May 18, 2007

Wallhogs

I really like Wallhogs. If you aren’t familiar with them yet, Wallhogs are big art and big ideas. Imagine your favorite photo or graphic, blown up to a huge size and printed on reusuable vinyl, or as a glossy poster or a canvas print. Sizes range from a small two-footer (if you can call that small!) to an extra-large four by seven feet. The prints will press onto a smooth painted wall to customize the decor in any room. I’m thinking of my friend Lisa who is decorating a nursery. Wallhogs will create whatever custom art you want, so she can select from stock or submit her own photo or graphic to form a focal point for baby’s room. Backgrounds can even be removed to create a shaped print. I could see painting a path through the woods, then adding a giant Winnie the Pooh to the scene for a really eye-catching nursery wall.

What jeep fan wouldn’t love having something like this on their wall? That picture comes from stock, but imagine taking a photo of the car your honey customized and presenting it on the next special occasion. When my son was young I know he’d have loved a wall decorated with fire engines or that fabulous truck from Smokey and the Bandit. These days he’s more mature and would rather have Speed Racer (don’t tell him I’ve told you that!) The possibilities are endless, so let your imagination and your passions guide you. Watch the Wallhogs video and browse through their catalog of available art, then let your own inspiration take over. Wallhogs has something for everyone, big art for any wall. You can even customize a product or service you’re featuring and use a Wallhog to advertise your business.

What’s really exciting, though, is that Wallhogs has now taken it to the next level. They’re partnering with photographers and artists to bring them an outlet for their work and a new way to present it to their clients. They can add their works to the Wallhog catalog for online sales or order at discounted prices for resale to their customers. I’m not a professional photographer, but I’m surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. I occasionally get lucky and produce a photo that I think people might be interested in buying.

What I’m really interested in, though, is some experimental work I’ve been doing with some of my botanical photos. This seems like the perfect time and place to give you a sneak peek at what I’ve been up to. What do you think? Am I the only one weird enough to love this stuff, or do you think others might actually be interested enough to buy it? Wallhogs sponsored this post and I think there’s at least a small chance I could do a very different type of business with them once I’ve honed my skills a bit. Opinions, please?

Technorati Tags: art, big art, photography, wall art, Wallhogs

May 16, 2007

For Cass

I thought of Cass when I found this rather bizarre site by Joshua Dalsimer.I wonder how long it would take to knit something like that. I wonder why someone would do it in the first place. I’m wondering if it’s kinda hot and stuffy in there. I’m thinking I’ll never know the answers to all of these quesitons unless Cass makes something similar and reports back. Don’t you think she should?

Technorati Tags: art, just stuff, knitting

May 14, 2007

Next stop Zippy’s

There’s a series of local commercials that are similar to the “I’m going to Disney” commercials you’ll have been seeing for years. No matter what the ongoing activity, the answer to “What’s next?” is always … “Next stop - Zippy’s!” Zippy’s is a very popular Hawaiian style plate lunch place, dine-in or take-out. When I picked my son up at the airport around noon on Saturday I knew he’d be hungry after a five hour fight with nothing but an airline “snack box” to eat, so I asked if he wanted to wait ’til we were home or stop somewhere on the way for a meal. Predicatably, he wanted Zippy’s.

The Zippy’s most convenient to our route has a lovely luau mural on one wall. I’ve had other things to share the last few days, but here, at last, is the mural. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: art, Hawaii, luau, mural, Zippy’s

May 10, 2007

Meet Kitty!

If you played my Tuesday Teaser contest you’ve already met Kitty. She’s the gal who came up with the answer that eluded so many others. It’s possible that she had an advantage over some of you who played. She’s an artist, something that perhaps gives her a keener eye for detail. Or perhaps it’s the other way around; maybe having a keen eye for detail led her to art. Anyway, she’s got the one and does the other. Does it very well, too.

Kitty’s blog is only a few months old but is already chock-full of goodies. The first thing that caught my eye is her painting, Crimson Frangipani, which was completed in February and is featured on her front page. I’m not an art critic and don’t have the vocabulary for that, so let me just say that it’s beautiful and I really like it. Now if she could just get the name right. Everyone knows (especially if they’ve been reading my blog) that it’s properly called a plumeria! Since Kitty is Australian I guess we’ll just have to forgive our little language differences, hmmm?

The big news around Kitty’s place is that she just started a website to showcase and sell her art. The website is still a work-in-progress, but she must be doing something right because she just sold a painting! (profanity warning to the sensitive) Congrats on your success, Kitty! I’ve looked at the other paintings you’ve dispayed and predict that this is only the first of many that you’ll sell. I hope the sale will encourage you to keep painting your lovely Australian landscapes. I’m wanting to see a lot more of them.

I’d love to see catagory listings added to the sidebar so I can find all of the progressive reports on each painting as it develops. A “home” link near the top of the page would make navigation a little easier, too, but the blog is attractively done and otherwise quite well-organized. The gray theme is a perfect backdrop, allowing the reader to focus on the art and other yummy content.

There’s more than art to Kitty’s blog. I’ve been chuckling as I read her rants about kitty vomit, tenants destroying her property and her annoyance with celebs and broadcast television. Where I’ve really felt like I’m getting to know her, though, is in her Tuesday memes where she lists ten things about herself. Her sense of humor takes the sharp edge off of her critical looks at various aspects of her life. Go check out Kitty Art and do spend some time scrolling through her archives. She’s worth knowing and that’s the place to start!

Technorati Tags: art, blogs, art blogs, paintings