I have a slew of friends and family members. They seem to be multiplying like rabbits, frankly. I could stand to get rid of about 1/2 of them but that’s illegal and messy. But seriously folks, it’s often hard for me to keep up with the birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, Communions, Arbor Days, etc. MyPopArt.com is my “go to” site for my last minute gifts, because the gifts are appreciated across the board…and it’s affordable.

One of my favorite techniques is grabbing a photo of said relative and sending it to MyPopArt.com to reproduce the image onto canvas. The end result is polished and somehow, dare I say, expensive looking without all the…expense. I can send a lovely 9 x 11 piece off to a relative or friend and it’s under $50. This means something to me. I just started my own business and while these people are very dear to me, I can’t always spend a fortune for another Christmas or Kwanzaa or whatever!

So now, whenever I go to most of my friend or family member’s home, I see a special canvas hanging up and I say to myself, “You did something right, girl. Just remember which photograph you used so you don’t send another one!”

You see, I have no qualms with sending several to one person. They always like it because people like nice images of themselves and it’s cool to see it on canvas. It gives you a sense of being painted by an artist without all the lag time and messy brushes.

So I say, if you’re watching your budget, take a look at MyPopArt.com and you’ll see just how affordable some of the gifts are. More than affordable, distinctly unique and fun. Just like the giver, baby!

If you’re like me, most of your old photographs sit in a box somewhere. That box gets pulled out when some old friends stop by or maybe during a holiday, when relatives gather around a table and review their common history. Other than those special times, the box gathers dust in an attic or a closet. Here at PopArt, we encourage you to blow the dust off and send us some of your best, vintage photographs. Give them a new life!

As you sort through your old photos, look for ones that are well-focused and well-lit. In addition, make sure the image isn’t too distant. It may take some time, but a good photograph will mean a great art piece once you send it to us.

Once you send it to us, you can choose several options. One option that is fun to consider is our vintage choice. We have the ability to make your vintage photograph even more classic by bringing out tones and colors in a more bold, lively way. Imagine that - making your vintage photograph even more vintage!

Once we’ve worked our magic, you will have a lively, artistic piece that certainly doesn’t belong in your closet! You’ll bring your history to life in a new and specialized way. Hang it up with pride. Your life is one-of-a-kind - keep your memories alive and surround yourself with them. It’s a beautiful thing - to remember where you come from and the people you’ve been lucky enough to encounter. Let us bring your history to life.

I just hit 40 and wanted to do something particularly outrageous for this milestone.  So I jumped out of a plane.  It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.

I really wanted to jump out of a window instead.  It was a trying year.  I went through a divorce and the loss of a job.  I moved two times and the second home was a disaster.  The roof caved in and the septic system exploded.  Ah life. After the plane experience, I decided I wanted a new piece of art in my latest home - one that showcased me in all my crazy glory.  That’s when I contacted MyPopArt.com.  I guess in a weird way, I thought that if I hung up a cool piece of art in my new home, it simply couldn’t fall apart anymore…damnit.

So I decided on the Marilyn Monroe style, quadrant art piece - with 4 varying replicas of my beautiful albeit stressed face.  I took a photo with my new camera.  It took me all afternoon because I was the photographer and had to set the timer.  And I wanted the photo to really feel like me - with all the flaws and foibles and stresses.  With all the beauty, elegance and fortitude.  Me at 40 - take it or leave it shot.

Finally I settled on one that seemed to fit the bill.  It was a simple shot of me but seemed to express subtle elements of my personality.  When I got it back, I felt a little embarrassed to put it up on the wall but soon got over it.  I mean, who cares what anybody thinks.  I’m 40 years old!  Ha!  You can’t tell me what to do!  You’re not the boss of me!

At first I put it on the living room wall but soon realized it fit better in my bedroom.  So I could wake up and see myself, simply and plainly but brightly and colorfully.  We’re made up of many components after all.  Pop Art made me see the caricature that was me; the fun and vibrance that lie deep inside.  And heck, it just looks good on my wall…and covers up the crack that’s forming.  Great.

I’ve divided the people in my life into two groups: people that are easy to shop for and the “other ones.”

The easy group - well, I’ll give you a “for instance.” My nephew is 20-year-old and has his first apartment. He shares it with two other “dudes” his age. It was such a nice apartment at first…sigh. Anyway, point being: this kid needs just about anything: a toothbrush, socks, t-shirts, food, disinfectant.

The other group drive me crazy. Well, not anymore, since my friend referred my to MyPopArt.com. Some think gift certificates are the easy way out. And on some levels they’re right, if you get some boring gift certificate at some megastore. But at MyPopArt.com, the choosy people in my life are guaranteed something unique.

So my dear cousin Maurice who has an all-white apartment, he gets a gift certificate. I gave him one last year and he actually told me that he’d like another one next year (because he knows I struggle with gifts for him, I think!) He sent in some abstract off-white photograph that compliments his walls very nicely and he seems thrilled with it. It’s the centerpiece of his living room.
And it’s easy. I don’t have it in me to fret over people’s ever-approaching birthdays anymore. I have a new business I started and a house to take care of. Purchasing these gifts makes my life easier. And ultimately, its all about me. Even on their birthday. Just kidding, Maurice!

I painted my living room blue because my job drives me crazy.  It’s very stressful and I work ridiculous hours.  I used a pale blue with some navy blue accents.  I wanted to walk into at the end of the day, sink into my cushy couch and sip on some fine red wine.

But somehow, the room wasn’t totally working and I wasn’t sure why.  That’s when I remembered a piece of Pop Art I had created by MyPopArt.com.  It was a gift for my aunt but now it was time a self-gift, as it were!

I looked through a myriad of photographs I had during my travels around the world - when times were more peaceful and I could be a hippie, traveling carelessly around the world.  Ah, the days!  I found a stellar shot of the coastline in Australia, rich with vibrant blues and greens.  I remembered how serene that locale was and how I’d do anything to recreate it.

Well, recreate it I did.  I brought Australia and that lovely time back into my life - which was exciting.

With my work pressures, I was thrilled to hang my new piece up on the wall.  And strangely enough, I found my life becoming more peaceful.  I looked forward to coming home and genuinely relaxing.  The piece hung on my wall as a reminder of simpler times and prettier places.  It reminds me that whatever element is in this work of art has to be integrated into my life some more.  Well, I guess it already is.

I live in the woods. When I walked outside, I’m surrounded by deep greens and rich browns and yellows. Sky blue sneaks in somewhere in between the top branches. It’s always a lovely experience. Except when I go back indoors! You see, my house doesn’t have a lot of windows and it’s rather dark. More than dark, there’s very little indicator that I live in such a beautiful place! Luckily, Pop Art helped me bring the outside in.

I took my new HD camera out into the wilderness one morning and took some of the most vibrant shots I could find; ones with lots of light (but not too much - I knew I didn’t want an overexposed shot) and color. I ended up grabbing the best picture near a small lake. It was an expansive shot with tons of light and space. Perfect, I thought!
I sent it off and let MyPopArt.com work its wonder on my simple, clean shot. When it was returned, I hung it up right over the fireplace so you see it when you walk in my place. I wanted in view upon entry - at that moment when I get discouraged that my place seems too dark!

Well, it certainly worked. My place seems more open and somehow…connected to the outdoors. It doesn’t seem like such a different experience as it did before. I live in too pretty of a place to not have elements of it inside the house with me…and PopArt.com just helped me do it.

I have several pets - a puppy, two cats, a lizard and two seagulls. That’s right, two seagulls. I have two gulls that wake me up at the same time every morning. You could set your watch to them.

I take photos of all of my lovely creatures. They are a wonderful life force in the household, and down to the lizard, they are all loved. The best way I can think of to pay homage to them is taking my best photo and sending it off to My Pop Art and having them work their magic.

Since the puppy (Theo) is the latest addition to the household and infinitely fun to watch, he’s been my latest subject. He’s such a sweetie and always getting into things. My favorite shot of him is one where he knocked over a can of paint (it was outside, so I wasn’t as upset as I’d normally be!) His lily white fur was covered with this bright, lemon yellow paint. He could have cared less, of course and continued his frolicking around the backyard.

The shots were beautiful. It was a sunny day and his multi-hued fur against the green grass backdrop was incredible! His happy, innocent expression added to perfection of the show. I sent it off to MyPopArt.com, knowing how well they work with animal portraits.

