July is already here, that means it’s time to scream for ice cream! July was set as National Ice Cream Month in 1984 by President Ronald Regan. He also set the third Sunday of the July to be National Ice Cream Day only right here in the United States.  This fun national holiday is a great excuse to sit back and relax while you enjoy a few (big) scoops of ice cream. If you're really in love with ice cream, check out some of our ice cream artwork before they all melt away!

Catherine Jones’ Malt Shop Collection

Catherine Jones, an artist who was born into a family of creative artists, creates paintings of the vintage styled ice cream shops. Her malt shop prints feature vintage advertising for small ice cream shops. Jones has a few other art pieces that include other frozen treats. Some of these are strawberry ice cream cones, hot fudge sundaes, chocolate shakes and root beer floats. Catherine Jones creates art work that will make you appreciate ice cream and its history.

Virginia A. Roper’s Ice Cream Parlor Collection

Catherine Jones is not the only artist to ever pay tribute to malt shops and diners. Artist Virginia A. Roper has previously tried her hand at spotlighting ice cream parlor treats. She has a series of five prints that showcase sundaes, cones and a delicious-looking, three-scoop banana split.  Yum! Like Catherine's pieces, these ice cream prints by Roper also have a vintage look with their light colors and patterned frames.

Andy Warhol Ice Cream Dessert Collection

Andy Warhol is a well known artist for his pop art creations. He also has a few ice cream pieces in a dessert collection as well. Created in the late 1950s, the iconic artist’s prints make the frozen treats look more like colorful works of art than a dessert item. The four prints to look for are Ice Cream Dessert (Fancy Red), Ice Cream Desert (Purple Fancy), Ice Cream Dessert (Red and Pink) and Wild Raspberries. The later was made in conjunction with another great artist, Suzie Frankfurt.

They are just three artists whose ice cream art are a part of the Fulcrum Gallery’s current collection. Some of the many other names to consider are Darrin Hoover, Dawn Collins, Megan Meagher, Rosiland Solomon, Jennifer Sosik and Megan Duncanson. See more ice cream artwork to decorate your home with in our ice cream art category. 

Do you love felines and long to participate in Adopt-a-Cat Month® but suffer from too many allergies to invest in a pet? If so, let us help you adopt a cat that won’t make your eyes water or itch and is welcome in homes that are not animal friendly. We're talking about dedicating your walls to cat art. Find the perfect cat piece by shopping our selection of over 500 cat prints. With this great selection of feline art, you will have the best, maintenance free addition to allergy sufferers’ homes.

For Colorful Cats

If you consider yourself a colorful cat, consider adopting a feline from the Dean Russo Collection or from Romero Britto. These pop art pieces are filled with vibrant colors that showcase a wide variety of cat breeds. Because these feline focused artwork contains a lot of similar colors, many pieces could be combined to create an entire wall devoted to cat pop art.

A few pieces from the Dean Russo Collection are Tilt Cat and Ragamuffin. The breeds shown in these two pieces are the main breeds that Dean Russo uses in his collection. Romero Britto's pieces are images of cats that are not of a specific breed. Cat and Happy Cat and Snoob Dog are some of Britto's pieces that are shapes that make a cat figure that is not breed specific.

For Comical Cats

Another popular type of cat art is humorous cat art. This type of cat art is apt to make you grin or chuckle every time you pass it by. Will Rafuse Collection is a great place to start looking for cat art that will brighten your day. Will Rafuse's cat prints have lots of personality which shines through easily. In his pieces, bold uses of color and human expressions are clearly shown. His prints also have cute names like Sadie Marmalade, Queen Zelda, Ruby, Oswald and Pipin.

Yoneo Morita is another artist who's cat prints are certain to brighten your day with a touch of humor. Cat agenda and Cat Party are two of the many prints to give you an idea of what Yoneo Morita's humorous art is like.

For Realists

For all of you realists out there we have photos of cats in some of the most charming poses. There are cat photos fit for just about every location in the home, including the kitchen and bath. Titles to look for if you like black and white prints are David McEnry’s Kool Kats and Kim Levin’s Not While I’m Reading.

