ACEO winner

I'm a day late with this, but have put two names in a hat and pulled out one. Adele, you've won the ACEO original painting!  As there were only two participants with last Sunday's card, I've scanned in a second card and Adele may choose between the two posted here. Scott will receive the remaining card.  I'll be in touch with both of you for mailing addresses. :-)

As things are getting much busier in the studio, and rather suddenly too, I may not be doing another ACEO card giveaway for a couple of weeks. 

January is history, and the days are getting noticeably longer.  The cherry trees and flowering currants in my yard are beginning to stir, putting forth leaf buds in anticipation of Spring.  Both Puxutawney Phil the Groundhog and Jabari the Hedgehog are calling for an early Spring.  With Spring come the annual parade of art festivals and exhibitions.  Are you ready??  I'm not! But I'm working on it!

I'm working harder than ever in the studio in an effort to make up for lost time.  Last year saw me pulling back drastically from shows, but this year I shall be entering a couple of new ones.

Next Monday I'll be doing feather-painting demonstrations and speaking at an art club. At the end of the month I'll be speaking with another local arts organization about Facebook, social media for artists, and inbound marketing.  March holds an adult feather painting workshop, and April begins the first show of the season. It will progressively get busier and more active right through til Autumn, so now is the time to prepare!

And prepare, I must - for next year I'll take my next journey to Scotland.  This time I won't be alone though, I'll be bringing my teenaged son with me.  What an experience he will have!  I'm glad he is a camper, for a lot of our adventure will be spent doing exactly that.  I'm also preparing to pursue some art goals while over in that magnificent country.  It's very encouraging to constantly keep new goals in sight.  To continually have something to aim for is a real driving force that keeps you active and in motion, always moving forward. Ther is so much to look forward to, both this year and next - onward to the next adventure! 

ACEO Card Giveaway

Last Sunday's giveaway was so much fun I thought we'd do it again.  This week's ACEO is very new, and created out of music's inspiration. As before, simply leave a comment to enter the drawing. I will pull a name from my hat on Wednesday and notify the winner and request a mailing address to which this is to be mailed.

This little guy came into my head whilst listening to Rory Campbell's CD, "Intrepid".  I thought (hoped) it was an original idea, but it's not... I've found a couple of versions of Kokopelli with bagpipes online. None were consistent in style, though - while Kokopelli was done in the traditional manner, his pipes were shown with a great deal more detail, and in some cases accented with extra color to show even more detail. To me, I thought the instrument should be represented as primitively as the character. Here that concept is carried even further by placing him as a pictograph amongst others on a rock face flecked with mica. This has been created on heavy watercolor paper with acrylics and colored pencil, and is signed on the front and details provided on the back.

When I showed this on Facebook, one friend immediately dubbed him Koko MacPelli.  Michael, that was just too good not to keep!  This was fun, and I will likely try Koko MacPelli on a t-shirt later on.  But for now, the original little ACEO painting will soon go to one lucky person on Wednesday.

And the winner is....

Gina! I'll be in touch with you soon for an address. :-)

Thank you all so much! I was delighted to see such an interest in this, and to have eight participants for this first blog giveaway, holy smokes! One participant could not post to the blog and so contacted me privately. Her name went into the hat too.

If there is interest enough, I shall keep doing these on Sunday mornings - this was fun! Let's see, what sort of ACEO will be next?

Sorry I have not scanned in the completed versions of those feathers as of yet. For one, the double has yet to be completed! :-(  I am a bit surprised at how awkward this one is to work with, and so don't wish to rush it.  I do already have a frame and glass for this one though. The frame is 11 inches wide to accommodate this larger piece. It will be interesting to see this one once it's all pulled together.

I do have, however - at long last - an availability of prints for my Eilean Donan castle painting.  These are an open-run, and the image is 8"x10", matted to fit an 11"x14" frame.  Each print is signed, has a single mat and backing, and is $20 plus $4 shipping. If you are interested and not in the US, please contact me and I will get a shipping quote for you.

I was very pleased with the quality of the print. There are plans to do a canvas print in the future, larger, and limited to just fifty. 

I pulled the photo I took of the castle, from which this was painted, and am including it and info on the back of each print assembly.  My husband has a much greater grasp of MS Word than I do, so he took my info and created a nice document:.  I don't know about you, but when I buy prints, I love to have the story behind it and so have provided that for collectors. Click on the images for larger views:

Again, thank you for your interest. I love receiving your comments.  Stay tuned for another blog giveaway on Sunday!

ACEO Card Giveaway

Here it is, my first-ever blog giveaway.  I'm hoping to make this a regular thing, but really it depends on you, the readers.

The only thing you need to do to enter is leave a comment.  On Wednesday I will put the names of all those who left a comment in a hat and draw one at random.  Then I will post the name of the winner on Wednesday. I'll ask for your email so that I may contact you for your mailing address so I can send you your prize. Easy!

The item up for grabs is an original ACEO painting. If you are unfamiliar with ACEO, it means Art Cards Editions and Originals. They began as trading cards amongst artists to collect one another's art. The general public felt a bit left out though, having no art cards to trade, and so artists began creating them for the public at very reasonable cost, and they've become highly collectible. 

This is one of Puss In Boots, and done in acid-free ink, colored pencil, and acrylic paint.  There is a lot of detail in this little guy, and he is a prototype of a larger painting that I am planning. The ACEO is signed on the front, and signed and titled on the back and will arrive in a protective transparent sleeve.

Please leave me a comment, and I will announce the winner on Wednesday!

ACEO Cards

Art Cards, Editions, Originals. It's a fun concept, and gives artists a chance to try new things - albeit in a tiny format. These cards are only 2-1/2" x 3-1/2", the standard trading card size, and fit nicely in sports-card sleeves. I have begun playing with production in these, and I must say they are really fun to do!

I've a few up on Ebay at the moment. My favorite in this batch has to be the Tlingit-style wolf, which you see here. Keep in mind the size, there's a lot of detail on this one.

For more of these little cards, go here.