“Everyday life can be fantastical if seen in a certain light. We try to capture that in our paintings”
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We are Mike and Jaime Best, the dynamic duo behind BestArtStudios. We are a married couple, both self taught, but passionately driven artists. We’ve been working together to develop BestArtStudios since 2004. Best is our last name, Art is our trade and our Studio is where our products are born, so the name was pieced together. Our physical location is a small in-home studio, located in the United States mid-west. With all of the necessities our trade requires, we prefer organized chaos for ease of use and the studio really isn’t much to look at. Plastic covers the studio from floor to ceiling and our equipment is warped with age. However, it is one of our favorite places in the world. To us it is full of creation and color.
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For us painting is about creating something where there was nothing before. The inexplicable pull to add color and motion to objects lacking those things. The inspiration behind the color and motion can be anything, literally anything. A tree spotted from a car window, a bottle of motor oil, a plastic bag blowing in the wind, an innocent kiss or a passionate one…the list could go on and on. Everyday life can be fantastical if seen in a certain light, we try to capture that in our paintings. We both enjoy gardening and cooking. Like most people we enjoy being entertained, we both love most things science fiction and epic fantasy based. Mike has an extensive collection of vintage Star Wars toys and Jaime owns hundreds of books all worn with use.
Production
All of our paintings are original creations, 100% hand-painted by us. Done primarily on Cotton Canvas, watercolor paper, or panels. We use quality acrylic paints, varnishes, and texture mediums. The painting process starts with conceptualizing, this is done using a mixture of materials and tools (Sketch pads, pencils, ink, etc.). When an idea occurs to either of us it is off to the drawing board, characters are sketched, landscapes are laid out and the painting begins on paper... once the idea has taken form we turn to the canvas for execution. At any point during the actual painting process we might turn to photoshop to gain some visual conformation (what would a butterfly look like here, would the rainbow look better in bold color or muted tones). We use a variety of paints, mediums, and techniques while working. When a painting is finally finished (a process that can take anywhere from a few hours to a month) it is left to dry for at least 48 hours before a coat of varnish is applied. If done on stretched canvas the paintings edges will be painted black.
Custom Orders.
The original “Twilight” painting (pictured here) was a custom painting that was requested years ago. We are always happy to work with our collectors to create a shared vision. We have created many such works over the years and will continue to do so. If you would like to request a custom painting follow the link below.