To adopt the purr-fect piece of feline art and make your Adopt-a-Cat Month® celebrations complete, take a look at our many cat art prints. We have tons of categories, including the ones that were mentioned and hundreds of prints as well.

When it comes to French commercial artists from the Art Nouveau period, one would be remiss to skip over Jules Cheret. Despite having passed away in the fall of 1932, his work continues to mesmerize art and advertising students alike. Here’s a snapshot of his career and some of his famous framed art:

Born in the late spring of 1836, Cheret officially began his artistic career in 1849. He started with a brief apprenticeship in France and later moved on to England. Once there, he focused his attention on London’s most famous entertainment venues. Among them were the now iconic Moulin Rouge, Olympia, Palais Garnier and Folies Bergere. During that time, he created a highly visible and coveted series of posters. Many of them featured dancing girls designed to promote the venues’ assorted shows. The collection of framed art produced for such venues includes the following prints:

• Folies-Bergere Le Miroir
• Pantomimes Lumineusses Theatre Optique of E. Reynaud
• Folies Bergere La Loie Fuller
• Alcazar d’ Ete Kanjarowa

The much sought after posters were not the only works he produced throughout his career. Cheret was also known for his paintings, book jackets and extensive advertising work with a variety of commercial enterprises. They often included elements like great coloring, watercolor washed backgrounds, floral designs and engaging subjects like actresses. Among the ones immortalized in Cheret’s works are Rene Maizeroy and Sarah Bernhardt. Examples of his commercial work include advertisements for the following companies:

• Monaco Parfumerie Distillerie, Iris Villa Monte-Carlo
• Quinquina Dubonnet Aperitif
• Saxoleine, Petrole de Surete
•  Vin Mariani, French Tonic Wine

Because of his large body of impressive artwork, he later went on to win the prestigious Legion d’honneur (1890).

The days before summer’s official kickoff are melting away faster than a slushy sitting in the midday sun. Celebrate summer art and hang up a few pieces of seasonal art before it arrives. We have made a list of a few summer art decorating tips to help you get started. They will help you create a sunny space within the home or office that is just too beautiful to ignore.

Do remember that summer is all about color. Choose artwork that brings bursts of color into the room. Summer is full of color from fields of bright yellow sunflowers with there deep green stems to orange red sunsets over the calm beach. These colorful scenes and more are portrayed in art. Not only does summer colored art brighten a room, but it also brings summer vacation memories due to the vibrant colors. Memories of vacation days gone by or those yet to come.

Canvas finishes are a great option for beach artwork. Brushstrokes give plain artwork texture and dimension. This is great for beach scenes because it makes the waves and sand come to life. If you would rather a frame finish, don’t forget to select mats, glazing options and frames that not only compliment the seasonal art but are tough enough to stand up to the sun too. After all, chances are high that you’ll be letting some natural sunlight filter into your home or business during the bright months ahead.

Do remember that summer is also about living easy. So, try to keep those frame and mat selections simple as well. Choose unpretentious patterns or stick with plain frames and single mats. Save the intricate, heavy pieces for the fall and winter.

Don’t skip over summer themes that may not immediately align with traditional, seasonal design schemes. We have found that there is something to be said for hanging summer art that fuels the imagination. Let’s take Panoramic Images’ print, Woman and High Heels on Beach as an example.

To find the ideal slice of summer art and start decorating your home or business’ bare walls, check out our summer art category. 

So you're a sports fanatic seeking to decorate your home or office with conversation pieces or maybe you just want a vintage sports theme for a specific room like your man cave or bedroom. Purchasing antiques can get expensive and require space to display them. Consider filling your space with vintage sports photography. Artwork is something that can hang on your walls so it doesn't take up too much space. It’s also a great way to surround yourself with conversation starters without going broke. There are a few tricks and things to consider when choosing vintage sports posters.

Choose a color!

One big thing to consider is the color. What will fit best in your decor, black and white, sepia toned or color sports photos. The color theme you choose can depend on the color of your walls, furniture and other accessories in the room. If the room is full of color it may be a good idea to use black and white or sepia to tone the colors down. Using color sports photography in a room full of color can become overwhelming. The sepia tones and photographs that lack rich colors is what tends to give the photograph a more vintage feel. When you find the right color for your room, the finish for the print is your next big step. If a frame compliments your piece best, you'll want to use a frame that has more of a vintage feel rather than a modern frame. Some mat colors that may pair well with retro sports photos include egg shell, buff and serene cream.

