New Piano Keys ACEOs

This is the third set of Piano Keys ACEOs that I've made.

I do the background differently each time, but the concept and the process has been the same.

They are fun to make and people like to collect them, so I made another set last weekend.

Keys 1

If you aren't sure what an ACEO is look at this earlier post What to Do with an ACEO

Keys 2

You can find them in my Etsy shop. My Bear Hollow Creations Shop 

I'll be putting all six of them up there over the next few days.

(My Internet is rather slow at home since I have DISH satelite as my provider.)

The Road to Emmaus

"Just paint it yourself!" (Keep reading to see how you can get a print of this painting.)

The title of this year's Passion Play was "The Road to Emmaus." It's the story of two men traveling from Jerusalem to a town seven miles away called Emmaus on the day of Christ's resurrection. As they are traveling Jesus joins them and the three of them walk to Emmaus.

My Administrative Assistant at church and our Publications Assistant spent a lot of time before our Passion Play looking for just the right graphic to use for advertising and for our program cover. I looked at some of the art sites too.

One of the pictures that we liked was a painting. It was close, but not quite what I wanted. So Donna, my Administrative Assistant said, "Just paint it yourself."

So I took an idea from the painting and then chnged it up to how I wanted it to look. Here's what I ended up with. It is a 9x12 acrylic painting on archival quality canvas.

As the men came to Emmaus it was getting close to time for the evening meal. The painting shows this not only from the setting sun, but from them men almost stepping off the edge of the paintint. They are almost to their destination.

For centuries painters Jesus Christ and then also "saints" were with a halo around them so you could tell who was who. (Or is that who was whom?)

Anyway, I didn't want to paint an actual halo, but you see how the sun light is shining around the head of the man in the middle - who is Jesus.

Julie did a great job turning it into tickets, advertising posters and the cover of the program. (She always does a fantastic job.)

The picture is hanging up in my office.

One of the ladies in the choir told me that I should make prints and sign and number them. Several others said they wanted a print too, so this next week we are going to print some on a nice heavy paper and I will sign and number them.

I may put one of the prints up in my Etsy shop. For our church members and my facebook fans I'm not going to set a price. I am just going to ask for a donation to our music/worship ministry. We'll use the money to go toward fancy new lights or other equipment we might need or want for next year's Passion Play.

Leave me a message on my facebook art page (or see me in choir Wednesday night) if you'd like one of the prints. If you're not already a fan notice the link right over there on the rightof this page and click on it to become a fan. How easy is that?

Trying Out Ebay

I've noticed how many of the fine people who sell things on Etsy (http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/) call Ebay "fee-bay." Ebay charges for everything. They charge to list, charge to add an extra line in the title, charge for all kinds of things.

I also know that some people do very well selling things on Ebay. I'm not sure art is one of those "hot" categories where the bidding is wild and crazy and people are making tons of money.

I noticed that Ebay now lets you list - hmmm, I think - five items a month without a fee. Of course there is a fee if you sell your item and it is a higher fee than Etsy. But I thought it might be fun to put a painting on Ebay and to advertise it through Twitter and Facebook.

So I put this painting I did for the First Annual Autumn Challenge on Facebook.

It is designed to fit in a 11x14 mat, but it larger than that if someone wanted to make a custom mat that was larger. It is watercolor on 300 lb. paper.

It is an original painting - not a print.

The soft muted water colors bring a gentle reminder of the beauty of Autumn leaves. I'm selling it without a mat or frame so you can coordinate them with your homes decor. This picture has it framed in a 11x14 mat.

Here is a close up of my signature. You can see a little more of the detail here.

The bidding on Ebay ends Friday, so if you like it you better go bid. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220511942158&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling

Cows Don't Like their Picture Taken

Every evening – an hour or so before sunset – the cows come down the hill, drawn by some unseen force to eat grass that perhaps looks a little more delicious in the late afternoon hours.

“Ah! A great photo opportunity” I thought to myself.

I first took a picture from my upstairs window. I didn’t like the pole in it and the camera wasn’t sure how to take the screen into account when it was trying to focus. So I slipped on my shoes and headed out to get closer to the cows.

I first tried my zoom lens. With the sun getting lower in the sky the light wasn’t very good for a zoom. So back to the house I went and traded out the lens.

Now it was getting a little darker and with the shorter lens I had to get closer to the cows. They didn’t seem to mind and were probably wondering what I was doing. They watched as I got closer – curious as to why a stranger would find them interesting.

By now the sun was even lower so I hurried closer to get a couple of pictures. The cows tried to act uninterested, but when I got close they all had to look. Maybe they thought I would have a lump of sugar in my pocket. Oh wait. That’s horses. (This is all new stuff for a city boy.)

So I got all focused and ready to take the picture. Well… my camera decided it was dark and the flash popped up.

Click.
FLASH!
Mooooooo!

You can tell they are looking right at me with the flash in their eyes.

And off they ran. I don’t think cows like camera flashes. I thought I had started a stampede! Oh no! They’re going to crash through the fence and trample women and children and cause widespread ruin and destruction!

That’s what I feared anyway. Notice how far away they are in this picture taken just a few moments after the first picture.

For all of you who live in the country or who love the country I have a new watercolor ACEO you might be interested in. It is the standard 2.5” x 3.5” painted on 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper. It is mounted on a playing card to make it nice a sturdy. You can find it in my Etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29793753

Mountain Lake

Here is another original watercolor ACEO that I painted after my trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. It's titled "Mountain Lake."

Mountain Lake

After spending a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina I had to do some painting.

This water color ACEO captures the beauty and the vastness of the mountains in a tiny space.At 2.5" x 3.5" this miniature painting is the standard ACEO size. It is painted on acid free, professional grade 140 lb. cold press water color paper. It was mounted on a playing card for sturdiness.

Initialled on the front and signed on the back, this original painting will be a great addition to your miniature painting collection (or a great start to the fun of collecting ACEOs).

You can find it in my Etsy shop.

Mountain Lake

http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

The Blue Ridge Mountains

I spent a week recently - well, OK, it was last week, but I was trying to sound all fancy. Anyway, last week I was in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I was there for the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. It was a wonderfully inspiring week.

I wished all week that I would have had some paints and canvas with me. The scenery is breathtaking.

Now that I'm home, I've painted the first (of probably several) paintings of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a watercolor ACEO. It's in my Etsy shop.

http://tinyurl.com/ppzjdw

If you attended the BRMCWC and need this lovely little painting as a souvenir, mention the BRMCWC in your Etsy convo and I'll take 15% off of the price.