Category: Fine Art Reproduction

September Artist of the Month: Jason Wallerstein

Posted on | by Madi
Jason Wallerstein was born in South Florida in 1977. As a child, he played in the swamps along with snakes, frogs, turtles, and spiders, and he appreciates the flora and fauna that make up the South. Jason began his fine arts studies at the prestigious, Dreyfoos High School of the Arts in Palm Beach, Florida. He furthered his art education with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). 
 
Jason Wallerstein’s art is quite colorful and is heavily influenced by animals and nature. Themes include flowers, plants, and life experiences. Jason has a love for printmaking and is constantly painting; focusing on his surrounding locale and adventurous encounters. 

Jason Wallerstein and his family moved to Austin in March, 2020. He quickly fell in love with the Texas Hill Country and its’ critters and all of the amazing things (mythical and real) that Central Texas has to offer. From watching the Austin bats flee downtown bridges in search of food at dusk, armadillos in psychedelic party attire, to wild turkeys gobbling aggressively, Jason Wallerstein’s artwork is meant to share his love for all things Texas and the outdoors.”Miller Blueprint’s Dana Burton is so precise and a true perfectionist when it comes to all things color related. Dana is meticulous at color matching prints to the original artwork and really values accuracy, with an unwillingness to settle for anything less than perfect, which as an artist, is truly important and an asset to have on your side.Sydney Donelson is a super supportive cheerleader for any artist that works with Miller Blueprint! We really love working with Sydney because she is always happy, easy going, friendly, and has an amazing can-do attitude about printing artwork. I know I can shoot off an idea to Sydney and she can give me a run down of what has been done in the past or, how to execute my ideas to grow our business. I recently had an emergency and needed a large print done and called Sydney in a panic. She was able to quickly assess our needs and even set up delivery, right to our studio!

Working with Miller Blueprint has overall been a true pleasure. The professionalism exuded by Dana and Sydney has allowed us to feel comfortable working with Miller Blueprint. And, we will continue to do so in the future.” – Donna Wallerstein, Sales & Marketing Specialist BrunkyArt

Contact Jason: 
Instagram: @brunkyart
Facebook: BrunkyArt
Twitter: @BrunkyArt
Pinterest: @BrunkyArt
Website: brunky.com
 
Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.

August 2022 Artist of the Month: Connie Adcock

Posted on | by Madi
Connie Adcock was a first-grade teacher at Colorado Academy in Denver for many years. Her approach to teaching young children was to combine her love of books and storytelling, with her flair for art. She loved teaching the kids and was very proud of the stories they wrote and illustrated.
 
Then it was time to retire. Connie and her husband decided to start a new chapter in their lives by moving to Austin. “In line with my notion of moving to Texas for a new “adventure,” I thought to myself: Now it’s time for me to be an artist. So I started painting every day – watercolors and acrylics mostly – and I have loved every minute of it. I’m fascinated by color and pattern, especially in nature. But I also like to create intricate, abstract patterns.”
 
“With each picture I get immersed in the emotion of the painting. These emotions run the gamut from thoughtful and introspective to exuberant and wild. Generally, I think my art expresses positive emotions. People often tell me it seems cheerful and optimistic. I know I love sharing it with them.”
 
“I have worked with Larry and Dana at Miller Blueprint for many years. They are wonderfully competent, but even better, they are wonderful people – always friendly, supportive, and helpful. I would strongly recommend Miller to anyone who is looking for graphic services.”
 
Contact Connie: 
Instagram: @connieadcockart
Website: connieadcockart.com

Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.

July 2022 Artist of the Month: Shannon Fannin

Posted on | by Madi

Born 1969 in California, artist Shannon “Shan” Fannin brings vehicles to life with a combination of photorealism and abstraction. Painting in a unique style using acrylics, hands, and brushes allows her to focus on the vehicle while giving a hint of the abstract surroundings.  Fannin travels within the United States and internationally to photograph vehicles and talk with their owners to enhance her creative process.  

Fannin has had 3 solo exhibitions in Colorado, Florida, and Texas. She has shown in national galleries and museums throughout the United States including exhibitions through the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society, International Guild of Realism, American Artists Professional League, and American Women Artists. In January 2022 she won First Place in the inaugural Bill Neale Automotive Fine Arts competition. In March 2021 she received Best of Show with the International Guild of Realism, and she became a finalist for the Art Renewal Center exhibition, which included more than 5000 entries from over 80 countries. In 2020 Shan was awarded Best Composition in the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society Best of America. She has been published in Korean, Greek, British, Italian, Spanish, and American publications/blogs including Motortrend Korea, American Art Collector, and Fine Art Connoisseur Blog, Cars Yeah!, and Where Women Create. Fannin’s artworks are currently available through galleries in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. 

“I have been working with Dana for about 5 years. To me, she is a digital magician with crazy skills. My paintings are usually quite large (up to 6′ long) and I use a lot of colors to make my photorealistic vehicles believable. Dana tirelessly matches the colors I’ve used to reproduce high quality giclee prints. Thanks to Dana’s hard work, I can offer fine art prints that my collectors can appreciate and enjoy. Dana is a gem, and I appreciate her dedication and professionalism. I’m so thankful that I work with her, Luci, and the whole Miller Imaging & Digital Solutions team.”

