Thank goodness for miniature art!

I am so glad that I found the world of miniatures, the last couple of weeks have been so busy that ACEO size art is the only art work that I can get finished (LOL not that ACEO's are really that quick, most of them are taking me two hours or so, but compared to larger works they are quick).

I'm sure that things will settle down (time wise at least) when the kids go back to school next week and I will have some decent 'art time' and get back to my commission work (and go back to providing some informative blog entries about the animals in my art).

I'm also in the process of changing the gallery on my website, the new one is easier to maintain and looks a lot nicer as well. Hopefully that will be made live sometime next week.

In the meantime, here are my newest ACEO's:

'Cob', Rottweiler dog



Jedi In The Night, torti cat. This is probably my favourite ACEO that I have done so far, and is the first of my "In the Night" series. I like this one so much that I'm not sure if I actually want to list it on Ebay!



"Shakespeare's Whiskers", Tuxedo cat



"A Giraffe Called Azizi". This one was created as part of a group swap with other artists around the world and is now on its way to its new home in the USA. "Azizi" is a Swahili name and Kiswahili word that means "a treasure, excellent; precious one." LOL - I hope the artist who get's this one thinks so:)



And last but not least is "Surprised Miss Marmalade", a cute maralade and white kitten with a very surprised look on her face.


Marmalade, Cob, Shakespeare, Prudence the Persian and the polar bear are all currently on Ebay and can be viewed in my store Art By Michelle

Bye for now and Happy Australia Day for any aussies who read this blog!

Michelle

Polar Bears and Persian Cats!

Well, I didn't get a chance to list the last challenge (SNOW) before the deadline, but I managed to create a new challenge piece and list it during the specified time this week as part of a 'theme week' for a group of ACEO artists that I belong to on Ebay.

Its great to see all the different ideas other artists come up with relating to the same theme - if you would like to have a look, just search Ebay for "ACEO Theme Week" or the theme title which is 'Baby its cold Outside'. LOL this was a bit of a stretch for me as its the middle of summer over here in Western Australia:)

Nevertheless, this polar bear is the piece I came up with, I'm quite happy with this guy, although it has scanned with more yellow than there really is in the original.



Click here to view on Ebay

And this one is 'Prudence' the Persian cat, who is also listed on Ebay - she ends in less than 24 hours so if you are interested click here!


I think I will hold off on starting my personal ACEO challenge until the kids start back at school in a couple of weeks, there just dosn't seem to be enough hours in the day to do everything that needs doing!

Cheers

Michelle

http://www.pencilportraits.com.au

ACEO: A Frog on a Log and going, going, gone!

I finally have a chance to add an entry this week!

This is my latest ACEO of a green tree frog, titled "Frog on A Log" (ACEO #15), which I will be listing on Ebay either later today or tomorrow. This will be the only opportunity to own this cute little frog because if he dosn't sell, my hubby has claimed him!


This photo is a cropped enlarged version showing some of the detail.

and another landscape "Snow Covered Mountain"


I did this one for the Ebay ACEO Artists group weekly challenge, but I am not really sure about it - it might just be that I am so unfamiliar with snow that I am not sure I have rendered it in a believeable way (I've seen snow once in my life, and was aiming for an Impressionist style landscape, so it not surprising that I am unsure of the finished piece). Maybe it will grow on me over the next few days. LOL - if not I will just chalk it up to experience!

The first lot of ACEO's I have ever offered for sale (including the Golden Retriever, Siamese Kitten, the pelican, frangipani and Teddy bear) will be ending on Ebay in the next few hours, if you collect ACEO's have a look as some of them don't have any bids.

Click here to view current Ebay auctions.

Because of the cost of listing items on Ebay, it seems that many artists don't re-list items that don't sell at auction, but list them in their Ebay Stores at a much higher retail price. This makes sense to me - apart from the cost of Ebay fees, I think way to many artists undervalue their work - and is something I am considering on doing with my own Ebay store - I'd love to hear your opinion (as an artist or art collector) on having a policy like this.

If I am lucky I can run to my studio and grab a couple of hours to myself, and hopefully create a masterpiece!

Bye for now

Michelle

Pencil Portraits

Today's Art: A Chestnut Foal and a Bunny rabbit.

I am just loving these Art Card's, it's true, they really are little gems! And for me at the moment they are particularly good as with my three darling children on school holidays I can still manage to complete some art as it it possible to get a couple finished on a good day!

I'm finding that they are more of a challenge than I originally anticipated - at least as far as my normal very detailed and realistic style. But the good thing about having such a tiny space to work with is that you really need to think before you act and make each pencil/paint brush mark count:)

This little bunny rabbit is 'Nibbles' ACEO #12. Prismacolor Artists pencils on matt board. This ACEO is currently for auction on Ebay, but if he dosn't sell I will put him in my Ebay Store at retail price...actually that's what I'm planning on doing with my Ebay art auctions, start them at a lower price on auction and then if they don't sell I will put them in my Ebay store at the normal retail price. LOL - unless my kids claim them first:)










This little cute chestnut foal is 'Toby', I havn't listed him on Ebay yet because I need to find my original reference as I can't remember what breed of horse he is. I am really pleased with the way this little fella turned out, unfortunately it lost some of the vibrancy in the colours when I scanned it so I will have to try a digi pic to see if that is better. 'Toby' has also been done in Prismacolor colour pencils on acid free mattboard.

I've added a few more birds and cat ACEO's and several pieces of handcrafted sterling silver and gemstone jewellery to my Ebay listings as well, so if you'd like to take a look, please click here.

Now I must run and get dinner sorted out for my hungry family!

Michelle

My First ACEO's posted on Ebay & new Ebay Store

Well I've gone and done it, it's taken me most of last night and today but I have successfully managed to create and Ebay Store for myself! I can't believe it has taken so long but I have added a couple of pieces of jewellery and have finally posted some auctions for the first lot of ACEO's that I have ever offered for sale.

Amongst this first lot is the ones shown below - Bronson, the Golden Retriever, Tao the Siamese kitten, Percival Pelican, River Reflections as well as a Fluffy Teddy bear and a frangipani. I have a few more to add in the next couple of days and a rather large quantity of jewellery to add to the store. That will be an ongoing project for a while seeing as I have yet to take photos of most of it!

If you would like to see the ACEO's and art jewellery in my Ebay Store PLEASE CLICK HERE

Cheers

Michelle

ACEO's - miniature dogs, cats, landscapes and more!

It really is no wonder that these ACEO's are taking the art world by storm, they are so much fun to do and I am finding them quite addictive:)

I will admit that it is really difficult to get a lot of detail into a painting that is a maximum size of 2.5 by 3.5 inches (the same size as normal trading cards), I'm finding that they are a really good oportunity for me to experiment with a looser, less photorealistic style.

Here are a few that I have done this week, I might try listing some of them on ebay.com.au and the new art auction at the Art-Cards.Org site (I'll post an update when they are listed for auction).

The first one is a lovely golden retriever ACEO portrait:


A sweet little Siamese Kitten:



A bird this time, a Pink Flamingo:



and something different for me, a landscape - impressionistic in style?



I do have a few more but I will post them on the new ACEO gallery that I am setting up on my website Pencil Portraits as soon as I sort out an image size problem that I seem to be having.

I'm contemplating opening an Ebay store for my ACEO's, small format art and art jewellery...if I can find enough hours in the day! I'd love to hear if you think this is a good idea or not (what can I say, I'm a Libran and making a decision takes forever!)

Ciao for now!

Michelle