Lamicoll IPad iPhone Pillow

I love my iPad - and IPhone. I spend a lot of time using both. But I’ve come to realize that it gets a bit burdensome to get it quite just right on my lap when I’m using them. I’ve always used a big pillow, but it doesn’t work very well. One of my fingers has a callous on it from having it support the devices all these years. I got my mom an iPad pillow because she used to read and it offered good support. When she passed away in February, I forgot to take that pillow with me. Since then I’ve been thinking about getting one. I searched for a while on Amazon and also generically on the internet to see what’s the best out there. Lamicoll sounded like a great option. It had three ridges on either side so you can adjust the viewing angle, was light, and had a handwashable cover. I ordered one in grey and it arrived this week. The most important reason I wanted it was for when my husband and I play iPad games every evening together. Balancing the iPad on the pillow and holding it with one hand was annoying. So for the first time last night we tried it and it worked really well. It’s the perfect solution. It also works well with my iPhone when I’m wasting time playing games before dinner. I asked my husband to see if he would like to try using the pillow for his iPad while reading all day long. He said he gave it a try but didn’t like it. He’s not very good about trying new things and typically doesn’t even notice that there could be a better and more comfortable way to do things. It usually takes him a while to realize something might be better. Let’s see how long it takes this time. 

Fine Art America Sales

Every time I paint a custom pet portrait or scene on my iPad, I post it on my Fine Art America website along with photographs I particularly like from DC and places we travel. It's a nice way to display the work. Every once in awhile the site is used by a customer to print their finished portrait because they don't have a printer or don't want to deal with getting it printed at a local shop. Since all the work is digital, it can be displayed in many unconventional ways aside from the typical mat and frame. So there are a lot of options. What is less expected, but even more fun, is to receive a notification from Fine Art America that someone purchased a product based solely on a favorite  image. Yesterday, someone from Naples, Florida bought not only a pack of greeting cards, but a framed print, and a pillow of a little cockapoo. Sometimes someone will write a nice comment and I can share the fact it was sold on Twitter. The iPad has been a great little tool for me to create these portraits and has basically my mobile studio. I never expected for my hobby to get this far and this is a great way to share the art. 

The Greyhound Pillow and Digital Art

It's really busy this time of year. Not just because it is the holiday season, but because I paint custom pet portraits and it makes for a nice gift. I've been swamped with requests and am having a hard time keeping up with it all! My husband has become a widower - but a very understanding one. My art is all hand painted, but I use my iPad to create the images digitally. It's so much neater than using my traditional water colors and pastels. So the end result is a jpeg image that can be used over and over again, and can be made in to more than just a portrait that hangs on the wall. I was so pleased to see that someone had their image turned in to a pillow of her friend's greyhounds. I was also pleased to see the feedback and comments other folks make about my body of work. Someone called it "digital magic!" Who could ask for a nicer compliment? What started out as a hobby when the iPad came around has now become a passion! Things have come full circle... I love painting, and I love animals. What a great combination. And to think someone would want to display the image in their home makes it all even more lovely. I still have that bird sketch I made in kindergarten. What an inspiration!