Category: Uncategorized

April Artist of the Month: Paul Stankiewicz

Posted on | by Madi

Sometimes inspiration comes from childhood memories or a song on the radio, urban nature and iconic Austin scenes.

Paul Stankiewicz creates a broad range of images that reflect his varied interests and versatility as an artist. Paul graduated with a degree in Industrial Design from Columbus College of Art and Design. He started his career in advertising, then video production, 3D animation and computer game art direction. In his art, he uses everything from large canvases that are sanded down and washed, to layered cut wood panels that are animated with the crank of a handle.

Not literal replicas, Paul’s paintings weave together layers of color and texture to create an impression of the subjects. The designs typically begin with his photos manipulated in the computer, creating layers . . . reality rearranged. The paint then creates an image that is vivid and recognizable and sometimes has the illusion of a photo-like image, but up close the work is distinctly abstract. “I try to resist the temptations of smaller detail brushes. I want the viewer to complete the picture as they want, in their mind. I wish I could say that my process starts with exhaustive research and in-depth studies, but usually I dive right in. I look forward to the learning that is about to take place as each new work reveals itself.”

“In an earlier life when I was in advertising, I visited Miller Blue Print many times to pick up supplies, or graphics for advertisings and presentations. Now I have been visiting Miller again, Miller Imaging, for high end scanning and reproductions of my paintings. They have been a great asset, always putting in the extra time and effort to make their product the best possible.”

Contact Paul:
Website: paulswork.com

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

March Artist of the Month: Becca Borrelli

Posted on | by Madi

Becca Borrelli is a nationally recognized illustrator, muralist, educator and speaker, based out of Austin, TX. Her digital drawings, original paintings, and intuitive art making courses are avenues to share a hopeful and playful representation of the world’s magical sides. Both her work and art classes invite viewers to reflect on the invisible and intuitive aspects of their lived spaces and experiences.

Borrelli has a B.A. in Art Education from Kent State University, and an M.A. from the University of Texas Austin. She has created art for clients such as Visa, Boston Beer, Dell Children’s Medical Center, University Hospital Rainbow Babies & Children Cleveland, Dell Medical School and The University of Texas. Her derivative retail/wholesale products are sold across Texas, where she is most known for her line of adult coloring books. She has worked with organizations such as the Austin Downtown Alliance, Dell Children’s Medical Center, and Mindful Classrooms to develop coloring books as education tools.

She teaches corporate art courses for Facebook teams nationally, in-person courses at Austin Contemporary Art School, as well as virtual on-demand art courses for her online artist community: The HeART School. Between 2018 and 2020, Becca co-founded Austin female based maker collective Lemon House: a local venue that hosted maker events, classes, art shows and community groups.

When Becca isn’t making art, she’s exploring Austin with her husband, son, and two super-pups Layla and Rose.

“I learned of Miller IDS a decade ago as the preeminent Austin printer for beautiful reproductions and large-scale scanning. In the early days as an independent artist, they scanned and printed ink doodles I made for fun. I would sell them on a patchworked blog to friends with cut and paste PayPal buttons. I was a scrappy young artist and I loved their gorgeous, reliable work. Even more, I loved chatting with Larry each time I visited. I was a small account, and yet everyone knew me by my first name and treated me like a friend.
 
Fast-forward to today, they are still supporting my work via a burgeoning wholesale business. I love working with Dana Burton in the Fine Art department. She always gives lightning-fast responses, helps work through problems, and each print job is beautiful. In 2020 I partnered with Dell Children’s Medical Center on a digital mural. When my initial production partner fell through, I reached out to Miller. Their graceful assistance mid-project on one of the largest artworks of my career was when I knew I was in love. This business has been around for a long time and it shows. I trust them implicitly and would emphatically urge anyone to work with them on all projects large or small. This is by far my favorite print shop in Austin!”

