Finished! Black Bunny Illustration

SOLD!
I finally finished my little Black Bunny portrait which will be featured in the new children's book:"Duncans Magic Garden". This piece is a 5x7" watercolor, India ink and colored pencil. I created a very ornate border a few months ago (the 8"x10" piece shown below) which will surround this little bunny portrait. For the finished book project I'll add images of the bunny characters inside ornate borders. Below is an example of how that might look (only here with my wee mouse). I'm so excited to have finished Duncan, below is our bunny hero in his custom made ivy frame for the full effect!




Duncan and his bunny clan are known as the "Fabbitz" (as in the Fabulous Rabbits)!

Below is a portrait of Duncan's sibling:

This bunny's portrait was done as a miniature painting, also known as an (ACEO).

And the Fabbitz enjoying their big birthday bash!

More On Duncan's Magic Garden

This afternoon I worked a bit more on the new children's book, "Duncan's Magic Garden". This is a 5"x7" watercolor and Ink on smooth illustration board. Below is an example of the intricate page border I painted with one of my other critter-characters framed nicely inside. I hope to have a half dozen of these ornate borders with 25 additional illustrations representing the story. Each smaller illustration will fit inside the various borders.



Duncan and his bunny clan are also known as the "Fabbitz" (as in the Fabulous Rabbits) Below is Duncan Alexander framed in a fanciful fall border.

The Power Of Twitter for Artists

There are a gabillion "Twitter Experts" out there these days (I am certainly not one), but I want to share seven of my personal tips as an artist, for making the most of Twitter:

• Tip 1: Tweet about what's important to you, what you're passionate about!
• Tip 2: Interact, listen, respond, and care about what people are saying. That will bring you quality followers.
• Tip 3: Be sure to have a clear Bio & Avatar (the little picture of yourself), otherwise how will followers know you and why would they follow?
• Tip 4: You can recommend people ANY day not JUST #followfriday (Follow Friday is a tradition where people tweet people they believe are fun/interesting to follow on Fridays) How about #follownow, (a daily recommendation of fellow Tweeters)?
• Tip 5: Find a service like TweetDeck (my favorite) to help you organize the Twitter stream into columns of friends, new followers, mentions, etc.
• Tip 6: Make sure you leave enough characters and the end of your Tweet so that people can re-tweet you. A re-tweet (RT) is a great compliment!
• Tip 7: Automated welcome Direct Messages (in my opinion) to your new followers is more a negative than positive touch.

So, there are my Twitter two cents!


Ive been on Twitter for a few years and the number of rewards I gain from Twitter on a daily basis completely surprises me! I must be "Tweeting" something worthwhile, because I now have over 9,200 people "following" me on Twitter! I've found Twitter to be a powerful business tool, a source of great support, and my favorite place to greet the morning as well as my way of relaxing at the end of the day. When my mom was in her final days last year, I reached out to my Twitter friends with a aching heart, and received hundreds of sincere, supportive messages from my online friends. My Twitter family helped ease me through a painful time, especially since the day mom died I was 3,000 miles away from her, my brother and sisters.
I've met some people I consider true friends and with whom I chat daily. A few months ago I shared with you a little painting titled "Tufted Titmouse" (above in his new role as a greeting card). This little watercolor was based on a reference photograph by my Twitter friend MikeyBoy50. The painting I created from MikeyBoy50's photograph is one of my favorite pieces of last year! The following month, my friend FredCuellar purchased the original directly from my interaction with him on Twitter. Yesterday my friend JoyIsLife contacted me on Twitter and requested a custom card fashioned from "Tufted Titmouse"....now that's some outstanding business results from my daily "tweeting"!

The Tufted Titmouse greeting card above can be purchased on Zazzle by clicking the image above, or here in my Gift Shop

More On Childrens Book Illustration

On an incredible early Spring day here in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, I've worked a bit more on the new children's book, "Duncan's Magic Garden". This is a 5"x7" beginning Ink sketch on smooth illustration board. The image to the right is a close up of the intricate border that will frame our leading man, er...bunny (click on the thumbnail below right for a nice close look and remember to use your magnifying tool). My plan is to have a half dozen very ornate borders, then 25 additional illustrations representing the story. Each smaller illustration will fit inside the various borders. Having worked in the (ACEO) format (2.5" by 3.5") for the last five years, its been a challenge to break away into a larger format, but I'm getting the hang of it! Below is an example of the page border with one of my other critter-characters so you can get a sense of how the illustrations will fall into place.





