Interview with dishamai, Original Paintings

Here is a wonderful shop for you to check out. dishamai creates artwork for nursery, home, and beach decor. Meet Alisha, the artist behind these amazing paintings.

Tell us about yourself, your shop, and what you make.
I graduated with a degree in fine art from Fairfield University in 2003. However, it wasn’t until recently that I started painting again. My artwork started out as a simple form of stress relief and focused around babies and nursery décor. I’m in that period of my life when everyone around you is having babies. One day after visiting with my nephew who is obsessed with all sea creatures, seahorses just started pouring out of me onto canvases. Soon it gained speed and I was covering the house with all of these aquatic paintings. One of my good friends encouraged me to open a shop on Etsy and so dishamai was born. My goal is to create original paintings at an affordable price. I try to stick to standard sizes so that they keep the cost of shipping and framing down. Many of my clients request custom paintings in varying color or sizes from pieces I have listed in my shop. I paint with acrylics in a style that makes the paint 3 dimensional and almost sculptural.

How did you get started in your craft?
I have always been crafty and when I had limited space my craftiness would come out in jewelry making. Now that I have a little extra space and an amazing husband, I have been able to exercise my creativity by taking over the dining room of our house and turning it into a mini studio space. When I was in collage I discovered how much I love to mix paint and play with color. The technique of painting I am currently using was discovered when mixing colors. 

Tell about your favorite piece.

You asked what my favorite painting is; it is my very first seahorse.

I took an old purple canvas and just painted the seahorse right over it. Many of my paintings are about the colors or color pairings that inspiring me to paint that day.

My latest coral paintings are really all about having a bold solid canvas that compliments the other canvases around it with the pure white paint on top of it. My style of painting is almost sculptural as I paint with intentionally thick layers of paint so that the subjects protrude from the painting almost in the style of relief. If you were to close your eyes and rub your hand over the painting you would be able to feel raised areas of texture.

One of the few paintings I have that does not necessarily go with the aquatic theme, though I still could see it hanging on the wall of a beach cottage is my abstract floral painting. This was inspired by none other than the shower curtain in my bathroom! I don’t know what it is but I LOVE that shower curtain and I LOVE this painting!

I have also been experimenting with making paintings look worn or antiqued with a flare. The result has been a series of fish and beach themed paintings. I love the idea of one of these tiny paintings just being framed and sitting on a side table or in a nursery. It’s a little unexpected and I can just imagine young children making up stories inspired by these little guys.

What inspires you?

Well clearly my nephew inspires me being the entire direction of my shop changed after spending the day with him. I guess at the same time children’s toys do as well! Often there are times see a color combination or a funky piece of jewelry and you think, I want to remember this so I can use it in my artwork. Well, if I don’t snap a picture right there and then I will forget this might be why my camera is always full of photos.

Thank you Alisha for sharing your shop with us!

 
I hope you've enjoyed today's feature. Be sure to check out Alisha's shop on Etsy. You will find that her shop is on vacation mode, but you can request to be notified by email when her shop reopens! You can also click on any of her items above.