My Pop Art offers distinctive and fun gifts based on Pop Art. And while many of us roughly know what Pop Art is (”Andy Warhol invented it, right?”), most of us don’t know that it consists of an entire movement that has spanned for decade upon decade. This Valentine’s Day, give gifts that have a powerful history within our culture.

So what is Pop Art? Here’s one definition:

Pop Art in Britain refers to a group of artists who began appearing on the scene in the mid-1950s. This identity was formed around The Independent Group, an intellectual circle consisting of the painters Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton, the architectural partnership of Alison and Peter Smithson, and the art critic Lawrence Alloway. In its theoretical explorations, The Independent Group focused on a theoretical exploration of technology, hence the recurring references to science-fiction in British Pop Art.

As you can, Pop Art wasn’t just about Andy Warhol. Its roots reach back to Britain in the 1950’s. Then it “landed” in America:

In general terms, it emerged from the work of Robert Rauschenberg and, chiefly, Jasper Johns, and is characterized by an interest in ordinary objects, irony, and a faith in the potency of images. American Pop Art has its home specifically in New York, where at the outset artists such as Claes Oldenburg and Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol exhibited, then James Rosenquist, George Segal and Tom Wesselman.

Andy Warhol wasn’t mentioned until considerably later in the story. Perhaps Warhol’s art gets the most notice because of his celebrityhood. Most artists don’t know how to “play the scene” as well as Warhol did. He become intertwined with his artwork, ultimately leading him to be the artwork, to some extent. Smart man!

Oh, poor letter writing. It sure has taken a beating in the last few years. Who has time for a letter when you could easily send an email? Heck, why even bother with an email when you could send a text? Pretty soon, we’ll be communicating in abbreviations and utterances, moving toward to a techno-savvy cavemen era.

My Pop Art allows you to reconnect with your mother tongue by opting for Pop Art cards, where you are the card designer. That’s right. No Hallmark here. Just you and your creativity, with the aid of the artists at My Pop Art.

Find a photo you want to turn into a card and then choose from the following.

Popart Style: Inspired from artist and pop culture icon Andy Warhol, this vibrant custom portrait will add a touch of Hollywood to any room

Vintage Style: Hand-tinting photographs creates one-of-a-kind artwork. Light
brown sepia and pastel tones are used for this style

Artstrokes Style: Thick brush strokes and artistic textures create a musem qulaity portrait that is reminiscent of an impressionist oil painting.

Previous Order: If you are a returning customer and have already purchased
a Popart or Vintage Print and would like to place this design on a card you will not be charged a design fee.

After receiving your order, put that pen to paper. Make someone’s day by sending them a truly original, fun card with actual handwriting on it!

Valentine’s Day can feel like a second Christmas. People expect gifts – even people who you’re not dating. Moms for instance can expect a little something. A lonely friend might appreciate a little something warm and lovely. Even people at your workplace could stand a chocolate or two. Well, My Pop Art is a great “one stop shopping” site for Valentine’s Day. And the Limited Editions they offer are just the ticket for some of the fussier people in your life.

Limited Edition art is lush artwork created by the artists themselves at My Pop Art. The artwork is rich in color and very inviting, working on just about any wall. A Limited Edition piece might be just what you need for, let’s say, a mother-in-law in your life, bound to elicit many “oohs” and “ahhs”

And these pieces of art are genuinely one of a kind. As the web page states:

This is a limited edition run of 350 prints. Printed on 100% rag cotton acid free watercolor paper. Signed and numbered by the artist in the lower right corner. The print comes with a certificate of authenticity from My Popart, LLC Limted Editions.

Why not give a special someone something truly distinctive this Valentine’s Day; something that is bound to please even the most discriminating friend, relative or loved one.

Plus, the artwork is so naturally spring-like, its bound to bring a little warmth and sunlight into any home.

But get your order in soon – Valentine’s Day is only weeks away!

Valentine’s Day actually has a rich and expansive history. Before we share the details, remember to start shopping now. You certainly don’t want to be in a position of being empty-handed for the Day of Red, do you? My Pop Art makes gift-buying easy and fun. You can explore the photos you have of a loved one and send it in to their artists, who will memorialize the feelings you have for a loved one in a special, bold and unique way.

