Pisces aka Two Salmon - a new zentangle inspired illustration

 "Pisces aka Two Salmon"

I have been having fun creating illustrations using zentangle inspired patterns; in this illustration I had drawn the border first, because my inspiration GPS just wasn't working. As the border was coming to completion I kept thinking of salmon (why salmon? I don't know!) so I went with this theme and the result is the drawing you see in this listing. I like the way it turned out and hope you do as well! The original drawing was done on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper, but I have reduced it down to be able to offer it in ACEO format.

"Zentangle Tiles"

In the past several months I have completed many drawings using Zentangle Techniques.  It didn't hit me until this weekend that I have not completed one true Zentangle Tile ... that being a picture that is pure design and patterns, there is no up or down, it has no subject matter that is discernible and is created purely to please the creator and the viewer.  A Zentangle Tile has a universal size of 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches. 

I had hit an artistic block this past week and my "Inspiration GPS" just wasn't working ... I think I needed to charge its batteries.  That being the case I decided why not try some of these Zentangle Tiles?!  I proceeded to cut myself up a small stack of 3.5x3.5 squares and settled back, relaxed and enjoyed creating the following four Zentangle Tiles.  These will be listed in my Etsy Shop shortly, but I wanted to share them with you first.

Since Zentangle Tiles do not have a subject matter I was having trouble with giving the pieces titles ... I finally decided to just give them numbers as I progress.  So here they are:

Zentangle Tile #1

 

Zentangle Tile #2

Zentangle Tile #3

Zentangle Tile #4

Best of all, after finishing these 4 little drawings, I found I had recharged my "Inspiration GPS"!   I now have several new ideas I can't wait to get started on tomorrow!

Moral of this little story:  If you are having trouble recharging your "Inspiration GPS" ... try recharging with a few Zentangle Tiles!

Happy Day!
Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

Two New Watercolor Illustrations

It has been awhile since I have posted anything on my blog, basically because I have been busy trying out my new Niji Waterbrushes (brushes with a water reservoir), Derwent InkTense Pencils, and Yarka Watercolors.  I really haven't tinkered around much with watercolors since I was in 8th grade, many many moons ago!  But I am working on a project and the need for the use of watercolors arose so I decided to experiment with them and see what results I could achieve.

I learned about the Niji waterbrushes while watching a YouTube Tutorial on Derwent InkTense Pencils (they are inks rather than watercolors) and decided to order myself some from DickBlick.com, a great place to shop for art supplies.  I really like the Niji brushes as they provide a source of control that I love, the Derwent InkTense colors are vivid and bright and work well with Yarka watercolors.  Once the Derwent InkTense colors are dry, they are permanent so I find they make a wonderful base to use the Yarka paints for shadowing and finer details.

I am no pro when it comes to watercolors, etc. but I found the results very much to my liking and thought it would be nice to share them with you and see what your reactions are.
The following are the two illustrations I have been working on over the past two weeks.

"Fairy Garden Fairy Home"

"The Enchanted Well"

I'd be delighted if you would let me know what you think of the results!

Karen Anne

A Wonderful Surprise from Australia!

Today in the mail I received a wonderful surprise from my Etsy friend in Australia, SunshineShelle.  Awhile back I had won an ACEO at SunshineShelle's Blog (be sure to check out her blog, it's great!) and I sent her a photo of our little miniature pinscher, Danny Boy, and asked if she could do him.  Well, today, her beautiful ACEO Original of Danny Boy arrived!  Shelle did a beautiful job on capturing his expression and I just have to share it will all of you ....

This is the photo I sent to Shelle of Danny Boy

 

And THIS is what she did!  Beautiful!

 

Thank you so very much Shelle!  

I just love it!

"Home of One Dollar Open Edition ACEO Art Prints" Plus Free Shipping in the USA for the month of May!

I was going through my shop the past few days and realized I needed to restock.  I also checked to see what other artists are selling their ACEO Prints for and soon realized I was one of the very few who offers $1 Open Edition ACEO Art Prints.  So, I thought I'd dub my shop "The Home Of The One Dollar ACEO's" .... kinda catchy, don't you think?

