New hand painted Xmas tree ornaments are now available for purchase at I-Like-You-MN in both of their Twin City locations - St Pauly + Minneapolis! (Acrylic paint on cut birch, 2025). Why not have the best Xmas tree on your block with the help of these handy-dandy ornaments! Why, Santa Claus himself.. will stop dead in his tracks when he sees such magnificent beauties on your tree!!
Read MoreNew sign painting on photographs
I recently painted on top of some old photographs of my father, James Terence (Terry) O'Brien.
I think in the left picture he was around 18-20 years old(?). On the right, maybe 4-6 years old(?)
- 5 x 7" each, acrylic paint on photographic paper, 2025. I was trying to do something that was kind-of-sort-of-like the artist John Baldessari... but different, maybe. I used aspirational text for the work but why I chose those particular words for those particular photographs is unknown to me, it just felt right. This piece was challenging to paint because…
New hand-painted CHILL signs now available for purchase.
New CHILL signs are now available at I-Like-You-MN
New hand-painted ‘CHILL’ signs are now available to purchase at a store called I-Like-You-MN in the Twin Cities! (6x10” each, acrylic paint on wood, $25 each) These wooden signs (with a hanger on the back) help to celebrate the winter season… or better yet, to help celebrate one’s dopeness at home! What better way to spruce up your old art collection or lonely book shelf than with a cool (pun intended) CHILL sign!!
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Original print by Erna Kasabach, ‘Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep’, 17.25 x 13.25” framed
Thrift Store Painting Dropped off at Hidden Treasures Thrift Store - 09/27/2025 - Erna Kasabach
This summer I purchased a framed print by the artist Erna Kasabach (1906-1989) from Hidden Treasures Thrift Store in NE Minneapolis. The image depicts a young caucasian child kneeling in prayer in front of an illuminated background, gazing upwardly to his left. The phrase ‘Now I lay me down to sleep,’ is written below in a decorative freehand font…
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Original painting of a woman in a blue dress by the artist B. Milavsky
Completed - commission for sign painting on a thrift store painting
I got a commission recently to paint some text (in a word balloon) on a nifty thrift store painting;
36 x 24” text and design by the patron. The original painting, by B. Milavsky, is a portrait of a woman in a blue dress. It is unclear to me as to who the woman is or what her relationship was to the artist; the piece is not dated. But she kind of reminds me of the actress Amy Adams…
Original framed print by Marian Anderson - “Voice of the Lakes - Loons”
Thrift Store Painting Dropped off at Hidden Treasures Thrift Store - 09/06/2025
In the spring of 2025 a woman in Minneapolis, MN gave me a framed print as a donation for my rubber duck series. The print, by the artist Marian Anderson, is titled “Voice of the Lakes - Loons,” and it depicts two Loon birds nesting near a body of water on a foggy morning. I painted a vampire-themed rubber duck on the print (have you ever heard the call of a Loon? It’s scary…) and returned this ‘new’ artwork to Hidden Treasures Thrift Store on 09/06/2025, around 6:50 pm.
A successful collaboration!
Thank you Marian for your contribution to the work!
“Now I lay me down to sleep with a rubber duck.” Painting by Erna Kasabach and Seamus Liam O’Brien. 2025
Thrift Store Painting Collaboration Continues - Erna Kasabach
I purchased a framed print by the artist Erna Kasabach from Hidden Treasures Thrift Store in NE Minneapolis. “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.” 17.25 x 13.25”. The image depicts a small child looking up to the top right corner of the picture and praying. Originally priced: $6.00.
I painted a yellow rubber duck reading a blue book on the boy’s head, and I will return this new artwork back to the same thrift store… probably by mid-September. I’ll announce the drop off…
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“Voice of the Lakes - Loons - Rubber Duck” by Marian Anderson and Seamus Liam O’Brien. Edition 1/1. 2025.
Thrift Store Painting Collaboration Continues - Marian Anderson
My new thrift store painting is finished! This one was donated to me from a woman in Minneapolis, MN, after she read about my story in the Star Tribune. The original print, titled ‘Voice of the Lakes - Loons,’ was created by an artist named Marian Anderson (dated November 1981). I painted a Dracula-themed rubber duck in the background, along with some bats, and plan to drop off this painting…
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New sign painting on MDF
New sign painting on a scrap piece of MDF, painted to resemble faux marble. At my workplace, we create numerous samples, and one texture that consistently appears is marble. The Greeks and the Egyptians used it and well... it's still the product of choice for some reason. Something about it just speaks to people; it has an air of authenticity, it conveys "class."