So on to Valentine’s Day and its rich history! Here’s a little taste of the history of this day:

Valentine’s Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

So just when you want to write off Valentine’s Day as another Hallmark holiday, remember, it’s a little more than that. It has roots that reach far back. Celebrate your Valentine’s Day this year by being loving and open, regardless of having that one special person. The Feast of Lupercalia is upon us!

We often think of Valentine’s Day as a day for lovers when in fact it’s a day for LOVE. Just as much as that special loved on in your life likes the attention that Valentine’s Day brings, your mother or in-law or good friend could stand a little “heart” warming as well. That’s where My Pop Art comes in. It’s perfect for anyone in your life because each gift can be tailored made for them!

Let’s take your Mom for instance. Moms often get overlooked on Valentine’s Day. It might be a perfect time to give them some extra lovin’ focus. Find a photo you love of your Mom (and make sure she likes it too!) and send it into My Pop Art You can choose from a number of options to jazz that photo up and give your mother the real “movie star” treatment.

If it’s a friend that could stand a little extra love, then find a photo of you two together. Maybe its at that rock concert where you could have sworn the singer sang right at you! Or maybe it was a quiet picnic in the park, where you shared secrets. Or perhaps just the two of you at a party, being silly and outrageous. Your friend will appreciate a My Pop Art gift because it says you celebrate the love that you feel for that person in your life.

Not everyone has a romantic other for Valentine’s Day. And maybe its time we expand its meaning a little. Let’s included everyone in on the Love. That’s what Valentine’s Day should be, after all. A celebration of Love of all kinds – familial, friendly, romantic.

Heck, it might be time to give your pet a little extra Love during this special day. He or she might not know its Valentine’s Day (well, I can kinda guarantee Rover won’t but…), Love is Love and should be shared a’ plenty!

We’re in the thick of it right now. It’s very cold (at least in this part of the country) and the nights are still long. People seem to be sleepy, hazy and a little heavy. It’s a common phenomenon, this syndrome. Our bodies are in a semi-hibernatory state. Our minds can feel the same way, which can mean a certain depressive tendency can descend upon us. My Pop Art offers artwork that’s guaranteed to pick those sagging spirits up!

We all know that music can have that same “pick-me-up” effect, right? Sad songs say so much but a big, bold rock song can really shake the cobwebs right off of you as well. A piece of classical music can soothe you (sometimes – occasionally a frenetic classical piece can be unnerving!) Jazz can ground you and help you feel more present.

Artwork, especially Pop Art, can enliven you. It’s like a fun, bold neon light beckoning your spirits to rise and play. There’s something about Pop Art that elicits a playful side in all of us. It’s very anti-formal. During these cold months, a piece of Pop Art can keep those creative fires burning or add some energy to your home.

Remember, art is a powerful tool. It’s not meant to sit quietly on your walls and do nothing. Its meant to inspire and move you. It serves a purpose. Pop Art has a very particular purpose – to reflect our culture right back at us, making us smile and contemplate the world in which we live and seeing how we fit into it.
During a cold, long winter, some bright, bold artwork could be just what the doctor ordered!

Valentine’s Day can be a pressure-filled holiday for some. Even with a partner, there is no guarantee that the day will work out exactly the way you dreamed. Without a partner, it’s often easy to feel sorry for yourself and retreat during this holiday (is it really a holiday? Hmmm…)

Valentine’s Day is about Love, Love of all kinds. It’s not simply about that “Cupid Hit You with Arrow” Love. My Pop Art can help you to genuinely celebrate the love that is in your life, because undoubtedly, it’s all over the place. You just don’t notice it as much as you should.

If you’re alone this Valentine’s Day, order yourself a gift celebrating the most important love you can feel: self-love! Find a photograph of you that you really like; one that showcases the best qualities, the ones that you would love if you were another person, from afar. Send it into My Pop Art and get the “Marilyn” treatment done to it (meaning that the artists there will make your photograph into a Pop Artwork reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe prints.)

