I Have an Idea. Can You Paint It?
Some of my favorite Wise Market projects start with a question:
“This may sound crazy, but could you paint...?”
My answer is usually some version of, “Send me a picture.”
Sports balls may be what Wise Market is best known for, but they are definitely not the strangest things that have landed on my painting table. I’ve painted coolers and cookie jars, leather jackets and camp foot lockers, graduation guitars, a weightlifting belt, promposals and plenty of things that never would have occurred to me when I started Wise Market.
Apparently, my list of acceptable canvases now includes footballs, Bibles, leather jackets, lockers, guitars, coolers, cookie jars, weight belts and whatever someone talks me into next.
And I love that.
Because one of the things I want people to understand about custom artwork is that you don’t have to find exactly what you’re imagining in an online catalog before you can ask whether it can exist.
Sometimes the fact that it doesn’t exist yet is the whole point.
You Don’t Have to Start With a Product
When most of us shop online, we start with the product.
We search for “graduation gift,” “coach gift,” “college gift” or “personalized football.” Then we scroll through the available choices and pick the thing that comes closest to what we had in mind.
Custom art can work completely differently.
You can start with the person, occasion or idea.
A great example was a graduation party I worked on with a UTx2 theme. One graduate was headed to the University of Texas and the other to the University of Tennessee, so the celebration used bright oranges, bright pinks and white.
Among the pieces I created were guitars that were actually party props. I painted the graduates’ names on them and then covered the paint in glitter. Because, really, if you’re going to have bright pink and orange graduation guitars, subtlety has already left the building.
I also created custom canvases and Bibles for the graduates and decorated trunks for them. It wasn’t about choosing one product from a catalog. It was about taking the theme and the two graduates and figuring out what we could create around them.
If a personalized sports ball actually is what you have in mind, I’ve put together 25 ideas for what you can put on one.
What If It’s Something I Haven’t Painted Before?
Ask me.
I’ve painted two actual foot lockers that kids took to summer camp. One was designed for a boy with a grunge graffiti theme. The other was pink with a giant bow.
Same basic object. Completely different kids. Completely different finished pieces.
That is one of my favorite things about custom work. The object itself is only the starting point.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I can paint absolutely anything. The material, shape, condition and intended use all matter. Some surfaces accept paint beautifully. Others require special preparation, sealers or a different approach. Occasionally, an idea simply isn’t practical.
But you don’t have to figure that out before contacting me.
Send me a photo. Tell me what you’re thinking. If I think it will work, we’ll talk about how. If I don’t think I can create something I’d be proud to put my name on, I’ll tell you that too.
You Don’t Have to Be the Designer Either
This may be one of the biggest misconceptions about ordering custom artwork.
You do not need to come to me with a finished design.
Some customers know exactly what they want. They have colors, wording, layouts and inspiration photos ready to go.
Others essentially give me:
“Here’s who it’s for. Here’s what they like. Help.”
Both work.
In fact, sometimes the object we end up painting wasn’t even part of the original conversation.
One family came to me for personalized pieces for five children. Some were the more familiar Wise Market projects: a volleyball, home plate, baseball and custom spirit wear shoes.
But as we talked about the kids and what we were creating for each of them, I thought of something completely different for one: a weightlifting belt.
Bright colors and a passion for muscle turned this weight belt into art.
The family hadn’t found a personalized weight belt online and asked me to reproduce it. The idea came out of the conversation.
That is an important part of custom work for me. My job isn’t simply to copy a list of instructions onto an object. Part of what you’re hiring me to do is listen, figure out which details matter and help turn those details into something that feels like it was made specifically for that person.
Because it was.
Sometimes the Object Becomes Part of the Story
One of the reasons I enjoy painting things beyond traditional canvases is that the object itself can add meaning.
A football makes sense for an athlete. A Bible can carry a favorite verse. A guitar can become part of a graduation celebration. A jacket can become wearable school spirit.
And a cooler can become a trophy.
I collaborated with Rock Solid Performance Horses on a cooler for the 12th Annual Bobbyfest benefiting Amy’s Wish with Wings. I painted the base in a Southlake Carroll Dragon theme, and the winner’s name was added afterward.
It was a completely different kind of project for me, and I’ve since been asked to create others.
Then there was the cookie jar.
A customer wanted one painted for a mom and grandma who always keeps cookies on her kitchen island. It’s such a simple everyday object, but personalizing it turned something already associated with her into a keepsake made specifically for her.
And apparently it started something. I’m now creating yard art for the same family.
One custom project has a funny way of leading to another.
Inspiration Is More Than Enough
If you have an idea, start with what you know.
Tell me who or what we’re celebrating, what you’re thinking about and when you need it. Send school colors, team names, mascots, jersey numbers, meaningful dates, favorite sayings, scripture, logos or photographs if they’re relevant.
And send inspiration.
That might be a screenshot, invitation, photograph, Pinterest image, school logo or even a rough sketch on a piece of paper. Inspiration doesn’t mean we’re copying someone else’s artwork. It helps me understand what caught your eye. Maybe it’s the colors, lettering, layout or overall style.
You can also tell me what you don’t like. Sometimes that’s just as helpful.
Sometimes the Answer Is a Giant Promposal
Custom work doesn’t even have to be a traditional gift.
Earlier this year, I was asked to create a baseball-themed promposal for a baseball player. The oversized sign incorporated baseball stitching and the big question, but I also painted two baseballs for the couple to hold afterward. Hers said “PROM?” and his said “She said yes.”
The proposal was happening at night, so I decided to add LED lights around the sign. The original design would have worked without them, but knowing when and where it would be used made me think the lights would add a nice touch.
That’s one of the things I enjoy about custom projects. Sometimes you come to me with an idea and I paint it. Other times, the conversation leads to another detail, another object or another idea that makes the finished project more personal.
The baseballs were very much in my wheelhouse. The giant light-up promposal? Not exactly.
And that was part of the fun. For more ideas check out this blog post: Creative Promposal Ideas and the Rise of Big Creative Asks
That’s what custom work gives us permission to do.
So...Can I Paint It?
Maybe.
That’s part of the fun.
If you have an idea for a hand-painted gift, keepsake, piece of spirit wear, party prop, event display or something I haven’t even thought of yet, don’t worry about whether you see it on my website.
Ask.
Maybe you already know exactly what you want painted.
Maybe you just know the person, the occasion and a few things they love.
Either is enough to start.
The worst thing that happens is I tell you it isn’t a good candidate for painting.
The best thing that happens?
We make something neither one of us has made before.
You dream it. I paint it.
And apparently, you all are going to keep testing just how literally I mean that.