A Practical Piece of Art

I'm finally working on my paintings today, and I'm happy to report I'm doing something a little different than my regular wall paintings.  I'm creating functional, one-of-a-kind pieces of artwork... and I plan on selling them at $25.00 a piece. :)

Let me explain myself a little bit... after attending my first show in Ohio, I decided it would behoove me to create some pieces that can easily be sold to make up my booth fees and travel expenses in case my wall paintings aren't selling.  But certain questions remained: what sells easily and doesn't cost too much to make?  And more importantly, what could I create that would "go" with my other pieces of artwork?   

I decided I would use reusable tote bags with my original paintings on them.  I settled on the totes because I'm all about reusing real bags rather than throwing away plastic bags.  Plus, the natural canvas tote bags are ideal for the back drop of all my paintings! 

I went online and ordered my canvas bags and got them in the mail yesterday.  Here is what I'm working on today:

Both sides of the tote bags will be painted, so you can be sure you will see something from all angles when you use it!  At $25.00 each for a functional piece of original artwork, you can't go wrong.  The material is thinner than the grocery bag totes (think the canvas Trader Joe's bags), so I wouldn't recommend throwing a gallon of milk in these bags.  I think of them being a beach/pool/purse/workout-clothes kind of bag.

I'm really enjoying painting on the bags.  I plan on using one myself!  I'm putting a twist on my more popular paintings on these bags, and it's fun to play around with some fresh ideas on my new medium.

What woman wouldn't want one?!

Peacing out,
Nikki