The Sport or the Name?

Before you automatically select photography that includes famous athletes or stadiums, browse pictures that feature the unexpected or show humankind’s love of the sport. Good examples are photos like Free Golf and Retrieving the Ball. Each one presents everyday people engaged in the sport of golf. We carry prints in various types of categories like football, racing cars, hockey, tennis, lacrosse and more. So take time to find the beautiful golf course or the motivational soccer poster rather than automatically searching for famous sports players and stadiums.

If you do feel compelled to spotlight famous athletes or locations, there are tons of sports places and people to choose from in our categories. One of our best illustrations in that regard may be found in the photo titled, Lou Gehrig – With Bats. It's almost a 3-D look the way that the baseball bats are positioned, it gives the illusion that they are literally coming out of frame. This piece and pieces like it would look great printed on a seamless piece of canvas or a two-toned, ebony and gold bastion frame.

The Last Game

The last best thing to consider is the last game. If you have a favorite athlete, finding photographs from their last game is not only great decor but a great conversation starter as well. A good example would be to pair photos like Lou Gehrig – Farewell #2 or Babe Ruth - Farewell.

Finish it Off

Artwork is not complete with out a frame, laminate or canvas finish. If a canvas best suites your desired piece, choose a painted sides color that matches something in the frame. For black and white photos, black painted sides is always an amazing finish. If you're choosing a frame finish, choose a vintage styled frame. You can also choose a frame that matches the furniture in the room it will decorate. If you have a mahogany colored bed frame and the chosen piece is going in that bedroom, try choosing one of our mahogany frames if they match the piece as well.

All of our frame and canvas finishes come with 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Mother's day is almost here, every mother or soon to be mother should be appreciated always but especially on this day. So, what should you get her to commemorate the occasion? Every mother is different so if you don't already know what mom likes, it can be tricky shopping for a gift for her. An easy and meaningful gift to give mom is artwork. If your mother likes the beauty of flowers or wine then getting artwork is easier than ever. But for mothers that don't like anything specific, that you know of at least, what about art that highlights the special bond between parents and their children? Let’s take a look at some unique fine prints and you’ll quickly see why art is truly the best gift for moms.

For the Flower Loving Mom

Flower art is a great gift for mom's that like flowers and gardening. If you know her favorite flower, you can shop by flower type and get her a painting or photograph of her favorite flower. If she doesn't have a favorite or you don't know her favorite, try searching by color. Giving mom a flower print that is her favorite color is a gift that keeps on giving. Even a print that matches the color scheme in her bedroom or living room. This will make decorating so much easier....all she has to do is open the box and hang the frame or canvas piece.

Another good alternative to getting her flower art that is not her favorite (if you don't know her favorite) is getting a painting or photograph of two flowers together. Giving this to her as a gift can represent you and her and it can also represent your relationship together. If it is a gift from both... find flower art with three flowers.

For the Wine Loving Mom

If mom loves wine, chances are she'll love wine art as well. With over 1,600 art prints in our wine category, you're bound to find one that mom likes. Some women don't like to drink wine, but they love the beauty of wineries and the beauty of wine glasses and bottles. Prints like Vineyard Hill I by Sung Kim and A Wine Tasting by Marilyn Hageman are perfect for the Mothers that love wine for the beauty.

For mothers that love the beauty of wine, but also love drinking it for the taste prints like Wine Bottle, Grapes and Walnuts by Loran Speck would be a better choice. It shows a wine glass with food and also shows foods that go great with wine like fruit and nuts.

For the Animal Loving Mom

Animal paintings are always a great path for a gift, it can speak to lovers and non lovers of animals and gives a personal touch to your gift. The first way you can go about shopping for animal gifts for mom is to shop by animal. If she has a favorite animal, you can start there. If you don't know Mom's favorite animal, you can look for images of animals in pairs. We carry many art prints of baby animals with their mother. Art prints like First Christmas by Bonnie Mohr, Watching the Horizon by Lucie Bilodeau or Makulu by Ron D'Raine are few of the many mother animal and baby animal prints we carry that would make a perfect gift for Mom.

