Black German Shepherd Amazon Merch T-shirt

I started an Amazon Merch shop over a year ago. It took a while to get it going because you need to meet strict criteria for image sizes and formats. And that’s not always easy to do when you work primarily on an IPad. There are things that still can only be done on a computer or laptop. I just got a new iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and can now save a png image on my iPad using a different app for painting, but the image will only upload with a transparent background to Merch from a saved png image on my laptop. So finding workarounds and such can be time consuming. And since this is a hobby, it can take forever sometimes to figure it out. Nevertheless, I have several of my custom pet portrait images saved on T-shirts in my LITS pooches, kitties and other sweet faces shop. I’ve had sales here and there since I opened the shop, but starting in July someone was buying not one, not two, but five T-shirts of my black German Shepherd. I thought it may be it was a mother, father, and child family group because the T-shirts were for a man, woman and child. But then it became six, seven, eight, and then nine yesterday - all in different colors and sizes. Unfortunately I am not able to tell if it’s the same person buying the shirts, or the city they originate. Many of my other website shops show where the item was purchased. Many sales come from overseas - it’s really amazing to watch! Anyway, it hardly matters, but it would be interesting to know who has so much interest in this particular image and this particular breed of dog. So whoever you are out there, thank you for noticing. I really appreciate it!

Redbubble Vizsla Pup T-shirt for a Special Someone

I’ve been painting digitalart pet portraits for the last seven years on my iPad. I’ve been using a program that is no longer supported with any system updates. So I got a new iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil a few weeks back and an trying to learn another art program but am keeping my old iPad for “real work.” One of the first subjects to practice on was our fur grand daughter Vizsla. It’s a lot different style than I’m used to doing - more water color than tried and true. But I liked how it turned out - well enough to post it on my Redbubble, Amazon Merch, Pixels/Fine Art America, and Zazzle shops. But then I thought I’d surprise our grandson with a T-shirt that had a small rendering of the pooch in the upper right corner. I ordered the shirt from Redbubble because it had this option. But the baseball raglan shirt with a full image on the front was also tempting. Anyway, the shirt was delivered yesterday and I got the nicest text from our just turned 16 year old grandson last evening - in spite of the fact that he is otherwise occupied with the first week of school. It was very thoughtful and sweet. If he thinks his pooch looks beautiful, that’s all I care about. But even better was the fact that he thought about it. 

Mickey Mantle T-shirt Sale on Fine Art America - Pixels

I was reminded yesterday that I have a Fine Art America/Pixels Website. I started it in 2013 and have several collections grouped on it. The biggest inspiration was all my digitalart pet portrait creations. They are made up of custom portraits created for folks all over the world. Once the portrait is completed, it is posted to the website. Other categories include photographs I have taken in France, England, Iran, Denmark & Sweden, and in our old neighborhood Capitol Hill. There is another section composed of photos I took of my brother’s autographed baseballs. As a youngster he and our dad used to go to spring training when the Cardinals were in town many years ago. My brother was eventually drafted by the Orioles out of high school and had a stint as a left handed pitcher on their farm team in West Virginia. Yesterday I got a sale from Louisiana on a youngster’s T-shirt that featured the Mickey Mantle signed autograph baseball. It was unexpected, but exciting to see all the same. The other autographs include Duke Snider, Ken Boyer, Lew Burdette, Ron Sievers, Casey Stengel, Stan Musial, Johnny Podreo - and a few other names that are harder to read. It brought back a lot of memories from the 60’s. Baseball was a big thing in our house. It must also be a big thing in someone else’s who lives in Louisiana and likes Mickey Mantle. Thanks so much for noticing!

Redbubble Beagle T-shirt

I love sketching on my iPad. I use it to create custom pet portraits. It beats the mess of watercolors and pastels and my studio travels with me. I have commissions from all over the world. If you told me even ten years ago I would be doing something like this I would not have believed it. And to have the exposure of the internet is amazing. I use my digital images to populate my on line shops. The buyer can select from an amazing assortment of products to purchase a gift for self or someone special. It’s always a treat to get notified when an item sells. The most recent one came from my Redbubble shop. Someone from South Carolina bought a V neck T-shirt with my sweet beagle face. It’s one thing to be noticed out of the millions of images out there. But for someone to like it well enough to purchase it is sheer exciting. Even though the commissions are tiny - luckily this is a hobby - the joy it brings doesn’t have a price. So thank you for noticing my work. I really appreciate it! 

