This is a Topanga box and I have been making them for a long time. They are made from upcycled wooden ginseng boxes. I handpaint them and they do not have houses on them. I have walked many a trail in these hills for 30+ years. When I look at the hills I think of all the beautiful days and dogs that have walked these paths with me rain or shine. Walking is one of my favourite things in life :D My submission for Illustration Friday's "trail" is a hand painted
Topanga box and the inside holds a special surprise ;)
You are not seeing things, come closer, this is the dance of the hammer and the nail. It is a rare treat to catch a glimpse of this elusive happening! My submission for Illustration Friday's "Equipment" theme is an illustration I made while the painting I am working on is drying so this is quick and dirty and down to the wire ;) This little painting on paper is called "Home Work". You cannot build a house without the proper equipment. The humble hammer and the nifty nail ;)
2010 valerie walsh
Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.
The person that moves in here might enjoy living on the edge and could be considered fearless.
Or they could just be a bit crazy ;)
My submission for Illustration Friday's "Fearless" theme is a quickie called "hilltop house".
I have been away and now i am back. Cocoon would have been a better word for me but I had to miss last weeks theme so i was certainly challenged by this word as it does not come to mind when you think of a house or home. There are a few buildings in Topanga that remind me of this one :D
I kind of drove myself a bit crazy with this prompt and since I am busy it was a good excuse to avoid it all together but in the end I remembered this painting and thought it is the kind of street that you would expect to see a detective. I had to post something...
My submission for Illustration Friday's "detective" theme is an acrylic painting on wood panel called "Rendezvous". Whew down to the wire ;)
I have made a lot of houses that are connected or linked but most of them I have already shown. Linked is a wonderful word and I can think of so many things I would love to make for this prompt. While the paintings dry, I made 2 houses that are linked. They are made of paper and paint. My submission for Illustration Friday's "linked" theme is "duplex" :D
Hope you are having a lovely weekend and please check out the brochure printing giveaway here, it is free :)
Well I'll be dipped! I cannot remember if I have posted this Easter card in the past? Probably not because it doesn't have a house ;) My submission for Illustration Friday's "dip" theme is a die cut Easter card that is vintage style. When you bend and fold the dip in the egg it creates a little easel to help it stand on it's own . I have always enjoyed dipping and dying Easter eggs. Happy Easter and or Happy Passover.
File this under "Emotional Rescue" my submission for Illustration Friday's "rescue" theme is a colour pencil drawing I made for Babs in 1989. I am diggin deep my peep, peep, peeps :D
My submission for Illustration Friday's " subterreanean" theme is an idea that I started to work on quite a while ago, i think two summers ago I was planning on working out this painting called "DownTown" but I was sidetracked by so many other "Houscapes", paintings. greeting cards, etc. Sometimes this happens, I have a lot of ideas just not enough time to get it done. I try to use the summer as my time to do art and ideas that I have wanted to explore and I always have the best of intentions. I hope I can get back to this some time in the future. This painting shows me, I might have lived in Topanga a little to long. I started thinking the ants and bugs and rodents have little condos and it is like a little underground town. I am sure that I am right ;) On a side note sometimes when I create an image in a layered dimensional way I do a flat illustration as well so I have one version for a reproduction image and a dimensional image as well. So that gives me two unfinished pieces I need to work on :P Happy Friday!
My submission for Illustration Friday's "brave" is a cropped version of my idea of "Home of the Brave". I had to crop an illustration I have already submitted before because I am pressed for time but I love to submit for the word :D it is a joy to play along each week! This is from my 2004 HomeMade calendar and it is called "Field House". I live in an area where the Chumash Indians lived.
I am taking care of Nomi and I walked her behind the house into the park and we stumbled upon
the most beautiful mushrooms. So I thought I might share a little slice of my world and it is very spring-like today :) Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!
My perspective is pretty much the same, houses and buildings, painting and having fun. My submission for Illustration Friday's "perspective" theme is a drawing I made for my dear friendartist Pam Jones. It is her birthday on Saturday February 27 and she is a fellow pisces. We belong to a music sharing blog called Kings of Maybe and I am playing her a few songs this weekend as well so if you click on you may follow along too. This drawing called "Going Up?" is her birthday card and I thought on Pam's way up she might need to bring along a few things she could use: Fishie Friends, a monster, a valpal hat to receive songs and messages and a birthday cake! of course it is chocolate :P I hope you have a fabulous birthday sweet Pam Jones! Big love from Valgal, babe!
Cultivate your heart and love will propagate. My submission for Illustration Friday's "propagate" theme is a valgal valentine called House of Adore and the door opens and there is a little sweet message. Adore and a door ;)
You should give val-entines all the time not just on February 14th. I have an image that is really perfect for this word here but I have shown it in the past and I don't like to repeat images:) Here I am with my sweet brother Colin. We are close little buddies. He sent me a beautiful box of chocolates from France for my special day :) He knows I love candy! Thank you Colie! 2001 valerie walsh
Do you catch my drift? My submission for Illustration Friday's "adrift" theme is a colour pencil study on StoneHenge paper and the frame is clay and resin. Eventually this boat will drift and be adrift...
