Tag Archives: vintage

THE ETIQUETTE OF LETTER WRITING

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by Georgia Lange

etiquette of letter writing

Original artwork and design by Wendy Patterson of Cafe Baudelaire

etiquette |etikit; -ket| – noun
the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group

 

Several months ago, I was listening to NPR and tuned into a discussion about handwriting. It was under debate whether handwriting is a dying practice in the digital age of communication. People rarely write hand-written letters anymore; the vast majority simply send an email or a digital greeting card. As I listened to the discussion, my inner fine artist started to cringe; I remember hearing similar discussions at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) over the future of painting, museums, hand-drawn animation and so forth. Traditions live on because we as a society choose to honor them by continuing their practice. There is something special about the tradition of creating things with our hands, and it is important not to lose the little things (such as handwriting or hand-written letters) just because modern technology makes it so much easier for us. Whatever your craft, your hands are as unique as your fingerprints. What you create using them is just as unique as you are, and just as precious.

Sending a hand-written letter has a much more personal and classy touch than an email. There are many ways to turn your hand-written letters into something extra special. Try writing with a quill pen or sealing your letters with a wax seal. This adds an artistic element to your letters giving them a more vintage and romantic quality. Check out nostalgicimpressions.com for an excellent selection of sealing wax, seals, and quilled pens. If this kind of etiquette appeals to you, than you are truly an artist at heart. Creating your own greeting cards with your art on them is the best way to turn your letters into gifts.

Giving someone a piece of your artwork, be it a print or an original, is a truly special kind of gift because it comes directly from you, and it makes the recipient feel just that much more special. The same principle also applies to greeting and gift cards. Maybe there are people in your life that you feel you do not have a close enough relationship with to warrant giving them a gift, but you still feel the need to let them know you are thinking of them. You may also have friends who are spread out across the country to whom you cannot afford to ship presents, but you still want to wish them a happy holiday season. Sending a greeting card with your original artwork printed on it is similar to sending a fine art print on a smaller scale. If you have your greeting cards printed in a 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 inch size, the recipients can easily place it in a frame turning a simple card into a work of art that can hang on their walls. It is also cost effective and allows you as an artist to market your work and your talent. Save that box of holiday greeting cards that you bought on post-holiday sale at Barnes and Noble or Borders last year and make your greeting cards more intimate and personal with a touch of the artistic and a touch of you.

Painting and Photography

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by guest blogger Jennifer Simpson

www.JenniferSimpsonArt.com

Jennifer-Simpson

My name is Jennifer Simpson and I’m the artist behind Jennifer Simpson Art Photography. I have painted with oils for most of my life and dabbled in acrylics and watercolor. I became serious about photography about 3 years ago with the purchase of a Nikon D-80 which I still use. My current work involves combining my first love – painting – with photography.    I came across the process I currently use rather by accident. I was getting some artwork ready for an exhibit and decided I would print my photographs onto canvas rather than my usual framing,  I never liked framing anyway, it’s a tedious process for me. Once I stretched my photographs onto a wooden frame, I realized that painting the photograph would be a unique, challenging, and meaningful way to present my artwork and express myself.

To explain my process in detail would be nearly impossible as each piece I do calls for a different technique to get across what I’m trying to say. I believe what they all have in common is a certain dreamy, vintage quality though – that and the fact that I only do them in a square format. Each photograph I do is first printed onto canvas, sometimes in color and sometimes in black and white. I then create what is basically a shallow wooden box to mount the canvas on. I line the canvas up onto the wood and gallery wrap it, using a staple gun to attach the canvas to the back edges of the ‘box’. I then flip the canvas over, put it on my easel and start painting. Sometimes I begin with an opaque wash of thinned out yellow paint over the entire photograph to give it a yellowed, vintage appearance. Then I paint the edges with black or brown paint bringing the color down onto the photograph, adding layers and wiping them off until the right amount of color vs. opacity is achieved.

There’s really no specific science to this,  I just kind of go by look and feel. Depending on the photograph I will sometimes create an entirely new background for the subject, painting a sky with clouds behind it or perhaps an ocean view or just completely changing the color, giving it a solid orange background where there once was forest or a wash of subtle blues and greens where there once was a building. At this point, I usually take sandpaper and start taking off the color in places, deconstructing the artwork so to speak.  It is this distressing that gives it texture and further interest. I take off the paint in some places, I even remove bits and pieces of the photograph itself from the canvas.

Dreams-Before-WakingThat-Seventies-SummerLanding

I create my canvases in all different sizes ranging from 10”x10” to 40”x40”. I photograph my painted canvases and make prints from them as well. I recently ventured into doing note cards after it was requested by several of my customers.   To see more examples of my work, you can visit my website at www.JenniferSimpsonArt.com.