Artwork

What’s in a Name?

Posted on November 18, 2022November 18, 2022 by Allison Gray in Go Gray Artwork

I’ve been signing my name for over two decades. Over the years my signature really hasn’t changed all that much. It’s not fancy or creative. It’s not particularly neat or overly messy. It’s just… my signature.

I’ve had some real jealous moments when I see other artists’ signatures. From creative layouts to unique flairs, these other signatures had that special quality I always thought mine should possess. I am, after all, an artist by trade. My gift is creativity. But my signature always seemed to fall flat.

Finally I decided to design a new signature–something that was more of a logo than a cursive mark. I have a small amount of proficiency in Photoshop and came up with something I’m quite fond of.

This custom design I had turned into a handful of rubber stamps in different sizes. So when you order a custom painting from me in the future, you may find this signature stamp in the corner. And my hand signature will be on the back of the painting.

Holy Common Bird Sightings, B-Man!

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Allison Gray in Featured Item

A couple weeks ago I got a notice from Etsy. This painting of mine was one of many listings across Etsy to be targeted by Warner Brothers as copyright infringement.

I try to draw from my own original creativity when painting, but it’s pretty hard not to allow some influences seep in and usually it’s other artists’ styles that can be found in some pieces of my work. I never copy and I definitely don’t steal (which is more than I can say for Ali Express, which has made a habit of thieving my work and selling prints of it online).

Have you picked up yet on what part of this painting was considered intellectual property? You might have to squint. Ah, yes, there it is. The green mask adorned by the American robin. (That’s lower-cased robin, not capitalized, since the latter might be crossing a line.)

It’s a common bird that signifies the return of spring. And it happens to be wearing an iconic mask that signifies a sidekick of a character once portrayed by Adam West.

When I painted it, I meant it to be a pun. Or at least a meta joke. It’s a general reference that most people would get. But evidently it’s not allowed.

I was surprised that the Warner Brothers scout would have even noticed that little mask. And I was even more surprised that something so trivial would have invited the wrath of the copyright police. Is that mask really copyrighted?

Well, after digging a little deeper, I found my true error. In the list of tags that I included in my Etsy listing (words that might be entered as a key phrase for shoppers), I actually used the definitely-copyrighted B–man word. You know what I mean, right? The fellow once played by Adam West.

Obviously I should’ve known better than to use that specific proper noun. To amend my misdeeds, I now will donate every penny of the purchase price of this painting to Asbury Woods, a local nonprofit. And let that be a lesson to me.

Terry Crews in Under 2 minutes

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Allison Gray in celebrity portrait, human portrait, Tutorial, watercolor painting

This under-2-minute video is a time lapse painting tutorial of actor Terry Crews. Painted on an 8×10″ hand-cut sheet of watercolor paper and using Windsor & Newton watercolor paints, this video will show my painting process in lightning speeds. Take a peek and maybe try your hand at your own portrait!