Duncan and his bunny clan are also known as the "Fabbitz"(as in the Fabulous Rabbits) Below is Duncan Alexander at his birthday bash with the Fabbitz clan.

Duncan's portrait was done as a miniature painting, also known as an (ACEO) and was part of a Triptych. A Triptych is three small paintings, each unique in itself, but when laid side by side also make up a lager composition.



Triptych Below:

Free Spring Bunny Print

Spring Bunny
ACEO (3.5" by 2.5")
Originally done in Colored Pencil and India Ink

Happy (almost) Spring everyone!!

The first ten people who leave a comment (ALL GONE) here on my blog WIN a print of this charming little Spring Bunny (one of my favorite ACEO-miniature paintings that I created in 2009).

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Remember to --->

your mailing address (if you live out of the country I will need to ask for shipping costs, usually $2.00).

New Book Illustration Started

Today I roughed out an initial sketch for the bunny portrait which will be included in my new children's book:"Duncans Magic Garden". This piece is 5x7" and will be done in watercolor, India ink and colored pencil. I created a very ornate border a few months ago (an 8"x10" piece shown below) which will surround this little bunny portrait. For the finished book project I'll add images of the characters inside this ornate border, below is an example of how that might look like (only here with my wee mouse).


Duncan and his bunny clan are known as the "Fabbitz" (as in the Fabulous Rabbits)!

Below is a portrait of Duncan's sibling:

This bunny's portrait was done as a miniature painting, also known as an (ACEO).

And the Fabbitz enjoying their big birthday bash!

New Miniature Art Now As A Print

After chatting with my 3380 "followers" (buddies) on Twitter, I found the consensus was..."please offer prints of this little painting!" So I am.


Tufted Titmouse Two
5x5"
Originally done in watercolor, India ink, and colored pencil on Arches cold press Art Board. The reference photograph was generously provide by my Twitter friend MikeyBoy50

$9.99 With FREE Shipping (from my blog only)

This little 5x5" piece is printed using my Epson printer, Archival Ink on Archival Paper with a Matte finish. They are rated to last 98 years if framed behind glass or 200 years if kept in an album. This is an open edition of quality prints, each is individually signed, has a .25" white border for matting, and is dated. I mail your print via First Class mail in a rigid mailer, and will be protected by an acid free sleeve.

Also available as prints form Etsy or ArtFire

The original of this mini painting is still available from my blog. SOLD!

Some interesting things about the Titmouse I picked up from Wikipedia:
"The Tufted Titmouse is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family. Their range is expanding northwards, possibly due to increased availability of winter food at bird feeders. Tufted titmice tend to be curious about their human neighbors and can sometimes be spotted on window ledges peering into the windows to watch what's going on inside."<-I have seen them do this while I worked at my drawing table! I love these little "Winter Birds". They always make me smile, and when I hear their scolding call, as I go out in the deep snow to gather more firewood, I even giggle.

New Easter Bunny Card

I designed a little Easter Bunny Card today from one of my miniature ACEO paintings. This little piece is one that I created last year while I was taking care of my mom. Mom passed away two weeks ago, so this little fella holds sweet memories wound into the brushstrokes! He is available with "Happy Easter" and blank inside or just the art on the front plus a verse inside. Make sure you choose which option when you add him to the shopping cart.

Customize

"Happy Easter" Blank Inside $2.99 No "Happy Easter" Verse Inside $2.99

Miniature Cat Painting Complete!

I just put the finishing touches on my miniature ACEO commission for my Twitter friend Dave Carpenter. Click on the link below to see a step by step of this miniature pet portrait, or browse through my earlier blog posts since I post each phase of the painting process.


Slide Show


This handsome cat is a rich blue gray color, very thick luxurious fur, and obviously the prince of the home. I've given him a throne of tapestry-paisley pillows and a soft background of warm yellows to contrast against his blue-gray fur.

The images below will give you a sense of the paintings size.

The mini piece is a surprise gift for one of Dave's friends and we both thought it would be fun to have you- the reader, try to guess this sweet kitty's name!

Update February 9: CONGRATULATIONS Devi! Devi guessed "Grey Poupon" the name of this rather famous kitty. The little painting reproduced beautifully as a print which is now available here.
$4.99
Free shipping

Also, if you are interested in a mini art piece of your special pet, just !