Contact Shannon: 
Instagram: @shanfannin
Facebook: Art by Shan Fannin
Website: shanfannin.com

See more of Shannon’s art on our website.

Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.

June 2022 Featured Artist: Jamie McCormick

Posted on | by Madi

Jamie Billman McCormick, the artist behind JBM Studio, is an avid people watcher and recreationalist based in beautiful Austin, TX. Jamie’s modern landscapes reflect life outside and often feature beloved local watering holes. She is passionate about preserving public lands and aims to make art that brings joy and connection through shared experiences. Jamie works primarily in acrylic, gouache, mixed media, and plant-based dyes.

“I’ve worked with Dana and Miller IDS for a number of years. She is always responsive and patient, no many how many times I have to ask her to adjust colors or send and re-send files. Dana is committed to capturing and reproducing a high quality images and I am grateful for her expertise.”

Contact Jamie: 
Instagram: @jbm.studio
Website: jbm.studio

Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.

May 2022 Featured Artist: Janis Fowler

Posted on | by Madi

Janis Fowler is a 38 year old artist from South Carolina. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in architecture from Clemson University, but due to the recession at the time it was one of the most difficult professions to get hired into. Fowler decided to move to Austin right after graduation to try for an architecture job, but quickly switched to bartending and waiting tables as a way to make ends meet. Art has always been a passion of hers, and as time went on she was offered spots on the walls of the restaurants she worked at to display and sell the art she was creating in her free time.

“The success of my small art business has grown organically and chaotically since that day, and it remains a wonder to me that it came to be at all. My work has also been through many stages of growth, starting out as graphite portraits and later becoming playful, colorful paintings of people and animals, sometimes combined with landscapes and psychedelic elements.”

“I’m so thankful for the places that have enabled my success, one of the biggest places being Miller Blueprint. I became a Miller customer at the recommendation of another artist back around 2011, and have been blown away by their quality and customer service ever since. Thanks to the amazing work of Dana, I’ve been able to confidently sell prints of my work knowing the quality of the prints are absolute top-tier and the colors are spot on. It is such a joy to come into the 7th street location and see Dana and Larry and the rest of the crew as well. Miller Blueprint is just the best.”

Contact Janis:
Instagram: @fowlmouthed
Website: janis-fowler-art.squarespace.com
 
Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.

April 2022 Featured Graphics: PIA MidAmerica 2022 GraphEx Awards

Posted on | by Madi

Printing & Imaging of America (PIA) hosts annual Graphic Excellence Awards (GraphEx Awards) which recognize our industry’s outstanding technical achievements in innovation and print production. Earlier this month at the regional awards (MidAmerica) we received advanced notice of 10 awards on entries our talented customers allowed us to enter.

Best of Category:
Art reproductions digital- Tetris Austin by Mila Sketch
Calendars, booklet digital- Arielle Austin Calendars
Posters digital- Sara by Janis Fowler
Wide format (40” or more) display graphics digital- Fluence BioEngineering
Wide or grand format, interior/exterior scapes- Blue Sushi
Wide or grand format, special installation- Plank Seafood Provisions

Award of Recognition:
Announcements & invitations digital- Open Door Preschools Fall Fete Invitations- designed by Buie&Co
Art reproductions digital- Aeons by Jona Burkhalter
Calendars, flat digital- Miller IDS 2022 Artists’ Calendar
Menus digital- Angie’s Mexican Food Restaurant Menu
  
At the regional award event in Dallas we were surprised with an additional 3 awards that are listed below. While these pieces won Best of Category in their specific area, the following awards are open to all “best of category” award winners, so the competition for them is much more intense.

Regional Awards
-Division II (companies with 26-75 employees): Silver award for Tetris Austin by Mila Sketch (art reproduction)
-Best of Central Texas: Platinum award for Plank Seafood Provisions (environmental graphics originally submitted for “wide or grand format, special installation”)
-Best of Digital Printing: Bronze award for Sara by Janis Fowler (art reproduction).

The environmental graphics installation at Plank Seafood Provisions in the Domain has been submitted for national judging and we hope that the praise for this creative design and installation will continue! Thank you to our amazing customers for trusting us with your projects and visions and to those who allowed us to enter their work into the GraphEx contest!

Congrats to all who won!

If you would like to get started on a project with our graphics team, reach out to Sydney Donelson at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

April 2022 Featured Artist: Jeff Kovalcik

Posted on | by Madi
Jeff Kovalcik moved from his hometown of New Braunfels to Austin in 2002 where he finished his BA in studio art at the University of Texas in 2006. His career would meander a bit before he took a detour into the funeral profession where learned the importance of permanent memorialization. During this time, he was still making art but only as a hobby.
 
