ACEO Photography

I have noticed a trend of photography ACEO and was interested in how many artists sample their work this way. It seems to be gaining popularity with sellers, but I haven't seen a real jump in the market for it yet. I think it would be pretty neat to get a wallet from potential photographers as a sample of what the prints will be.

I wonder if this size art will transition well to photographer where, lets face it, bigger is better. At least in my opinion. I love seeing my children's faces blown up super-sized on the wall or have a massive framed art piece over the mantle. Will photography become as collectible as my favorite little pocket masterpieces?

I'm not sure, but I love them anyway. If you click on my site you will find some of my ACEO cards for sale and my most recent photography available in the same format. I hope they catch on as a collectible because I believe catching an amazing shot and freezing it forever on film is just as beautiful as recreating it with brush strokes.

I'd love to hear what everyone else feels about pocket photography as a trend.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great week and get outside as much as possible in the coming Spring!

~Crystal Belle~
www.artbybelle.webs.com

Peeling Paint and Rust...Just Paint It!

Were you misled by the title?

I love rusty old hinges and padlocks and tools.

I'm drawn to old weathered buildings.

Church Privy

So why not give in and Just Paint It?

...on paper, with watercolors...

Retro Kitchen Tools

I'm pleased with the results so far.


Rusty Nails

All these are spoken for but I'm planning more.

Check Here

Or Here

for new additions.

Make someone small smile on Easter!

I have been working on new Easter Cards.

These are two of my latest designs for kids.

I don't know about other people, but if you have a daughter like mine, everyday when we stop to get the mail she wants to know if she got anything.

So Easter would be a great time to put a smile on your favorite niece or nephew's face, or your kids or grankids' faces by sending them a card wishing them a wonderful day to let them know you are thinking of them!

Fellow Tennesseean Feature

Welcome to my first blog entry for DAWG (Designing Artist Women's Group) ! I joined DAWG quite some time back and there are such wonderful, special and talented ladies here! Though I think we all came together with our love of ACEOs, we create all kinds of spectacular things from art to jewelry and from photographs to home decor. You will find so many things here!

For my first post, I thought I would spotlight one of my fellow group members. The lady who created our group is Lisa. She is a wonderful lady and a fellow Tennesseean. I first met her through ebay a couple of years ago. With the question of ebay groups becoming extinct, she quickly sprung into action and created a ning group just for us. There are all kinds of fun things going on in the group from contests, prayer groups, treasuries, group events, etc. It's really beginning to pick up the pace lately and is so much fun!

Lisa has an etsy shop called Art by Lisa K and you can see her shop by clicking here.

Here's one of my favorites from her shop:

I hope you have an opportunity to stop by her shop. She has beautiful artwork, photography and drawings.

My posting date for this blog will be the 20th of each month. So, I'll talk to you all again soon :)

Until then, Happy Shopping!

Rhonda AKA The Cozy Loft

Sharing My Love of Photos with you!

Oh How I love to take photos and thought I would share them with you, I sell them on Etsy and Bonanzle,
On Etsy I am Artbylisak
and On Bonanzle I am Papermoondelights, I hope you enjoy them! :) Thanks for looking Lisa

Good Morning –

I don’t have too much to say this morning except it is raining again. Spring in Oregon can be rather wet. I Know better weather is just around the corner and have started seeing robins and other signs of Spring, plants are starting to peek their head through the ground. We were at the beach this past week and it was very awe-inspiring. We saw a lot of Bald Eagles, which was very encouraging, as their numbers were getting low and now seem to be increasing. It has gotten me to thinking of trying my hand at painting one of them – I will see. I have started branching out from my regular mediums and have done my very first oil painting, and have started a drawing class.

The Dawg Team has just completed a big weekend sale and some sales were made. There are plans in the works for another promotion in March, this will be even bigger and better so stay tuned for details as there will be a chance for you to win some awesome prizes.

Some Items from my Etsy Shop: http://www.lazyhawk.etsy.com/

ACEO ANNAMARIE

SIGNS OF SPRING

With Winter slowly fading and Spring coming on strong, I began getting inspired by all the beautiful blooms in my yard. I love painting my flowers. Every year the first flowers I get are Crocrus. Then the Daffodils, Hychinths and Tulips are not far behind. By May I'll have many more flowers ready to bloom and admire and paint. Here are some of my floral ACEO's I've painted from my flowers through the years.