Contact Becca:
Website: beccajborrelli.com

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

December Artist of the Month: Mary Doerr

Posted on | by Madi

Austin artist Mary Doerr entered the world as Mary Hugh Colley on January 15, 1934, in Memphis, Texas. After her sister, Jane, entered the world, it became apparent to parents Hugh and Eva Colley that their Depression-era school teacher wages could not support the family, so the family moved to Austin in search of opportunity.

Mary’s father got a job with the state. Mary’s mother put her art degree to work as curator of UT’s Rare Book Collection, where she rebound and repaired old books and manuscripts.

The Colleys lived on East Avenue (now I-35), just south of 19th Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.). It was at John B. Winn Elementary (later the site of UT’s baseball stadium, Disch-Falk Field) that she was introduced to a major influence on her life: Girl Scouts. She loved scouting because it was the one place she could do things considered “too strenuous” for girls at the time.

At University Junior High, she discovered that physical education was her favorite subject. At Stephen F. Austin High School her love of sports led her to join the tennis team, and her love of Girl Scouts took her from camper to counselor at Camp Texlake on Lake Travis.

Throughout those years, her love for creating art grew to wanting to major in art in college. But with practical advice from her mother, Mary entered the University of Texas in 1952, studying to become a physical education teacher. That led to teaching middle school PE in Alvin, Texas, which led to marrying Danny Doerr, which led to the birth of a daughter, Robin, in 1962.

In 1966 Austin called again and the Doerr family answered. Now Mary’s love of Girl Scouts led to a career with the organization, including teaching adult leaders the outdoor skills they needed for teaching the girls.

With similar interests and children of the same age, Mary and Ginny Findeisen became friends and Girl Scout colleagues – a friendship that was to have a profound influence on Mary’s life. Mary credits Ginny with encouraging her to take the first step toward realizing her lifelong dream of becoming a professional artist. By then in her late 40s, Mary took that leap of faith and earned a masters in art at UT.

At her first art show, she received a commission for 10 watercolors. At her second show, at the Old Pecan Street Arts Festival, she realized the success of her Austin scenes meant her dream really could become a reality. Then with proceeds from publishing prints of her paintings, she started her own business – Mary Doerr Studio – in 1985, with Ginny as her business partner. Ten years later she was able to open her own gallery, Images of Austin and the Southwest, on Burnet Road.

Through the following decades, Mary became one of Austin’s most prolific and popular artists, earning her the title of “The Lady Who Paints Austin.”

In 2005, however, failing eyesight meant she could no longer paint. Daughter Robin – who got her own art degree, from UT-El Paso – took over the gallery and frame shop in 2006, letting Mary and Ginny retire to a ranch and enjoy life outdoors in Lampasas County.

Now back in Austin again, publishing “Watercolor Memories of Austin: The Art of Mary Doerr” lets her add “author” to her list of accomplishments – and share her love of her colorful hometown with even more people through her colorful art.

Contact Robin, Mary’s daughter:

Instagram: @Robin.Doerr

Website: marydoerr.com

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

October Artist of the Month: Tom Robb

Posted on | by Madi

What makes Tom Robb`s drawings of our favorite musicians and rockstars a bit different? Tom Robb has been a bodyguard for some of the most popular musicians and rock stars for over 35 years. Touring with Bands like Metallica, Robert Plant, Green Day, Linkin Park, Creed, System of a Down, Twenty One Pilots, Kanye West, and many more gives him a special insight and different view of these popular singers.

Traveling to over 85 countries with music tours has left little time to draw his favorite subjects, but during his rare time off he is always challenging himself to catch the raw emotion and pure intensity he sees and feels nightly by these unique artists.

Creativity runs in Tom Robb’s family. His older brother, Dave Robb, (a great artist in his own right) has had great success as the Head Designer of BMW motorcycles in Munich, Germany for over 30 years. His youngest brother, Doug Robb, is the lead singer for the band Hoobastank and is quite creative and artistic himself and has been a subject of Tom`s drawings in the past.

Tom Robb’s art is owned by many celebrities including James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and Sensational Space Shifters, David Grohl of Foo Fighters, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt of Green Day, Doug Robb of Hoobastank, Bo Jackson of the NFL and MLB, and Shaquille O`Neal of the NBA.

“I do want to say my experience with Miller Imaging is one of the reasons I started getting serious about my art again. The process was so seamless and easy. Every question and concern I had was addressed quickly and professionally. I was learning on the go and Madison`s patience and understanding (on designing his one-sheet) made the whole learning process become a passion project. I have not had that experience in the past and I wouldn’t go anywhere else at this point.”

Contact Tom: 
Email: trobb44@mac.com
Phone: 310-344-2995
#Hellboysecurity

Read the rest of Tom’s feature and see more of his art on our website.

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.

February 2022 Featured Graphics: Alexander Marchant

Posted on | by Madi

Our new neighbors on Metric, Alexander Marchant, reached out to our graphics team to help with window signage and vinyl decal lettering. They requested that we print large logos, hours of operation, warehouse hours, list of vendors, and more.

We printed cut vinyl lettering and installed it on their windows and doors. To make sure the decals were visible from the street, we recommended white as the main color, and used an accent color for the list of vendors to help distinguish the different brands. 

Cut vinyl is a great way to add instructional signage, quick information, and branding to your business, both inside and out. Cut vinyl is also very customizable which makes it versatile and a great option for any business.

Website: www.alexandermarchant.com
Instagram: @alexander_marchant

If you have any questions about cut vinyl, or would like to get started on a project with our graphics team, reach out to Sydney Donelson at CSSR@MillerIDS.com.

 

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.

January 2022 Featured Graphics: Brandon Miller Group Construction Banners

Posted on | by Madi

Brandon Miller Group came to us for mesh construction banners for a new development, The Mercer. The Mercer is located in New Braunfels and will feature 42 single-level condos with shared community amenities, including a resort-style pool, entertaining bar & grills, covered lounge, yard games, and a dog park. The sales and marketing efforts are being handled by Brandon Miller Group, who requested 70 mesh banners installed on the fencing to brand the construction site.

Mesh construction banners are perfect for outdoor use because of the airflow able to get through the material. Other banners can whip around in the wind, causing damage, as well obstructing the design printed on the banner. Since the mesh allows air to flow through the banner, rather than fighting against it, it stays in place and stays visible.

We appreciate Brandon Miller Group for sending their business our way! If you are curious about The Mercer, you can visit their website, and if you are interested, they are now selling in New Braunfels, from the $200’s. 

Brandon Miller Group: website and Instagram
The Mercer: website and Instagram

For more information on banner options, or to place an order, contact our team at CSSR@MillerIDS.com!

December 2021 Artist of the Month: Lucina Suarez

Posted on | by Madi

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, I am a child of Mexican immigrants. From a young age, I’ve enjoyed creating art—weaving, watercolor, mixed media, and recently acrylic painting. Nonetheless, art had been a sideline to a lifelong career in public health and epidemiology. Now retired, time allows me to paint with purpose and passion.

The story of my parents’ journey to the US has been a point of pride among our family. I wrote a book about their journey from Mexico to Texas and our family’s early years in America. The book, published shortly after my mother’s death in 2019, was edited by a journalist friend. With me not being able to afford her professional services, she bartered her skills for a painting—the subject matter left to me. At the time, my thoughts were on my mother, her life, and our world as youngsters. Experiencing her loss conjured up her kitchen, her endless tasks making tortillas and foods of her native land, her traditional tools to grind the corn—molcajete, the vegetables from her garden, the Navidad tradition of making tamales, and her stove. So, I filled my canvas with these memories—the figure of a young woman doing the work, thereby producing joy in the form of flowers flowing from her skirt.

I’m not a professional painter, strictly amateur, still learning. Still, I was loathed to give up the painting, but a deal was a deal. I normally take a photo of my paintings using my iPhone for my beginning portfolio. But for this painting, I took it to Miller, specifically to Dana, to preserve it in the best image possible. I am grateful to Dana, who made sure that the colors, particularly, the red in the skirt was true to the original painting.

-Lucina Suarez

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