Sunday, April 21, 2013

Art on Products - Some History

Here you can find out about some of the background about CherylsArt; the CherylsArt that is on Zazzle and 3dRose.

When I was a kid, one of my elementary school teachers had asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The first answer that I thought was artist. But for some reason, at the time, I thought, "No. I'd better come up with a second choice."

For whatever reason I thought no, I can only guess. Perhaps it was in my subconscious that artists don't become successful, at least not in their lifetime, or so it seemed. Or perhaps it was because I got the most praise and encouragement to work on math, from my father. So for whatever reason it was, it was a decision that I made way back when, that I've had to overcome, and Have. I made a new decision.

As a new mom, one day I was out with my daughter, taking the round about way home through some of the neighborhood. I glanced over and saw a yard sale that had a two sided easel for sale. One side was higher than the other side. My heart sang! I can have the taller side and my daughter can have the other side! I felt blessed to be driving home with the two sided easel in the back of my car.
I picked this easel to showcase because it is two-sided, has basic trays on each side, and the legs are adjustable.

When I decided to become a professional artist, I wasn't all that good at it. It wasn't something I had been honing all of those years. I had to learn skills. So I set about practicing; watching Bob Ross, purchasing and reading artist books and doing the exercises. I also attended some artist workshops.

Once I got some techniques down, I figured I should decide on what kind of art I wanted to create. One day a sales clerk commented that as I got better at painting (Which is the main type of art I was doing at the time.), I would want to buy bigger canvases. After that purchase, I commenced to buying bigger canvases. It was kind of nice painting large. I joined an artist's group and exhibited some of my paintings. That didn't go over so well, especially when I took in a rather large shark painting to display. I painted the shark so that I could practice painting teeth, lol. But I did get some comments that so and so would like that kind of a design on a t-shirt. Hmmmm.

Anyway, I searched for other avenues of making art. I have always liked functional art, art on things that had a functional purpose. I read about floor cloths and started making those. I sold some at an art fair. I made some more, but also realized that I was running out of space to create them; it required getting down on the cement floor to glue (hem) the edges, and leave them there with weights on the hems, while they dried.

I went smaller and started making pet placemats. Size wise, it was working out better; I didn't have to get down on the floor so much, but then I had placemats drying on the washing machine and dryer, and wherever I could find a place. I sold some to friends, around town, and also on the internet. I got great positive feedback, yet I knew I didn't want to keep wondering where all I was going to place them, and what I would do if I received any large orders.

I went smaller, and started hand painting postcards. I got an order for fifty and graciously accommodated my customer. It was pretty cool. They all fit on my table; I didn't have to worry about size and space. Yay! It seemed that small was the better choice for me.

I really got in to painting a particular design. Then it wasn't so appealing to me to paint it over and over again. Hmmmm.

I was figuring out my don't likes and transforming them into my do likes. I did like painting small. I didn't like repetition so much. Hmmmm. My next step was the internet in a bigger way. I could paint small. A print on demand company could easily do the repetition part. Yay! A win win!

It took a couple of tries to find a print on demand company that was a good fit for me. It was another process of figuring out my likes and don't likes, and then focusing more on the likes. That led me to the one that I have worked in association with for over 15 years.

I had already come up with a business name, back when I was making floor cloths, Creative Brushstrokes, LLC. It was too long to fit in the number of boxes I was allowed to use on the print on demand site, Zazzle.com, so I went with my first name. That is how CherylsArt came about.

I have been creating small designs ever since, and love it. I love the freedom it gives me in creating, and that the print on demand company does the printing, shipping, and billing. My designs are printed on every day products, including t-shirts, cups, and magnets; all very functional choices. It works for me.

Another one of my loves is cats. Our cat Muffin is so full of love. I did a picture of her in pointillism and put it on a background painting of hearts that I had did. Doesn't she look adorable!


She seemed to be a purr-fect match for conveying some love.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my background. Wishing you a blessed and great day!

p.s. If you like my store, please share the link with others. When you make a purchase, Zazzle will take it back if you don't love it, within 30 days of your receipt. Thank you.

Cheryl Paton

Friday, April 5, 2013

Bold and Vivid Happy Birthday Stickers

Here you will find a selection of vivid and bold birthday stickers. Birthdays are a fun reason to celebrate and these colorful stickers are the perfect accent.

First up is a fun and bold pointillism painting of a tuxedo cat in front of a red Happy Birthday balloon.


Next is a bold number 3. Both the number and the background are yellow decorated with white polka dots. The three is outlined and also has gray shadows to the right and downward, making the three stand out.


Next is a vivid array of colorful polka dots on pale yellow. Happy Birthday is written in blue letters across the middle, where there are no dots.


Next up features an abstract background on pastel shades with a bold and vivid Happy Birthday in colorful letters! The links above will take you to Zazzle.com, where the items are ordered, printed, and shipped from.

Cheryl Paton
View more birthday stickers by CherylsArt on Zazzle.