“I had been experimenting with scratchboard and had seen the realism achieved by other artists and I was enthralled by their work.”
His first scratchboard pet portrait began as a Christmas present in 2013 to memorialize a family pet. Little did he know, that after sharing that first portrait online, he would soon be dedicating his work to a new medium that captures detailed lighting and hyper-realistic textures unlike any he had tried before. After a few years of practicing his craft, he knew that he wanted to provide this service for pet lovers everywhere.
 
Thus was born, Kustompawtraits.com, Kovalcik’s endeavor to create custom and lifelike portraits of our little furry ones. He hopes to contribute to the pet loving community, by creating lasting art for their homes. The results are photorealistic and the black and white aspect allows a unique high contrast, perfect for portraiture.
 
“My goal as an portrait artist, is to create meaningful art that will capture the personality, the twinkle in the eyes, that little mole on their cheek, the spots on their fur and all the other little intricacies that bring your pet to life. I look forward to providing this service full time for years to come and hope I can create some truly unique “pawtraits” and relationships along the way.”
 
“I believe my first encounter with Miller Printing was when I was with the funeral home and drove a company vehicle down to their previous shop to get a window decal affixed to the side. Years later I had a show up at Kerbey Lane Cafe and wanted to get my work professionally scanned for better documentation. I remembered Miller, so I brought in a bunch of work and Dana Burton did such an amazing job. Sooo much better than my old iPhone 4s taking pics! Crisp blacks, and the crazy detail of the scans were sooo cool. So now, every time I finish one of the pet “pawtraits” or any of my other scratchboards I bring them down to Miller so Dana will take care of them.”
 
Contact Jeff:
Facebook: Kustom Pawtraits
Instagram: @kustompawtraits
TikTok: Kustompawtraits
Website: kustompawtraits.com
 
Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.

March 2022 Artist of the Month: Janna White

Posted on | by Madi

Janna White started her art “career” at the age of 70 in acrylics and watercolor, but eventually found a “happy place” combining hand painted papers with collage. Janna lives with her daughter and family in Austin, and continues to create art for the joy of it. After having many careers in her 76 years, she now has time in her “retirement” to be creative!

The collage (left) is from a set of four named “Under the Sea” that Janna created for her granddaughter to use as placemats. “She loves that I repurpose her homework into painted papers!” Janna said.

“I am very familiar with the services offered at Miller Imaging, and Dana is the go-to person for fine arts.”

Contact Janna via email
 
Janna and Dana, our fine art specialist, pictured left with Janna’s art brought in for scanning.
 
Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.

February 2022 Artist of the Month: Rhea Groepper Pettit

Posted on | by Madi

Rhea Groepper Pettit is a contemporary realist painter, and her subjects are typically people, animals, and still lifes. Pettit’s practice is rooted in traditional oil painting technique, while using contemporary subjects, compositions, and rendering. Pettit says, “You have to know the rules in order to break them”. Her experience as a graphic designer also influences her composition and color choices.

Pettit majored in fine art at the University of Texas, but the huge abstracts that were all the rage back then just weren’t her style, and she wanted to earn a living. Pettit switched to a more “practical” degree in graphic design, and for the next 25 years was a professional designer, doing a few paintings here and there, and a lot of digital collage for fun.

Since 2013, Pettit has diligently devoted time to practice fine art and grow as an oil painter, taking many workshops and painting from life on a regular basis (pre-pandemic). In 2016 she transitioned to painting full time as a professional artist.

Pettit has shown in Austin, Georgetown, Round Rock, NYC, Taylor, Waco, Dallas, and Conroe gallery group shows, and has had small solo shows in Austin, Georgetown, and Pflugerville (her home for 12 years). She has also won several awards in juried shows, and is honored to be a member of Capitol Art Society.

“I recently created a series of figures in nature, which I call “Heavenly Bodies” Twenty-eight of these paintings were included in a show at Dougherty Arts Center in December. I am currently working on a series of clothing on clotheslines, which is both nostalgic and modern.”

“I love Miller Imaging, and have been a customer since my design days back in the 90s! Dana is amazing, and has a great eye for detail and color. She is a true miracle worker; I always trust her to scan my paintings for fine art prints. Larry and the rest of the staff who I’ve worked with have all been professional and very welcoming. I feel like I’m walking into “Cheers” (where everyone knows your name) when I visit. That is a rare thing these days, and is very appreciated!”

Website: www.rgpettit.com
Instagram: @rheapettit

Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.

 

January 2022 Artist of the Month: Dwain Kelley

Posted on | by Madi

Dwain Kelley’s paintings and drawings have slowly but surely evolved from an early realism— landscapes, primarily — to works that retain that foundation but explore the shape, line, and color relationships in a more experimental direction.

Even in the simplest pen-and-ink line drawing, there is always movement and tension. Some pieces are carefully orchestrated while others start off spontaneous and then develop naturally. With the exception of black-and-white drawings, almost all are mixed-media, utilizing gouache, graphite, and prismacolor pencil, pastels, and ink. Dwain’s approach to both life and art is essentially optimistic, and he conveys that quite successfully in all his works. 

Dwain Kelley: Website

Contact our fine art specialist, Dana Burton, for more information on fine art scans and reproduction.