Anyway, in looking over the number of One Dollar ACEO's I have available I realized I have over 100 One Dollar ACEO's in stock!
You can find over 90 different ones in the One Dollar ACEO Prints Section
and over 30 in the One Dollar ACEO Alphabet Section.

In addition to a great supply of ACEO's on hand, I am also offering free domestic shipping for the month of May!  To apply the discount enter the code FREESHIPPINGUSA on your order form in the coupon box as you are checking out!

One dollar ACEO's and free shipping - Wow!  You can't get much better than that!


May you always have
Love to Share,
Health to Spare,
And Friends who Care!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

The Times Of Danny Boy

Good Day!  I have four new ACEO's to share with you.  These little drawings are all based around the character and antics of our little min pin, Danny Boy.  Danny Boy loves to be outside when it is warm and the sun is shinning.  But occasionally he does get

"Caught By April Showers"

At other times he will be outside, enjoying a warm breeze and soaking up the sun when out of no where he will be surprised by 

"Danny Boy's Nemesis"

Most of all Danny Boy loves going on long walks in the early evening hours with his "Dad".  Danny Boy especially enjoys the springtime and is constantly stopping along the way and 

"Taking Time To Smell The Flowers"

Once he and "Dad" get home from their evening walk, Danny Boy proudly bounds into the house to let "Mom" know he has done his job and exercised "Dad"!  For this outstanding job he earns a reward of some kind, in this case it was one of his favorite treats - A Chew!  Unfortunately, this presents the poor little fellow with 

"A Dog Gone Dilemna"

And he is confronted with the challenge of finding the ultimate safe hiding place for his treasured treat!

May you always have

Love to Share,

Health to Spare,

And Friends who Care!

Karen Anne

A New ACEO

Hi all!  It's been a bit since I have made an original ACEO so I decided to take on this month's ACEO Challenge with its theme of "April Showers".  I have additionally taken on a challenge from my hubby to draw a picture of our little miniature pinscher, "Danny Boy".  Drawing animals is, in itself, a very big challenge to me so I have really made a concerted effort to study Danny Boy and finally came up a small illustration that I will actually share.  Bear in mind that Danny Boy loves flowers (he is always burying his little nose into any flowers he finds on his travels) but its "I'm out of here" when it comes to showers!  That said, it took a real act of courage by him to pose for this illustration, he hopes you appreciate his efforts.

This little ACEO is titled "April Showers Bring Sweet Flowers"

May you always have

Love to Share,

Health to Spare,

And Friends who Care!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Two New Fantasy Illustrations!"

I must have been in the mood for a bit of fantasy when I illustrated these two little numbers which I have titled "My Inner Elfs" and  "A World Of Our Own".  These are black and white illustrations complete with elves, mushrooms, plus much more.   I have just listed them for sale as authorized art prints in My Etsy Shop.


In addition to being black and white compositions, they also makes dandy coloring pages! Children of all ages (we all have an inner child in us somewhere) will find delight in coloring them in using colored pencils and fine line color marking pens. When completed, if one decides to add their own color, one can add to the bottom of the page "Colored by ________________".  Thereby adding their own creativity to the piece!  

"MY INNER ELFS"

"A WORLD OF OUR OWN"

May you always have

Love to Share,

Health to Spare,

And Friends who Care!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Would You Like To Be Included?"

Hi!  The other day I was wondering how I could better connect with people when I complete a new art piece.  I currently post them on my blog and list them in My Etsy Shop; the only additional places I promote my work are on My Twitter,  My FaceBook Fan Page, sometimes in Etsy Team Forums, plus The Acetsy Team Blog and VAST Team Blog.

What I really want is to connect more personally with those who have expressed in interest in my pieces.  So I sat down and thought why not make up a group email list of those people?  That way, when I complete a piece of work or have a special promotion I can let them know before the general public.

In these group mailings I will send all participants only "Bcc" copies so that your email address will NOT be shared with others.  I don't work fast enough to be overwhelming your inbox with a lot of excess mail so, if you would like to be included, you can let me know by sending an email request to me at     IrelandsMusings@mail.com     (an address I set up just for responses to this post).


