Every day brings something new at the front counter of our Addison store. One minute I’m helping someone with signage for a construction site, and the next, I’m assisting a bride with printing a seating chart for her upcoming wedding.
Some of the most memorable interactions, though, are the ones I have with artists. There’s something truly rewarding about helping someone bring their creative vision to life and transform it into something they can share with the world.
One of my favorite regulars is Tom. He paints colorful portraits featuring musicians, sports teams, video game characters – all kinds of pop culture icons, really. Two of my favorites have been a painting of Prince surrounded by cover art from his different albums, and a bright, detailed Pokémon collage he brought to us just this week. He always hides a tiny portrait of his West Highland Terrier, Daisy, in each painting and makes sure to point it out when he brings in his work.
After we scan his paintings, he has us print the art on canvas and stretch the prints onto wooden frames. Then he takes them to sell at art shows across the region. It’s satisfying to know that we play a part in helping him share his work with a bigger audience.
Another artist, Mark, has been stopping by regularly to scan his illustrations for a mural project at a children’s hospital in Houston. His hand-painted forest scenes are filled with friendly animals and cozy woodland spaces. Because we can scan large paintings at such high resolution on our WideTEK flatbed scanner, Mark is able to enlarge the individual paintings and combine them to create a full, immersive scene for the hospital wing. Watching this project come together piece by piece, and knowing this art will help brighten a difficult place, has been a reminder of how powerful creativity can be.
Not all the artwork we see is brand new. Sometimes, it’s about preserving and sharing something that’s been in a family for decades. A woman came in recently with a watercolor painting her mother had done back in the 1950s. She wanted to surprise her siblings and all the grandchildren with prints for Christmas.
We used our flatbed scanner to capture all the subtle detail in the original watercolor, and the gentle washes of color and the texture of the vintage paper came through beautifully. Then we printed the image with our Canon Colorado printer on matte artist paper. The colors are vivid and long-lasting, so the prints can be displayed in their homes for years without worrying about fading or damage. It was a quiet but meaningful way to help preserve a piece of family history.
Whether it's a mural in a hospital, a colorful painting of one of my favorite musicians, or a cherished family memory, I love seeing the creativity and stories that come through our doors. Every piece of art has a story behind it, and it’s a privilege to help bring those stories to life.
Cynthia Bates is the First Impressions Associate at TPW’s Addison superstore, located just north of Dallas, Texas. She joined the team in August 2024 and recently celebrated her one-year anniversary with the company.
