Arty Christmas Ornaments

I create miniature paintings of woodland animals, birds, cats, fantasy beings and other critters in a format known as ACEO. Several years ago I discovered a company that does "print on demand". Print on demand means a company will print my miniature art on as few as one of their products (such as porcelain Christmas ornaments).

Cafe Press is one of my print on demand choices for art gifts. I've been working with Cafe Press for years now and also have a CP virtual shop filled with my art on gift items. Zazzle is also a great site for print on demand art gifts. One of my favorite (and my customer's favorite!) items from Cafe Press is their porcelain Christmas ornaments.
These small oval or round decorative ornaments are beautifully printed. My art appears crisp and clear, plus the holiday decorations are of the highest quality. I have a very large and diverse collection of porcelain Christmas ornaments, some of which I've showcased here. I also created a special blog specifically to feature my little Christmas ornaments.
Each time I finish a small painting- ACEO (like the little Chipmunk above) I have it printed on one of these porcelain gems. As the holiday season begins to swing into full gear, I often take requests on Twitter for design ideas and then highlight them on my Ornaments Blog along with a link back to the person who gave the suggestion! Here is an example of the Twitter ornament suggestion.

I have over two hundred Christmas ornaments in my online gift shop. Here are a few more examples of the great little holiday decorations:





Enjoy!

An Artist's Cyber Monday

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Backyard Birds-The Artist's View

As an artist I am inspired by the beautiful birds that frequent my backyard feeders. Summer birds as well as the feathered visitors that arrive in our deepest winters. Winter in New England can be quite severe. It’s not unusual on a January day to have the wind chill dip to 40 degrees below zero with snow blowing and icicles covering the windows.

Yet even on a day like that, when I look out my studio window, the backyard birds are flitting about gathering seeds from my feeder and chirping merrily. In addition to their cheery attitude, thier colors are breathtaking! There is nothing like the unworldly red of the Northern Cardinal against a stark gray and icy white backdrop.

In deep winter my eyes seem to be more receptive to the subtle shades of the less colorful birds as well, like the Black Capped Chickadee.


The dear little Black-capped Chickadee (shown in my tiny painting- ACEO above) is so small and jaunty with his dark black cap and brilliant white chest.


The female Northern Cardinal (as in my ACEO painting above) is especially colorful in the Winter, her subtle shades of cool gray and warm gold seem so striking to me, while in the Summer I rarely notice her. Watching the birds of Winter is one of the things that gets me through those long cold days, inspiring me and making me smile. On the coldest and darkest days of Winter, when everything is frozen and gray, these feathered friends bring me great joy.

Below is a portrait of the common Blue Jay on a snowy winter morning.



Summer here in the Berkshires of Massachusetts is brief, but spectacular. There are sprawling lush-green country fields, bright-charming gardens, and vivid window boxes against the quaint New England homes.

Below are two miniature pieces (ACEOs) I created of the familiar and charming summer  Blue Jay

I've included an excerpt from the Audubon website, in hopes of inspiring you to enjoy the art of backyard birding:

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"Did you know that over 100 North American bird species supplement their natural diets with birdseed, suet, fruit and nectar obtained from feeders?

Bird feeding can benefit birds and also provides great bird watching from your own backyard. The obvious time to feed birds is in winter when natural food supplies are scarce; however, additional species visit feeders during the spring and fall migrations, and also during summer while nesting.

To keep birds coming back to your feeders in any season provide them with the following three essential elements:

* Variety of quality seed.
* Fresh water for drinking and bathing.
* Ample cover, preferably provided by native plants. Native plants also provide potential nesting sites and a source of natural food."

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Find Melody's Animal Art Here:

New Holiday Bunny Greeting Cards

This week I designed a new Holiday Bunny greeting card. This little painting began its journey as a tiny painting known as an ACEO. I've been meaning to turn little Christmas bunny into a greeting card for a while and I'm pleased with the way she turned out.

You can buy Holiday Bunny here directly from my blog or from my Etsy shop.

More Quantities

Single Card $2.99 USD Set of Four $9.99 USD Set of Ten $15.99 USD