I can’t tell you how pleased I was to see the final piece. The colors jumped out that much more and to see it on a canvas just authenticated the experience for me.

It now hangs up on my office wall. And it is, by far, the piece de resistance! It brightens up my entire office. It practically jumps off the wall. And trust me, I need some brightening up around my workplace area - it can be a somber place, when I’m paying bills, etc.

If you’re like me, you can take a good photo every once in a while but they’re not much to write home about.  Well, I should say if were like me, because now I have several topshelf photos to call my own.  And a few of them, I’ve sent off to Pop Art.com to put on canvas.

It all started when I got a digital camera.  And we’re not talking anything fancy here.  A Fuji, consumer-grade, $250 deal.  Well, I was astounded.  After years of shooting with my old film camera, I had never seen the likes of such crisp, colorful photos.  I can only imagine what it’s like to shoot with an HD camera or pro SLR camera (I imagine too much now - I’d like to buy one this year!)

Anyway, I started taking some phenomenal shots.  I mean, not just in my opinion.  I put them up on Flickr and received some positive feedback there.  I put them on MySpace page as well.  Again, more positive feedback.

There was one I took of my best friend, who is going through a rough time right now.  I decided to treat her by sending it to PopArt.com and having the image transferred to canvas.  What a treat!  It looked awesome.  She was bowled over and I know it cheered her up a bit.  Something about the image being placed on canvas brought it that much more to life, plus giving it this genuinely artistic feel.

So give it a shot…literally!

I have a vintage art piece from PopArt in my office, which I love.  Every day I enter the space, I see my dear grandfather as a little boy, fishing by the side of the lake.  It’s a great way to start the day, because he is my history.  I am his legacy.  It gives the start of my day a certain depth, a reminder of who I am and where I come from - before I get pulled into the whirlpool of stress and stuff I need to do!

I also sent a photo into PopArt of my boyfriend and I.  We met online and I fell for him hard.  It seemed so 21st century, meeting someone online.  We talked for months before we even met one another!  When we finally did, it was splendid.  But since we had so little shared history, I sent a photo of us into PopArt to give us a little history.  I know, it seems impossible.  But sometimes you have to work with what you have, you know?  Work from the inside out.

The photo is of us sitting on a blanket in the park.  When I got it back, we seemed so stately and elegant suddenly!  We both laughed and we both have a copy - his on his desk and mine in my bathroom (not the most glorious location, but I have limited space in my NYC apartment!)

Whenever I look at the artwork, it makes me think that you don’t really need to have tons of shared history in the standard sense of the term.  Perhaps we’ve known each other for many lifetimes.  That’s what it seems like whenever I see the vintage art piece of us - that we have a shared history that goes beyond this mere life.

Okay, I’m waxing a tad philosophical.  Sorry!  But if you want to try it out for size, send a photograph of you or you and a loved one and see how you feel when the piece comes back.  If you’re like me, you’ll feel older and wiser in the best of ways!

The last time I went to see my niece, she was a little nightmare, frankly.  She’s going thru the terrible two’s phase and while she’s been a sweetheart for the most part, she has her moments.  This time, she had broken a glass at the dining room table and had an utter meltdown.

I hearkened back to the days of me ex, who didn’t seem drastically different when upset, except for the fact that he had about 30 years on her!  Anyway, whole other story…PopArt still made an awkward moment exquisite.  How?

Well, just as I thought my eardrums would surely shatter from the decibel and pitch of her cry, I decided a picture was in order.  Her face was so perfectly contorted with anger and upset, I thought perhaps a snapshot would make some levity of the situation!

My sister thought the same thing.  She grabbed her camera too.  Much to our surprise, once we started taking the shot, Hallie, my neice, instantly became subdued and curious.  Wow, not only were we capturing a cool shot, we were quieting the little beast…I mean, my little niece.  My dear, dear niece.

My sister’s shot turned out the best and we sent it into PopArt and chose the Pop Art style (they have several others, even though there name is PopArt).  When we received it very shortly afterwards, we laughed ourselves silly!  We’ve hung it up in our nursery and my sister says she appreciates every time Hallie has a tantrum.  She realizes there’s some humor in a tough situation.  Thanks, PopArt!