remote on a mountain way up high facing the ocean with no other houses in our view. Yote was the first dog that was really mine. She quickly became my best friend and she was a real beauty. I started including her in my paintings and the weirdest thing happened, people would always buy them. I would juxtapose this wild dog in a city scene and paint away. I made prints, they would sell. I did an enormous painting "After Midnite" not only did it sell right away but Yamakatsu published it as a puzzle and it sold out every run they made. I would always get excited and tell her we were going to eat well tonite! I was interviewed in the newspaper and my longtime photographer Dave Sessions came to take my picture and Yote somehow got in the shot. I rediscovered this photo the other day, it was not the one used in the newspaper but she looks like a ghost! When she died, I vowed I would never have another dog because it ripped my heart out but then I met Rat and I could not resist...

Once again please forgive the hair, big hair was in then. I should have mentioned this in" Five Strange Things" but my hair started turning white when I was 18 so of course I dyed it for years but in 96 I went au natural.

Top: "Moondoggie" Limited Edition Silkscreen Print by the artist 1991

Middle : "After Midnite" Puzzle / Painting 1987

Me & Yote 1990

Spot illo of Rat 2004

Illustration Friday: Monster

Well, here is my Illustration Friday submission for Monster. I don't really do Monster but this is the closest I can get. This is from my 2003 HomeMade calendar and the title is "HomeSpun". It was for the month of October and the quote is: "Every spirit builds itself a house" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.
This is a miniature version of Bates Motel!
copyright 2003

Illustration Friday: Feet

My submission for Illustration Friday's topic: Feet is an illustration from my 2002
HomeMade calendar for the month of April. The title is "Bath House".
The quote I used is "Housekeeping ain't no joke." ~Louisa May Alcott

California Penthouse

There are so many good causes and it is hard to decide who to give to. At least twice a year a worthy charitable organization contacts me about a donation of art. I am always happy to help out. I have a lot of prints and gift packages of cards and fun stuff. There are some charities that would benefit more from the gift of an original. I decided to create an original for www.operationdreamseed.org . It gives the gift of notebooks, pencils and craftsupplies to children in Afganistan. My neighbor Gerlinde Gautrey works tirelessly for this cause and I felt that if I made a fun painting it could raise some much needed dollars for the benefit they were holding on March 11th. I decided to look at my list of ideas and I felt as though I could pull off somthing quickly using the idea, "Penthouse". I pictured this idea in my head, using a tongue in cheek view of what could be the outcome of escalating costs of beachfront property and all property here in California. Then I realized that I needed to make a custom bamboo frame to get the buyers juices flowing. This way you get a completely unique item and the original is 3" x 5" so the whole piece is only 5"x7". I really enjoyed making this painting and frame and I decided to make two. This sometimes happens with me when I make something small, I always flip the painting and make another in reverse. I change it up in subtle ways so there are differences. They both are originals, paint on paper with a custom frame but they make a pair. It is a lot of work to pour resin and make your own frames so that is one more reason to make two. I have not heard the outcome of the auction but I hope they had a good turn out, it was raining on Saturday... I hope it went to a good home!

Illustration Friday: Tattoo

I had an art emergency this morning.I broke something I just completed. aaaaargh! I fixed it and spent a while looking for this old spot illustration. Tom's House of Tiny Tattoos. You know the world has gone to pot when a girl, as a symbol of devotion has her new boyfriends initials in the shape of a heart tattooed on her body parts. Babs new friend seems to be a bad influence! Kitties these days, they are so romantic...

Illustration Friday: Insects

click image for closeup view:
My submission for Illustration Friday: Insects is called "Honey House". This painting is from my 2004 HomeMade calendar for the month of May. Bees and flowers make the world go round!

The quote I used was: "One comes back to these old fashioned roses as one does to music and old poetry. A garden needs old associations, old frangrances, as a home needs things that have been lived with. -Marion Paige
Hattie is my Aunt Harriet and this is her bulldog Rothschild
copyright 2004

Puppy Love

In 1989 a puzzle deal just fell into my lap. I landed a Japanese agent through my friend, artist Michael Bedard. Bedard and I lived together for 7 years and we shared the same publisher but by this time we were just friends. During the 80's and into the early 90's Japanese agents were coming here and signing deals with artists for all kinds of amazing products. Bedard is originally from (Winsor, Ontario) and Stuart Moskowitz a well known Topanga artist and one of Michaels oldest friends both had good deals selling and licensing their work in Japan. Both of these artists have sold more posters and prints than probably any other artists. Michael did an animated ad campaign for Akai. He had a wonderful agent and introduced me, he liked my work and I signed on and got a major puzzle deal . The company that produced the puzzles, Yamakatsu really made a perfect product. Puzzles were super popular there! They were made replete with a board that folded and fit in the box (an ingenious design). You made the puzzle and could adhere it to the board with the glue and sponge that they provided. The highest quality materials were used, the printing was exceptional and they lifted portions of the image to decorate all four sides of the lid. They made a VW (Valerie Walsh) logo sticker for me that was added to the side of each box.

My puzzles became very popular so they did several runs. One reason people liked them was they were difficult to put together, also they are 1000 pieces. I always have a lot of sky and open space in my paintings and that contributes to the degree of difficulty, which is what you want with puzzles. Collectors would hang them on their walls and then on to the next puzzle. The best part was they used my existing work! That rarely happens for me, usually I have to create something for the project or collector. They really didn't understand some of the sayings like "Puppy Love" and if you will notice the picture is a little naughty so it was cute that they chose that image. They also used Five o' clock, Strumpeter, and After Midnite. It makes for such a nice business experience when a commercial product is treated like a piece of art.