Amazon Merch LITs Pooches, Kitties and Other Sweet Faces

I opened an Amazon Merch Shop last year called LITs Pooches, Kitties and Other Sweet Faces. It took a bit of doing because I can’t use my IPad to create the image sizes required for the T-shirts. I really dislike having to use my laptop, but there was no other way to make it work. All the files first need to have the backgrounds deleted, then converted from jpeg to png, and then sized to upload specifications. It’s a multi step process and quite time consuming. I’ve sold a few T-shirts and had 100 various images available. All of them are my custom pet portraits. Unlike the other websites I use - Zazzle, Redbubble, Etsy, Fine Art America/Pixels - the image is removed if it didn’t sell within six months. What that means is a lot of them get deleted and I have to decide whether to use the image again, or try something new. I’ve done a little bit of both and then some. It seemed like black labs were the biggest hit, so I made sure all of my black lab portraits were used. Aside from basic T-shirts, long sleeve T-shirts and hoodies are also available. But each type of shirt requires it’s own listing. You can also upload to the US, UK, or Germany. Again, each requires its own listing. I haven’t tried those yet. I’ve added a couple of “prelim sketch” options to mix it up. At least now all the converted suitable files are saved so I can easily upload the required images the second time around. Lately the Bichon Frise item has had a few takers. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to keep up with the turnover in my shop lately so it’s taking me a while to fully stock my shop! Luckily for me it is just a hobby - but sometimes it feels like a full time job. But when a painting of mine is noticed and sold? It’s really exciting! 

Zazzle English Springer Spaniel T-shirts

It’s been an interesting last few months. Every once in a while I get a notice from Zazzle, Etsy, Redbubble and Pixels - that one of my digital art images was sold. The other day someone from Australia bought a child T-shirt of my English springer spaniel on Redbubble. Yesterday I got a notice from Zazzle that I sold TWO T-shirts of my same springer spaniel to someone in Calgary, Canada. This particular custom pet order was one of the first ones that was commissioned about six years ago for someone in Australia. If you told me even ten years ago that I would be once again painting and drawing - never mind selling products to people all over the world - I would not have believed it. But thanks to the iPad my interest in art was reinvigorated. And since I retired almost three years ago it’s a wonderful hobby. So thank you so much for noticing my artwork out of the millions of images out there. I really appreciate it! 

Amazon Merch Black Lab T-shirt

I started up my Amazon Merch Shop a few months ago. It’s called LITs Pooches, Kitties and Other Sweet Faces. It took a bit of doing. You need to first get “accepted,” and then you need to meet the file upload requirements and specifications. I use all of my custom digitalart portraits to populate the shop, but they are created on my IPad. I have to convert the files three different ways and then use my laptop to make all the transactions to the site. I really do not like using a laptop but there are certain things you just can’t do using an iPad. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that some of my images have been noticed. Out of the millions of options out there, it’s a very nice feeling. When you make a sale on Amazon you do not get an email notice like the ones all the other shops send - Zazzle, Redbubble, Pixels, Etsy. So it was fun this week to not only have sold my Bichon Frise T-shirt, but the black lab T-shirt sold the day after that. I’m not sure if posting items on Twitter makes a difference, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. The problem with this time of year is that I just don’t have the time to do all of the daily updating I’d like to do because I’m also painting Christmas custom portraits that are very time consuming. So I am forever grateful to the folks who not only notice, but like an image well enough to purchase it. Thanks so much for browsing my shops. And happy holidays!

Zazzle Black Lab T-shirt, Cat Canvas & Goofy Dog Card - Sold!

I’ve been painting digitalart since the iPad came out in 2010. My first shop on the internet was on Etsy where I primarily do custom order pet portraits. Once the images are completed, I use them to populate my other website shops - Pixels/Fine Art America, Redbubble, Amazon Merch and Zazzle. I also have my own website that links all of them together called LIT Digitalart And Such. On top of that, I spend a lot of time showcasing them all on Instagram, my Facebook business page, Tumblr and Twitter. It’s a full time job! And then of course I do this blog every day! Yesterday I got a notice from Zazzle that I sold a stretched canvas print of my barn cat to someone in Kansas - one of the first images I drew. I also sold a greeting card to someone in New Jersey with my goofy dog portrait. A couple of weeks ago a black lab T shirt was sold to someone from Minnesota in the most interesting color combination. I definitely could not make a living on these tiny commissions, but am thrilled every time a sale is made. That means someone out there liked something I painted enough to want to purchase it for themself or for someone they care about. It’s nice to get custom portrait orders, but it’s more fun to get noticed just for something I painted. I always liked drawing. Who would have guessed it would take this course? 

https://www.zazzle.com/litdigitalart

Redbubble French Bulldog T-shirt

I’ve been painting custom pet portraits using my iPad for several years now. Folks send me photos of their favorite dog, cat, or bird and I hand paint a likeness that hopefully will meet their expectations. It’s a back and forth process until it’s just right. I also use the images for my stores on Zazzle, Pixels, Amazon Merch and Redbubble. It’s always exciting to get a notification from the shops that an item has been sold. It seems the black labs are most often noticed. So it was interesting when I got a notification from Redbubble that someone in the US bought a T-shirt with a French Bulldog. Generally Redbubble sales are stickers and pillows. T-shirts are the only item I sell on Amazon and the image takes up all of the space on the front. On Redbubble the image is like a little logo on the upper corner of the T-shirt. Maybe it’s the type of shirt that makes the difference, or the customer only wants a hint of their favorite pooch. Regardless, it’s always fun to do a custom portrait, but I am tickled whenever someone notices an image of something I painted out of the millions of options out there. Thanks so much for noticing my French bulldog!