Prints on Wood Blog

ALRIGHT PEOPLE! HUSTLE UP! LET'S GO-LET'S GO-LET'S GO! There's less than 48 hours for you to get a great deal on a holiday gift, and even lesser options!:

OPTION A: BIG BOX RETAILER

So you want to purchase a top of the line electronic device at a bottom of the barrel price? Well guess what, so does everyone else. The problem is if you're reading this by now, then you're already too late. If you were really serious about OPTION A, you would've set up camp 2 weeks ago with the handful of other fanatics who can't be bothered with trite activities such as holding a job, or daily hygienic rituals. Sure you could get in line now, but just like anyone that's ever tried to put together a piece of Swedish furniture, that would only end in an entire day filled with frustration and disappointment. Not only for you, but for sorrowful recipient of the palm pilot you compunctiously purchased for arriving late to the game on Black Friday.

OPTION B: DISCOUNT CHAIN STORE

Since you consider tasks such as "paying the bills" and "taking a shower daily" salient to your day-to-day lifestyle, OPTION A is not really much of an option at all. Which offers us a nice segue into OPTION B. You have Thursday & Friday off thanks to the holiday (unless your Boss is a stinkin' communist) and you're planning on getting up early Friday morning to join the herd of seasonal bargain hunters as they spill into your favorite discount store in hopes of snatching up a sweet blender and a 12-pack of tube socks. What you didn't plan on was the eggnog hangover and turkey induced coma that will slow you down to a crawl when the alarm goes off at 5 am. You'll probably show up just as the doors open, you'll also have to dodge all the wild elbows and swinging purses when people start fighting amongst themselves over cheaply made material possessions like lobsters in a bucket.

OPTION C: DO NOTHING!

Yeah, you heard me right. No alarm clocks, no black eyes, just you in your pajamas with a whole day of goofing off all to yourself. That's because everyone exercising OPTION C already completed all their Black Friday shopping. WHAT!? HOW!? DO THEY OWN A TIME MACHINE!? No you weirdo, they bought all of their gifts from PRINTSONWOOD.com since our Black Friday sale started 2 days ago! That's right, we're celebrating BLACK WEEK, no wimpy single day deals here, and for the next couple of days you can still take advantage of our 40% custom wood print promotion (use BLACK40 at checkout).

Maybe you've been good all year and feel like you deserve a little something for yourself, or maybe your friend/family member/loved one doesn't want an unflattering picture peeled off of their Facebook wall and would like something a little more stylish instead. Not to worry, PRINTSONWOOD has got you covered, in addition to our sweet 40% OFF deal for all custom wood prints, we've joined forces with Jeff Soto yet again for 2 exclusive new timed release wood prints on 11/29 (Black Friday) @ 12:00 pm.

The first offering is the first print in a new "Element" series of 9 prints entitled "FIRE"...

... this flaming furball comes as a 6" x 6", 3/4" wood print retailing for 30

The second limited release "Night Owl" is a companion piece to Jeff's 2011 wood print, "Snow Owl"...

... "Night Owl" is a 12" x 15", 3/4" wood print and will cost $75.

Both of these timed releases will end on Sunday, Dec 1st, at 12:00 pm.

Press Release

Jeff Soto will release two timed prints with partner Prints On Wood this Friday at midnight. "Fire" is a 6" x 6" wood print that starts a new series based on the Ancient Elements. "Night Owl" is a 12" x 15" print that is the companion piece to Soto's "Snow Owl" print from 2011. Both will be available on Black Friday, this coming Friday at www.printsonwood.com.

Soto will release his "Sotofish III" on "Cyber Monday" December 2nd on www.stormcloudz.com.

Seeker Friends Elements: "Fire"

Jeff Soto revisits his popular "Seeker Friends" print series with "Elements". Long fascinated by the ancient elements, Soto has created a print set that pays homage to the magic and mystery of times long ago. Nine elements will make up the complete set including Fire, Water, Earth, Life and more. Each is a 6" x 6" print on wood, arrives ready to hang or display with tab, and comes signed and numbered on back. The individual prints will be available during a timed event typically the first Thursday of the month.