Motherhood Gifts for Any Mother

Emile Munier Collection:

First on our list is Mother’s Day art by Emile Munier. He was a French-born painter who specialized in portraits of women, children and household pets. We have several of his best works in our collection, including Pardon Mama, A Special Moment (1874) and Maternal Affection. Some of these paintings that would be a perfect gift for Mother's Day are ones that include a mother embracing her child.

Giving these paintings to a mother can show that she is passionate and loving. These specific pieces are best when given from the mother's child but can also be given from a spouse or other close relative as well. These paintings can be grouped together or paired with paintings by Munier’s mentor, William Adolphe Bourguereau. Bourguereau is the next French-born figure painter on our list.

William Adolphe Bouguereau

Unlike his student, William Adolphe Bouguereau liked to paint cherubs and angels too. His paintings relate to all mothers as he has paintings of young mothers with their children as well as older mothers. He also has portraits of couples together which would be a great gift from the spouse to the mother. Paintings like Mother and Child and Not Too Much to Carry are perfect depictions of motherhood. In some of William's paintings, women and children often appear in a holy light. Examples include paintings like Awakening Heart and Whisperings of Love (1889). However, not all of his women and children were given angel’s wings. These pieces that show women and children as angels and other spiritual figures are perfect pieces for a religious mother or a mother that believes her children were a gift.

Giving Mom the gift of art is a gift that keeps giving. She will feel appreciated and loved every time she sees it hanging on the wall. Have Mom's gift already hanging on the wall and surprise her! Check out our how to hang framed art and how to hang canvas art pages for help on hanging the art for her. 

Showing your love for someone special during Couples Appreciation Month doesn't have to include fattening foods, overpowering perfumes and expensive flowers that eventually wilt and die. There is a better option, love art. Love art comes in different forms to match the personalities of those you appreciate the most. For instance, there are heart paintings, romantic art and love prints to choose from at our gallery. Created by a variety of accomplished artists, they’d fit into a wide array of interior designs too. Let’s take contemporary interiors and pop art fans as examples. They may enjoy art by Roy Lichtenstein.

Roy Lichtenstein’s artwork often features comic book characters kissing or pining away for a loved one. His romantic yet contemporary scenes may be placed on to canvas, framed or laminated to suit your loved one’s design sensibilities. We've even heard of couples who display the comic book lovers alongside of memory boxes filled with souvenirs of their first date, engagement or wedding.

Word art also tends to be quite popular among Couples Appreciation Month celebrants.

This is especially the case with prints that include romantic poems or sayings. Artist Louise Carey has several pieces of art that fall into that category. The sayings that she uses in her artwork often talk about unending love, true happiness and friendship. They tend to have a contemporary, youthful vibe that many people adore. Those that prefer a more mature feel to their artwork may prefer prints by artist Bonnie Mohr instead. Her paintings include complete romantic poems and verses that touch on issues like fate, spiritual love, marriage, new beginnings and the joy found in sharing life’s journey with another.

Those are just a few of the art themes lovers will find among our holidays collection.

April is National Decorating Month but that’s not the only reason to shop for wall art in the days ahead. There are a lot of funky holidays scheduled to take place throughout the month and we’ve got several framed art pieces that can help you celebrate them in style. We’ve picked out five unusual observances to help you get started:  

Straw Hat Month

It’s Straw Hat Month. So why not celebrate it by decorating your home or business with paintings featuring people wearing straw hats? Famous artists Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Pierre-Auguste Renoir have created several paintings that would blend into a straw hat theme. There are also full color photos that celebrate straw hats too. They include Susie Boyer’s Working Day is Done and Walter Bibikow/Danita Delimont’s Cuba, Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad, Cuban Straw Hats.

National Kite Month

National Kite Month is another reason to redecorate in April. Try setting up a display wall featuring artist Jack Sorenson’s Flying Kite with Friends or Paul Brent’s series, Beach Kites. Brent’s series would pair perfectly with artist Katharine Gracey’s Beach Houses collection or Michael Paraskevas’ My Seven Aunts. They feature flying kites too.

