9 02, 2016

Say Hello to the Zooettes

2019-11-23T13:09:32-07:00February 9th, 2016|0 Comments

It’s time to reintroduce you to the Zooettes! Previously, when I referred to my animal art, I used the phrase animal silhouettes. Pretty bland.

A new year brought along even more changes for the colorful, beady eyed animals you know. It was time for a better name and a new look. As my Zooettes shop continues to expand, you’ll see a few changes happen that I’ll discuss in future posts. First thing to point out is that rickycolson.com will, once again, be the central hub for my various art projects. Zooettes.com is the current and future site of all of my animal art so please look around and get accustomed. You’ll notice it’s similar to my old shop.

A few highlights:

  • Shopping is now completely secure using SSL and encrypted data (notice the green padlock in the url)
  • A new payment option is now available with Amazon Payments
  • Paintings are being converted to canvas prints
  • … and new products are here.
  • plus much more! Stay tuned!

Sign up here to follow all the upcoming announcements.

9 12, 2015

Kids’ Animal Whisperer T-Shirts

2019-11-23T13:09:46-07:00December 9th, 2015|0 Comments

Now that the grownups are happy, it’s time to focus on the little ones. Kids’ versions of my Animal Whisperer t-shirts are here!

The colors are slightly different than the adult unisex shirts but still include a wide selection to choose from (17 colors!). They’re printed on the same 100% fine jersey cotton, and every animal is listed.

They’re soft and durable so let your kids run wild! Sizes include 2 years, 4 years, and 6 years.

When I started my animal silhouette paintings, I wasn’t aware that they’d be so appealing for places like nurseries and kids’ rooms. It makes sense, though. The combination of animals and bright colors fits pretty well with that audience.

I knew, then, that when I released my t-shirts, I would definitely offer a line just for kids.

I remember, as a child, proudly announcing to everyone what my favorite animal or favorite color was whenever the opportunity presented itself so I’m hoping this gives kids the chance to do that without even saying a word. Now I just need to expand my animal list!

Have fun shopping!

1 12, 2015

Animal Mugs For Sale

2019-11-23T13:09:53-07:00December 1st, 2015|0 Comments

Who doesn’t like to keep warm with a nice cup of coffee or tea? We all have our favorite mug, including me (I have a few, actually).

If you head on over to my shop, you’ll see a whole new collection of colorful animal mugs! I altered my original designs to fit perfectly on these white ceramic mugs, and I think they look great. Most of my animals are in there so there are plenty to choose from.

And if you can’t decide which one to get, either for yourself or as a gift for a friend, I suggest you go with my colorful animal mug which has every one of my animals included on one single mug! Even the scarecrow made the cut.

 

Each animal mug is 11oz, both dishwasher and microwave safe, and made in America. Which one do you like?

Get yours soon before the holidays pass you by. You can find the cut off dates (less than a week for mugs!) for ordering here.

25 11, 2015

Holiday Shipping Deadlines 2015

2019-11-23T13:09:58-07:00November 25th, 2015|0 Comments

I know it’s late, but I’ve been burning the midnight oil for many weeks to get my new products out for you. I know everyone is looking for gifts this holiday seasons, and you want to make sure they get to their destination on time so please take a moment to look over my holiday shipping deadlines:

Mugs

  • To have your domestic (US) orders arrive on or before December 24th they must be placed and paid for before December 8th at 9:30AM PST / 12:30PM ET.
  • For orders going to Hawaii or Alaska please allow for more time.

Prints

  • To have your domestic (US) orders arrive on or before December 24th they must be placed and paid for before December 10th at 9:30AM PST / 12:30PM ET.
  • For orders going to Hawaii or Alaska please allow for more time.

Shirts

  • To have your domestic (US) orders arrive on or before December 24th they must be placed and paid for before December 14th at 9:30AM PST / 12:30PM ET.
  • For orders going to Hawaii or Alaska please allow for more time.

Paintings

  • My paintings are hand made and made to order so I cannot guarantee delivery by Christmas. If you email me, I can give you an estimate on delivery.

 

Like most things in life, shipping dates are not guaranteed. Things happen unexpectedly so the earlier you order, the better!

 

 

24 11, 2015

Animal Whisperer T-Shirt Collection

2019-11-23T13:10:04-07:00November 24th, 2015|0 Comments

I gotta be honest here. I absolutely love these new Animal Whisperer t-shirts.