The first print available is "Fire". Fire creates light where there is dark, fire is passion, and the giver of warmth. But it's also the destroyer. Fire is playful and naughty as well!

This print will be available for $30 + shipping at www.printsonwood.com. This is a timed edition. To start the series this print will be available starting Friday at 12:01am PST and lasting through the weekend until noon PST on Sunday.

Jeff Soto revisits his popular "Seeker Friends" print series with "Elements". Long fascinated by the ancient elements, Soto has created a print set that pays homage to the magic and mystery of times long ago. Nine elements will make up the complete set including Fire, Water, Earth, Life and more. Each is a 6" x 6" print on wood and come signed and numbered. The individual prints will be available during a timed event only one day per month.

The first print available will be "Fire". Fire creates light where there is dark, fire is passion, and the giver of warmth. But it's also the destroyer. Fire is playful and naughty as well!

Granted the name of our website and business is PRINTSONWOOD, we also do a little more than just... y'know, printing on wood. As you may well already know, even though we have a wide selection of wood canvases, thicknesses, wood finishing, and display options to boot, we also understand that the imagination of our clients isn't solely limited only to the products available on our site. Sometimes a creative vision can't be contained within the confines in 8x10 wood print. (Or 4x6, or 5x7, or 6x6, or 6x12, or 8x8, or 8x12, or 9x12, or 10x10, or 10x15, or 11x14, or 12x12, or.... you get the point)

When someone drops us a line inquiring about a custom order or any other complicated challenge they can conjure up, we don't shy away. Nay, we face it head on, grab it around the neck, and wrestle it to the floor like a mentally deranged older brother who caught you in his room touching his Millennium Falcon™ playset. (In case you couldn't tell, I'm the youngest. : / ) Which is why we were recently contacted by the creative minds over at Harvest Christian Fellowship.

Harvest is a church local to the Riverside area well known for it's outreach and charismatic preacher, Greg Laurie. Before Pastor Greg was leading the masses over at Harvest, he made a living dabbling in illustration/graphic design (a man after my own heart), which explains why their promotional materials always looks so sharp. With that in mind, their latest offering (pun not intended) did not disappoint. They wanted a custom wooden sign, but instead of printing their message on the sign, they wanted it... **DRAMATIC PAUSE** ... cut out of the sign!! That's right, they didn't want us to add anything to their wooden sign, they wanted us to take away from it. (Talk about postmodernism.)

We've worked closely with Harvest or the past couple of years on several different jobs, each more exciting than the last. Large format, small format, short run, long run, and everything in between. But this time, this job was a little different.

The Art Department over at HCF came up with the brilliant idea to cut their message out of a large 1" thick sheet of wood. They showed up with their design and direction and we took it over from there. We set up the files so that we could cut the wood with pinpoint precision.

Although a great man was once a carpenter, we used a machine to cut out the sign exactly the way Harvest envisioned. What kind of machine you ask? Well, we'd tell you but since some other lame wood printing companies troll our site/blog, we'll just keep it between us and the big man upstairs. ;)

Pretty sweet, eh?

So whatever your vision might be, however big of a wood print or sign you may need, your friends here at PRINTSONWOOD are willing and waiting with open arms accepting any and all who might need our help. The best part is you wont need a miracle to get it done. (Although it certainly does help. :P)

A long time ago, a wise man once said "Good Things come to those who wait."

While I'm not objecting to the validity of that claim, it makes me wonder if that smart-alleck ever went Holiday shopping at the last minute. Many moons ago before my current occupation, I had the (dis)pleasure of working for a major retail chain, and I'll tell you, the things I would see at 6 am on Black Friday were horrifying! In the midst of their voracious fervor, tense situations between holiday shoppers hoping to save an extra 5 bucks would escalate quickly, I mean it would get really out of hand fast!

