New York, New York

Another random simple art idea for your weekend... hooray! OK I know using reproductions is sometimes considered unethical, but I figure for private home use, it is OK, right? One of my favorite magazines, mainly for the cover art, is The New Yorker. While the new art is wonderful as well, nothing can beat a good vintage magazine cover when it comes to displaying them in your home. As an added bonus, sophisticated magazine covers are a notch above vintage liquor advertisements... beautiful in their designs as well, but a bit over used by twenty-something girls filling the walls of their first apartment.

The key to displaying covers like these is volume. It is much better to do a series of six small covers than two big ones. First of all, your print quality is going to be undoubtedly better. Secondly, you are going to have more visual interest.

So go on Google images and grab a few (I recommend six) large format images and edit them in a photo program. Choose any magazine that has been around a while... obvious choices include Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Cosmopolitan, though those are a bit more common to see in large poster format at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. See if you can find some beautiful covers from National Geographic or Life. You can crop and edit the photos to any size in a photo computer program (I used Adobe Photoshop, but iPhoto works just as well). Now the printing is tricky... color laser printers usually will be sufficient for display behind glass, but not everyone has one. Whatever you do for printing, do NOT go glossy... bad idea. I chose to print a 5x7"... easy to find frames and good quality!

Frames you can find anywhere. Keep it simple... white mat, neutral frame. Let the artwork show itself off. Hang in a grid or a line and enjoy. Done and done. Beautiful, reasonable wall art. Loves it.