The Gift of Personalized Art
Looking for an interesting and unique gift that your recipient probably hasn't received before? Consider personalized art
At first glance, the concept of personalized art seems rather unusual. First off, what does it mean? How can art be personalized? Simple enough: it can be of things that appeal specifically to the person who receives it: in this case, your gift recipient.
Many might consider this to be art of a narcissistic nature, expressing images of the gift recipient him- or herself. And indeed, personalized art can take this form, though it doesn't have to. It can be art depicting their children, their family, their pets, or places they love... and the variety of formats available can be surprising.
Let's take a look at a few.
Photo Portraiture
Portraiture can take a number of forms, both photographic and otherwise. It's simple enough to acquire a nice photograph of your subject(s) to work from in either case. If nothing else, you can have the photo enlarged, retouched as necessary, and professionally framed for maximal impact.
If you want something really unique, though, you can have the photo blown up and made into a standee, one of those life-sized stand-up photos you see in a movie theatre or video store. The problem is, it might be kind of hard to wrap... and your recipient may have trouble finding room to display it!
Artistic Portraiture
If you'd really like to get fancy, have a classic portrait painted of your subject in oils or a similar medium. Again, all you really require is a good, clear photograph for the artist to work from; although if you don't want or need to surprise your subject, you can actually arrange for them to sit for the portrait.
Such a portrait can cost you anything from a few hundred dollars to basically as much as you want to spend, if you want to go with a particularly well-known artist. Just be sure to view a portfolio of the artist's work first; you need to get a good grasp of their style so you know what you're getting into.
Portraits in Wood
Cameos have been a mainstay of the artistic world for hundreds of years, and we recently came across an awesome variation that we simply have to share. Remember those optical illusions that appear to be a baroque vase when viewed one way, but otherwise look like two people facing each other in profile?
Well, someone's figured out how to do that in real life. They simply chisel out your subject's face on both sides of a vase, and viola -- instant real-life optical illusion.
It's a bit pricy at about $150, but you can get a similar effect for less with a simple cross-section, framed and matted. Check out this unique form of personalized art!