Crowing about New ACEO Listings

I just put some new ACEO paintings up on Etsy of one of my favorite subjects...Crows :-)  This is my little mini-series of mini-paintingsYou can click on each of the images to have a look at the listing.

Crow Closeup

The size of these little paintings is 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. They are all ACEO paintings, which stands for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals" and are the same size as a baseball trading cards. 

Crow Cawing



They are all  painted on watercolor paper, 140lb using acrylic paints. 

Crow Walk

Thanks for stopping by!   Let me know if you have a favorite, okay?

Here's a Great Cause...

What makes you feel good as an artist?  I love beauty and light, and I love to create.  I love to capture that beauty and share it.  When an artist creates a painting, they are creating a labor of love.  There is an energy and passion that goes into each and every painting.  Thoughts, feelings and emotions all come through in their creation, even those that are unintended.

I am able to share this creation with others.  And whether they simply give it a quick glance or take in every drop of paint, they are taking in that energy  and passion that went into creating that piece of art.

This week I am creating paintings that will be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association Halifax-Dartmouth branch.  They have an amazing fundraiser coming up and I really want to share this with everyone.

A good friend recently asked me if I'd be interested in participating in this art event.  She is a volunteer and a great supporter of the Canadian Mental Health Association Halifax-Dartmouth Branch.

This association is inviting all artists to participate int the 13th annual Mosaic for Mental Health.  The exhibition consists of 6"x6" individual works of art.  The Annual Mosiac for Mental Health has become a powerful expression of artists who care about mental health and mental illness.

Here is their website if you'd like to have a look:  www.cmhahaldart.ca


CMHA promotes the mental health of all and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness.  Proceeds from the Mosaic for Mental Health support the Social Programs of CMHA HalifaxDartmouth Branch:  Among Friends Social Club, Sharing and Caring Social Club and Building Bridges.

All media are welcome, whether it be painting, ceramics, drawing, textiles, photography, collage, prints, 3-D.   All work for the event (with the exception of ceramic, sculpture or textiles) is to be on or attached to 6"x6" tiles, which are available from CMHA Halifax-Dartmouth Branch.

If you live in the Halifax-Dartmouth area, the tiles can be picked up at the CMHA branch.  My tiles were mailed to me, however in future, they are suggesting that artists create their works on 6 x 6 inch watercolor paper, and the artwork would be mounted to the tiles after they are received.  In this way, costs on shipping are saved as they do have a bit of weight to them and we all know that shipping costs can get pricey.  If, however your medium of choice doesn't work well on watercolor paper, they will be happy to send some tiles to you.

To have your work included in the Mosaic Poster, artwork must be submitted by Wednesday, September 21.

The exhibition will begin on Thursday, Oct 13, 2011 from 7-9 pm until Sunday Oct 30th at the Craig Gallery, Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Final submission deadline is Monday Oct 3.

All submissions will be for sale at $25.00 each, which is an incredible price for artwork.

Further info 902-455-5445 or email cmhahal@ns.aliantzinc.ca  

My tiles are all gessoed and they are almost ready to go.  What I create on them will be a surprise...will it be an abstract?  A crow?  A light filled still life?  What would you like to see?

Crow Calling...New Crow Print!

Just added this latest painting to my Fine Art America shop. 

 It's called "Crow Calling" and the original is available, too!

Just thought I'd let you all know that I now have reproductions of my work available!  Woohoo!


Fine Art America is a great site,  they offer giclee prints, which are the highest quality reproductions.  All prints are produced on Epson 9880 giclee printers using archival inks guaranteed to last up to 75 years.  This was really important to me when I was looking for a printer for my work.

So, what I also liked about Fine Art America is that you have your choice of prints...you can have the image printed on gorgeous fine art paper, or on canvas that is gallery wrapped.  They offer framing and even greeting cards are available.  


They also offer a 30 day guarantee, so if you are not happy with your print,you can return it within 30 days of the order date, and they will reimburse you fully upon receipt, including the outgoing shipping charge!

So please, have a look at my shop at Fine Art America!  Let me know what you think...You can click on any of the images or on the Fine Art America logo at the bottom of this post :-)


Have you ever used Fine Art America before?  Tell me about your experience, I'd love to hear. 

I Believe, I Wish Art Cards

Just thought I'd share some of the other ATC's I made while working on the piece I created for the Artist Trading Card event at the Confederation Center in Prince Edward Island. 

 

These little paintings are like a "mini-series" I painted while creating the art card for this fun art event.  The art card and series are both called "I Believe, I Wish"...you can have a peek at the post by clicking here.  I explain what art cards are here, too, just in case you haven't heard of them before :-)
The painting on the left here is called "I Believe".   It is painted on 140lb watercolor paper and it is painted with watercolor and acrylics.



I find that sometimes when I'm painting, I can get impatient and go into washes before they're dry and just make a mess.  


So, I like to have a 3 or 4 that I work on all at the same time. While one wash is drying, I can move on to the next painting.  This is great because I find it helps me to keep it fresh.  I am constantly moving from one painting to another.  Then while one area is drying, I can move on to another painting using colors that are already mixed and ready to go.  I am in the groove and able to keep on moving.


The Art card to the right is called "I Wish".  It is also watercolor and acrylic on 140 lb watercolor paper.


Thanks so much for stopping by.  Hope you like these art cards.  I plan to have them listed on Etsy shortly so they will be available for sale soon.  


Are you an artist who creates art cards?  Are you an art card collector?  Leave a comment...I'd love to hear from you :-)

What the heck are ATCs anyway?

Artist trading cards (ATCs) are miniature works of art!  They are about the same size as modern baseball cards, or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (63 mm X 89 mm).  They are small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets and they can be created with any material imaginable. Some cards are produced in editions (a limited number of the same card), some in series (a set of cards with a unifying theme), and some are singular originals.


An offshoot of ATCs are the "Art Cards, Editions and Originals" also known as ACEO. ACEOs originated when some artists began to create cards to sell, and/or trading among themselves.


Here is an example of how popular these little cards have become...


This week on August 11, the Confederation Center of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island is holding it's fifth annual Artist Trading Card event!  It's Fifth!  There are more than 60 artists from all over the maritimes participating!  There will be local artists to Prince Edward Island as well as artists from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario.


The event starts at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall as part of the Thursday in the Gallery series. This year's submissions include a wide variety of techniques including linocuts, watercolours, collage, and mixed media creations.


I am not able to attend, but I'll give you a sneak peek of the card I submitted:

It's called "I Believe, I Wish"  The original painting is watercolor and acrylic on 140 lb watercolor paper. I love how this image turned out.  I submitted signed, limited edition prints of this painting.  What do you think?


I have created several ATC and ACEOs and they do seem to be quite popular.  If you are an artist, leave a comment, and share your experiences with Art Trading Cards and ACEO's.  Do you find they are popular as well?  And do you sell them or use them primarily for trading with other artists?  Do you use prints or originals or both?  

Who Loves French?

Who doesn't love French?  The romance of the language...the gorgeous countryside of France or the incredible beauty of Paris, famous for its history, romance and art?

I love the language, and it's been on my bucket list for a few years now to learn it fluently.  I have been taking weekly classes for two years now, and I've come a long way, but still have tons to learn.  I love getting out once a week to get my French fix.

French class is finished for the summer and will start up again in the fall.  So to honour my love for French, I have decided to relist my Valentine ACEOs on Etsy ♥  If you'd like to have a look at the listing just click on the image :-)

Do you love French?  Leave me a comment!