Living in Topanga I know a lot about mud because here we live in the dirt. I am sad to report that more people are moving in and pouring a fair amount of concrete to make it less dirty! It always makes me wonder why a person would want to live in a rustic State Park when they could easily live in Calabasas which is much more paved and upscale. Have you noticed that I talk a bit more when I really don't have anything for the word and I don't have time to make anything either :(
This image has a little to do with mud, muddy and Topanga because this doggy plate that I made for my mom about 15 years ago is made with Topanga mud in a little garage clay studio belonging to Jan Mitchell right down the lane. Good clean mud! We taught children, we had girl's Monday Night Clay where we played, talked and laughed. My submission for Illustration Friday's " muddy" theme is a painted clay plate "Happy Day" I made for my mom Babs who has not been feeling well. I love you Mom!
"happy day" plate 1995 valerie walsh photo of babs 2007
My submission for Illustration Friday's " focused" theme is a cropped portion of an illustration for the book "Return of the Matador" that I painted over the summer. Happy Friday! Have a lovely weekend ;)
At first glance this might appear to be a very silly and clumsy painting but it is actually very sweet and tender. My sbmission for Illustration Friday's " clumsy" theme is " a celestial life."
I painted this in August of 1992 for friend Tracy Walsh because she was about to marry her longtime love Shep Lonsdale. Tracy loved my art and has been quite a wonderful and supportive collector of my work. When she came to me and asked me to do her invitations I was happy and tickled because this was my first wedding card. I have done quite a few now but this was my very first one and she wanted a child like image using all the things she loves! This is my favourite kind of client, someone that tells me what they enjoy and I get to do whatever I want :D Tracy wanted the sea, the stars, the moon, and the feeling of infinity, love and the universe. Not your traditional invite to be sure, oh and the best part she wanted all valgal colours featuring their dog Jade. In order to make multiples I had the image offset printed and then I made cotton rag paper in my studio, dyed to compliment the painting and I added this beautiful old glitter to the batches to make it sparkle. We printed the typeface on a see through vellum and it was a limited edition art card for all the guests. I framed up some for her bridesmaids gifts and the gift that went to the person that married them. The funny thing about the man that performed the wedding Cliff Potts, he is Johns best friend for 40 years but I did not know him then and had not yet met John. I live on a street with 3 houses now and he lives in one of these houses and has been my neighbor for 13 years! Tracy is a travel agent, her mom was a very well known British travel agent who's clients were Elton John etc. and Shep is a musician and was in the band Gaelic Storm which you might have seen in the movie Titanic. When Leonardo Dicaprio takes Kate Winslet downstairs to where the real people are hanging out, this is the band that is playing. Shep is a very cool dude and Tracy is a very cool lady. I am happy to say they are enjoying their marriage to this day :)
btw: The wedding was at the Hotel Bel Air and it was the best wedding I have ever been too. They have swans floating in ponds there! valerie walsh 1992
My submission for Illustration Friday's "wilderness" is a doodle piece on a scrap of arches paper notice the deckle edge. I call this "leave a little light on". I have lived in a lot of little houses that look like this :)
Most of the time artists have to create in a confined perimeter. But I usually try to go beyond the boundaries any way I can get away with ;) My submission for Illustration Friday's "confined" theme is one of my dimensional paintings titled "Oriental Evening". My bridge paintings are quite popular so I have done them many ways for many people and each one is unique and yet similar. I think bridges help to break out of the confines and going outside of the frame helps too. I always put in details of life inside the windows in the form of glimpses of men and women, instruments. birds in cages, cups with tea or coffee in them and books, paintings, kitties and dogs. This one I even made some clothes on a line created from handmade paper and all the flowers are dimensional. I hope you enjoy!
Speaking of enjoyment I went with my friend Trish to see her daughter Katherine in her music group tonight at the Apple Store in Santa Monica. The name of the group is Sonos and they are so good that I want to share this with the world!!! We live on the same street and have been neighbors for years. I have watched Kath grow into a beautiful young woman so I had to go see Sonos tonight and give my support before they go back out on tour again. They have a deal on Verve Records, these kids are kicking butt! Because I know Kath so well I asked if I could have a picture with the band, a kind of "I knew them when" and I was the only one to have my pic with the band, YAY!!! They are amazing and you must click on to this word: kings of maybe and you can see what I am talking about. There are no instruments only voices in this group. Awesome!
You might be wondering where the house is? This is the big blue house, home to wondrous things, mystery and big time beauty. Where life and death swirl in the icy depths.
I made this painting for the program when John's brother Phil Hartman died in 1998.
John asked me to create this painting quickly so it is not the greatest work of art but I tried to make it about the content and focus on the message. Phil loved the sky, he had a plane and he loved the ocean and he had a boat. He adored Catalina and went there often. This image is what I thoughthis children would like, the idea that we all come together and swimand play in the big ocean as a family with abandon and until then, we join each other in the sea of mind. The father, mother and children all together jumping and feeling joy, the oneness. The children are grown now and they are so beautiful it hurts my eyes. All of our hearts are joined forever.They will live and grow and the renewal is taking place within and without. Sweet Graham Nash played two songs for thisbeautiful and small private ceremony. I have included the song"Simple Man" that he played for us. My submission for Illustration Friday's "Renewal" theme is the circle. When it makes no sense we must find the beauty in the aftermath.
We had a drink to Phil last night and he was with us.
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