May you always have
Love to Share,
Health to Spare,
An Friends who Care!


Karen Anne Brady aka IrelandBrady

"Discount Coupon for Blog Followers"

As a small thank you to all of my blog followers, for the entire month of April I am offering a discount of 30% on all items in My Etsy Shop.  If you would like to make use of this discount, use the code MYBLOG30 on your order form when you are checking out.  The discount will be automatically applied to your purchase.  The discount will not apply to shipping and handling.

May you celebrate a joyous Easter Season!

Karen Anne

"Two New ACEO's"

I have been busy working on celtic knotwork design exercises and finally decided it was time to do some ACEO's.  This first one is a variation on a design I learned through exercises in Sheila Sturrock's book, "Celtic Knotwork Designs" ......

"Celtic Knot in Purples and Blues"

In this next ACEO I have combined my love of drawing people with my love for celtic designs and come up with my version of "Irish Eyes Are Smiling". The inspiration for this came from a picture of a mountain man my husband was using for one of his projects. When I saw the picture I saw an Irishman in his kilt and holding his shillelagh (prounounced shih-LAY-lee), a far cry from a gruffy looking mountain man wouldn't you say! Anyway, that is the image I saw in my mind and drew.

"Irish Eyes Are Smiling"

I have listed both ACEO's in My Etsy Shop today.  If you get a chance, stop by and visit!

Happy Day!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Celtic Knotwork Designs" by Sheila Sturrock-Exercises #58 to #63"

Today I was able to work in six exercises from Chapter 6 of Sheila's Sturrock's book "Celtic Knotwork Designs".  With each design I find my confidence building and the ribbons are becoming more consistent in their widths.  By coloring them in I am adding my own personal touch to each design.

Today my husband asked, "Just how many exercises are there in that book?", so I took a look ... there are at least 222 exercises!  As I am now only up to 63 that leaves 159 exercises to complete, hmmm .... I may not be posting all the exercise designs in my blog after all.  I'd probably end up boring you all to tears!

I will keep my goal of completing the book, however .... I think I am going to have to pace myself and get some art pieces for My Etsy Shop completed and posted; otherwise people may think I have fallen off the planet because I am not adding to my shop's inventory.  Don't want that to happen!  I think I'll try to incorporate some of what I have already learned into my next art work.

"Exercises 58 through 63"

Take care all and God Bless,

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Chapter 6 - Exercises #52 through #57"

I was back to the drawing pad with some celtic knot designs today, not as many as yesterday but I did manage to get in a couple.  I have now entered into Chapter 6 of Sheila Sturrock's "Celtic Knotwork Design" and am relaxing enough to have a bit of fun by coloring them in.

Today I completed designs number 52 through 57.  Would have completed more but regular life imposed upon me (doing dishes, cleaning up messes, paying bills, preparing food ... you know the mundane stuff that keeps one's life comfortable), oh to have a house keeper!  That is my fantasy dream!

With no further ado, here is what I completed today:

"Exercises #52 through #57"

If you should ever decide you want to try your hand at celtic knotwork, get Sheila's book;  she has brilliantly laid out and simplified the art of celtic knotwork!  

Take care and happy day!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Five New ACEO's!"

I just love ACEO's!  When you have a little bit of time you can create a little piece of art.  An ACEO creation can be created just about anywhere, snuggling up on the couch, sitting in a car, camping, in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep, filling in time at a local art show .... they have to be an artist's best friend when one has only a bit of time and not enough energy to work on something larger.

That said, I have been squeezing in little ACEO's here and there for the past week and finally got them photographed and ready to list in my Etsy Shop later on this week.  In the meantime, I thought I'd take out a bit of time to share them with my friends.

"A Floral Knot"

"A Knot of Shamrocks"

"Three Tortoises" (already listed in my Etsy Shop)

"Mushroom"

"Mushrooms and Fern"

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and letting me share my artwork with you.

