The Beginning Of A New ACEO Batch

View this auction and others here

  I am very grateful to all of the collectors of my work. This is another announcement of a new batch of originals. Above is a new ACEO I have posted for auction on Ebay. I will be posting more 10 day auctions in the coming days so as always- check my Ebay store often.

UPDATE 5/2/2012: There are two more ACEOs posted for auction in my ebay store. Some have already been bid on and there are collectors "watching" some of these auctions. This is your chance to own affordable and easily collectible original art! Get your bids in now.

Caricature Fund-Raiser For the Children's Hospital

Earlier today I had the pleasure of raising money for the Children's Hospital Los Angeles by drawing caricatures at a booth in Plaza Mexico. Below are some warm up sketches of people who walked by.

Of course the caricatures were given to the people I drew, but here are a few of my sketches of people walking by after I was warmed up. 

                                     
 

School Squelches The Creativity The Future Needs

  This last March I posted a link to Karla Vasquez's short piece on Art and school. Today's post is sort of a follow-up on the same notion of schools downplaying creativity when it is exactly what we need for an unknown future. In the video above, Ken Robinson makes his case for changing the approach societies have towards education in light of this problem we are facing. 

Book Design With Chip Kidd

  No, you certainly won't get much out of smelling your Ipad, and ironically you couldn't start a fire with your Kindle in survival situations. This video from Ted Talks is the recording of a book lover, like myself, talking about designing some of the most innovative book packages in our times.

Drink and Draw: 2 Weeks In A Row

These are my drawings from a weekly event in downtown Los Angeles called Drink and Draw every Thursday night at 8pm. These particular sketches are from the last two weeks. Come out and draw with us on Thursday nights.

 

 

ACEO Auctions

Toad ACEO auction ending soon

  Since I've been overlapping my auction posts I will always have some new ACEOs posted and some auctions winding down. Check my auctions link at the top of this blog often to see what new original art is available. I love sending these pieces off to good homes.

Lilias Trotter ACEO: new auction

 

"Puzzled" Illustration for Friday April 20th 2012

My submission for IllustrationFriday.com 

Click here to bid on this original piece of miniature art

  This illustration started off as a simple drawing demo for a friend at church. After the sketch was done it became very arresting and I couldn't stop working on it. A finished sketch turned into an inked drawing and then the colored pencils came out.
  Some of you might have already recognized the character as the Abbot from the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. I had another idea for the puzzled theme, and while I'll still work on that one I thought I might as well post something I've already finished since the original idea is larger and more time consuming.
  I'm auctioning this original piece off on ebay as miniature art and not an ACEO since it just barely does not meet the dimensions of 2.5" x 3.5". It can still fit in plastic pages or toploaders. Bidding on my miniature art and ACEOs assists my art funds, and therefore I can continue to create. Please consider being an all too important patron of the arts. Go check out the other artists at IllustrationFriday.com. as-well.

Illustrated ACEO For This Friday

My submission for 4/13/2012

This art card is being auctioned here:

  At IllustrationFriday.com a new topic is picked every week, and everyone is welcome to submit an illustration based on the current week's theme. This Friday the theme is "Vocal". To keep the illustration fun I wanted to go with something that isn't normally seen as vocal. I chose the idea of illustrating Charlie Chaplin. He was a great silent comedian in film. Chaplin's slapstick body language was what he used to make us laugh rather than vocal stand-up comedy. I think his form of humor is just as effective. This is drawn on 2.5" x 3.5" ACEO card, and is up for a 10 day auction on my ebay store.
  Go to IllustrationFriday.com every week for inspiration, and look for my submission this week- and weeks to come.

What Are ACEOs And ATCs? Part 2

Jump to Part 1

For my definition of ACEOs and ATCs read part 1.

There are three main reasons why I highly recommend creating ACEOs and ATCs to every person interested in creating images...

In no particular order:

One of my first abstract pieces titled God

1.Versatility: ACEOs and ATCs are a laboratory where I can try new: techniques, styles, and mediums with little to no risk in regards to time or materials. I can use these art cards as sketches/color studies for other pieces or they can be my finished masterpiece- not only that but I can trade or sell them in any of those formats. Recently I've discovered that if I have prints of my art cards made at artcardswanted.com I can use them as limited edition business cards to give to other people in the art industry. The ACEO pictured to the right is an example of an abstract piece that I would have never felt comfortable exploring on a canvas, and I plan to use this one as a study for a larger piece in the near future (but for now I can auction it off or trade it).

2.Affordability: Because these miniature art pieces are the size of baseball cards they offer the benefit of spending less time and money on their creation. Of course you could choose to spend just as much time on these as a mural on the side of the Great Wall of China, but you could also bust out quick sketches on these and people will gladly accept that. This is a benefit to both you as the artist and art collectors looking to buy or trade original art. My ACEOs are currently averaging ending bids of $8 on ebay- my audience has expanded greatly because just about everyone can afford my original artwork in this format.

3.Portability: The standard size of ACEOs and ATCs at 2.5" by 3.5" is the exact same size as baseball cards. The reason we keep these dimensions is because plastic top loaders and binder pages for these cards are readily available everywhere and make it convenient to store your collection securely. Art cards can also fit in your wallet or pocket for transportation. Gone are the days where I had to bring a large canvas with me on the subway train or bus.

Holding an ACEO I created inside of a plastic top loader with 3 ring binder in background

Jump to Part 1

Auctions Update

One of my ACEOs up for a 10 day auction

Hello art enthusiasts! Until recently I have been posting my original ACEOs in batches of 6 to sometimes 10 cards at a time on my ebay.com store. If you are a collector or you've just been following my posts you should know that I have changed my methods a bit. I will be posting new original artwork on ebay one card at a time instead of multiple cards in one day.

On ebay it is important to keep a consistent presence if you plan on being a long time seller- this is why I want to spread my art card auctions out over time. I will not be posting on this blog every single time I post an auction because I don't want all of my images to be viewed online for the long term. There must be some sense of mystery or it's no fun at all. Make sure you check this blog often and use the AUCTIONS button at the top of this blog. I will try to keep at least one auction up at all times.

Elephant Poop ACEOs

My original artwork

  Yes, the paper I drew these elephants on really is made out of elephant dung. The paper comes from Sri Lanka, but I obtained it from the famous McManus & Morgan paper store in Los Angeles. This ACEO was just posted on my ebay for a 10 day auction. (or click on the big AUCTIONS link at the top of this blog) I have a good supply of this paper- so watch for more ACEOs like this being posted in the next few days. I think it's fitting that I complete the circle by drawing elephants on elephant dung don't you?

Le Mer de Pianos: The Oldest Piano Shop In Paris

  On this blog I have written about the oldest letterpress and paper store in Los Angeles, but now I hope to introduce you to the oldest piano repair shop in Paris, France. The film is called Le Mer de Pianos (The Sea of Pianos) by Tom Wrigglesworth and Mathieu Cuvelier.