Art Prints on Wheatpaste and Greenbox

My art for sale on Wheatpaste (Today is Going to Be Awesome print featured on front page)

...and Greenbox! (2 of my geometric paintings on the front page!)

Shiny and New!

A few months ago I started designing a new product that could hold earrings in an interesting way. I don't have too many pairs of earrings, but I have always had problems figuring out how to store them. For years I have just neatly lined them up in a jewelry box, and they all get completely tangled and jacked up every time I accidentally jostle the box.

I came up with a simple design and started researching how I could manufacture it. After a few strike outs, I came upon a local laser cutting studio, makeatx.  Here is a piece of wood just after the laser worked its magic:

 Here is my design, freshly cut:

Before cutting, I painted the wood with non-toxic, no VOC Milk Paint.  I then took the final cut pieces and mounted them each onto a piece of MDF that is routed for easy hanging. Sandwiched between the two pieces of wood is an image that I designed and sealed. 

The final look has a sort of modern meets rustic flavor. Milk Paint is a chemically safe, environmentally friendly product that stains the wood while allowing the texture of the wood to still be seen. This gives each piece a little character. 

The piece mounts flat against the wall and holds 13 pairs of earrings.  10.5" x 4".  Available at local Austin stores and at my ETSY store.

Hang That Stuff!

I have been working the past week or so on some new jewelry/key racks that are hand painted on wood. Here is a glimpse into the process of making a few dozen:

First I picked two pallets: oranges and blues, and went to work painting layers of colors in an expressionist fashion (which is just a fancy way of saying that I pretty much just grabbed whatever color I wanted and slapped it on the image).

Next I developed a few simple designs that I could easily replicate.  It's no surprise that this largely involved birds, which means that anyone with a bird phobia, like my friend Mae, will probably never buy this art!  Sorry Mae!

I got really excited about painting these little peacocks.  I love Persian miniature painting, and while my skills and patience level are in no way high enough to replicate one of those, I think these little birds at least hint at the style of a Persian miniature.

Here are some of the final results, available for sale in local stores in Austin, Texas, and at my etsy store!