I've seen large gelatinous shoppers fist-fighting over the last CD Player boom box, other shoppers fighting a losing battle with their deodorant in lieu of getting the last set of Star Wars legos, people dodging clouds of pepper spray while trampling over unfortunate stragglers, and my personal favorite, impromptu mexican stand-offs over who's girlfriend cut in line to get a Nintendo Gamecube before anyone else. The most ironic part of all of this is to see people go bat-crap-insane over cheap plastic knick-knacks a few hours after they were thankful for what they already had.

After the doors would open releasing a tidal wave rabid patrons writhing in angst, I would stand there in disbelief, bloodied and bruised from the herds of people spending money they didn't have on things they don't need, and I would think to myself, there's got to be another way! A way to get what I need without having to elbow someone in the face, a way that doesn't involve a depravation of sleep that fuels my misanthropic tendencies, most importantly, a way that doesn't involve me having to put on pants.

In ancient cultures, boys of a certain age would be expected to enter a right of passage to become a man in the eyes of their peers. This would involve them doing something insane along the lines of killing a vicious beast with their bare hands or strapping vines to their ankles and jumping off the tallest tree in the jungle. In Western society, working a retail job that involves dealing with the public on a daily basis can take the most innocent and naive of boys and grind him into a hardened cynical blogger of a man. I stand before you as a man (in the loosest possible sense of the word), and I want to tell you that after many long hard fought battles, I have discovered that way.... the information superhigh-WAY. (Nyuk-Nyuk)

Yes, I'm talking about the internet. It's not only a great resource that allows people to anonymously flame others in the most hateful ways possible while googling pictures of Sofia Vergara, but it can also be a very effective tool in terms of holiday shopping if wielded correctly. Long gone are the days of old where people would actually have to leave their house to buy something, now we can just roll out of bed and have whatever we desire delivered right to our front door.

This year, PrintsOnWood encourages you to embrace the future. To not only buy your gifts ahead of all the craziness that the holidays can inspire, but to do so from the comfort of your own home. Our wood prints are incredibly unique and make the perfect holiday gift. Every year when the people you care about are opening the gifts you thoughtfully selected (or bought at the last minute you big liar), they're secretly making a mental list of which gifts they're going to return, give away, or toss in the trash. A custom wood print is so incredibly personal, the only list they'll make when they receive one as a gift is of all the possible places in their house where they can display it proudly. We also have a lovely selection of Fine & Photo Art wood prints incase a custom wood print isn't a loved one's cup of tea. Don't "Fall" behind this year, get all of your holiday shopping done at PrintsOnWood today! And if you want to do so while wearing pants, that's entirely up to you. ;)

Metal and plastic.... they're everywhere! From cheap earrings made in China to cheap cars made in Japan, both of these materials can practically be found anywhere or on anything. Although if I had to be frank, I honestly believe that neither of these resources are really quite charming. I can't exactly pinpoint where these thoughts began to originate, but I feel like it can be traced back to the culmination of many things.

Perhaps it's because plastic goods are most commonly associated with being cheap or disposable. Metal can also fall into this category when you think of the scope of objects that are created using Aluminum.. soda cans, tin foil, food trays. Given their renewable properties, metal or plastic can also be recycled, melted down, and poured into a mold creating another disposable object in the process. That's not to say we don't appreciate these things or the people that create them, but it's common knowledge that these objects were not built to last.

That's why I feel like my brain ignores 99% of all signage that I pass by during my daily commute. Unless you're visiting the "Old Town" portion of a rustic community, passing an establishment with a rich history, or spending the entire weekend at Knott's Berry Farm with your Grandparents thinking "I'd rather be at Disneyland." the whole time, chances are you're probably not going to see a sign made out of wood. Which makes me ask one serious question.... Why not? Wood has life, it has history, it has personality.

