SamJen Arts on Etsy!

Our Etsy store is now open!

Samjen Arts - Simple Geeky Paintings and Romantic Acrylics! At least that's what we've got up so far. Soon we'll have some of our restoration projects up. Jen's working on some furniture projects.

Maybe I can get her to guest a DIY or her project? Hmmm...

Oh, and some new art from me will be going up, too, so there's that.


AND MAYBE my busy bee twinny will get her schtuff together sometime soon, too? Hmm, Em? ;) Called out on the internets!


I'm a little hopped up right now as I just spent 2 hours in a book store listening to and getting a book signed by THE Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess. SO EXCITE.


Night, all.

~Samantha

Simple Geeky Art

Oh, hello there, internets.

So I've started a new venture with my boss/coworker/photographer/friend Jen and will be opening an Etsy store to sell some of our art work (Will probably be called SamJen Arts. STAY TUNED). I've been working on a few things recently and decided to finally blahg about it. Basically, I'm an enormous nerd and want to show my nerdiness by painting simple things from my favorite nerdy genres, or as I like to call them: nerdoms.

This was the beginning. The Seal of Rassilon from Doctor Who I painted some time last year. I posted on a forum I frequent and immediately got a buyer. After that I was like "Hmm... nerds buy things?" What else would they like? I basically put the question out there and got some amazing requests.

This is the logo from the forum I originally put out to help raise funds and show some support for the board. Got a lot of feedback and raised a bit for my own broke ass and the forum. "What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you not understand?"

A requested modified version of the forum logo.

Then I got some inspiration from one of my hubby's favorite authors: Douglas Adams. Here's my favorite quote from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

That sparked a request based on one of the other amazing aquatic animal themed quotes from HHGtG

 Then came a few Texas themed requests!

This one was a strange one for a brother who moved from Texas to California...

This was all me. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and wanted a Deathly Hallows painting.The script is the last paragraph of the Tale of the Three Brothers. I always found it beautiful how the third brother and Death leave as equals rather than rivals.

Then my SIL demanded more Star Wars. "Do or do not. There is no Try". Yoda was the first, but I'm hoping I'll get to a Han Solo / Leia themed one soon...

Have an idea for a geeky/nerdy simple work of art? I'm always ready for a challenge!


Next Up: The TARDIS!


~Samantha



ps. dunno why I'm having trouble with some of the links. I'll work on it!

Coming Soon! Again...

Oh bloggy blog bloggiverse, we did not forget about you! I have painted about 16 paintings since the last time I was on here, so I've got some great material. I just need to start putting it together in a reasonable manner.

Here's a small taste. I'm calling my new line of art "Simple Art for the Complex Geek." How very uppity of me to say "line of art", but I really couldn't think of a better way to put it. After all it is nearly midnight and I only slept 5 hours last night.


And with that, I leave you with " So long and thanks for all the fish"    ~Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Rusty Metal Part 2

 

I’ve already posted my first rusty metal project so it’s about time to share part 2!

Here’s how this project began. I was just about finished with the tree frame when introduced to a store in the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego called Architectural Salvage.  The basic premise of the store is to sell all those discarded treasures found in old homes. Everything from vintage doorknobs, to antique wooden doors, to lamps, spindles, skeleton keys…. Pretty much if it’s old and/or strange, it may find its way into this store. So there a friend and I were, wandering around issuing “oohs” and “aahs” and maybe a “wtf is THAT?” or two… when I spotted it: my peacock frame.

The project all started the same way, only this time I was sanding off flat black paint rather than dirty and rust.  I wanted to get a similar look to the tree frame so I could arrange them together on my wall. Perhaps in a series of three, but that’s another day’s project…

At first I just took a little of the paint off. Better to be cautious! I used the sandpaper exclusively and stuck with sanding just the ridges.

Eventually I decided it wasn’t shiny enough. I do love shiny. And besides, it wouldn’t match the tree frame unless it showed a little more leg… er I mean metal.

Ooh look at that! So shiny and clear coated… and check out that luan! Ok, so I skipped a few steps here. Brevity and all that…

I decided the sunset motif wasn’t going to work, so I chose some more peacock like acrylics. A deep blue, green, purple, and a nice shiny gold. I then wired it together the same way I did with the trees.

The peacock may be finished, but the story isn’t over! It bothered me ever since I worked on the tree frame that I didn’t know what it is I had. Where did these metal frames come from? What did they go to? Some kind of grate? Window? Vent?  I googled every iteration of the words rusty-metal-frame-architectural-salvage-antique-vent-grate, etc, to no avail. WHAT ARE THEY!? Sometimes, when I get stuck on something, I obsess until I figure it out. And finally, after haunting etsy for a few weeks, I found it: the same peacock frame! Only here they were advertising it as an inset for a wooden garden gate. AHA! I’ve got you metal peacocky frame! You’re from a gate! That explains the little tabs on the frame as well. Finally, I know what it is so perhaps I’ll be able to find more in the future. Yay!

Unfortunately, I haven’t found any more. It’s been awhile since my last sojourn to Architectural Salvage, but when last there, I decided to buy some different rusty metal… and that will be my next project!

I truly encourage all of you out there in the inter-webs to delve into the world of salvage and restoration. It is a satisfying experience taking something abandoned and beautiful and showcasing it in a new light. Some works from the previous generations deserve to be cherished and restored to their former glory. So what if that’s not what it was originally used for? Time to... upcycle? Oh boy, I hate that term, but it’s kind of appropriate here. Take something old, remake it anew. Make it yours, make it beautiful. Keep on DIYing!

-Samantha-

DIY: The Rusty Metal Project

I am an avid DIYer. I firmly believe that a home’s décor should reflect its residents. I never truly understood why people would move in to a new place and go “Well, let’s go to Target/IKEA/Generic Décor Store to buy some schtuff to put up on all these new walls. Nay, I say! Nay! So you have a blank wall? Customize it. Don’t just put up the same red poppy painting that 20,000 other people put up on their kitchen wall! Make something! Put some love into it… and maybe a little blood, sweat, and tears.

So perhaps it’s time to share my most recent obsession: rusty metal. But not just any rusty metal! I spotted this beauty in my parents’ backyard. Anyone who knows our parents and their collection of stuff shouldn’t be shocked that such a thing would not only be found at their place, but that they have no idea what it is or where they got it. I immediately thought “I can make that awesome!” And so they gave it to me. I had it for several months as it just hung out in my garage. I’d see it every time I got home and would thing “Gee, I should really work on that.” Finally, I did. 

For this project, all that’s needed is a wire brush, sandpaper, rags, a dish of water, and a pretty piece of rusty metal. Here we had a mystery metal, super rusty, covered in splotches of random paint, and did I mention REALLY DIRTY? I had found it in my parents’ backyard after all…

Step 1: Dampen the metal and start scrubbing with the wire brush.

Step 2: When dry, sand a little.

Step 3: Clean up! (I used paper towels for a bit before changing to the more eco-friendly/wallet-friendly rag)

Step 4: Once the entire frame is brushed, sanded, and clean, it's time for a nice clear coat. I chose Rust-oleum Crystal Clear Enamel. We use this brand at my work and it has never let me down!

Step 5: Create your background. I didn't really have a plan with this one. I just grabbed some scrap luan and painted a sunset motif with acrylics. 

Step 6: Drill some holes in the luan and wire the board to the frame. This was me improvising here. 

VOILA! Rusty backyard metal turned awesome wall art!

Man my camera sure does suck. But you get the picture... this is a piece I will never regret putting on my walls. Shiny, vibrant, personalized, a unique find turned one of a kind work of art! Next up: 

Check out more images from the Rusty Metal Project here on our new Imgur:  The Twinfo Dump Imgur

Hope you enjoyed my first DIY post! 

-Samantha-