The "fortune" is an actual slip of paper I typed, printed, cut down to size and glued to the canvas. Not only does this look more interesting and authentic, it also allows me to sell each painting for less than if I'd had to painstakingly render all that precise lettering by hand. Win-win!
I've done four of these paintings so far, each with an important piece of wisdom or advice*: "Be your own guardian angel", "Be brave", "You are stronger than you know", and the one shown above, which I made just for me. I'm going to hang it up in the area where I paint to remind me to stay calm/take time for myself sometimes/not be such a worrywort.
In the future I'd like to offer custom fortune cookie paintings. That way you could order one with a piece of wisdom you choose yourself - something you sometimes need to be reminded of. Also, let's all take a moment to picture the awesome gift-giving potential here:
Classy - you could use the person's favourite quote.
Predictive - an actual fortune you would wish for them, like "You will be famous" for an aspiring actor.
Passive-aggressive - if you're forced to buy a gift for someone you don't actually like, consider going with a backhanded compliment like "You're as sweet as you are pretty."
Outright snarky - do you have a playfully mean relationship with someone? Perhaps they'd get a kick out of a cookie whose fortune says "Fewer carbs" or "Nobody likes you."
I'm totally psyched about this idea (can you tell?). It's weird, but after every painting (or series of paintings) I do, I always feel like "Well, that was it. That's the last cool idea I'll ever have. I've used them all up now." And then a few weeks later - pow - new inspiration hits me and it's like getting a phone call from a childhood best friend who's still just as funny and smart and awesome as I remembered. It's like "Oh! Wow. Inspiration? Is that you? I never thought I'd hear from you again. How you doin'?" And Inspiration and I have a long talk that leaves me feeling electrified and before I know it it's 3am and I'm making a blog post because I'm too excited to sleep.
By the way, all this cookie-painting has made me want to do other paintings of food, too...just because. I'll let you know how that goes!
And hey - feel free to suggest "fortunes" to me - if I like one I'll totally use it (and unlike with custom orders, you're under no obligation to buy the resulting painting).
*Yeah, yeah, technically that's not a "fortune" but neither is half the stuff you'll find in an actual fortune cookie.
Can I have one that says "Suck The Motorized Penguin"? :cP
ReplyDelete*note: has very little money*
I want this one. This "breathe" one. But I can't find it on Etsy?
ReplyDeleteMia: I haven't uploaded any of them just yet. Soon, though. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd this exact one, I'm keeping for myself...but I'm going to make another "breathe" one 'cause I think it's an important piece of advice!
Damini: I'm not sure I can condone that sort of behaviour toward motorized penguins. :D