Sunflower Basket Welcome Flag by Melinda Hipsher, 12x19-Inch

This ready to hang, gallery-wrapped art piece features yellow sunflowers sitting in a basket. From an early age, I felt compelled to draw and paint, often with encouragement of my teachers and family. As I grew up into a practical young woman, I began to think that painting was something one did for enjoyment, not as a serious career. My head told me to be practical, but my heart told me another story. I went to the Columbus College of Art and Design to study advertising. My heart won out on the location though and I was brought back to the country air in Hardin County. I live in the country and am inspired by nature every day. I live here with my husband, Wes, three children, Molly, Kyle and Brady, a golden retriever, Grace, and Kitty, the kitty. My art captures moments that I see in nature and the moments from holidays and celebrations. I have worked in the graphic arts department in the printing industry and have been involved with many different print materials. I have worked with watercolor and also enjoy painting on wood with acrylic paints. I can paint realistic beautiful images or can illustrate a moment from my imagination. Giclee (jee-clay) is an advanced printmaking process for creating high quality fine art reproductions. The attainable excellence that Giclee printmaking affords makes the reproduction virtually indistinguishable from the original piece. The result is wide acceptance of Giclee by galleries, museums, and private collectors. Gallery wrap is a method of stretching an artist's canvas so that the canvas wraps around the sides and is secured a hidden, wooden frame. This method of stretching and preparing a canvas allows for a frameless presentation of the finished painting.