When it comes to your home, hang it up proudly. Love starts with you, not some Magical, Mystical Other Person. Once you can begin to celebrate that, the Mystical People magically fall into place.

But if you can’t learn to celebrate that self-love, chances are, you are more of a magnet for um, other not so Mystical types, going by the name of Sam, whom you met at a bar one night and…oh, overshare.

I know of a friend who was very mad at her ex-boyfriend for some time. It made it hard for her to meet other people, since she felt so burnt by his behavior. One year, she decided to do something completely different. She would send her ex a Valentine’s Gift. She rarely received any gifts from him when they were together, and somehow she felt that act of giving him a gift at this point would be healing. And she was right! She sent him a framed photo of the two of them together, during happier times, as a reminder that not all was bad. Had she known about My Pop Art, she could have upped the ante and sent him a gift that was extra special.

My Pop Art can make a Valentine’s Gift an easy process this year. Their gifts are so unique and fun, that a friend or a loved one or a family member is guaranteed to be pleased. All you need to do if find that treasured photo – and we all have some. It’s those photos that bring a smile to your face by looking at them, reminding you of the real bond you share with that special someone.

Once you send it into My Pop Art, they can turn it into Pop Art, using bold, wild colors that showcase and enhance that existing sentiment. It’s like your love for the person was multiplied times ten!

The best part with My Pop Art is how easy the process easy. Simply find that special photo and send it to them via email or snail mail. Choose the size, you can even choose the colors, the rest is up to them. It’s a personal gift for Valentine’s Day, one that truly showcases your feelings for another. It’s a little more than a box of chocolates, that’s for sure!

Gift giving doesn’t come naturally. Or perhaps it does…perhaps the ritual of gift-giving stretches eons backs and infiltrates our consciousness. Perhaps we’re built to give gifts. It’s just in our nature. My Pop Art makes gift-giving that much easier, by providing gifts of unusual merit and creativity.

Maybe it’s time to break the mold and gift something very ungeneric this upcoming birthday or holiday? Maybe it’s time to step out of the malls and megastores and find out what real artists are doing? (That’s right – you!)
So what about gift giving? Where does this magic urge come from? Here one author’s take:
The history of gift giving can be traced back to about the Romans. On the first day of January, around the Winter Solace, people gave each other gifts during a celebration. The gifts were originally evergreen branches, and later developed into cakes, to symbolize prosperity and sweetness in the coming year.

There you go…it’s awfully close to the first day of January and it’s time to get your gift-giving on. Enough with your ideas of Christmas being the big gift-giving day! Give the Romans some props and start giving some gifts at the beginning of the year. Everyone will be pleasantly surprised. Because everyone love a gift. And really, everyone likes to give a gift, resplendent in ribbons and bows preferably.
Hey, maybe it’s time you send a gift to that person you’ve been really mad at for some time? That’s right….break the January ice. Maybe it’s time you send your brother something – the one you don’t get along with.

Give gifts. Keep the love flowing.

Yes, we are all feeling the pinch of difficult economic times. Excess fat needs trimmed, whether that means going out to eat a little less or something more drastic, like paying bills a little less! It’s tough to factor in gifts for others but there are ways to do it that are economically prudent and sound; gift-giving does not have to break the bank! My Pop Art offers wonderful alternatives for gifts that are both creative and fun.

Take their “Photo to Canvas” feature. All you need to do if find the best photo of a loved one (which is pretty cheap, right? You either already have it or can print it for just a few cents), then send it into My Pop Art, where they impose the image of the photograph onto canvas, giving the piece a fine art appearance…without the fine art prices.

Listen, it is difficult to budget for gifts right now. These times are tough! People are losing  homes, savings…and hope. But that’s why gift-giving is so important during these times. It’s a sign of hope, of good things to come. It helps us all focus on the positive, the light a the end of the tunnel.

And it needn’t break the bank. Places like My Pop Art are small businesses themselves. They understand budgets and can find a gift that will match your budget just so. So why not turn a photo into fine art. It will seems as if you spent a fortune when only you and I will know the real price!