So anyway, we had to clean out the sample library at work and…
Thrift Store Painting Collaboration Continues - Bob Sanders
A few weeks ago, a woman in Minneapolis donated a framed print to me for my rubber duck series. The artwork, by Bob Sanders (b. 1950), is a picture of ocean waves crashing into rocks on the shore; measuring 23.5 x 33.5" (framed). I painted a large, yellow, rubber duck on the print and returned this 'new' artwork to the Goodwill in West St. Paul (1867 Robert St. S) on 06/16/25…
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Hand-painted hotdogs on masonite; acrylic paint, 5.5” diameter.
New hotdog magnets now for sale at I-Like-You-MN
New HOTDOG magnets now for sale at I-Like-You-MN in NE Minneapolis AND ST. Paul.
Or purchase online via this link: HOTDOG MAGNETS.
Celebrate the summer in style with some hand-painted magnets for your refrigerator… or any magnetic surface for that matter! Acrylic paint on masonite, 5.5” diameter.
Patriotic red, white, and blue colors are available to represent all types of nations, including…
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Duck prints are now for sale at i-like-you-mn!
High-quality laser prints of some of my rubber duck dry pastel drawings are now for sale at i-like-you-mn in the Twin Cities!
—PRINTS ONLY - NOT FRAMED —
9 x 9”; signed and numbered; $30.00 each
Four different duck drawings to choose from!
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New sign painting - Man-Made Monster
New sign painting on a scrap piece of masonite. "Man-Made Monster", acrylic paint, 10.5 x 12". Inspired by the movie poster for the 1941 horror-sci-fi classic, starring Lionel Atwill, Anne Nagel, and Lon Chaney Jr.
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Thrift Store Painting Collaboration Continues - J.S. Finona
I purchased a framed painting by the artist J.S. Finona from a garage sale on the corner of Saint Clair and Oxford; Saint Paul, Minnesota. The picture is a seascape with foreboding clouds and menacing waves crashing onto the shore. 19 x 23” framed. The seller told me he found the painting in his attic, but there is no other information about the artist. He or she might have been a local painter.
I painted a large, yellow, pirate rubber duck on the painting, and this piece was…
Read MoreWhat a week! Artwork recognized in The Minnesota Star Tribune!
Thanks to the Star Tribune for the fun article about my artwork! “Why are rubber ducks mysteriously appearing on thrift store artworks? The story behind a St Paul man’s guerrilla art project” - by Richard Chin.
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Work pants... RIP
I tried to keep these work pants as long as I could but the rip in the knees just wouldn’t stop! At a certain point I just start to feel like a degenerate, so I buy new pants and begin the process again. I’ve gone through so much clothing in my lifetime, and I’m sure it isn’t as much as some, but I wonder where it all goes?
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The collaborative painting by Lucas and Seamus Liam O’Brien
Thrift Store Painting Collaboration Continues...
I purchased a framed print by the artist Lucas from Goodwill Thrift Store (1239 University Ave W) in St Paul, MN. The picture is a still life with bottles, tomatoes, grapes, and garlic. I painted a Ben Franklin rubber duck on the print and returned this ‘new’ artwork back to the same thrift store on 03/02/2025, around 4:52 pm.
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ICE (4), 14 x 18", acrylic paint on wood, 2025
New sign painting on a scrap piece of wood
ICE (4), 14 x 18", acrylic paint on wood. Continuing with ICY snow-capped lettering. This piece was purchased from an individual in the great state of Pennsylvania! Thank YOU... for your interest in hand-painted signs!
Interested in having your own painted sign? Then send me an email and…
Read MoreCompleted signage at Pura Vida Elite - Bienvenido a la casa de los cracks!
Completed sign at Pura Vida Elite Training in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Here is the final video of the text. It was hard to capture it all with a still image because it is so big (6’ tall text, 140’ in length). So I opted to just do a quick walk-by instead.
Some of you have asked me why some of the text is painted in, and some is not. This came down to the business aspect of art. I would have done the whole thing, but the owner of the facility had a limited budget, so it was agreed upon early on that I would only outline the text, and then he would go back in and fill in the words himself…
The Big Reveal: Final word for the BIG sign painting at Pura Vida Elite Training is...
Final day at Pura Vida Elite in Brooklyn Park, MN, is here. The work has been a blast! But all things must come to an end, or in this case, the sentence has to end. So without further ado…
BIENVENIDO A LA CASA DE LOS CRACKS!
(Welcome to the house of the cracks!) in reference to the sound that a soccer ball makes when it is kicked really hard, BOOM - CRACK!!