Just a little note...

Dear Blogger friends,

This is just a little note to explain why I will be quieter than normal on the blogging front over the next month. We are heading away for a couple of weeks, at the end of next week and all my stores are going on vacation mode. I have also been in negotiations for a couple of different illustration jobs, and so it my be at least a few weeks before I get the chance to post any new ACEO's. I will still check out what everyone is up to on their blogs, but there won't be very much happening on my own. I do thank you all for your ongoing support and interest.

All the Best

Karen :)

Latest ACEO - Wedgewood Blue

This latest ACEO is of a beautiful cat called Guisla, and once again, it was the eyes that drew me in. This art card is available to purchase in my ebay store.

For a short time only, I am also offering 20% off the price of all pet portraits. This is for the next two weeks, before we head up the coast for a couple of weeks of holidays (yahoo!!!)

All the best to everyone:)

ACEO - Reflections

This weekend, we went for a drive up the coast to check out potential holiday accommodation for our holiday in July. With holidays in mind, I felt the urge to draw some water and this is the result - this was such an enjoyable piece to do, with the contrasting colours of the ripples in the water. This ACEO is available for sale in my ebay store. Wishing a wonderful week to all :))

Latest ACEO - Bubbles & Blessings

We have a long weekend for the Queen's Birthday, here in Australia, and sadly, all the boys sport has been cancelled due to rain :) - so that just means more time for art - don't know how I'll cope!!! This is my latest ACEO - the main inspiration here was my urge to try to draw bubbles. I have attempted it a couple of times this week and all works have ended up in the bin. I worked out in the end, that it is much easier to draw bubbles on a darker background than to try to create bubbles on a white background - I guess it should have been obvious. This was my final attempt and the best of a bad lot, so I then proceeded with the rest of the painting. You can purchase this ACEO in my ebay store.

Latest ACEO - Butterfly Kiss

One of the dilemmas I always have trouble with, is whether to do a background on my ACEO's. This week I have had fun experimenting with mediums and backgrounds and finally came up with a combination I was happy with. The effect I was after was something like airbrushing without actually using an airbrush. This background was done on the back of the drafting film. After doing the initial sketch on the front, I turned it over and coloured roughly with Faber Castell Pitt Pens in a range of shades. This was then smudged gently with a tissue. The pitt pens are not permanent on the drafting film, but a spray of fixative solved the problem. I was then able to turn the film back over and work happily from the front. I was quite content with the result! This ACEO is available for sale in my ebay store. Have a great week :)

ACEO Commissioned Pencil Portraits

I have decided to launch a new listing on ebay, etsy and artfire for ACEO sized commissioned people portraits, but it has been quite a while now since I have done any, so needed an updated image to use with my listings. This is our oldest son's girlfriend, Laura, who made the perfect model. She is a beautiful girl and we love her to bits. This ACEO is not for sale.

Oriental Beauty

This is an ACEO featuring our own gorgeous Siamese called Dipsy, who is coming up to 11 years old now. He is the most loyal pet you could ask for, waiting at the door until I come home, follows me from room to room - even sits at the door of the shower until I come out!! I adore him. This ACEO was done with Faber Castell Polychromos, Lyra Skintones and Derwent Drawing pencils on drafting film and is available for sale in my ebay store.