Now I know a couple of wise-acres reading this blog are thinking "What about popsicle sticks? Broom handles? Shotgun stocks? Those crappy balsa wood airplanes I used to get from the ice cream man!?" which is expected, but lets look at things objectively here. When's the last time you went camping and thought "I love the smell of plastic!" when taking a deep breath while hiking through the wilderness? When have you ever looked at something made of plastic and thought "I wonder where this piece of plastic came from before it was a spoon?" Better yet, which would you prefer? The rich oaky smell of your Grandpa's log cabin, or the whiff of plastic seat sweat rising off of his naugahyde recliner peppered with duct tape instead? Thought so. ;)

Wood also posses a certain quality I can only refer to as the "look of inevitability". It's a design term used when viewing a finished composition where no eyesores or mistakes are visible, and everything about the design achieves visually organized cohesion. In terms simple enough for someone like myself to understand... it means it looks great! :P

As noted earlier, there are several buildings and business that I pass by EVERYDAY during my commute and I know absolutely nothing about them. The one thing I can tell you about these businesses is that their signs looks cheap and dirty with boring designs. No life, no personality, just a hideous Blippo Bold typeface stretched to fit the dimensions of the sign. When I see this, I immediately paint a mental picture of a lackluster underwhelming business I better not get attached too, because of the cheap disposable stereotypes their storefront signs perpetuating. The beauty of a wooden sign is that it combines the precision of machines with the creativity of the human mind. Long past are the days of old where you had to wait several weeks for the town wood smith to turn a splintery slab of wood into a fancy new sign for your rowdy saloon. This is the future son, short of flying cars and robotic housekeepers, PRINTSONWOOD has everything you need right now to create the most charming/eye catching wooden sign to proudly hang above the front door to your establishment... even if everything you sell is probably made out of metal and plastic.

What makes for an great piece of art? If you answered by saying something obvious like "talent" or "creativity", then the noise you just heard was the sound of a million overprivileged hipsters as they suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced when their brains exploded.

In all seriousness, the definition of "Great Art" can be subjective at times. Who's to say that one medium, method, or mind trumps all the others? Anything created during the Renaissance period is greatly lauded as beautiful works of art, but what about everything that came after that? Should Piet Mondrian's Composition A be disregarded for it's simplicity? Is Picasso not deserving of his popularity because the average person can't really tell what the hell they're looking at whenever they see one of his paintings? Should the works of Patrick Nagel be overlooked since they conjure up mental images of hair salons during the 80's? The answers to these questions are not absolute, but are dependent on whomever you ask. Although I do agree with most of this, I'm a little reluctant to get on board wholeheartedly with this school of thought. Mainly because more often than not, it's more common to see this point of view being argued by a 20-something art student, defending their last minute art final as opposed to a world renowned art scholar arguing the same point on a PBS documentary about Andy Warhol.

As I've made abundantly clear during my time on this particular blog. I'm an incredibly simple man. I'd rather eat pizza or hamburgers than something spicy and ethnic, instead of pants I own an extensive collection of plaid shorts that makes everyone who see's me wearing them think I'm on my way to Blockbuster to return some videos, and I only invest in big black clunky pairs of skate-shoes so I can take them on and off without having to tie them. My point being is that I'm not a real expert on hoidy-toidy topics like what makes art great, so I cannot speak for the masses, only for myself, and in my opinion (even though no one asked for it, but then again, you ARE reading my blog so suck it), one definitive factor that makes a piece of art great is when it tells a story.

I dabble in several artistic pursuits in my free time so I'm always on the search for artwork that inspires me. Everyday I see images that are good... good technique, good composition, good style. But that's all it is, it's just "good". What REALLY impresses me the most is when I see a painting/drawing/photograph where I stop to think about the subjects living inside the artwork. I want to learn their story, become friends, play video games, hang out on the weekends while getting plastered off of cheap booze. This happens when an artist is able to capture movement and life while creating a static image.

