Our customer Nancy from Florida is an incredibly talented photographer who sells her work at art shows. We have printed many canvases for her that she and her husband stretch themselves for display and sale. Below is a picture of how Nancy has organized her booth for the art shows she does. Please visit her website www.naturesportal.net to view her stunning work.
Tonight, Canvas Press is opening it’s doors to host the Annual Austin Polish Society Art Gallery Opening! Come by and enjoy original art from some of Austin’s most talented visual artists in the Austin area. Enjoy food and drinks and meet with the artists as they display their original works! Doors open at 6pm CST.
I work at Canvas Press and have always felt a connection with all our customers, but in this particular case, my heart fell a little harder for a customer with bright feathers…
It is a rare and life altering moment when you awaken one morning to discover you are completely in love; An unconditional love that grabs a hold and refuses to let go. This miracle of the heart comes in many shapes and sizes and has no boundaries. That is what one lucky couple from Austin TX found with their blue and gold macaw, Bailey. Anyone who has ever been blessed enough to own a parrot knows how wonderfully loyal they are to their human parents and how it takes a patient and caring person to care for such a special bird for it can act just like a two year old child.
I had the honor of meeting this incredibly gorgeous blue and gray macaw on a visit to Glenda and Joe’s pet supply house, Gallery of Pets. It was our first meeting and I had never been to this eclectic shop full of fish and birds. I found myself in a joyous animal overload. After meeting Glenda, she walked me to the back to meet her pride and joy, Bailey. He looked at me and said to me in his cute macaw voice, “HELLO, Everybody” and of course, I greeted Bailey back, in attempts to imitate him.
I told her all about Canvas Press and our photos to canvas. She sounded fascinated and pressed to hear more. That is about the time I went into detail about our OilWorks and how I could paint anything her desires using our digital program that uses real digital paint brushes. Her eyes widen and asked if I could paint her sweet Bailey and print it on Canvas. And of course I said “YES!” Shortly after our visit, I drove back to work to find a picture of Bailey waiting for me in my inbox.
The picture I received was a rough snap shot of Bailey with many store items surrounding him to distract the eye. He sat happily on a perch just waiting to be painted. I proceeded to open Bailey’s photo onto my painting program. The image from the computer monitor glowed back at me as I sat contemplating. “Bailey needs to look like he is playing outside somewhere lush with many beautiful shades to complement his coloring.” Immediately, I removed the clutter from the background and began adding hues of purple, yellow and blue. As I neared the end of the painting, could see Bailey come to life.
Normally, I would email a sample of the finished painting to the eager client, but this time I thought, “No. I want it to be a surprise.” I let Glenda know her new painting was ready for her and that I would be available to drop it by the next day. As I approached the shop, I quickly covered the painting of Bailey to ensure no early peeking. Glenda greeted me with a Cheshire Cat grin and eagerness behind her eyes. So of course, I showed Bailey the painting of himself first, then finally, I had teased her long enough and showed her, her new painting. She took a deep breath and sighed, “It’s beautiful! I must show my husband!” Before I knew it, they had already picked out a place for his painting to hang in their shop. A child comes in many forms and this case a macaw named Bailey whose painting will now grace the walls thanks to a simple photo to canvas.
By Renee Auguste
Many of our customers are artists or art hobbyists who use canvas printing as a cost effective way to reproduce their work. The artist photographs or scans his or her original and uploads the digital version to CanvasPress.com. Canvas Press will photograph your art if you drop it by our store front at 33 Cypress Blvd Ste 100, Round Rock, Texas 78665.
It seems one of the challenges an artist faces is generating publicity for his or her work therefore I decided to share an article I found on Mashable.com (http://mashable.com/2009/03/12/youtube-artist/).
Videoblogging isn’t just for teenyboppers with Flips. It’s a simple way professional creatives can make use of high traffic sites like YouTube(
) to showcase their work and communicate with their audience in a fun and effective way.
The article lists 5 ways artists can use YouTube:
Nishi Kumar is an artist of a new generation. She uses a digital tablet and Adobe software to sketch her designs before ever touching a paint brush. Rare Austin Magazine likens her early work to Edgar Degas. A warm color palette unites her works. Like the artist herself, her subject is a blend of East and West. Ballerinas in motion are common in her work. When I asked if she had studied dance, she quickly responded “no”.
Canvas Press printed an 18″ by 24″ Gallery Wrapped print of Kumar’s Liquid Emotion, the original was 30″ x 24″ oil on canvas, for her March 26th show.
Any art work can be reproduced by scanning or photographing. If the original is larger than 8.5″ by 11″, it must be photographed by our photographer Caroline or scanned on a large bed scanner. Art reproducts are much less expensive than originals and custom-sized. Artists are not restricted to painting sizes that sell well. Reproductions free the artist to focus on their work and enable easier distribution. Canvas Press can ship to clients while the artist places the order.
To read more about Nishi Kumar, check out her blog. http://creativesolve.com/profile.html.
Read her January 2009 feature story in Rare Austin Magazine. http://issuu.com/raremagazine/docs/january2009.
Whether with a brush, a finger, a water bottle or a computer, Renee Auguste is always painting. Now, she brings her talents to Canvas Press.
Through the encouragement of her mother, Auguste began painting and drawing at age three. She began a traditional study of art at the young age of 14, when she was given a scholarship to California State University, Northridge. Following this, she worked mostly on her own with charcoals before deciding to take up the study again at 24. She attended Santa Rosa College and then Learning Tree University.
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In health care, art has proven an important factor. Pulse, a medical magazine from the United Kingdom, wrote in June of 2006, “Artwork in surgeries can reduce stress, improve interaction between doctors and patients and even help recruit and retain staff.” They noted that 91% of General Practitioners say the nature of the work environment could improve interaction with patients, 75% said it can improve recruitment and retention of staff. The factors that matter in a work environment were light, plants, photography and art.
In Art Business News, December 2005, “Art for health’s sake” discussed that abstract or landscape images can transport a person to a different location. This therefore can help distract a patient from pain or anxiety; it can also create an ice-breaker or new topic of conversation.
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Imagine, if you will, turning your home into a dazzling showcase filled with art from you and your family. Did you know that with the right shade of color on your walls, you could turn the simplest art into a masterpiece? Thinking like an artist or designer means coloring “outside the lines”. Most artists live their lives “outside the lines.” That may be why everyone thinks we are a tad nuts. I know I wear that label with great pride and would like to give you a few pointers on how you may release your inner nut… er… I mean artist.
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