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Celtic Knot Shamrock"

St. Patrick's Day is on its way and I thought now would be a good time to try my hand at some Celtic Knot designs. My first attempt at this beautiful style of art is a piece I have titled "Celtic Knot Shamrock".   I have the original ACEO as well as Open Edition ACEO art prints now available in My Etsy Shop.

"Celtic Knot Shamrock"

I am going to try my hand at some more celtic knot designs and hope to be sharing them with you in the near future.  Wish me luck (of the Irish?) in my latest endeavors!

Your friend,

Karen Anne aka Ireland Brady

Two more Zentangle Valentine's!

As Valentine Day rapidly approaches people search out a special card for that someone special. With an ACEO Valentine you can give a card that is also an art piece which can be framed and viewed with loving remembrance of that special day on which it was given. These Valentines are titled "Me + You = Us!" and "You + Me = We!". After all, Valentine's Day is really a celebration of a couples' love for each other. 

Happy Valentine Day to all the couples out there!

Karen Anne

A terrific new way to mount your favorite ACEO!

I was very excited about the creation of my first ACEO Mount Mat / Mounting Matte (http://www.etsy.com/listing/66053940/new-idea-for-aceo-mount-mat-or-mounting) and decided to create another one. These mount mats are a wonderful way in which to showcase your favorite ACEO's!

I also included some additional examples to show how versatile this ACEO zentangle design for mounting ACEO's actually is. 

So, what do you think?  Isn't this a grand way to show off an ACEO!

Karen Anne

Some new ACEO's ....

My husband thought it might be nice if I created some ACEO illustrations to compliment my "My Chinese Mudmen" art piece. So here we have two new ACEO's  titled "Bonsai!" and "Chinese Garden Lantern".  The originals are available in My Etsy Shop along with Open Edition ACEO copies of each.




Please keep in mind that, because the drawing has been scanned to the computer, the image is considerably larger than the actual art piece. Therefore, you can not realize the delicacy of the line work and fine detail of the image as a result.

"Bonsai!"

"Chinese Garden Lantern"

Happy day all!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Zentangle Design for mounting a favorite ACEO"

I am always trying to find a unique and unusual way to showcase an ACEO.  When I began this latest design I thought it would be interesting to try my hand at a border and see where that would take me.  Over the days that I worked on this piece I became intrigued with the idea that it might serve to make a nice background on which to mount a favorite ACEO.  So, as the work progressed, that overall idea became my theme.

Once I had completed my objective, I scanned the art piece to my computer and printed out a copy to see how it would work.  It was printed on an 8.5"x11" sheet of acid free paper and the printed area measures 8"x10.25".  I took one of my "The Letter B" ACEO's (with white background), placed a piece of double-sided tape on the back of the ACEO centered it on the blank center of the print and affixed it to the top of the print.  I then trimmed off the edges of the print to fit an 8"x10" frame and the result is what you see in the example I photographed and included here as a sample.

I also included some additional examples to show how versatile this ACEO zentangle design for mounting ACEO's actually is.

I think it turned out rather well and plan to list it in My Etsy Shop.  I would really like to hear what you think about this idea.

"Zentangle Design for mounting a favorite ACEO"

"Framed example with ACEO affixed to the center"

"Another example with Basket Full Of Posies"

"Example with Buffalo Skull ACEO"

"Example with Fantasy Mushrooms ACEO"

I am not sure what I should call this, do you have an idea or thought?  A mounting design for an ACEO?

Thanks!

Karen Anne

"A Zentangle Sunset"

After I had completed "A Zentangle Sunrise" my hubby asked that I illustrate a tree with more personality and friendly mushrooms. Of course I was simply delighted to fulfill his request, especially since his birthday is just around the corner! The finished result is titled "A Zentangle Sunset" which I am happy to share with you as well.



The original drawing was executed on a size 9"x12" sheet of art paper and took about 4 days to complete.  I have listed it in My Etsy Shop as an authorized art print (printed on 8.5"x11" sheet of acid free paper) and in the reduced ACEO format size (2.5"x3.5").  


I really like how this piece turned out and hope you like it as well.

Happy Day!

Karen Anne