There are some things in this life that are just magical: art, girls, and cold drinks staying cold are just a few of them. Which is why we should all bow down to the incredible ladies who decorate coolers for gifts - especially during fraternity formal season. Some of these girls are decorating coolers in a week or less, and still manage to give their dates pieces of pure art. Pure art, sweat, and maybe a little bit of blood. Now that spring break is over and cooler season is here, I've dived in deep into the posts of The Cooler Connection, a Facebook page with over 81,000 members of all ages and genders who have bonded over one thing: cooler painting. And here are the stars of this season:
This Delta Chi Crest
Crest painting is hard - like, really hard. The artist did a great job keeping everything well proportioned and clean. Plus, her text is so pretty.
(credit: Amy Prieb)
This Carolina Cup Commission
Some girls are so good at painting coolers that other people will hire them to paint theirs, and one look at this cooler and you can understand why this artist was hired.
(credit: Anna Miskiewicz)
This Mod Podge Masterpiece
Some things just can't be painted, no matter how hard we wish we had the talent. But this artist did a great job with making this mod podged picture look more DIY by painting the Delta Tau Delta letters behind it. Bonus points for the cute dog! \
(credit: Cheyenne Zebeau)
This Super Side
Minimalist is SUCH a good look on coolers, it keeps things clean and makes the artist look way more talented than she may be. But this artist is definitely one with skill - look at the detail she put into Iron Man's arc reactor! Whoever gets this cooler is going to be super psyched.
(credit: Jenna Kahn)
This Swanson Saying
Ron Swanson is always a winner, especially when he's saying something about food or alcohol. Which is always. I love the super simplistic design on the side - it adds to the cooler but doesn't overwhelm it. Kudos to this clever artist! (credit: Kelly McCarthy)
This Frozen Work in Progress
This cooler isn't even done, but I know it's going to be amazing based off of this lid. This Anna is so cute, no one will be able to resist ogling over this piece of work!
(credit: Madison Zerkowski)
This Grateful Dead Lid
This lid definitely pops with its bright colors and iconic logo. I bet you can't even tell that the artist free handed it all! That's some real talent. I bet Aaron Willis hasn't stopped grinning over this piece of art yet.
(credit: Mallory Kleinman)
This Cooler-Turned-Chest
Now this gets points for creativity. This artist turned the entire cooler to look like a pirate's treasure chest, which each side featuring a different Pirates of the Caribbean reference. But this burnt-paper, sketched top really takes the cake for impressive when it comes to this lucky guy's cooler.
(credit: Michaela Craven)
This Dunking Dream
This artist's boyfriend asked for her to have him dunk on his cooler...and she made it happen. She took an actual picture of her boyfriend attempting to dunk and gave him the gift of looking truly talented when it comes to basketball. The Pelicans logo mirroring the dunk makes a great addition to this side as well!
(credit: Taylor Oliver)
This Rapper Autograph Session
This artist took things to the next level - not only did she draw her boyfriend's favorite rappers, but she mocked up their autographs to their pictures! This just took this cooler's (and artist's) street cred to a whole 'nother level. I could see this being framed above walls, and some lucky fella gets it on his cooler!
(credit: Tiffany Batten)
This Magic Mosaic
This artist completely freehanded this incredible Chance the Rapper image. I'm pretty sure this could hang in MoMA. Bless she who painted each of these colors!
(credit: Allie Grant)
This Adorable Art
This artist painted a super cute cartoon version of her boyfriend's dog and added a clever quote. What else could anyone want on the side of their cooler?!
(credit: Mckenzie Messer)
If these coolers inspired you, or if you have some of your own that you would like to show off, you can join the fun in the Facebook group, The Cooler Connection.
