About AndAbelArt - General Information and Available Services & Products

Welcome to the AndAbelArt About page. Here you can learn more General Information about, and the History surrounding, AndAbelArt as well as the Services and Products offered. This is a brief overview covering the inception and development of one man's ideas manifesting as a business with several diverse subsidiaries.

It all started in the back of a Datsun 210 Station Wagon...

I was an artist going back as far as I can remember, and one of those memories was of drawing a tiger freehand from an animal encyclopedia while languishing away in the backseat of a faded blue Datsun 210 Station Wagon as my family made the once-in-a-lifetime trek to DisneyLand when I was much younger than I am today. I showed the drawing to my father. I wasn't particularly beaming with pride, I just had used the time productively. My father accused me of tracing the image. I took it as a challenge and, from that point on, explored as much art as I could get my hands on. I sculpted with clay, painted with oils and acrylics, kept several sketch pads for pen and ink.

When I was in high school I took every art class I was allowed to take, ignored classes that weren't art by diving into a sketch book, and eventually realized I could use art to make money. I designed t-shirts for the football and wrestling teams, and I made driver's licenses for my friends.

A call from the Sheriff convinced me to abandon my fledgling counterfeiting ring in favor of more legitimate endeavors. After high school I attended a local college, quickly realized it wasn't the place for me, and opted for what turned into a 20 year real world education. I took jobs as a t-shirt screen printer, embroidery technician, print shop designer, graphics creator for a news station, sign creator, and even a tattoo studio for a while (insert long, crazy story here...).

Essentially I would enter a new field that utilized art or graphic design, learn everything I could about how design is applied to that industry, and then I would seek out a new industry. I was motivated in some respects by the idea that the grass would be greener, but ultimately realized that the best path for someone like me is not one where someone is constantly in front of me, so I started AndAbelArt.

If you can't follow, lead by taking the unbeaten path...

When I started AndAbelArt I offered all of the services I had learned over 20 years. Need a t-shirt design? I can do that, with designs crafted with t-shirt production in mind, and I can get you the shirt. Same goes for all of the other industries. Print advertising, website design, merch shops, commercial signage, even a sweet neck tat if you want. I was also coming into my own, after what some may call an unrelenting struggle of Hollywood proportions that has been my life, and created a way to share my artistic voice.

Freelance Graphic Design is a tough gig, and artist is one of those careers that offers the best chance at success only after the artist's death, so I felt I needed to innovate to survive. Initially I refined my art creation process into something more commercial with Memorial, Pet and Family Portrait Paintings as a service.

Art as a service - creating mementos...

I've experienced a share of death throughout my life and understand the value of memento, and that's what I strive to offer with my Memorial Portrait Painting Service. I use photographs of your lost loved ones, with input from friends and family to created a digital collage. That collage is then converted into a painted work of art. That work of art is then available as a print on Artist Canvas or high quality Photo Paper.

My family is... odd, but I've always had pets, and pets are great. The loss of a pet can be as profound as any other loss, so I felt a Pet Portrait Painting Service would be a great addition. I take photos of family pets, create an artistic composition based on client feedback, and turn a rough digital collage into a painted work of art.

The Family Portrait Painting Service is just a great solution to the very real issues of time and distance and expense. My family is odd, like I said, but I've seen plenty of families that have an amazing bond, and the time and expense it would require to cover the distances that prevent an entire family from getting together for something like a sitting shouldn't stop people from having one grand image of their entire family to share with the world and remind themselves of the bond they have. I take photos of individual family members, digitally bring the family together, drop everyone in whatever setting you would like, and turn the digital image into a painted work of art.

Making designs for products, and products with design...

From there AndAbelArt evolved again when I realized all of the product options available to artists in this technological age. Instead of designing someone else's t-shirt, I can design my own t-shirt brand and, through POD websites, be able to offer that brand on high quality products anywhere in the world. My approach to POD skewed a bit when I decided to not only put designs on products, but started inventing new products with my ability to put designs on things. I then decided to take things a step further and created a couple of products that use the POD method, but on products most people don't consider when setting up their own POD businesses.

That brings us to 2021 (was supposed to be 2019, but my son got cancer, then it was supposed to be 2020, but 2020 was cancer, so here we are, fingers crossed). Launching a one-stop website, trying to figure it all out on my own, a metaphor for my life in a flashy digital format.

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to check out my somewhat anti-social social media or Contact Me.

AndAbelArt offers Creative Services such as:

ORIGINAL ARTWORK AND COMMISSIONS

As an artist, I use the images I create as a way to speak to the world about my experiences in this life. As a professional, my greatest joy comes from turning someone else's experiences into art for them.

I am a 'Digital Artist' which is a fancy way of saying that instead of investing hundreds of dollars in brushes, paint and canvasses, I chose to invest thousands of dollars in computer hardware and software. At the end of the day, computers and brushes and chisels are just different tools used to achieve the same end.

My Original Artwork, because the original is technically a massive line of 1s and 0s, is offered as a 1-of-1 meaning that when a piece is sold for the first time, it is sold for the last time. Prints come as gallery wrapped canvas prints, signed and dated by the artist (me), and is accompanied by a notarized Certificate of Authenticity and Exclusivity as well as a thumb drive containing the digital files used to make the piece.

Commissions are handled much the same way in that I will only ever sell the person making the commission the piece they've requested, but do not come with the certificate or thumb drive.

AndAbelArt reserves all copyrights associated with ever piece of artwork created by the artist, including sold Original Artwork and Commissions, unless otherwise stated in writing.

PORTRAIT ARTWORK

I use the same skills and techniques to create portrait artwork specializing in Pet Portraits, Memorial Portraits and Family Portraits (without the hassle and expense of having to get the whole family together). These services include a gallery wrapped print on canvas or framed poster print with each order. Additional copies can purchased for an additional fee. Please contact shawn@andabelart.com with questions regarding multiple copy orders.

I also developed a new skill for portraits that requires a sturdy sense of humor - Caricature Drawings! This art technique has been a staple for not taking yourself so seriously for decades, and makes a great unique gift or can be a fun creative team building exercise.

COMMERCIAL DESIGN

In addition to purely artistic endeavors, I have a 30 year history working in every graphic design field I could find - starting in a t-shirt shop and ending up here. Along the way I worked in screen printing, embroidery, print design, newspapers, TV stations, sign companies and even a brief stint at a tattoo studio. My hands-on experience with not only design, but production as well, gives me key insights into how graphics translate to the real world, and think that's one of my greatest assets.

Design Solutions I offer include Logo Design, Print/Web Design, Commercial Signage, and more. If you're looking for something quick and simple like rebuilding an old logo from a business card into usable design files, to a complete overhaul of your business image, I have the broad experience base to get the job done.

 

AndAbelArt also offers an eclectic collection of Product Brands such as: