At the tail ends of a challenging winter, (tons of snow = tons of shoveling!) February and March are often travel and vacation months for folks here in the north-Midwest. Vacation photos are still relevant, but more and more being stored digitally rather than in print. Thus, more and more vacationers are celebrating their travels by bringing home art that they purchased while visiting various locales. Original artworks and canvases, fine art prints, textiles and weavings, photographs, art postcards, and even art souvenirs can be purchased in galleries, museums, art fairs, gift shops, and street bazaars. We’ve seen customers spend thousands of dollars as well as mere pennies on their special mementos!

And at the ends of a challenging winter, we are grateful to be able to frame the beautiful works from all over the world (especially the warm places!). Each type of art has special needs, and our expert team is ready to help you both display and preserve your travel tokens.

One type of art we often see from foreign travel is original paintings on paper. These are often matted with non-archival materials for display and purchase, and we will recommend simple ways to #heartyourart such as archival and acid free matting and UV glass. Another common type of travel art is rolled canvas. We generally advise our customers to have these works stretched over an inner frame, with the options to add an outer frame and glass to further enhance the display and defend against fading, dirt, dust, and fingers.

When considering “souvenir” purchases, travelers often gravitate toward what they can carry home on a plane. But don’t let that deter you from purchasing the dream piece you find on your wanderings! Gladstone Gallery owner Barbara Gladstone says to ship what you can’t carry. “Most artwork is shipped by plane, but with heavy pieces like furniture or ceramics, you’re better off shipping by boat,” she noted in a 2016 New York Times article. Gladstone also suggests that travelers not be afraid to buy art on the spot, especially at art fairs. “Because if you don’t, it will be gone,” she says. Now, we aren’t the types to encourage unfettered purchase decisions, but travel often arouses inspirations of freedom, peace, growth, rest, joy, and awe. And if an artwork is motivating the feelings that a trip represents, perhaps the “impulse” should be acted upon…

But back to vacation photos. These special snaps and portraits are equally worthy of display. We have many solutions to show your vacation photographs. Our fine art printing and digital department can print your photos on papers for traditional framing, canvas for gallery wrap hangings, high gloss acrylic prints, and we can even engineer custom digital collages. Multiple opening mats, ready-made frames, and easels are other choices for vacay photo presentation.

So come see us with your travel art, vacation photos, or anything really (we’re not fussy)! We’d love to hear about your adventures, and help you preserve your mementos and share your stories.

Art is the only way to run

away without leaving home.

-Twyla Tharp

As we prepare for the Big Turn Music Festival in the Red Wing shop (join us!) we are reflecting on the notion that art inspires music. There are examples of this throughout history. Here were a few we found interesting!

Goya and Grenados

Enrique Grenados (1867-1916) was a Spanish composer who’s masterpiece Goyescas was composed as an expression of the paintings of fellow Spaniard Francisco De Goya (1746-1828). Both artists were influenced by the Spanish wars, nationalism, and the Romantic era of art and music. Goyescas was originally written as a piano suite in 1911, and later adapted into an opera which debuted at The Met in New York City in 1916. (Source. Source.)

Hokusai and Debussy

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is the woodblock artist of the famed Under the Wave off Kanagawa, aka The Great Wave. It is suggested in the art world that this work inspired Claude Debussy’s (1862-1918) also famed La Mer. Author Charlotte Landru-Chandès stated of La Mer, “The work is unquestionably pictorial in nature.” Debussy had actually aspired to be a painter! Though he never took that artistic course, Debussy’s work as an art inspired composer has stood the test of time, as does Hokusai’s Mount Fuji series. (Source.)

Seurat and Sondheim/Lapine

Georges-Pierre Seurat (1859-1891) is noted for his development and application of the pointillism technique, seen in his most famous work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. This painting inspired an entire Tony Award winning musical, Sunday in the Park with George by Stephan Sondheim (1930-) and James Lapine (1949-). The entire production focuses on a “fictional” George Seurat and his immersion into both an outer and inner world that shapes the painting. (Source. Source.)

Van Gogh and Dutilleux

Henri Dutilleux’s (1916-2013) orchestral work Timbres, espace, mouvement was subtitled La nuit etoilée (The Starry Night). This reflects his inspiration which was drawn directly from Vincent Van Gogh’s (1853-1890) renowned work of the same name. Dutilleux’s choice of prominent solo instruments for his composition (wind and percussion) “represents the movements of the clouds and the light of the stars and the moon.” (Source. Source.)

Van Gogh and McLean

Van Gogh had an eclectic 20^th century fan club, with Don McLean (1945-) composing a hit song who’s lyrics tell the story of Van Gogh’s struggle with psychosis and society. Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) is somewhat of an ode and certainly a validation of Van Gogh’s under-appreciated brilliance as an artist. The song references a number of Van Gogh’s works as well as his artistic style and process. (Source.)