SEARCH ACEO ANNAMARIE on the web for all my current art for sale.

Border Collie dog cartoon art - sorta, vaguely, kinda, after Picasso...

One of things that is so neat about ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions and Originals) is that their only restriction is size. They must always be 2.5" x 3.5" - apart from that small thing, there ARE no restrictions! They can be made from any material - glass, paper, canvas, polymer clay, pasta, dried mud, plasticine, clay, marshmallow - you name it, you can make an ACEO from it. (Although the marshmallow one might not last too long in this house...).

This is not restricted to materials - they can be created using any style and any technique - watercolors, oils, acrylics, crayons, pencil and so on and so forth.

I've just decided to have a go at cartooning - and I like it! But to start with, I'm doing them ACEO size so they don't seem like such a huge (and intimidating) venture. Below are a couple of the results of this new direction.

The first one: "But, but... I didn't do it!" is very sorta, vaguely, kinda, after Picasso...

And the second one: "She wants a drink of water" is a scenario which is scarily familiar...

My usual artwork - in ink and watercolor - can be found on prints, greeting cards, t-shirts, tote bags and more brill stuff through the following links:

Click here for ebay auctions and Buy it Now items - which includs t-shirts, tote bags, fridge magnets, greeting cards, prints and paintings.

Click here for dogs and their friends' images on all sorts of gifts and clothing and bags etc in my Cafepress shop

And here for my shop on Etsy


Find me on MySpace and be my friend! I'm on Facebook too...

And have I mentioned my novel (I know I have!) - a few hours of escapist froth for your entertainment??: Click here for Susan's novel

Thanks so much for looking…..

Susan

Happy Valentine Day everyone

Dawg Team is having a sale thru the weekend in all of our shops. Please take the time to check them out. You just might find some beautiful painting that you cannot live with out. Why not SUPPORT LIVING ARTISTS ??

Today Begins the BIG DAWG Team Sale on Etsy

Beginning today Friday the 13th until February the 15th there will be a Valentine's Day and Presidents Day by members of Dawg Team on Etsy.com.

Many members will be offering bargains

Come check out our shops so you'll be ready to buy your favorite's.

These shops will be offering sales so far:

artistsuetaylor, Buy 2 aceo cards and get one free plus a big sale section
suecorcoran, 25% off all item in shop
Artbylisak Buy 2 aceo cards get one free
lazyhawk - buy 2 get 1 free + free shipping
JYWheeler - 15% off handpainted china
ArleneFaye - sale
Luvs2Paint - sale
Aloquin- Buy 2 get 1 free + free shipping
TinkersTrinkets- sale section is 25% off-convo her for an additional 25% off
Barbsgarden- 12% off storewide, over 2 purchases free shipping
thecozyloft- BOGO free any item in shop
iluvlucy- BOGO domino pendant
thanksforlookin- buy 2 items receive a free custom made ACEO card

LeePierce Buy 2 Get 1 Free + free shipping

SUPER DAWG SALE ON ETSY

Our Big 4 Day Sale Starts Tomorrow Friday the 13th, You must take the time to check out all the new art and Great Sales all our members will have going on!

Type in DAWG Team in the Tags and see our tags

I will be offering

BUY TWO GET ONE ACEO FREE

PLUS FREE SHIPPING Friday - Monday!

Papermoondelights

There are many of us in the Dawg Team offering great sales so don't miss out!!

SALE ON ETSY!!

Music and Art

I just returned from an exceptional concert of Nebraska's High School Honor Festival. There were 200 gifted high school students chosen from throughout the state to perform with the Choir, Orchestra and Band. It was amazing, to say the least. These gifted youth were coached by a handful of dedicated directors and instructors, which turned the youth into a symbiotic ensemble in only two days. My step son came home excited, reveled in the learning experience. It was not only the musical knowledge that he gained, but the friendships, and the exposure to a different family setting, while rooming with a host family and interacting with strangers, that quickly became friends.

Monday, I will be at the Art Gallery helping the area high school art teachers set up their annual art exhibit. I am sure that I will be overwhelmed by the talent that will be showcased by these equally skilled youth. Which brings me to my point.