You can jump to the end of the post for the shirt details. But first, a little history…

I started painting my animal silhouette paintings about four years ago, and I’m proud of how much people have enjoyed them. They’ve ended up on nursery walls, above living room couches, and in dining rooms. They’ve also traveled the globe, including places like Ireland and Australia.

 

Canvas Prints

I tried to create a variety of animals (including flying monkeys) because I love them all.

There are plenty of color schemes and layouts to choose from, but there aren’t just canvas prints available.

For customers who are looking to spend a little less or may want something less dominating, I also offer fine art prints of each design. You can select from a wide range of sizes and two types of high quality, archival paper. The Somerset Velvet paper is wonderful.

 

Art Prints

Those two product lines have served me and my customers well, but they’re also a bit limited. What if you’ve already decorated your walls, and you don’t really have a need for them? True, you could continue to buy them for friends and family, but what about something besides traditional wall art?

Now that I’ve given my website and business a fresh look, I figured it was also time for a new addition to my product line. What about…

Colorful T-Shirts!

I’m thrilled to introduce my new Animal Whisperer collection.

I’ve taken each of my animal silhouettes (every one of them!) and designed them as t-shirts. Are you an animal whisperer? Do you know someone else who has a special connection with the animal world?

I’m proud to admit that I consider myself a cat whisperer.

Shirts are just the beginning. More to come…

To start things off, I’m offering my whisperer designs as short sleeved t-shirts printed with white designs. Each shirt is 100% fine cotton jersey and made in the USA. They’re extremely soft and have a fashion cut (order a size larger than normal), so they look and feel great.

There are plenty of colors (33!) to choose from as well. I’m excited that I’m able to print each animal onto a shirt with the same color scheme as my paintings so you’ll be able to buy a pink giraffe, blue horse, red T-rex, or you can mix and match however you please.

And don’t worry, I’m planning to bring these designs to other wearable products including kid’s shirts, vintage tri-blends, and much more. If you want to see them on a specific type of clothing, let me know!

I’m going to add these designs to more than just clothing so if you’d like to know when that happens, please sign up to my mailing list to be notified. You even get 10% off your first order by signing up!

These shirts are here just in time for the holidays so make sure you order yours today! They’re a perfect gift for the animal lovers out there.

 

Tell me, do you love them as much as I do? Let me know in the comments below and please share!

13 11, 2015

New Options for Fine Art Prints

2019-11-23T13:10:13-07:00November 13th, 2015|0 Comments

There are some new purchase options for my fine art prints that I think you might be interested to hear about. First, let’s talk about the materials:

Two types of paper

Matte Photo

The new matte photo paper option was added for customers looking for a more economical choice.

Kodak Professional Endura Premiere Paper is the best photographic paper currently available, and it’s used to produce chromogenic prints (C-prints) through a traditional photographic process. The paper is exposed with light and then run through a chemical process. There is a slight sheen to the surface even though it’s the matte version of the paper.

What does that mean for you?

Dachshund wiener dog modern framed art print for sale by Ricky Colson

Well, the Kodak paper is considered the gold standard so you won’t notice a change in the color and quality of the print, but there will be a slight reflection, just like you’d see on a normal printed photo.

What you may notice even more is the significant drop in price.

Somerset Velvet

You now have an additional, less expensive choice (matte photo) for the type of paper my designs are printed on, but my best paper hasn’t gone anywhere.

The Somerset Velvet paper from Epson is still available, but it’s no longer the default option when you click on an art print to buy. It’s acid free, 100% cotton, and still my first choice for high quality prints.

It feels like watercolor paper and has absolutely no gloss so you’ll always get a perfect view no matter what angle you look from. You can tell by touching it why it’s the top choice for artists and printmakers.

Frog art print

Go big or go home

The other big change to my fine art prints are the new sizes I’ve added! Previously, you had just three choices. Now the list of standard sizes include:

  • 5×7
  • 8×10
  • 11×14
  • 16×20*
  • 18×24*
  • 24×36*

*new sizes

These new, larger sizes include both types of paper so if you want a giant, museum quality bee print to brighten up your room, you can now do that.

If you want to buy a tiny print to give as a gift for someone’s desk or nightstand, you can do that too.

