New Month, New Mini Ice Cream Print - Join the Snail Mail Club

Celebration Cone mini print, 7" x 5".

Just a quick post today because it's a new month, so guess what? New prints on my website, and a new mini print coming out.

Join my Mini Ice Cream Print Club between October 1 and October 31 to get the 7" x 5" signed art print of my Celebration Ice Cream Cone painting sent to you via snail mail for just $19. More info on my website. Thanks for visiting!

Did I just drop my first 24" x 18" ice cream cone print? Yes, Ma'am!

Celebration Cone, an open-edition signed art print, available in 2 sizes: 16" x 12" and 24" x 18" (pre-order only right now for the large size; large size will ship rolled in a tube).

Something I've been asked a lot about over the years is, will you ever make larger prints? My answer was always maybe, someday. But I'm happy to share that I'm dropping my first larger open-edition art print of Celebration Cone, at a 24" x 18" size (pre-order only right now) as well as a 16" x 12". This print is signed and titled, and printed on heavy museum-quality photo-rag paper using archival inks for longevity. The print is borderless.

So if you'd like a big pop of fun and color on your happy walls, check out the new drop!

This will also be the featured print for my Mini Ice Cream Print Club for November, which you'll get if you join between October 1 and October 31. That is a signed, open-edition print at 7" x 5", which will ship via snail mail in mid-November.

Happy Art for Happy Walls! Thanks for visiting!

- KIM 

A Design Alternative to the Fashionable Chocolate Brown Color Trend - Chocolate Ice Cream Art

 

Chocolate ice cream prints of original paintings by Kim Testone

Fun facts about me: I really love school. I have a bachelor's degree in drawing, a master's degree in arts administration, and I took a bunch of extra classes, too, including a number of courses in interior design. It's been quite a while, but I do try to stay up a bit on the trends. Every fall, there's a new trending list of colors that will be coming into style. These trending colors are in part decided by paint companies as well as organizations that specialize in color forecasts, like the Pantone Color Institute.

Anyway, so one of the color trends forecasted for the coming season is Chocolate Brown. Now, far be it from me to question what the color authorities say, but I painted a bathroom chocolate brown many years ago, and let's just say it was something I'm not ready to commit to again. Probably ever.

So if you aren't ready for chocolate brown walls yet, how about just putting some chocolate ice cream on the walls? Yes, I'm peddling my own wares, but seriously, these prints of my original ice cream paintings are pretty awesome. I put a lot of time into making them come out just right, with clean and modern white backgrounds, just like the paintings (which by the way, take me no less than 40 hours to complete, each). 

Whimsical, charming, totally inedible. But quite the home design statement and a whole lot of fun. So really, make your walls fun...and chocolate-ty. I work really hard because I want the whole world to smile when they see my work.

Happy walls for all. 

- KIM 

 

Why I Made a Snail Mail Art Print Club

Join by September 30 to get the first mini print drop, Strawberry Scoops, sent to you via snail mail in October.


Short Story Time: So a couple of weeks ago, I announced that I was creating a Monthly Snail Mail Art Print Club, where you can get miniature prints (usually around 7" x 5") sent to your mailbox every month via snail mail. It makes things affordable for you and for me and enables me to share my happy art with more people, which is always the goal. But that's not the only reason.

When I went away to college, my grandmother wrote a short letter to me religiously every week. It was never about anything particularly significant -- often about the weather, or what she and my grandpap were doing in the garden, or how they were excited for upcoming holidays. I was a very lonely 18-year-old, who had uprooted myself from my small-town, shy ways, and I had a difficult time adjusting. Opening my mailbox in the college mailroom and getting that flowery stationery from my grandma each week just lifted my spirits. It made me feel like someone cared. Though I never told her how much they meant to me, I saved every letter she wrote, and still have them decades later, in a carefully treasured box. 

The world is in a difficult state right now. We are all trying to navigate some very challenging times. Just getting a little boost of joy like a piece of happy snail is something that I feel can make a very small difference. I'm just an artist; I've dedicated myself to making happy art. So whether you get a painting, a print, or just follow my work on my website or social media, I want you to know that I paint from a place of sincerity, calling on all of the voices in my life that have loved me and taught me to look for the happy moments.

I appreciate your interest in my work. I hope it lifts you up. I hope you see through the dark times and look for the light. I hope you take this as encouragement to stay positive and do something kind today, because that type of behavior is ultimately what will really change the world. 

Or hey, maybe you just like ice cream and want to see it on your desk or walls! I can help with that. 

- KIM