Customize and Socialize Your Art with JuicyCanvas

Meg Rayford Jan 25, 2013 Tweet

Have you ever had a space on the walls of your home that you just couldn’t seem to fill? Maybe you tried a variety of paintings, a couple of pieces of metal wall art, or even some type of sconce scenario, but nothing could quite inhabit the space the way you pictured it in your mind.

For those of us who are choosy about our wall decor, JuicyCanvas presents a customized and creative solution. You can personalize your art before purchasing it, and yet everything on the site was originally created by international artists, so your inner art collector can still feel satisfied about your choice.

According to JuicyCanvas “Communication Czar” Zach Napolitano:

“We’re a transformative startup using patent-pending technology and the power of social media to change art, fashion, and consumption…forever.”

JuicyCanvas customers can select curated artworks, tweak them to their liking, and purchase them on wall art canvases – and even T-shirts.

The company’s philosophy is based in the belief that customization brings the voice back to the consumer while creating an emotional connection to their purchase. JuicyCanvas wants to give its customers a way to express their own inspiration, as they become part of a new class, the “consumer co-creator.”

This philosophy, combined with an innovative social component to the art business, is what makes JuicyCanvas stand out.

“With the option to personalize and then share remixed products through their social networks – even before purchasing – we are doing more than transforming the creative process, we are blurring the line between creator and purchaser for all consumer products that feature artwork as an integral part of their offering,” says Napolitano.

Like many of his fellow artists, JuicyCanvas CEO and cofounder Artur Maklyarevsk has a rich background upon which to draw for inspiration. Maklyarevsk was born in communist Russia and immigrated to New York City at age four with his single mother, who struggled working three jobs to put him through graduate school.

After grad school, Maklyarevsk discovered that his father was still alive – and an artist – and met him after a 25-year absence. Makylarevsk made his way to Burning Man with Disorient, and then returned to NYC to throw group painting parties where people painted side by side on the same canvas.

Maklyarevsk later met his wife, Debora Brugiati, a journalist and founder of Bulkka, an art zine covering global artists. Their mutual love for street art and a desire to recreate Makylarevsk’s art parties, inspired them to co-create JuicyCanvas.

You can try JuicyCanvas for yourself at their website. Simply choose a piece of art, tweak it by adjusting the size, changing the colors, etc., and then JuicyCanvas can print your altered art and ship it to you.

And, if you’re feeling uninspired, you can share your version on social networks to get your own crowdsourced art critique before committing to that perfect piece to fill your wall.