Hi everyone! Today we have a very special guest here on the blog:  Karyn Denten, the artist who drew my favorite bicycle stamps of all time! Please join me in giving her a warm Hero welcome.

When I first saw one of Karyn’s bicycle prints in her Etsy shop I let out a yell of pure delight! Just look and you’ll see why — aren’t they happy and fun?

I excitedly sent a note to Jackie, the founder and Creative Director of Hero Arts, with links to Karyn’s portfolio and told her I thought they’d make GREAT stamps! Jackie agreed, and the rest is history!

I thought it would be fun to interview Karyn and find out more about these favorite designs. Here goes!

Lisa: What were you thinking about when you drew the bicycles?

Karyn: I was inspired to draw bicycles when at the time, I was going to a lot of estate sales and flea markets, and kept coming across classic Schwinns. The Stingray, the one with the banana seat, was the first bike I drew. Up to that point I really hadn’t seen that style of bike drawn as art. My cousin actually had a green one when I was growing up.

Lisa: I had a lime green one when I was growing up! Loved that bike so much!

(Bike stamps from L to R: Joy Ride, Bicycles, Three Bikes, Bicycle Pattern Background)

Lisa: Can you tell us a little about the process of creating them? For example, did you sketch them first on paper or go straight to the computer?

Karyn: Usually, I make it a point to take pictures when I go to flea markets. So I started with a few photos of the bicycles I wanted to draw and then sketched them out on paper first. I like the hand drawn look of lines, so I don’t draw on the computer.

(Karyn’s Prints, L to R: Coasting Print, Cruising Print, Big Time Cruising Print)

Lisa: How did you decide what colors to use for the bikes? (The ones that are white on light blue in the ornate frame are so pretty, while the multi colored ones are so fun!)

Karyn: The silhouette version of the bikes was created as a more of a pattern, simple and pretty. The more colorful prints of the bikes were created to feel fun and nostalgic, to be reminded of a moment in time we enjoyed.

Now, how about seeing some of those stamps in action?

(Cards by Lisa Spangler, scrapbook page by Jennifer McGuire. Click for more.)

Thanks so much to Karyn for the interview — and thanks for drawing my favorite bicycle stamps of all time!

Many thanks to all of you for joining me on the blog this week — I’ve had so much fun! And! The fun’s not over yet — join us right here on the blog tomorrow (Saturday) as we celebrate National Scrapbooking Day!

Hope you have a happy, fun-filled, bicycle riding with the sun shining down and the wind in your hair kinda weekend!

Happy Mother’s Day,

This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 3:57 am and is filed under Fun Fridays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.