As a friendly reminder, my prints do not come matted or framed. Take some time to look through my art prints and see if you like the new options. And please share!

4 04, 2012

Bear

2019-11-23T13:10:21-07:00April 4th, 2012|0 Comments

Here is my newest painting, two bears catching their dinner in a waterfall.

Since I moved to Virginia, I’ve been able to go hiking a handful of times. On one of those trips we almost stumbled across a brown bear. Some hikers in front of us had seen the bear walking across the street so we all grouped together, waited a few minutes, then cautiously continued on the path. I have plenty of respect for this large animal.

3 04, 2012

Longhorn

2019-11-23T13:10:28-07:00April 3rd, 2012|0 Comments

I received a request from an old friend to paint longhorns so that’s exactly what I did. My Alma mater, the University of Texas, instilled quite a bit of pride for me within these calm animals. I’m not a cowboy, and I never rode horses to school, but I did see this scene all the time growing up in Texas – sans the tornado of course. Everywhere we drove there were flat fields with either cows, goats, horses, or some other kind of four legged animal. And although tornadoes were a constant threat, I never saw one in person. Burnt orange Texas Longhorns – Hook ’em!

1 04, 2012

Pug

2019-11-23T13:11:26-07:00April 1st, 2012|0 Comments

This is the second dog I’ve painted in my animal series. Pugs, like dachshunds, have a pretty hardcore following. This one, in particular, was inspired by a little guy named Hubert. However, as I found out later, his personality is the opposite of what I’ve shown – tidy and organized. I continue to find myself learning a lot about each animal that I paint.

8 03, 2012

Birds and Blimp

2019-11-23T13:11:31-07:00March 8th, 2012|0 Comments

Zeppelins, blimps, dirigibles, or whatever you want to call them, fascinate me in the same way the Titanic always has. They conjure up old-timey images that I’ve only seen in movies and photos. I even made a painting in college with myself in a newsboy outfit standing on a shipyard in front of a bunch of flying blimps. They have the sense of being both innovative and vintage at the same time.

I really enjoyed coming up with the concept for this new painting. I knew that I wanted to design it around a cloud theme. I included a few birds in the Moose painting prior to this one, and I needed to add something unique. I imagined a flock of birds emerging from a giant cloud formation with a large blimp slowly following. The contrast in size is an interesting visual.

23 02, 2012

Staged Prints

2019-11-23T13:11:37-07:00February 23rd, 2012|0 Comments

I’m still at the early stages of my new business so I have quite a long to-do list. I’ve posted prints of most of my silhouette paintings to the store already, but as of now they have been somewhat naked in their presentation. I’ve reached the point of staging – arranging the framed prints in a way that’s much more appealing than laying them on an empty table.

I used to be a pack rat in my earlier days, but once I moved away from home I turned into the opposite monster. I don’t like keeping souvenirs or knickknacks because they become a hassle in the long run, especially on moving days. Therefore, when it came time to make my prints look presentable, I found it difficult to find objects to put next to the prints. After a little detective work and creativity I think the arrangements, so far, have turned out well.

Most of my past jobs have been frame shop related. I’ve had to mass produce them, assemble them, and ship them. I’ve had to custom mat and frame prints over and over. It is an extremely useful skill to have, but I always dread coming back to it when I have to. Thank goodness the end result is so worthwhile. A framed piece of artwork feels clean and special. It’s one of the small joys in life that makes me feel complete. I’m sure this will be an evolving process now that I’ve started. Go take a look at the other arrangements I’ve made so far.

13 02, 2012

Moose

2019-11-23T13:11:42-07:00February 13th, 2012|0 Comments

 I just finished up a commissioned moose piece using a beautiful green color. Just a note – I’ve done quite a few of these animal silhouettes now, and one of the best aspects of working on them is the knowledge I gain while doing the research. The only moose I recall seeing during my life is Bullwinkle, but after gathering photos for this painting I discovered all of the subtleties of this creature.

Just as I began to skim the surface, I learned that there are two types of moose – cow (female) and bull (male). My moose is a bull moose as indicated by its large and intricate antlers. I can’t tell you how many times I redrew the antlers in an attempt to get them to look authentic. Mother Nature definitely went bold when it decided to give us this animal.

Here is the painting for sale at my store. You can also learn more about the moose here.

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