Illustration Friday: Tea

My submission to Illustration Friday for the theme Tea is Tea House. This illustration comes from my 2001 HomeMade calendar for the month of August. You know, Tea House of the August moon? ( for you younguns that was a play and a movie starring Glenn Ford).I realized all these months I have been remiss in telling you which month these illos were created for and the quote that goes with the picture. I spent years coming up with ideas, creating the 65 paintings, making them fit with particular months and collecting quotes my whole life about houses and homes. So now you know, it is not just a passion but an obsession...

The quote: "Things taste better in small houses" - Queen Victoria

copyright 2000

"Swept Away"

In 1982 I made a painting called "Swept Away" and people really seemed to like it. It was a european street scene that had hearts scattered all over the street and gathered up in piles and in a cart by the street sweeper. Like the morning after the lovers had gathered in the cafes shared their love and left some hearts behind. I got this idea after spending time with this amazing artist Sid Francis. His whole life's philosophy was being a loving person. So Sid inspired this painting. I named the building in the forefront "Sid's Cafe" and a menu states: Love served Monday thru Sunday. Sid was a master printer in the art of plate lithography. Very similar to the old stone method but you use emulsified plates that get exposed with separations that you cut out of amberlith like silkscreening. Each colour is printed separately and this was a 35 colour print,so each piece of paper goes under the press 35 times! And you the artist, need to know how to make separtions that register together perfectly so it all fits together like a puzzle. I love this method of printing which is rare and hard to do and I have been a printmaker for years. I recognised very early on in my career that if you want to reach more people you need multiples and printing helps achieve that goal. My publisher paid for the printing of "Swept Away and every day I got to drive a few minutes to Sid's house on Cheney Road in Topanga where he and his family lived and for a solid month we worked on this print and it was one of the best experiences of my artistic life. We created this print together in 1984 on an old Heidelberg press and in 1985 the Los Angeles Times created a full colour supplement to feature artists from the Santa Monica area and they chose "Swept Away" for the very first cover. These pictures were taken in the studio I had in the early eighties for this article. You had to cross a wooden rope bridge and it was so high up you felt as though you were in a tree house. A wonderful couple I know bought the original 20 years ago and it makes me happy that the painting has always lived here in Topanga.

photos: courtesy Tim Boyd Smith (Forgive the hair it was the eighties!)
Cover Centerpiece Magazine LA Times "Swept Away" 1985
Press Release Luna Art copyright 1984

Illustration Friday: Song

My submission for song is "Music House". It is an illustration from my 2004
HomeMade calendar. Music and song makes everything seem better! copyright 2003

Illustration Friday: Simple

Sometimes the simple things are the best! "Hen House" is from my 2002 HomeMade calendar copyright 2001

Valentine 7,8,9

all Valentines by Marisol / Valerie Walsh 1995

Valentine 4,5,6

More fun Val-entines

5 strange things

I got tagged by Maria Antunes www.pimpolhices.blogspot.com I love her blog and work and she has asked 5 strange things about me. I am not sure how strange they are but here goes:

1. My mother was born in Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, CA. She was discovered on the streets of Hollywood by a producer because she looked a little like Shirley Temple and she was a darling little girl. My grandmother took her to the studios on the behest of this producer and she would not stop crying so they sent her home. I was born in San Diego, Ca and when I was a little girl I was discovered by a man in television who thought I had a great singing voice and wanted me to do some tests. My mother refused.
2. The first professional illustration job I got was drawing a picture of a dancer wearing a certain type of clothing that dancers prefer. I was 19, it was published in an issue of Dance Magazine and trust me it was atrocious. Strange that it ever got published it was that bad!
3.I like to do the same things everyday at the same time. I don't have to but I feel best if I do because I have worked at home for so long that I need to have a routine like people do at a regular job so I manage my time this way and I don't answer the phone while I am working.
4. I drink coffee in the morning and 1 cup in the afternoon as a boost and I only drink pure cranberry juice unsweetened diluted with water all day every day.
5. I have lived in very remote areas of Topanga Canyon and spend enormous amounts of time alone and I never feel afraid or alone. I have gone weeks without seeing or talking to people and I find it totally delightful! Before I was married of course.
Left: my mom "Babs" Right: val

Valentine 3

Top: Front of card / middle : interior/ bottem: original illustration "Breakfast in Bed " copyright 1995

Who wouldn't like to receive this? Breakfast in bed anyone?

Illustration Friday: Chair

This is a dimensional painting I made as part of a show in 1987 called "Five Easy Pieces". Each painting features household items (chairs, tables, vanity, chaise lounge, and the kitchen sink), the title of each painting alluded to what the item was and they all rhymed. It was "Vanity ", "Charity", "Chastity", "Synchronicity" and "Stability". The chairs are heart shaped as in heartfelt charity raining down on the big cold city. This one was purchased by Daryl Hannah (yes, that Daryl Hannah)
and her sisters for her stepfather Jerry Wexler. He lives in Chicago and is a major real estate mogul and probably gives a lot to charity. I was thrilled that it would go to such a prominent Chicago family! This painting was made into a poster as well. Of course there is always a little synchronicity too because my husband John produced a movie when he was younger and it starred a young Kim Basinger in her first starring role in a feature, Jan Michael Vincent, Michael Parks, Tanya Tucker and Daryl Hannah. The film was called "Hard Country". It was not the greatest movie ever made but it did have a wonderful cast.

I know it seems like I am always posting old work and that is because I have spent my entire life making art. I have an enormous body of work and coincidentally it seems to be coming back to life through IF and my blog. I still paint every day and will show more current work in the future.
copyright 1987