In these economically difficult times the school systems will undoubtedly be looking to cut programs. The arts are so vital to the personal growth of our young that I implore everyone to voice their support in such school programs. Art and music are part of the fabric of our many cultures of American society. It reflects our ideas and the richness and diversity of others. It allows our children to experience small successes, which lead to larger success. It allows them to express their individualism as well as learning to work together. The development of art and music skills can actively contribute to brain development. Skills learned through the discipline of developing art and music talents are transferred to study, communication, work and cognitive skills.

Art and music programs are essential to the quality of every school system. They are among the richest resource of America's society. Support the arts.

Karjalan Piirakat - Watercolor mini

Karjalan Piirakat
Finnish Pastry ready to eat! Not so much, really a little painting measuring 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches.
Nothing like food to get the creative juices flowing!

Call for Submissions!

Hello all you ACEO/ATC creators/collectors!

I hope this post finds you all in good health and happy demeanors.

I have decided to create a zine of ACEOs. I already have some entries from artists who are interested in showcasing their talents/techniques, and in bringing more people into the wonderful world of ACEOs!

The zine will be paperback, 8.5 by 5.5, and black and white, to start (due to funds). Depending on the
success of this one, I may make more.

What I need from you! ANYONE who is interested, please contact me. I am looking for:
ACEO/ATC submissions (work you want featured in the zine), stories or related articles
written by you about ACEOs, your history with them, knowledge of them, anticdotes, etc.
This will be by ACEO lovers for every one! The end result will be sold on etsy. For your
contribution, you will get a copy of the issue for free, and of course contributors mention in the beginning of the zine.

I feel really great about this. What do you all think? Is it something you'd like to be a part of?
Let me know!

You can reach me the following ways:

email: tracksaloquin@yahoo.com

blog: http://www.aloquin.blogspot.com

etsy: http://www.aloquin.etsy.com

It has been my experience that people are genuinely interested in ACEO/ATCs, but they don't know what they are. Once I talk to them, many begin making them themselves.

These cards are wonderful to make, exciting to collect, and really make for a great (and affordable!) collecting community. You can be part of bringing this joy to more people through this zine!

Please contact me with any questions! Thank you, and God Bless you all!!!

Aloquin

FEBRUARY 3, 2009

Hello everyone, and anyone reading this blog.
Its been awhile since I blogged, in fact this is the first time this New Year of 2009. I can't believe its already February.

I have been trying some new things, for Christmas I received a kit about Chinese brush painting, so I have been dabbling in it. Now it looks so easy, their art is so graceful and simple, I just love it! However for me, it is very difficult to master.

I have been painting on Mulberry paper, that alone is a challenge, maybe not for everyone but for me it really is.
Mulberry paper is very thin and once you put the paint on it, you can't correct it because it is so very thin and tears easily if you try to remove any paint, it is a good idea to mount it with silicone release paper. Silicone release paper is the paper that is left after you peel off various labels. You take the silicone paper and iron it on to the back of mulberry rice paper, just to give it some strength. The fluffy edges of the mulberry paper makes a nice art piece to add to your scrapbook pages.

I do have a gold fish I painted, and it is listed on ETSY right now; when you look at it, please be kind, I am just a beginner with painting on mulberry paper, but I will not give up.

Now below is a painting I tried to do with the Chinese method, but I can't say I have it down yet. It is a 6" x 9" painting done on regular watercolor paper of a Castle in Germany. The Neuschwanstein Castle, royal palace in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. My son, last year was stationed there in Germany and he brought many beautiful pictures back, this was one of them, and this is my version. Hope you enjoy it!


My ETSY shop is thanks4lookin.etsy.com

China Painted Fan Box

I am SOOOO ready for spring and summer.Today I'd like to feature a china painted fan box. It's available in my Bonanzle shop (EclecticSpirit) for $18.

Cottage style china painted fan dresser box. 7 x 5.5 inches. Pink, blue and yellow daisies with blue painted accents. This piece of porcelain is a piece of art to treasure. Time has been taken to carefully design this piece. It has been handpainted and fired many times in a kiln to an approximate temperature of 1400 degrees to obtain the beautiful finished product. The paint is permanently fired into the glaze. Because each piece of porcelain is handpainted, no two pieces are exactly alike.

Painted by Porcelain Artist Joann Y Wheeler