Having a somewhat mild inclination for creative thinking combined with the fact that I don't have any friends... I like to use my imagination a lot. When I see art that falls into this category, I like to pretend that it's not a work of art, but some sort of mystical snapshot of another life/time/world. (Yeah, I know, I'm a dork) I like to pretend that someone (or in some cases, something) was minding their own business, living their lives, when the artist of the image took a picture of them with their brain/creativity. (Yup, still a dork.) After I come to that conclusion, I start to make-up a story in my head about what's going on in the painting. That my friends, is what makes for a GREAT work of art... and why everyone thinks I'm such a weirdo. :P

So let's suspend our cynicism for a few moments, take off our shoes, drink some fruit punch, eat some animal crackers, sit indian-style on an alphabet rug, and get ready for some story time. Today we'll be looking at one of our finest Artist Gallery prints, "And Not A Single F*ck Was Given That Day" by the comically absurd David Chung, and if you all behave while I'm telling you my stories, I promise that you can take a nap afterwards.

THE NAUGHTY PANDA BROTHERS by Andy

Andrew and Philip were a couple of naughty panda brothers. As their family could tell you, when they were by themselves they were cute and lovable, but when they were together all hell would break loose. One day while Mom was at work, Andrew and Philip were helping their Dad bring some groceries inside when they caught him hiding several six-packs when he didn't think they were looking. "What kind of soda is that Dad?" Andrew asked. "It's not soda" said their Dad. "Well, what is it?" asked Philip. "It's.... uh.... Lemonade. Yeah, that's it, it's Lemonade boys." said Dad. "Can we have some?" the young brothers asked, since they had never tried New Castle "Lemonade" before. "NO! Don't go telling your mom about my secret lemonade stash either you little twerps, or you'll get a spanking!"

After bringing in all the groceries, their Dad was about to throw away the cardboard box they used to carry everything inside. "Dad, what are you going to do with that box?" asked Andrew. "What does it look like? I'm tossing it in the trash!" said their Dad. "Can we have the box so we can play with it?" asked Philip. "NO! Last time I let the two of you play with a cardboard box, you ended up ripping it to shreds! I had to clean up the mess instead of watching all the hot chicks on the Spanish channel!" Dad said frustratedly "Don't go telling your mom about me watching the Spanish Channel when she's not home either you little twerps, or you'll get a spanking!"

Later that day Dad drank too many "lemonades" and passed out on the couch while watching a Columbian beauty pageant. The boys came downstairs to see their Dad in this sorry state and decided to make a brake for it, taking the remainder of Dad's "lemonade" while heading out to the backyard to play with the forbidden cardboard box. After a few cans of "lemonade" the boys were having the time of their life. They were pretending the cardboard box was a lightning fast race car when they started getting dizzy. "Ugh... Philip, slow down, I'm feeling sick!" said Andrew. "Slow down? We're sitting in a cardboard box, I can't slow down because we're not even moving!" said Philip. "Stop the box! Let me out!" said Andrew as he tried wiggle out. The rocking of the box started to make Philip dizzy "Stop shaking the box! Now I'm getting sick!" he said. Unfortunately they were both stuck since the box was so small. At this point the two brothers began pushing off of one another in a feeble attempt to get out, which rocked the box back and forth wildly until they ripped it pieces like their Dad said they would. All that back-anf-forth didn't agree with the "lemonade", which Andrew and Philip realized was trying to force itself out of their stomach the way it came.

Not wanting to get in even more trouble for throwing-up in the backyard, let alone drinking all of Dad's "lemonade" while making a cardboard mess, Andrew and Philip bolted towards their house so they could use the bathroom. "*GULP* Out of my *BURP* way! I gotta go first!" said Philip in between heaves as he shoved his brother behind him. "No Way! *BLEGH* We wouldn't be sick if *BLUGH* you weren't driving so fff-f-fast!" said Andrew tugging on his brother to slow him down as he fought his bodies urge to spray "lemonade" out of his mouth everywhere. As the naughty brothers stumbled through the sliding glass door like a couple middle-aged men leaving a stag party, they tripped over the bottom of the frame, landing inches away from their Dad who was still passed out in front of the TV.

