New ACEOs!

The eBay artists' group I belong to has a Theme Week contest on the 1st week of each month.  The theme for the month of June is "Fish" ... well, I really like fish and I managed to come up with 5 "Fish" ACEOs!  Each is strongly influenced by Zentangle patterns ...

Each piece was created using Derwent Inktense pencils, Prismacolor Verithin colored pencils, watercolor pencils and technical art pens on Stonehenge Art Paper.  I like the bright colors of the watercolor and Inktense pencils and the shadowing I am able to achieve with the Verithin (dry) colored pencils.  The detail is provided with the technical pens.

"Jellyfish" on eBay and at Etsy

"Clown Fish and Star Fish" on eBay and at Etsy

"Salmon" on eBay and at Etsy

"Angel Fish" on eBay and at Etsy

"Seahorse" (Yes, a seahorse is a fish!) on eBay and at Etsy

I really enjoyed creating these five ACEOs and hope that you like and enjoy my efforts.   If you would like to see all of the entries in the ACEO TW JUNE challenge here is a link that will take you there:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&_nkw=ACEO+TW+JUN&_sacat=0&_from=R40

It is really interesting to see all the different variations on the theme!

Take care and have a great weekend everyone!

Karen Anne aka Ireland Brady

"The Mermaid and The Sea Horse"

Finally, I finished my Beta inspired mermaid!  Added a little fantasy sea horse, some sea weed, mussels, a star fish, a sand dollar, a bit of coral and some odd colored water.  The original size is 8.5" x 10.5" and was completed using colored pencils (primarily Prismacolor Verithins) and fine tip art pens.   I didn't want a lot of paper texture showing through so I used a smooth art paper that is made for use with artist ink pens.  For the air bubbles (by the sea horse and the mermaid) and the pearls (in her hair) and accents on the fins and tail, I used a white gel pen.

I haven't yet posted this in either my Etsy Shop or my eBay Store, thought it would be nice to first get some feedback on what people think of my first mermaid.  I fell in love with the gorgeous fins and tails on the Beta fish and really wanted to incorporate some of that beauty into this piece.  I hope you like it!

I think I'd like to do at least one more mermaid, but I think it will be awhile before I get to do more art work.  Time has a way of catching up with one and it is time to get the paper work done for taxes AND to deep clean the house!  

I mean MAJOR Goodwill and Salvation Army will be VERY happy type of cleaning!  The type of DEEP cleaning that will empty a LOT of extra "stuff" and open up some rooms for use cleaning!  We moved into this house 10/1/1970 and it was very, very empty.  43 years later, the 3 kids have moved on, 1 grandkid moved in, another grand has a lot of her stuff here while she is overseas (in the Navy).  Heck, we still have Jim's old Boy Scout uniform upstairs!  Boxes get moved, get piled, get saved and the "mass" accumulates!  But the darned thing is ... I know as soon as I give or toss something away ... I'll find I need it!  This is gonna be WAY hard!  The good thing will be ... what is left will be "findable"! 

So if you don't hear from me for quite awhile, its not that I am ignoring you ... its just something that we gotta do before we are too old to move anything and everything collapses in on top of us!  The hardest part will be the two of us agreeing on things that should go.  

And our kids will surely breath a sign of relief!  They are terrified that we may die and leave everything for them to go through!  Like I told my hubby, if we really miss something we can always go to Goodwill or Salvation Army and visit it!  I'm sure this project will take a good month, if we don't wane in our attempts.  Wish us luck!

Happy day all!

Karen Anne 

New! Undersea Illustrations and Coloring Pages

The "Humming Belles" wanted an undersea scene added to their portfolio and requested I create a two part set to give them more space to play in.  In the first scene, a sunken fairy castle, a clown fish and a sea horse are featured; in the second scene we find an octopus, an angel fish, star fish, mussels and much more!  These illustrations are listed in the "Humming Belles" Etsy Shop in full color, as pages to be colored by you, and finally as full color ACEO/Trading cards.

Undersea Scene Number One

 

Undersea Scene Number One Coloring Page

 

Undersea Scene Number Two

Undersea Scene Number Two Coloring Page