Meet Eric and Melanie Co-founders of Kave Paintings

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eric & Melanie Edisen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric & Melanie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Painting started out as a hobby. Eric would come home and spend hours creating new pieces of work. It wasn’t until a year and a half, and about 75 paintings later that the idea to try and sell his work even crossed our minds. We were both really humbled when people started to show interest in his work. I made a website for Eric’s art for his birthday last year and that’s when the business side of his hobby really started to take off. Eric had mentioned doing art shows and festivals so we started doing research on those and found a couple to apply for, bought a 10′ x 10′ canopy and started working the art festival circuit. I work as a designer at a custom sign and graphic design shop in Fallbrook so I made him business cards, banners and art prints for our booth, and it just all sort of fell into place after that.

Let’s talk shop. Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Nearly all of Eric’s art is inspired by the lore of different fantasy worlds. Specifically in video games. He enjoys reading about the history, politics, and culture of those worlds and the characters that inhabit them. We think what sets our art apart from others is the literal story behind the paintings. The artwork are portraits of individuals that live in these realms. Whether it be a simple foot soldier serving in the Lord of Gold’s army titled “Golden Soldier” to a servant of Saruman, whose spirit is trapped in ruins titled “Shade of the Tower,” every painting is of a character that has a story of its own. I will say that being married and creating art together and supporting and encouraging each other to show the world our art is a really lovely by-product of our partnership.

Right now, we’re really excited about our collaborations. For the past couple of weeks we’ve been collaborating on large format canvases and coming up with some interesting new pieces.

Eric has been so diligent about posting to our Instagram. That has really been the driving force – just being super consistent and engaging with everyone who likes the art. We are sincerely so humbled by the people who like us enough to follow us or ‘like’ a piece that we’ve put out. It took years to get to where we are right now, and we know we’re not super famous artists or anything, but every little milestone we’ve made has been so fun and exciting that it’s really pushed us to the next goal and beyond.

We’ve learned that it’s okay to not know what you’re doing at first. If you’re passionate about something and you stick with it, eventually you will see the fruits of your labor. Maybe people won’t understand your passion at first (that happened to us) -that’s okay! It’s okay for your passion to not be their passion. You will find your people.

What I [Eric] have learned is that the biggest philosophy for me when it comes to finishing creative projects, the best path forward is to make a decision and stick with it. If you’re given too many options I feel like it can stifle creativity.

What I [Melanie] have learned is to not get caught up with being perfect at my craft. Often times it’s the “mistakes” that I love most about the things I’ve made, You’re the only one who will ever see your mistakes, and they are what define your artistic style.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The wineries in Temecula are a huge attraction for visitors, and a day tasting at a few select ones is never a bad choice. Although, my personal favorite spot is Oscar’s Brewing Company, which overlooks the iconic duck pond that has been there for so many years, and is definitely a beautiful place to enjoy a meal. Across from that is Peony Chinese cuisine, a place I will always recommend, as I have been eating from there for over 15 years!

For some outdoor activity, The Dripping Springs campground is home to a great selection of hiking trails, where we camp a few times a year as well.

But living in Temecula, known to be notoriously hot, my favorite spot is by the pool – Any one you can find.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Eric’s parents: Glenn and Michele Edisen have been, from day one, the most supportive people in our lives. We are so grateful to them for being so sweet to us and buying art at some of our shows when the shows were slow; for telling all their friends about Eric’s art and how proud they are of us. They are seriously so supportive and we love them so much!

Eric’s brother Anthony has also been one of his biggest fans. He is always telling Eric how much he loves his artwork, and Eric has painted a few pieces inspired by their relationship.

Finally we are both so grateful for all of our friends, we feel so lucky to have a great social circle from people of all walks of life.

Website: kavepaintings.com

Instagram: @kavepainting

Facebook: /kavepainting