Although they were mere feet away from the bathroom they fought so hard to reach, their stomachs couldn't handle the impact of the fall and they projected "lemonade" and bagel bites all over the living room in unison, and it went EVERYWHERE. On the floor, all over their Dad, you name it. As if things couldn't any worse, the front door slowly opened to reveal their Mother coming home from work. She stepped inside to see her Husband passed out drunk covered in puke while the swimsuit portion of the Columbian beauty pageant was in full swing, as well as what looked like her 2 sons fighting on the ground. Mom was pissed and the boys were terrified, they were caught red handed! They've made a mess before, but nothing like this. The boys stood up and dusted themselves off, ready to face whatever punishment their bad behavior warranted, but much to the surprise of Andrew and Philip, Mom took out her broom and began to give their Dad a "spanking".

~FIN

"And Not A Single F*ck Was Given That Day", as well as the rest of David Chung's adorably offensive work is available for purchase from our brand new Artist Gallery. Sign up today, check out his profile, and buy a couple of prints at...

http://www.printsonwood.com/artists/thechung

Here at PRINTSONWOOD we see a lot of talent pass through our building. Colorful illustrations, brilliant paintings, and captivating photography seem to be the standard fare around these parts. People might ask "What should I print on wood?". The answer to that is any and everything, so long as it's near and dear to your heart. Your child brought home their first crayon drawing from school? We can print that. Funny family photo that finally makes you look better than your smarter/more attractive sibling? Boom! Wood print. A black and white photograph of an intimate object taken at a funny angle then imported into Photoshop so it can be riddled with filters in vain attempt at being artistic? Disgustingly pretentious, but yeah, we can make a wood print of that too.

Luckily for us, not only are all of our clients are totally awesome, but they have some great taste as well. After perusing the shipping table here at PRINTSONWOOD, I was fortunate enough to come across several works of wooden art that made my heart skip a beat (without having to clog my arteries with large amounts of bacon). So lets take a look, shall we?

Treat your hungry eyeballs to this visual feast prepared by the exceptionally talented Nate Frizzell. I think we can all agree that even though e-mail has revolutionized the way humans communicate, it's always more exciting to get an old fashioned hand-written letter in the mail. That's why in a world of digitized vector images it's always refreshing to see an incredibly detailed work of art illustrated by hand. Not only does Nate know this, he exploits the hell out of it by creating stunning works of art with nothing more than his magical drawing powers and a piece of charcoal. Most people see a blank piece of paper as something you shove inside your printer. Nate looks at the same blank sheet of paper and see's an awesome series of illustrations combining his deep-seeded love for creepy animal masks with his aesthetic fascination for urban decay. Coincidentally, Nate is one of many exciting new additions to our Artist Gallery, so check out his profile and pick up a print or two while you're at it.

When I saw this gem poly-bagged ready to ship, my inner (and outer) nerd squealed with joy. For those of you unfamiliar with this trio, you might recognize them as Ursa, General Zod, and Non from Superman: The Movie (1978). There's so much awesome flowing through this wood print I'm not sure where to start. The minimalism found in the artists style is magnificent. Having some marginal experience with caricatures, illustration, and trying to capture a persons's likeness, I always fancied the "less is more" approach. Majority of caricature artists take the easy route by harping on someones features, transforming a furrowed brow or a big nose into some freakishly inhuman appendage that smacks of something you'd find inside the pages of Mad Magazine. That's not to say their jobs are simple or that they lack talent, but I'm always delighted to see someone create a recognizable likeness by focusing on the subtle and charming details of one's face when creating a clean simple illustration. Majority of vector art tends to be too "noodly". They remind me of bendy toys with no real joints or bone structure. I attribute this to the use of the pen tool and bézier curves in Illustrator, which is the digital equivalent of drawing with a long piece of string. This artist was able to combine flowing curves with strategically placed 90 degree angles and straight lines in perfect harmony to create a stylized form realism. Most people might look at this and think it's a simple drawing, but I assure you a lot of talent and effort went into this print.

