Paigey! The Art of Paige Pumphrey

In the interest of full disclosure, Paigey is my best friend, and while I would be the first in line to donate my liver to her should she ever need it (although, the way I drink, she may need to donate her liver to me first), I’m not writing this review just because she’s my friend and I love her (so please don’t mark this as spam and send Unilocal HQ after me with hatchets). I’m writing this review because she gets a ton of commissions and is all around a fabulous artist.
Art is subjective. It really is. One man’s «Mona Lisa» is another man’s «Dogs Playing Poker» (and I think it says something about my fabulous art taste, when I say that I prefer «Dogs Playing Poker» over the Mona any day of the week). It’s sort of like steak. Everyone loves steak, but everyone has his or her own idea of what is the best tasting steak. M’mmm…steak. I should do a review about steak. But I digress… Paigey’s work is not «high art» — her work isn’t one of those weird squiggly pieces that is an «investment» and will «appreciate in time». Her work is the type to be appreciated now.
Her style is in a fun, young and sexy cartoony portraiture. A few years ago, while hanging out with Frank Miller (of «Sin City» fame) at SPX, he commented on Paigey’s fantastic sense of color. And yes, I just name-​dropped. So shoot me. She’s also been written up in «The Gutter» magazine (
), and The Official Bettie Page Blog (
).
Is it annoying to have a best friend who is so incredibly funny and cute and talented? Yes it is. Does it want me to strangle her and take over her life sometimes? You bet it does. Does that make her any less awesome and loveable? No it doesn’t.
She really is an awesome artist (if you are into this style), but she doesn’t have the usual «quirks» that most artists have. She isn’t temperamental and doesn’t go on «artistic tantrums». She is professional, dedicated to deadlines and works with her clients to get the picture that they want — which is pretty amazing, because there are some weirdoes and freaks out there (seriously, when *I* come off as one of the «normal» ones, you know there is something seriously wrong with our society!), and understands the concept of «work ethic».
I highly recommend her work as a gift for your significant other who is impossible because s/​he has everything, a gift for yourself (you’ve worked hard! You’ve earned it!), or for any friend who is still hanging up Monet or Klimt posters on their walls.