Real World Blank Card from Artists to Watch

This 5" x 7" greeting card is printed on a white uncoated, textured recycled paper with soy based inks. It comes with a color coordinated envelope.

Inside is blank for your personal message.

This card features an image from an original acrylic painting by Adam Swanson of Cloquet, Minnesota. Printed by Artists to Watch in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I am a painter and muralist fascinated by the way science fiction suggests a future for humanity transformed by major environmental changes and technological innovations. My invented landscapes ask viewers to consider unfamiliar places, such as the lines between true false, fiction and documentation, natural growth and urban development. I paint wild animals and scientific equipment to create poignant and sometimes humorous tensions between humans and the natural world.

In the early 2000s I worked in Antarctica for the National Science Foundation where I developed knowledge of important climate related experiments. Currently, I’m a member of the Twin Ports Art Science Collaborative and my work has been influenced by researchers and activists from the Lake Superior watershed and the SPRUCE climate change project in the Chippewa National Forest. Now, more than ever, the implications of human actions in a changing landscape are on the tip of everyone’s tongue. My recent paintings make scientific data clearer and, most importantly, inspire audiences to learn what can be done to change course.

My work has been exhibited at the The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Visual Arts Center in Cambridge, MA, The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN, The Herbert Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, The South Pole Station in Antarctica, Växjö Konsthall (Museum of Modern Art) in Växjö, Sweden, and Karatay University in Konya, Turkey.

I’ve studied many of the modernist artists, especially the urban and bucolic landscapes by the Barbizon School painters and Jean-François Millet’s heroic peasant farmers. I’m also inspired by contemporary painters such as Alexis Rockman and Chris Austin whose imagery expands the conversation about important ecological issues. I’ve always had a strong interest in photography and film so the compositions of my paintings are based on photographs and experience. My studio is filled with my snapshots of landscapes, machinery, and animals. I select, recompose, and paint the most interesting details so that my paintings may be comprised of more than a dozen study images.

Find more of Adam's work here.

Artists to Watch is an award-winning company working directly with independent artists to craft high-quality products that meld visually intriguing images with thought-provoking words. Our line is carefully curated to publish several exclusive collections from independent artists - each with a different look, feel, and voice. The result? A unique collection of products that inspire, celebrate, sympathize, and encourage those we love and support.

Life is busy, but we can never underestimate the power of a handwritten note. All the little social media “Likes” in passing will never compare to receiving a lovely handwritten message from a friend or loved one. When paired with amazing art & perhaps a perfect quote, it helps us to feel grounded, connected, and part of the whole.

We believe that a sustainable environment requires everyone to be conscious about the consumption of non-renewable resources while finding ways to reduce waste. Therefore, we only print on recycled paper! Each printed product we create has the highest post-consumer content available in a sheet that will still produce a high-quality reproduction. By printing with vegetable-based inks our products are less harmful to the environment. All our paper mills and printers are Forest Stewardship Council certified. We respect our environment by recycling, reusing, and reducing our waste at every opportunity.

Find more work from Artists to Watch here.