Being a Graphic Artist (and all around dork), when I go out into the world I find myself studying various forms of design. Billboards, product packaging, corporate logos, promotional materials, posters, stickers, magazines, you name it! When I see good design and art direction, I turn into the skeptical Uncle who harasses the magician as his Nephew's birthday party. I look at the design and deconstruct it in my brain. I try to reverse engineer a step by step process mentally on how I would go about creating the same design. Much like the Magic Hating Uncle who loves to shout "He's got a dove shoved in his pocket and a mirror duct-taped to his shoe!" my brain likes to shout "They just used a gaussian blur and comic sans with a 25 pt kerning!" once I figure out how whatever piece of design I'm studying was created. While this is all in good fun, my favorite designs are the ones I can't quite figure out. The kind of design where you can somewhat guess about how bits and pieces of it were made, but completely stumped on how the image as a whole was created.

That's what I love so much about this piece. When I saw it from a distance given the life-like face of the girl I immediately thought "Photoshop". I stopped what I was doing and walked to pick it up so I could hold it in my hands for a closer look. Once in my grip I could see the detail, lines, and beautiful imperfections that only exist when a work of art is created by hand. "Ok, it's some sort of painting that started out as a light sketch." I thought to myself. Then I began to focus on the crazy amount of detail in the ornate flourishes framing the oval that contained the painting and noted how symmetrical they were. "Did someone draw this by hand? How could they match each side so perfectly? Dude, seriously, did a robot draw this? The Human Race isn't this advanced yet!" and then my brain started to hurt. Not just any kind of hurt, but like when two of your friends start arguing about the long reaching implications of time travel's effect on the universe kind of brain-pain! At that point I decided to set it down and just accept the fact that it was an incredibly bad-ass wood print that no one will ever know how it was created. Kind of of like a particle board Stonehenge.

In conclusion, even though you might not have anything of your own creation to print, don't let this blog post discourage you from purchasing a wood print. With a wide selection of art prints varying in style and size, you can choose a wood print that best matches your style. You can even pretend that it's your own artwork when you have company over!

(PRINTSONWOOD does not condone this behavior in anyway... that is unless it snowballs into an incredibly wacky and elaborate deception that ends with you being exposed as a fraud while landing face first into a bowl of punch, because that's what you get for being a liar!)

We've gotten so many new featured artists here at Prints on Wood, but today I just want to shed some light on one artist whose work has caught my eye: Marc Allante. This Hong Kong artist draws inspiration from watercolors and Chinese ink paintings to create beautiful animal portraits and provocative scapes.

This one is my favorite, titled "A Portrait of Hong Kong". Just look at those colors!

And if lions are what you love, he's got another one titled "Repose":

Spectacular! Now, there is a choice to purchase these prints with white finish or a natural gloss. The colors are surely to pop with the recommended white finish, but I say if you want that true jungle feel, out of the wild, go with the natural wood backing. When a natural wood is layered with these untamed portraits, it looks amazing.

Jump on over to Marc Allante in the Featured Artists to see more of his work!

Alrighty, so Comic-Con is finally here in San Diego! Woo hoo!

I'll be attending on Saturday and Sunday, and I'll post some pictures when I get back, along with some fantastic gift wood print ideas for that loveable nerd in your life. :)

In the meantime, I'd like to draw you attention to The Octopus Tree House. They're a featured artist here on Prints on Wood, and they specialize in something very close to Comic-Con's heart....Star Wars!

My personal favorite is the Birthday Party one, featuring Boba Fett and Han Solo carbonite balloon.

So if there's a Star Wars lover in your life, don't hesitate to get them a cute print from The Octopus Tree House. And stay tuned for next week, when I post some Comic-Con pictures and talk about great do's and don't's of print designs!