International Guitar Month

International Guitar Month also falls in April. That said, you might want to hang a series of guitar themed artwork throughout the house. The list of artists whose work contains great images of guitars includes, but doesn’t end with Pablo Picasso, Tang Ling, Edouard Manet, Adam Perez and Deann Hebert. Of those five, Tang Ling’s collection includes a series of black and white photos taken at a guitar factory. In our opinion, they’d look fantastic on display in a music room.

Car Care Month

Fans of vintage motor vehicles rejoice! It’s officially Car Care Month as well. So hang up framed photos of classic cars, racing posters, race drivers and more. We’ve got more than 700 pieces of car art to choose from, including works by artists Antonio Massa, Scott Westmoreland and Keith Mallett.

National Card and Letter Writing Month

Lastly, April is prime time to pay homage to the lost art of letter writing. Yes, it’s actually National Card and Letter Writing Month. Celebrate it with movie posters like Letters to Juliet or contemporary prints like Wild Apple Studio’s Letters Series. Other artists who’ve creating pictures featuring letters are Deam Millman, Albert Ludovici, Cristin Atria and Alma Lee.

If you have any questions about purchasing artwork that fits right in with these and any number of April’s funky holidays, please contact us!

"I learned a ton from exploring new techniques and making mistakes. Don't be afraid to try new things and fail. Make that a part of your development." ~ Michael Mullan. See more quotes by Michael Mullan by reading our Q&A interview with him. 

Michael Mullan is an artist who initially lived in Chicago. His artwork is a combination of digital and traditional media. He uses hand drawing and technology which makes his art unique from other styles. Although Mullan has now mastered his art technique, he hasn't always known his style. Mullan started out by going to an art school, he drew book series for an author. He went to Savvanah College of Art and Design to get his MFA in illustration, after that his career really took off. Mullan has worked with many big projects since, his art has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Walgreens in Chicago, the Wonderment Beer Label and many more places.  When asked what is his favorite advertising project he has done so far, he replied "I recently worked on branding for a new brewery in Vermont. This was a fun one because I love packaging, I love beer and it was for a local business. I cant wait to see my work on all sorts of beer swag!"  Michael Mullan believes that his unique style of art has developed through trial and error. He is always looking for new ways to improve his style and technique so he can stay current.

Mullan's work is featured in many well-known places as murals on the wall, artwork and products. His fun, colorful and inspirational art is motivation for many people including the staff here at FulcrumGallery.com! Michael Mullan is always excited when a new project comes his way, especially when the completed project turns out better than he expected.

In his future, Mullan hopes to still be creating art. He aspires to get into new illustration markets that he hasn't gotten into yet. For example, handmade goods. Michael Mullan is also interested in expanding his art skills like getting into painting so he can take on gallery work. 

We are currently running a giveaway for a signed print by Michael Mullan. Two lucky winners will be picked by entering our giveaway on Facebook and two lucky winners will win by pinning their favorite Mullan prints from his artist page. Good Luck :-)

Do you know which wacky holiday takes place in March? Okay, we know there are several but there is one that really caught our eyes. To keep you from having to guess for hours, we’ll give you the answer. Its Humorists are Artists Month. The observance is designed to honor people who make us laugh, which opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to framed art. Sure, you could hang up copies of comic book covers and well-loved cartoon characters but that’s not all.

Consider the case of artist David Fischer. He’s created a series of prints called Java Comic. As you’ve probably assumed, it features cartoon renditions of humans drinking coffee. Best of all, they contain those classic word bubbles we’ve all seen used before to convey a comic book character’s thoughts. Some of the sayings he puts into the bubbles are funny, like the one about rich men. We think if his prints were hung up in a kitchen or hipster coffee shop, they’d make great conversation starters.

If you prefer to get your laughs from the silver screen, stage or TV, you could still celebrate Humorists are Artists Month with assorted Hollywood memorabilia. Take this Jay & Silent Bob Get Old wall poster for instance. It would look cool hanging up in a media room or kid’s bedroom next to other posters like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Three Amigos! Other funny pieces of art that could go with them are pictures of famous comedians, like William Shatner, Groucho Marx and Adam Sandler.

Of course you could branch out and display funny animals, kids, quotes and signs. We've got them too along with funny renditions of food, wine, beer and spirits!